Tiger Woods - Why He Dominates Golf

We all enjoy watching Tiger Woods dominate tournaments and win, but few golfers understand why Tiger wins so much. He is of course exceptionally talented, fit and strong, but most people are unaware of what his biggest asset actually is and how it drives him forward. Do you know what it is?

Earl Woods wanted to train his son better than any other golfer had been trained. He started teaching Tiger from a very young age how to manage his game. He gave him lessons in mental toughness by deliberately distracting him during play, for example, dropping the golf bag in the middle of a swing. Other lessons included making less mental errors. You will notice when you watch Tiger play he makes very few mental errors.
Tida Woods also contributed to her sons growth by showing him how to concentrate deeply and relax on the golf course. This was made possible through her Buddhist beliefs, she took Tiger when he was young boy to a Buddhist Temple where he prayed with Zen Masters and learned to put himself into a super concentrated state. Meditation is simply a way of exercising the mind. Anybody can learn to meditate. The rewards are: learning to concentrate deeply, relieve stress and relax.
These mental lessons did not end here. Tiger took golf lessons from ages of 5 to 10 years with Rudy Duran who besides giving him swing lessons also gave him mental lessons. Duran reinforced what Tiger had learned from his father with minimal swing changes. He refers to Tiger Woods swing as that of a miniature PGA pro. Duran taught Tiger to play one shot at a time and forget about the previous shot. He also showed him to use his decision making skill by selecting the right club for the shot.
Tiger had developed a very intense focus because of what his father had taught him about mentally focusing on the target and concentrating on his address and posture. Duran gave Tiger more confidence in his ability to score well which became evident in Tiger winning 2 world junior under 10 championships.
It is pretty clear by now that Tiger Woods secret to golf mastery is indeed his mind. This has also been confirmed in an interview a few years back.
John Anselmo took over and taught Tiger till he 18 years old. His instruction served as more reinforcement to what Tiger had leaned from his Father and Rudy Duran on the mental side. Anselmo a big believer in playing lessons would teach Tiger on the course not to get upset from a bad shot so that he could stay in a positive frame of mind for the next shot. He taught Tiger mental imagery to improve his shot making and swing. He showed Tiger not to simply look at the ball but rather through the ball to the target.
Tiger was shown movies of Sam Snead to sharpen his visualization of the way Snead swung. This enabled him to copy the moves he saw on the movie. Other great players he was encouraged to watch were Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, and Seve Ballesteros.
Tiger learned from the great Bobby Jones to focus on one shot at a time, stabilize his emotions throughout the round, and recall good shots in his mind when he needed them.
You would have thought that Tiger Woods had about enough training and talent by this time to take on the world, he sure did, but Dr Jay Brunza a clinical psychologist and friend of Earl took Tiger to even greater heights. He caddied for Tiger and was his mental trainer during the time Tiger won 3 US Amateur titles. Dr Brunza used hypnosis on Tiger enabling him to enter the concentration zone at will and refocus when he encounters distractions.
These years of mental conditioning from a teenager has given him mastery over his own thoughts especially the ability to maintain a present mindset, so essential to play top level golf. A priceless asset.
We are all fortunate to have such a great player like Tiger to learn from and use him as the perfect role model to improve our lives and our mental approach to golf.
Louis Esselen has been a golf instructor for the past 16 years and shares a vast amount knowledge in golf instruction, golf fitness, the golf mind, and golf tips. Learn more about how to apply feel in the golf swing by visiting his website at http://www.golfswingfeeling.com
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