This week I read the chapter "How Billy Mayfair Rebuilt his Confidence" in the book Golf is a Game of Confidence, by Dr. Bob Rotella. In the chapter Rotella talks about how a struggling golfer, Billy Mayfair, is having trouble being able to score in PGA tournaments. It turns out that Mayfair, in his aspirations to be a better golfer, tried to 'perfect' his swing. And as Rotella says in the chapter: "Athletes who become self-critical perfectionist are flirting with trouble"(142). Rotella then explains how Mayfair got to be on tour; Mayfair, coming from a lower income family, couldn't go out and play like most young golfers do. Instead his mother would drop him off at Papago Park golf course and there Monday thru Friday he would putt and chip till dark. It turned out that his short game is what helped him acquire his tour card and hold on to it. Until he tried to get his swing perfect, thats when he stopped working on his short game to work on his swing. This got him out of his routine and, in turn, he started to play bad in tournaments. He began to doubt himself and his swing causing him to lose his confidence, this was until he stopped worrying about the bad shots of his round and got back in his routine of working on chipping and putting for hours a day. This helped him get back on his game and later went on to win the Tour Championship.

From my own experiences out on the golf course, I can honestly say that I have seen perfection kill a good golfers potential. And its sad to say I once was also in the grips of a mind set that required me to be perfect. Until I learned that in golf there is no such thing as perfect. So on the point Dr. Rotella makes on perfection is a killer, I would agree completely. It is also noticeable that Rotella makes an effort to get the point out that short game is critical, not only in the pros but also in the amateurs. Which is a complete necessity in golf. Throughout the chapter Mayfair struggles with his self-confidence, this is a huge hump in golf, and can't play well in tournaments. Until, Mayfair talks to another player who had just won a major, Mayfair asked how'd you do it and the player told simply that he re-deticated himself to his short game. Because Mayfair was such a good short game player, he had confidence that even if he missed a green he could still save par. But when he forgot his roots and focused on perfection, he lost his mojo, and couldn't rely on any part of his game. Forgetting how good of short player he was, he lost all of his confidence in himself. That's why keeping confidence is a must for golfers.

Rotella, Dr. Bob. Golf is a Game of Confidence. New york, Ny: Simon & Schuster, 1996. 138-50. Print.