Mike Weir has often been asked how he felt standing over his nerve-wracking six-footer on the 72^nd hole of the 2003 Masters. It was a putt he eventually made to get into a playoff. “Oh boy, I wouldn’t wish that putt on anyone,” he’s been quoted. Quick, get the children out of the room and cover their ears. Those are swear words for a golf professional, and as a hard-core Weir fan, I wish he had never said them.

Weir’s statement is a self-fulfilling prophecy that quite possibly has subconsciously contributed to his poor Sunday record over the past few years. I can’t be sure what goes on in Weir’s mind any more than the next person but Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson, authors of Pygmallion In The Classroom might know. Their research shows that reality can be influenced by expectations. Weir’s statement sets up a desire not to experience that stressful situation again. Sure, putts like the one Weir faced are commonly referred to as being in the ‘throw up zone’ so it’s not surprising a person would want to avoid them. But, the act of stretching yourself past the opposition or your own personal best creates these situations. Expecting that all shots on the way to victory will be without stress just isn’t realistic.

So what if Weir was in the habit of answering the question with, “That’s a putt I’d like to have every week I tee it up.”? It would certainly have to create a different state of mind. Oddly enough when Weir finally broke through again and won the Frys.com Open in October 2007 he closed with a putt very similar to the one he made at the 2003 Masters and his exhilaration was just as noticeable.

Now let me ask you: How often would you like to face important putts in the throw up zone? Bob Skura is author of How Great Golfers Think - Perfecting Your Mental Game. For more information visit: www.howgreatgolfersthink.com 

Bob Skura
January 1, 2009

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