Stayin' cool as a cucumber: A lesson from the biggest meltdown in sports history
Reading time: 3 minutes
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In the final round of the 1999 British Open, French golfer Jean van de Velde started the par four 18th hole with a seemingly insurmountable three-shot lead. Ranked outside the world’s top 100, the crowd was pumped to see the unlikely hero take the trophy. What followed was a descent into madness:
Tee Shot: Van de Velde unnecessarily opted for aggression, playing a driver rather than an iron (the less risky option). His tee shot veered far right, missing the water by a whisker but ending up in the thick grass rough.
Second shot: After narrowly escaping disaster, the crowd expected a more cautious shot - like a layup onto the fairway. But again van de Velde went for the risky option, going straight for the green. He missed, and his ball smashed into the grandstand and ricocheted into grass tall enough to hide lions on the hunt.
Third shot: From the plains of the Serengeti, he hacked it into the water.
Fourth shot: The crowd gasped as van de Velde removed his shoes and tiptoed into the water, contemplating playing the ball as it lay in the shallow water. “What on earth are you doing? No, no, Jean. Would somebody please go down and stop him?” said the flabbergasted commentator as he watched the trainwreck unfold. Sanity prevailed, and van de Velde took a drop, incurring a penalty stroke.
Fifth shot: From the drop zone, van de Velde flopped the ball into a bunker in front of the green.
Sixth and seventh shots: He made it onto the green and holed the putt for a triple bogey. This tied van de Velde with Paul Lawrie, forcing a playoff.
Van de Velde lost the playoff and would never come close to winning a major again.
I can relate. When I’m at the driving range by myself, I smack those balls like they owe me money - long and straight. But up the ante and put me on that first tee box of the course with strangers glaring at me, and I turn into van de Velde. The goal shifts from hitting a good shot to merely making contact with the ball. Anything past the ladies’ tee triggers a mental fist pump.
Tiger Woods, on the other hand, was known for his supernatural mental fortitude.
His father, Earl, was a tough Vietnam War veteran who not only made young Tiger spend 1000s of hours at the range but also wanted Tiger to be mentally stronger than his competitors.
In Jeff Benedict’s biography of Tiger Woods, he describes how Earl tried to toughen his son using techniques used on soldiers. As Tiger took a shot, Earl would cough, drop his clubs or throw a ball at him. As Tiger grew older, Earl’s tactics became increasingly brutal. “Fuck off!”, “motherfucker!”, “piece of shit!”, Earl would yell at Tiger during his backswing. Earl would even hurl racial slurs at his young son.
“He taught me to be completely aware of my surroundings while maintaining complete focus on the task at hand”, said Tiger.
In Earl’s words, he wanted to turn his son into a “cold-blooded assassin”.
Tiger Woods started the final round of the 2008 US Open with an obliterated knee (two stress fractures and a torn ACL). He shouldn’t have been playing at all, yet he still made it to the last hole, trailing Rocco Mediate by one stroke. Woods needed a birdie on the par-5 18th to force a playoff.
Woods made it onto the green in three, leaving him with a long 12-foot putt for birdie. Woods transcended the physical and mental strain and clinched the putt like a golfing god. The crowd exploded.
Woods went on to beat Mediate in the playoff. It was just one of Tiger’s countless high-pressure victories.
Ok, I admit that Earl Woods was a bit extreme and abusive. But here’s another more innocent story (unrelated to golf) about preparation to ensure top performance under stress.
World-famous podcaster, author, and lifestyle optimisation guru Tim Ferriss was asked to give a TED talk in 2017. Although he’d done countless public presentations, he always struggled with nerves. So, to ensure success, he repeatedly practised in front of strangers. But he also knew that his heart would be racing more than usual during the big talk, so to emulate this, he’d down two double espressos and do pushups before each practice presentation. He nailed the talk, which has been viewed online more than 12 million times.
The moral of the story:
The ability to perform when the stakes are high is super useful in sport, presenting, nailing job a interview, you name it. But to do so, you need to condition yourself in challenging environments. To compete under pressure, you need to train under pressure.
So, if you ever see me at the driving range, please do me this favour to improve my game. Wait till I’m in the middle of my backswing, then shout as loudly as you can:
“Rob! Fuck! Motherfucker! Piece of shit!!!”