Tiger Woods, Sport Psychology and Mental Toughness

This is a cracking article on sport psychology, specifically on golf psychology and Tiger Woods who is, of course, famed for his mental toughness.

I came across this article thanks to Al Kornspan, who regularly posts "Sport Psychology in the News" on the sportpsy listserv, and the original source is from the New York Daily Times (author Hank Gola).

What's really interesting to me is the that the basic tenet of the article is mental toughness but, as the sport psychologists will know, mental toughness still has many different definitions, although research is giving it more coherence.

Splattered with references and quotes from sport psychologists and golfers, it also talks about his sport psychologist (yes he uses one), has some reference to research intot he traits of pro golfers (personally, I like John Kenworthy's playing styles better :). It talks about his focus, playing in the moment, balance and versatility (which I think is key to mental toughness), emotional control, confidence and even Buddhist principles and Zen.

What this demonstrates to me is just how much interpretation there is in sport psychology. We can't just mechanically process "evidence" and all come out with the same conclusions (as anyone who has studied the philosophy of science will know - and if you haven't at all, shame on you!).

Anyway, this should be a good resource for anyone running a course or module on sport psychology, trainining professionals, or simply to start a debate with yourself!

I'll end with a great Tiger quote from the article:

"It's something you have to find from within. You have to keep pushing yourself from within. It's not about what other people think and what other people say. It's about what you want to accomplish and do you want to go out there and be prepared to beat everyone you play or face."

Please share your thoughts and opinions with comments.

The full article is here:

Tiger Woods entering zone where few athletes have ever travelled.

Rob Robson

Follow me on twitter @sportpsychrob