Banish The Spectre of Expectation
If you are an experienced golfer, I expect you have come to view expectancy as something of a tease. You know how it goes: a fantastic practice session on the eve of a big tournament… struggling to overcome a sense of surging optimism as you try to sleep… excitement on the way to the course… a curious miscue during your warm-up that came from nowhere, amid a growing sense that things feel different today… and ultimately, a performance that emphatically fails to deliver on the expectancy you had last night. You’re not alone. We’ve all been there. It is a rare day indeed that our actions actually live up to our expectations.
The problem is that, as a race, we humans rather enjoy expectancy. This is because most of us crave certainty in our lives, and expectation is a little mental trick we all play on ourselves to encourage it. Essentially, expectation is our way of saying ‘because this happened yesterday, it is likely to happen today’. It helps us feel that life is predictable, stable, safe. You only have to look at our attitude to life insurance, savings, fixed mortgage rates and even weather forecasts to see how vehemently we yearn for a predictable future.
In many aspects of life – including the ones just listed – a little expectation does no harm at all; if you decide to head out on a clear dawn to watch the sun rise, chances are you won’t be disappointed. Unfortunately, golf isn’t one of them. The game is altogether too uncertain, too illogical, too chaotic to have the burden of expectation placed on it. In fact, more often than not, expectation only makes things worse. When we see negative events spatter spray paint over the beautiful canvasses we envisioned, confidence and optimism can disappear in a heartbeat.
On a more positive note, the illusory nature of expectation can also be seen in the context of playing better than we think we will. Again, most of you will have had this experience where you’ve headed to the first tee with a heavy heart, wondering how you’re going to explain the miserable state of your game to your playing partners over the next four hours… only to find a rhythm and take the spoils. It happens. Just ask 2011 Open Champion Darren Clarke, who was seriously considering pulling out of the Championship the day before it started after some dire practice sessions. Had he listened to expectation, he might well have ended his career majorless.
Hopefully, the learning here is pretty clear. We will all naturally gravitate towards expectation through our yearning for certainty. But we need to resist this pull. And one of the best ways to do that is by enlisting the help of a stronger force: adaptability.
In many ways, adaptability is the polar opposite of expectation. The adaptable golfer tackles every day with no (or very little) expectation. The adaptable golfer is resolved to seeing what they have on any given day, and getting the best out of it. There is an acceptance that what happened yesterday will not necessarily have any bearing on what happens today. The adaptable golfer embraces the uncertainty endemic to the game of golf… with the irony being that this state allows you to get the best out of yourself on a far more consistent basis.
So instead of wasting your time on expectation – either high or low – work on cultivating an attitude of adaptability. Get better at asking questions like ‘What have I got today?’ Or ‘What do I need to do today?’ Keep an eye out for sneaky expectation – ‘I always play badly if I mess up the opening tee shot’, or ‘I always play well with single-figure handicappers’. Like all expectations, these have no basis in reality and can cause damaging disconnects in your game. Banish expectancy and you will rid yourself of the pressure and vulnerability it creates.
Finally, be aware that expectancy is a wonderful time traveller, able to work backwards as well as forwards. Imagine yourself reaching the turn having played considerably better than you have scored. “I’m seven over par but I should be three over,” you tell yourself. In other words, your expectancy of what your score should be is once again at odds with reality – a schism that can create frustration, confusion, even anger. None of that is conducive to giving your best effort on the back nine. Again, go back to adaptability. Make it your mission to become ready to accept the possibility of all outcomes. This means a readiness to deal in reality, a more stable confidence and a mindset no longer at the mercy of thwarted expectation.
