Golfers' preperformance states of mind and emotion during tournament play

Positive states of mind and emotion are essential to skilled golf performance, yet the substance of these desirable capacities has received minimal attention. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to investigate the preperformance thoughts of expert golfers during their play in a tournament round, in order to determine the states of mind and emotion that these golfers experienced, and to examine the relationship of this mental and emotional activity to subsequent golf performance. Each of seven male amateur golfers who play Quebec Golf Association and Royal Canadian Golf Association events (average handicap 0), was videotaped on a separate tournament day. Following the round, each participant was interviewed, whereby he was asked to recall what he was attempting to do, what he was thinking and feeling. The videotape was then played back to stimulate further input. Inductive analyses of interview transcripts disclosed that the preperformance thoughts expressed by the participants fell into two main dimensions: Thoughts of a positive nature were associated with successful shot outcomes, and described effective mental preparation skills, effective technical/tactical strategies, and positive feeling states. Thoughts with clearly negative overtones were associated with unsuccessful outcomes, and pertained to ineffective mental preparation, technical/tactical weaknesses, and negative feeling states. The stimulated recall interviews were successful in garnering the content of the participants' thoughts, and was a methodological strategy which had not yet been used in golf. The participants found the process helpful in that it enhanced their awareness about many facets of their play, which frequently translated into improved play in subsequent rounds. The information gleaned from this study will likely aid other golfers who wish to improve their attentional skills, and the procedure used is an innovative manner in which to initiate consulting interactions.