Balance May 2018 - 61

Mas

clas
s

ter

How to thrive under pressure
with Darren Clarke

A BIT ABOUT ME
I'm a professional golfer, who won
the Open Championship in 2011 and
was a four-time winner of the Ryder
Cup. Now, I might be sharing golf tips.
However, as any golfer will tell you,
these can also apply to life.

TOP
TIPS FOR
PLAYING
A ROUND

SAY CHEESE!
I always play the game with a smile
on my face. Well, I try to - it's
different if you're being sick in the
bushes on a hangover! Reminding
yourself to have fun helps you thrive
under pressure. After all, golf is an
individual sport and it all comes
down to you as a player. Every
mistake is down to you. If you spend
time worrying, you're not going to
enjoy it and you'll play worse. One of
the best ways to trick the mind is to
smile. It makes the task easier. That
is easier said than done (imagine
picking up two bogeys in a row) and
it takes practice.

BELIEF
I always had the
belief I'd win a
Major. When it came
along, maybe it
was the fact that
I was a bit older and
more experienced
that helped.

PRACTICE
Even now, if I do a full
day, I'm doing nine or
10 hours of practice.
It's non-stop, and
it's not just a case
of rocking up and
playing.

ACCEPTANCE

LET IT GO
The great golf psychologist, Bob
Rotella, has a motto: 'The less you
try, the more you get'. Now, you can
only do that if you've put the work in.
He means work hard and, when you
get to the competition, you try less
and you get more. If you're trying too
much, you're probably thinking too
much. And if you're doing that, you're
losing all the natural feel and talent
you have for the game. Play as if you
don't care, even though you really
do. I had that attitude at the Open in

62

TECHNOLOGY
2011. By the way, winning the biggest
competition of them all merited the
week-long hangover that followed...

ENJOY LIFE
You can't be under pressure nonstop and you have to occasionally
switch off. If you become obsessed
it will be difficult to perform at your
optimum level at all times. I know
it's different for different people. I've
always enjoyed the down-time, but
that doesn't mean I don't work my
arse off. I also enjoy myself, possibly
too much at times! That's how I've
always been. Could I have won more?
Possibly. But I've enjoyed the ride. B

BA LA N CE May 2018

"Golf is a game of
mistakes. Accept the
bad shots without
getting upset and it's
easier to perform"

There's a new piece of
tech called Trackman
which monitors
everything, from
ball flight to spin:
the parameters are
incredible, but there's
a fine line between
too technical
and carefree.

The outcome

When it comes to thriving you're going to have a
setback, and the mark of a person is how you
respond. That's golf; that's life. To quote the great
Jack Nicklaus, 'The ability to forget the bad shots
outweighs the ability to remember the good.'

WORDS: JAMES GILL PHOTOGRA[HY: ODDITY STUDIOS

I've won some huge tournaments
and the common denominator
each time has been the fact I was
very comfortable and accepting of
where the ball went. Golf's a game of
mistakes and it's about limiting them.
Accept the bad shots without getting
upset and it's easier to perform. Life
and golf have parallels: you get good
times and bad times.



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Balance May 2018

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