28.01.2023

Poulter - Mental - Lament

Very interesting interview with Ian Poulter today.

His 71 was 6 worse than yesterday but at -8 and two shots back with 36 holes to go in Dubai, is in great shape for the final 2 Rds. He was lamenting his putting and indeed he did leave a lot out there. His 15 footer for birdie at 4 was the only putt outside 10 feet today although a 9 footer for eagle and a 9 foot 9 inches par save at 8 was handy.

This was what I texted to a client who is also VERY well positioned to compete for the win. Some of us know that Putting is mostly mental... with the proviso that we need solid, robust mechanics upon which to build the optimum putting mindset and on top of which we develop our confidence. It was almost like Poulter caught himself (during his chat with Inci) reflecting and ruminating on the misses but with 12 wins in his excellent career and at 47 years of age, he's got more than enough experience to "know the score".

As Muriel Thomson - Europe's leading lady golfer in the early 80's - said on her website, "the key to being a good putter is to think that you're a good putter"! That's too simple for most to appreciate (the truth of) and indeed Vijay Singh was pilloried in 2008 by the golf press when he said something similar after winning the Order of Merit, having won it four years earlier when he was the first to win $10m in prize money (Tiger being the 2nd, in 2009). There's method in the madness! How we think influences how we perform :)