How players handle their worst holes on the PGA TOUR

Tiger Woods’ steely glare pierces right through you. Arguably the most mentally tough golfer of all time doesn’t want to know his worst hole on the PGA TOUR. “Nope, keep it to yourself,â€� the 81-time PGA TOUR winner says. “If I’m having that bad of luck, I don’t want to know, no. Tell me what the best hole is.â€� He turns his back to ensure this conversation goes no further. If the Big Cat doesn’t want to know, you don’t tell him, and nor do you tell anyone else. It’s that sensitive. Nor do you tell some others their worst holes, because it turns out Woods is not alone in absolutely not wanting to know. It’s complicated, the relationship between the pros and their own personal bugaboos, the holes that are most vexing, infuriating and costly.   “I wouldn’t want to know, and if someone told me I’d be fuming,â€� Ian Poulter says. “I don’t ever want there to be an issue. Or any grain of thought. There is no gain in knowing. There is no advantage in knowing. And there can only be an issue that arises, and you’d get frustrated if you knew.â€� That all sounds reasonable, but not everyone agrees. Armed with the information of certain players’ worst career hole or holes in relation to par, we approached each individual to find out if they wanted to know. We also asked if they felt they had any nemesis holes on the PGA TOUR, and if so, what their approach to those holes is. The answers ran the gambit. Woods, Poulter and others were steadfast in not knowing. Others wanted to know, then didn’t, then wanted to again, then didn’t. Some begged to be told. Others saw it as no big deal. Still others already knew and were actively doing something about it. Whether they’re on TOUR or not, all golfers have holes where they are uncomfortable, holes where no matter what they may have tried, things seem to always go wrong. Holes that have become their nemesis. For the pros, though, the stakes are higher. “It’s a classic study in perception,â€� says sports psychologist Neale Smith, a former TOUR player who works with a number of today’s players on the mental game. “None of them are right or wrong (in their choice of knowing or not knowing). It is what is right or wrong for that player. One of the key concepts out here on TOUR is know thyself.â€� Adam Scott, a 13-time TOUR winner, decided in early 2011 to start actively doing something about his weak holes, particularly in the big events. It started at Augusta National, where he knew the first hole had the better of him. In his 32 rounds on the hole to that point he was 17-over and had never made birdie. “It’s a big mental thing,â€� Scott says. “Sometimes you can trick yourself to change the way you process things inside your head and other times you can’t. “It is an incredibly severe green for the first hole of the Masters,â€� he continues, “when at least for me that’s as nervous as I get at any hole, any time, any situation of the year.â€� When he turned up at Augusta in 2011 for the first time with veteran caddie Steve Williams, Scott had earmarked the first hole for special attention. “I went out there for an hour and a half on Wednesday afternoon and putted around like it was the practice putting green,â€� he says. “Felt like I know every spot on this green and I am going to be comfortable with every putt. “Of course I get it up there in the first hole of the tournament and three-putted it for double bogey anyway. By the end of Sunday, I lost to Charl Schwartzel by two shots.â€� After that Scott changed tactics again. With Williams, he decided to start trying to pretend the opening hole of the big events was in fact the 72nd hole, and par was needed to win. Pretend? Really? “You have got to do something,â€� Scott says. “Just pretending it is going to go away doesn’t work. If you truly take yourself there, you are standing on the 72nd hole, sure you might be slightly nervous or adrenaline pumping or anxious but there is a lot of confidence as you’ve played 71 really good holes to be at that point and you’re not doubting yourself.â€� In 2013, with his new mindset, Scott did not play conservatively in the opening round at Augusta after his tee ball landed in the fairway trap on the right. He thought of it as the final hole. His approach found the green, and he rolled in his first birdie there in his 41st try. He would win the first green jacket for Australia three days later. Stick that up your nemesis. Joining Scott in wanting to tackle their problems head-on were numerous players, including Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and this week’s defending champion, of sorts, at the World Golf Championships-FedEx. St Jude Invitational at TPC Southwind: Justin Thomas. All three actively asked for their worst holes. McIlroy has issues at PGA National on the Par-4 6th and the Par-3 17th, as well as the Par-4 10th at Augusta. The Northern Irishman is 13-over on each hole. Thomas has a small sample size but will be looking for improvement on the final hole at Muirfield Village, where he is nine over for his career. Day also has issues at Muirfield Village – where he is a member – on the par-3 16th (+12). “I would feel very mentally weak if I didn’t want to know,â€� McIlroy says. “I’ll embrace it and I’ll try to get better with that information. “I want to know to maybe think about a new strategy or way to play that hole.â€� Thomas echoes those thoughts. “I want to know for the same reason I look at my stats,â€� says the 2017 FedExCup champion. “If I don’t know when I’m not excelling, how can I practice getting better at it? “Somebody would be lying to you if they said there were no tee shots they felt uncomfortable on,â€� Thomas adds. “There are plenty I get to that I don’t like just because of wind direction. I can probably think of one at every course. “So we play differently – more conservatively on those holes. Whether it’s hitting iron off the tee or bailing out on the correct side, whatever we have to do to make a par and move on.â€� Day says those who stay in the dark will likely remain there. For instance, he certainly plays close attention to the 18th hole at Quail Hollow … he took an eight there while in contention at the 2017 PGA Championship “If you don’t want to know,â€� the 12-time winner says, “you’re not going to improve. You have to be open to it.â€�  McIlroy tries to use the uncomfortable feeling to his advantage. “Some shots just don’t fit your eye,â€� he says, “or they make you uncomfortable and then if you hit a good shot it’s almost a mini little victory and you feel invigorated to get moving forward again.â€� McIlroy’s trick is to imagine himself in practice, rather than the furnace of competition. “Imagine you are at the driving range,â€� he says. “Focus on making a good swing, making good contact, simplifying it down to that and then let it go. “Whatever happens, happens,â€� he continues. “I’ve always thought that if there are such things as golf gods … if you make a committed swing then things will always work out for you. Because at least you’ve done what you could do.â€� Sports psychologist Smith actively teaches his subjects to have two separate pre-shot routines: One for when they are comfortable, and one for when they aren’t. “Every time a player is uncomfortable there is a physiological dump that goes with that,â€� Smith explains. “It causes increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, increased breathing rate, so the physiological response is already there. If they don’t do anything about that, then they’re not going to swing as freely or with the correct amount of tension.â€� Smith has his players acknowledge the inevitable self-talk that comes as they approach tough holes. “The thoughts jumping in are not the problem,â€� he says. “It is what you do with them. The thought staying through the whole routine … that’s a problem. On a shot that they are comfortable with, they can flow into it without having to breathe, without having to manage their grip pressure, they can focus on their target and they are likely to make a good swing. “Not so on the shot that bugs them,â€� he continues. “… so acknowledge it and now have a plan in place to work on your physiology. Your breathing, grip pressure control, and self-talk. In shots that bug you, self-talk starts with don’t do this, don’t do that. They have to work harder on routine number two to focus on what they want to do, not what they want to avoid.â€� Paul Casey knows those demon thoughts all too well. The Englishman starts thinking about the infamous sixth hole at Carnoustie – and others – well before he gets to them. But like Smith suggests, Casey says you just have to man-up. “There are holes that will sit in the back of your mind as you play the course,â€� he admits. “I know I’ve got to play that damn hole … and it can play on you and it can affect other holes. “Hogan’s Alley at Carnoustie … it’s bloody awful. Out of bounds down the left and the wind is always off your left shoulder. Shocker. You can’t not see or think of the trouble. You can’t not see the out of bounds or the bunker or the water or whatever it is. “So, it’s a case of accepting that and then making a conscious decision: OK, what am I going to do? And being so focused and determined to produce whatever positive outcome you are looking for. Saying that phrase, whatever it might be … I AM going to hit it down the right side of the fairway with a nice two-yard draw. If you try that, the bad one is still going to be better than if you are just trying to avoid something.â€� The brutal 18th at TPC Sawgrass is a common nemesis hole, and that hold true even for those who have won THE PLAYERS Championship, like veteran Matt Kuchar. But with his confidence high thanks to two wins already this season, he was happy to know. “I’ve played it very well on the 72nd hole with the opportunity to win it,â€� he says. “That tee shot is not as intimidating when you’re in control of your golf ball. “But it’s just a very hard tee shot, especially for me, playing a fade,â€� Kuchar adds. “It is one where I have thought about making sure I have a shot that doesn’t go left. That makes me feel a whole lot more comfortable there. I tend to play it a bit aggressively. I tend to play driver as opposed to maybe 3-wood or 2-iron. Maybe some stats say it should be more of a 2-iron. Now that I know, I should perhaps strategize it.â€� But 18 isn’t the only hole to terrorize some at Sawgrass. The infamous par-3 island green is one multiple major winners’ nemesis (not Woods) and the par-3 8th has given some fits also. Phil Mickelson and a few others might be happy not to be returning to Firestone Country Club in Akron this week – where this event was held almost exclusively from 1999 to 2018. That’s because Mickelson is an incredible 33 over on the 13th hole at the infamous Firestone South. The ninth and 18th at Akron also caused trouble for more than a few players. Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course, which hosts the Valspar Championship, also gets a few guys. The 16th, especially, has bitten a handful of the TOUR’s best. The finishing hole at Bay Hill, which hosts the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, has been the setting for several Tiger highlights. But it has also proven a killer for both a major champion and a former FedExCup winner. One man’s pleasure is another’s pain. It’s how you deal with it that matters.

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