Golf is a psychological sport, and to this, nobody will argue. 

It’s simply that not everybody agrees on the maths, so to talk. 

To start out right here, Bernhard Langer is a dynamo on the 50–and-over circuit, having only recently set the PGA Tour Champions’ mark for most-ever wins (46), and the dialog across the 65-year-old German has been advanced, although actually only one phrase. How? It was no completely different forward of this week’s Kaulig Firms Championship.

“You’re not the one one who’s requested that query,” Langer stated. “It’s not one factor. You’ll be able to’t say, effectively, I attribute my success to my caddie or to my spouse or to my laborious work or to my self-discipline or to the staff round me or to my genes. No, it’s a complete conglomerate of issues that is part of it. There’s the coach, the caddie, the staff, the household, however there’s the dedication, the self-discipline, the laborious work.

“I work out day by day and have been for a lot of, a few years. There’s too many issues. I’ve been blessed by God with an unimaginable hand-eye coordination, and I’m good at any sport, have been all the time. So that can actually assist me, there’s little question about it in my thoughts.

“Whether or not I play tennis or pingpong or snowboarding or throwing one thing or catching one thing, I used to be all the time good at every part. That may assist you to to a sure stage, however from that time on, it’s laborious work and self-discipline, having the fitting individuals in your aspect, getting good recommendation and lots of different issues.”

What in regards to the motivation to proceed on? Has that performed a component?

“Yeah, that’s one other factor not everyone has, and I believe it was given to me,” Langer stated. “The drive I’ve could be very uncommon. To be turning 66 in a month from now and nonetheless wish to enhance and get higher and compete with the younger guys out right here, many individuals don’t have that. You have a look at Byron Nelson, his drive was to win sufficient cash to purchase a farm and be a farmer. So everyone’s completely different.

“In my case, I like to compete, I really like the sport of golf and I’m wholesome and ok to do it, so I’m going to take pleasure in it.”

It’s at this level within the dialog the place the discuss began concerning the aforementioned psychological sport, so the next query was one. And Langer had some ideas. 

One among golf’s most cordial souls, he additionally isn’t shy from telling it like it’s.

“Simply to comply with up on clearly sports activities psychology,” a reporter began, “you in fact talked about the method, which is in fact essential. In your success this yr, how a lot of your success would you attribute to your psychological sport?”

“That’s unimaginable to reply, sorry,” Langer stated. “I hear individuals say effectively, golf is 90 % psychological, that’s simply — for those who say that, you don’t have any IQ, I’m sorry. It’s 90 % psychological for those who put two gamers along with the identical — on the identical stage of approach and expertise and functionality. Then it turns into very a lot psychological as a result of what will differentiate the 2 guys which might be simply taking part in on the very prime of their sport. So then I might agree.

“But when I take you on tomorrow or right this moment, I don’t know the way good you’re however it doesn’t matter, you possibly can be the very best psychological and I may very well be one of many worst, I’m nonetheless going to beat you on the market simply due to the distinction in approach we have now and the completely different experiences we have now.”

From there, the questions turned to his golf swing. Notably, he stated he performed the primary seven years of his profession on a self-taught swing.

Is Langer appropriate? Relies on your perspective, proper? Langer’s reasoning is stable, although the thoughts is a mysterious place. Who’s to say in Langer’s instance what the result may very well be if the match had been performed in entrance of hundreds of individuals, for thousands and thousands of {dollars}? We’d no less than be curious there. 

We’ll finish issues this manner: So who truly got here up with the saying? It’s been stated many instances, some ways, in any case. 

It was probably baseball legend Yogi Berra, who phrased it this manner:

“Baseball is 90 % psychological. The opposite half is bodily.”

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Journal. In his function, he’s chargeable for enhancing, writing and creating tales throughout the golf area. And when he’s not writing about methods to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native might be taking part in the sport, hitting the ball left, proper and brief, and consuming a chilly beer to scrub away his rating. You’ll be able to attain out to him about any of those subjects — his tales, his sport or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.