Dr Saul L. Miller is one of the world’s leading sports psychologists whose innovative work in enhancing performance and team building has helped individuals, teams and businesses achieve success whilst dealing effectively with pressure, stress, and change.
His clientele, past and present, over the past forty years or so include …
- Golfers on the PGA Tour.
- Teams from the NHL (National Hockey League).
- Teams from the NFL (National Football League).
- Athletes across an array of Olympic sports.
- Teams from the NBA (National Basketball Association).
- Organisations such as Honda, Motorola, Nike and Visa.
He is also the acclaimed author of several books on performance and well-being.
Through the wonders of a business communication platform, I caught up with Dr Miller, who is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, to chat about his latest book Winning Golf: The Mental Game … and much more.
Hope you enjoy …
The First Tee
(Golfing Herald): I teed off by asking Dr Miller what inspired him to write Winning Golf: The Mental Game.
(Saul Miller): I have been working as a performance sports psychologist for over 40 years and I have worked with probably three to four dozen sports in that time. So many friends and acquaintances would say to me “you should do a book on golf”. I have written books about performing under pressure and why teams are successful. I have written books on Ice hockey … a sport which is almost like a religion here in Canada! I had a number of golf clients and it just seemed OK, let’s get down to it and write this book … and that’s what I did.
Focus, Feeling and Attitude
(Golfing Herald): So, have the ideas for this book been bubbling around for several years?
(Saul Miller): Absolutely … as I said I have been doing this (work) for decades and so there are stories and anecdotes from working with golfers over the years. When I do a book like this it is usually a couple of years commitment. Somebody once said that the art of writing is re-writing! So, it takes some time to shape it (out). But I have developed over the years a very distinctive approach and it is certainly applicable to golf … in that, I am working to help athletes and golfers create the right focus, the right feeling, and the right attitude. Those are the three key elements. People talk about golf being one of the most mentally challenging of all sports and I think it is. But the emphasis, be it in teaching or in performing, is so much more on the mechanics of the swing and the physics of the sport … and the mental side is virtually neglected. Arnold Palmer said …
“Success in golf depends less on strength of the body than on strength of the mind”
… and Jim Flick, who was a great instructor for many years said …
“I found the player with the best mind trumps the player with the best swing”
I can tune onto the internet on any day and popping up on my screen will be adverts on how to correct your slice … just sign up and we will correct your slice! There are a number of keys I work with that we can talk about. One of which is the way energy comes to us and flows through us. If we are tense, if we are creating tension, we interrupt that smooth flow of energy. I always say to people that the ball has no energy of its own … it gets it from us. If we are true to ourselves then that energy is coming to us and flowing through us and then we have more of an ability to hit that ball where we want to hit it.
Target Audience
(Golfing Herald): I believe that many of the practical exercises and principles that you cover in great detail within the book can be applied to everyday life and not just to the game of golf.
(Saul Miller): I totally agree. Sometimes when I am working with younger athletes I might say to their parents “because they are motivated to become a good athlete or become a good golfer they are going to listen to and work with these techniques … but these things apply to everything in life”. If you have the right focus, feeling and attitude and you are able to manage your emotions then you are a step ahead in anything you do.
(Golfing Herald): I would like to chat about the underpinning principles of your book in more detail but just taking a small step back, who would you say is your target audience/reader for this book?
(Saul Miller): If I think of my clients, I have some young golfers just getting into the sport. I have some recreational golfers who have been playing golf for decades. I also have some professional golfers who are on the tour or competing to be on a tour. So, I think the book is applicable to anyone.
The Right Focus
(Golfing Herald): You have briefly touched upon the three key principles of the mental game, namely the right focus, right feeling and right attitude. For the benefit of people who are reading this article and who in turn might wish to purchase the book, could you expand upon each?
(Saul Miller): By the right focus, I am talking about how people think. There are mechanical thoughts such as aligning properly, being slow on the backswing, and so on. There are strategy thoughts such as how you are going to play the hole. What the book is heavily loaded with is very much personal thoughts … how I think about myself as a golfer, as a performer. I always advise clients to think of four or five reasons why they are good at golf or why they are becoming good at golf … and what are their strengths in the game? These are things you want to be talking to yourself about. One of the very basic rules is that we get more of what we think about. They say that the average time to play a round of golf is between 3 and 4 hours and yet within that timeframe, people are only actually addressing and hitting the ball for maybe half an hour. But the mind is going on continuously and it is running thoughts that are often counterproductive, distracting, and everything else! So right focus creates the thoughts that are going to help us perform at our best. The right focus also embraces visualisation … and there are several aspects of visualisation. One thing that many instructors do is to encourage somebody to see the shot they want to make … see the trajectory, see the landing, and so on. But then there are also ways to visualise yourself. I have what I call stimulating images where I ask golfers to “pick an animal that gives you the feelings you would want to have on the course”.
Predator or Prey
(Golfing Herald): Dare I ask what responses you receive to this (unusual) question?
(Saul Miller): It is very interesting … about 99% of elite performers pick predators. And I say what is the difference between the golfer who is the predator and the golfer who is the prey? The predator steps out and addresses the ball to make something happen … they are seeing the shot they want to make and they are projecting their energy down there to make that happen. The golfer who is the prey doesn’t want to miss and doesn’t want to make a mistake. If you address the ball and you get up there and you are thinking “don’t hit it into the trees”. As I said earlier, we get more of what we think about. Not only do you create a pattern of that but you also create tension in the body which interrupts that natural flow of energy and interrupts your coordination.
(Golfing Herald): So, the next time I am playing in a competition at my home club (Beverley & East Riding) I need to focus on being a predator!
(Saul Miller): Absolutely. I would say about two-thirds of elite golfers would pick one of the big cats … they pick tigers or lions. You know, we have Tiger Woods who is one of the greatest golfers ever. Jack Nicklaus, the Golden Bear. Greg Norman was the Great White Shark. We don’t get people picking the animals that are extremely tentative! It is believing that you can and playing to your strengths. Seeing the shots that you want to make. That is what the right focus is all about … training yourself to think that way.
The Right Feeling
(Golfing Herald): Brilliant … so let’s move on to the second principle of the mental game, namely the right feeling.
(Saul Miller): The right feeling is really about learning to manage emotion effectively and create a smooth flow of energy through the body. In the way we are taught, the golf swing itself, in many cases, creates tension. Canadian professional golfer Jimmy Nelford once said to me “you twist yourself into an uptight position” and he felt that causes more emotional tension. One of the best keys that I have in working to create the right feeling is working with breathing. In the book, I describe this conscious breathing technique in real detail so that people get it. I encourage people who are reading the book, to read this breathing technique (out loud) and put it on their phone or put it on something where they can record it so that they can play it back and listen to this breathing process. It is really interesting to me that Tom Watson once said …
“When I learnt to breathe, I learnt to win”
… and Curtis Strange said …
“Under pressure, the most important thing I have to remember is to breathe”
Golfers like Tom Watson and Curtis Strange intuitively, instinctively found that the way to keep themselves in a good feeling place was to work on their breathing. People are highly motivated and really want to do well but sometimes they tense up at pressure moments. I always say that people tend to do under pressure what they have previously done under pressure. You will see some golfers who are performing fairly well but when they get down to the 16th, 17th and 18th and they are in the competition they start to tense up more. They will probably do the same again the next time unless they over-train themselves away from the golf course … essentially to do a ten-minute breathing meditation that gives them more control so that under pressure they can simply take a breath and they are in this optimal zone. In the book, I have this key graph which shows the relationship between performance and emotional intensity.
When emotional intensity is very low, performance is low. But as people get more and more dialled in and maybe there is a twinge of angst, or they start to get tighter and start to squeeze the golf club and do some of their bad habits, then performance starts to drop off. So, it is about finding that optimal place and being able to get back there … and awareness and training make that possible. Over the years I have developed the process and know these things work. In the book, there are probably seventy different world-class golfers who are commenting on the same thing. So, it’s not just some sports psychologist just going off somewhere and saying these things, but somebody who has worked with a lot of people over a long period of time sharing some of these techniques which are absolutely corroborated by what the professional golfers in the book are saying.
Remarkable Cast
(Golfing Herald): One of the questions I was quite keen to ask today is linked to the comment you have just made about what professional golfers say at various points throughout the book. You have a section titled “The Remarkable Cast of Characters in Winning Golf: The Mental Game” which is almost a who’s who of golf … so how did you tackle assimilating all of the quotes, stories and anecdotes from this “Remarkable Cast” into the book?
(Saul Miller): Through research. Through going online and listening to interviews of what different golfers have said at times. Reading golf periodicals … and reading Golfing Herald. To see what different people have to say and find comments that reinforce or make the point that I am really trying to get across. It wasn’t too difficult as good golfers have found these things for themselves.
(Golfing Herald): One of my favourite quotes in the book is from Max Homa, currently one of the best players in the world … and I paraphrase …
“I realised that I was not spending enough time working on my brain … and at times it is very lonely in your brain whilst on the golf course”
That very much endorses your earlier point about what percentage of time we are actually playing golf during a round … and so the potential is there for lots of distractions.
(Saul Miller): Actually, there is more in the book from Max Homa where he talks about gratitude. As you said earlier there are so many life lessons in this book … an appreciation of the opportunity to be well, to get out on the golf course, to play a sport you love. Gratitude for the people that support you … golf team, family, etc. Max Homa says he has these gratitude thoughts and during an interview said he has them about six or seven times a day! It certainly made me think I should be a lot more grateful! And the quote of his that you have stated … one does have to work to have a mindset that is supportive and that is comfortable. It does get kind of lonely. I think the two sports that come to mind that I have worked with that have this sort of lonely feeling are golf and tennis. You are out there by yourself, unlike a team sport where there are all these people to support you. If you are having an off day the rest of the team can pick you up. Not so in golf and not so in tennis.
The Right Attitude
(Golfing Herald): Returning to the principles that underpin Winning Golf: The Mental Game, the third and final principle is the right attitude.
(Saul Miller): One of the things I talk about in the book in relation to the right attitude is commitment. There is a great lesson in commitment and that is being the best you can be. Whatever comes up you have to use it, and by that, I mean if you are performing well you use it to acknowledge yourself. If you make a good shot or you finish a hole really well, acknowledge it and say “yeah, that’s me”. Using it in a positive way builds confidence. If things are not going well then use it to improve your process. Rather than saying “I can’t make a shot”, work at changing your process. Winners find a way to use everything … if they have a poor round, they are out there working to improve their feeling, improve their focus, improve their attitude, improve their swing … whatever it is. But if you start running negative thoughts then you become self-critical or project anger onto the course … or it’s the people I am playing with or it’s my caddy. That’s not helpful at all. What can I do to make myself better? If you are committed then the only option you have is to use it (commitment), whatever comes up. To make yourself a more consistent and better player. Another aspect of the right attitude is confidence. We all know that if you are playing well, success builds confidence. But people sometimes overlook that preparation builds confidence. We know that if you are well physically you are going to feel a little more confident. I think Tiger Woods was certainly one of the people who brought into public consciousness the idea that fitness is something that is going to enhance performance. But there is this whole mental area where I think if you work more on positive focus and have control of your emotions then I think your confidence grows.
Homework
(Golfing Herald): As you say … at the elite level of whatever sport, there is very little to separate the top players or teams (technical, fitness, etc.) and thus the right focus, feeling and attitude is what can make all the difference between winning and losing.
(Saul Miller): One of the American NFL players whose team won the championship was asked during an interview why the team was so successful. He said that one of the things we believe is …
“Separation by preparation”
… and the way we prepare is what separates us from others. You can separate yourself up or you can separate yourself down. I think by good mental preparation you build confidence and you separate yourself up. Going back to what we talked about earlier about being a predator … I often say if a lion is chasing a zebra and the zebra manages to get away, what does the lion do? The lion simply turns around and looks for another. It is always the next shot … there is no negative self-judgement. But we hold onto too frequently the last poor shot. It then affects the next shot. That is why one of the other right-feeling techniques is what I call the release reflex, which is really teaching people how to let go of negative thoughts and re-focus on the positive. Again, there are two parts to a lot of these techniques …
- Understanding what we are saying.
- Doing the homework, doing the work to strengthen that element.
And so, the book has several exercises of homework for people to work on. Doing the work builds up the habit strength so that one can actually have a more positive focus, more emotional control and a better attitude as they play.
Honesty
(Golfing Herald): In the book, you also link goal setting with (some of) the exercises … when I read those sections in the book my overriding thought was that you must be honest with yourself when answering the questions and setting goals … in particular, where are you today and where would you like to be. And if you do, then there is the scope and potential for not only quick wins but also establishing the framework to achieve medium and long-term targets and objectives.
(Saul Miller): I think if you have a clear sense of what you are working towards and you put in the work then you will move forward. And absolutely it is important, to be honest with yourself.
Love
(Golfing Herald): Another phrase in the book that you use in connection with the right attitude is …
“It is also infused with a love of golf and the never-ending challenge the sport provides”
This will resonate with all golfers, whatever their ability. I just love all aspects of the sport … playing, competitions, fresh air and exercise, friendship, conversations and banter on the course and in the clubhouse … and so much more.
(Saul Miller): To me, the core human emotions are love and fear … and fear causes contraction and interferes with flow. If you can bring love to the game and love to play the sport, and you can love yourself … and the easiest way to love yourself is to simply take a breath. It’s just a nice thing to do. Bill Walker, who is a friend of mine, is in his nineties and shoots his age. He plays three or four times a week. I asked him what is it that helps him play so well and play so much … and Bill said he just loves the game of golf. Bill tells me that he has watched people over the years get upset … wrapping their club around a tree or breaking their club. He tells this amazingly amusing story where this one guy got so enraged with his performance that he picked up his golf bag and threw it in the pond and stormed off to his car … only to remember that his car keys were in his golf bag!
Exclusive Club
(Golfing Herald): That is a great story … as are the (conversational) stories you cover in the chapter about the handful of golfers who are in the Sub 60 Club.
(Saul Miller): It’s funny how I got into that as a former (Ice hockey) client of mine was friendly with Rhein Gibson, who shot the lowest round on a regulation course … he shot a 55! And so, he introduced me to Rhein and I started this conversation with him. Then there was another young fellow, Alexander Hughes, who also shot a 55. I then started to explore all the other golfers on the tour who had shot under 60. Both Rhein and Alexander were playing more recreational rounds. They were just relaxed and they were not forcing it and amazing things started to happen in their respective rounds. It wasn’t like there was this intense pressure … but if you can make it enjoyable, I think you can create a context in which you can express yourself with more ease and ability.
(Golfing Herald): Very few golfers will ever reach that exclusive Sub 60 Club but I took away from this chapter tips and disciplines that might help improve your game, even for a high handicapper such as myself. You just mentioned that one of your clients was an Ice hockey player which ties in nicely with my next point, in that you also illustrate the portability of the mental game through the golfing stories of (retired) NHL and NFL players.
(Saul Miller): As you said before, these concepts apply to everything in life and that is essentially what these sports people say. They have performed in this absolutely intense swirl of professional sports and they have learned skills to be successful. When they became recreational golfers some of these very same skills were there for them. One of the Ice hockey players said it is a little easier playing hockey than golf because if you get annoyed in hockey you just go and hit somebody! You certainly can’t do that on a golf course.
Fantasy Fourball
(Golfing Herald): (Golfing Herald): I have certainly never seen that happen during a round of golf … and hopefully never will. Moving away from the book, for now, I like my guests to participate in selecting a Fantasy Fourball … and over the past four years, there have been some fascinating selections! So, in addition to yourself, who would you select for a Fantasy Fourball? The people you choose can come from any walk of life … could be a historical figure … the choice is unlimited!
(Saul Miller): That is an enjoyable and thought-provoking question! Could I have a few moments to think?
(Golfing Herald): Absolutely …
(Saul Miller): I think I have to be consistent with Winning Golf: The Mental Game in that my choice of Fourball companions should represent each of the areas we have talked about … creating the right feeling, the right focus, and the right attitude. I would also like one of the three to be a golfer.
(Golfing Herald): I like it … so who is your (first) pick to represent the right feeling?
(Saul Miller): It is a choice between Lee Trevino, Jack Nicklaus, and Nancy Lopez … all excellent golfers and seemingly friendly people. I will choose Nancy Lopez. Nancy is a wonderful woman and was a great golfer. I like her play happy and better golf message. And I’m sure if I asked, Nancy would give me a couple of golf tips and do it in a friendly supportive way. And of course, she contributed to the book.
(Golfing Herald): As you say Nancy Lopez is one of the greats. She won several major championships and has been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Who is your next pick, representing the right focus?
(Saul Miller): It would have to be either Albert Einstein or Mark Twain … and my choice would be Einstein.
(Golfing Herald): Why Albert Einstein?
(Saul Miller): He was a great thinker and a kind and creative soul. I also quote him in the book. Like many golfers, I believe high-performance imagery is a key part of the right focus. Einstein valued imagination. He is quoted as saying …
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions”
He also said …
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them”
Good advice but too many golfers try to do just that.
(Golfing Herald): Similar to that last quote he is also attributed with saying …
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”
… which most certainly applies to golf!
Who is your third and final selection, this time representing the right attitude?
(Saul Miller): It is between Winston Churchill, Dwight Eisenhower, who warned us about the rise of the military-industrial complex, and Amy Purdy … a remarkable woman who at 19 years of age lost both her legs, both her kidneys and her spleen due to illness and yet returned to snow-boarding and went on to win a paralympic medal and later a world championship. Her determination and “yes I can” attitude are inspiring. But in the end, I will choose Churchill. Not sure how friendly he might be but I admire his will, determination and humour … and he might want to stop for some quality refreshment after 9 holes!
(Golfing Herald): In the United Kingdom there are a number of golf courses which have brilliant halfway houses serving a variety of quality foods and drinks …. in particular, Sunningdale and Royal Birkdale and I am sure they would accommodate the refreshment needs of Winston Churchill!
(Saul Miller): Am I permitted to have a caddy?
(Golfing Herald): That is a first for Fantasy Fourball! As the rules for this are ‘fluid’ then the answer is yes. Who do you have in mind?
(Saul Miller): It would be a toss-up between my son Garfield, who is my favourite golf partner and Marilyn Monroe. In the end, I went with an inspiring appearance… and it was all Marilyn!
Clients
(Golfing Herald): I have to say that you have definitely raised the bar with your Fantasy Fourball, even before you sought permission from the caddy master to employ Marilyn Monroe … great fun, thanks so much. Returning to Winning Golf: The Mental Game, you make reference to engagement and experiences with various clients. Are you able to share any stories from one or more of your golfing clients?
(Saul Miller): I think it is probably best I don’t talk about my current clients as they might not appreciate people knowing I am working with them. Some of the people in the past who I have worked with have, I think, been quite successful … Nancy Lopez for one and in Canada, Richard Zokol, who won on the PGA Tour. I quote Jimmy Nelford a couple of times in the book. He was a client who I think made something like thirty-five straight cuts on the PGA Tour … but then he had this terrible water ski accident where a motorboat went over him and tore up his arm. He almost lost his arm. He got a qualifying exemption for a year or two but he was never quite the same. I do tell a story about when he was playing in the LA (Los Angeles) Open and I was walking the course with him. I remember he was struggling to come back from injury at this point and that was probably why I started working with him. He made a good shot but it bounced into a poor lie. It was the kind of thing where you could think “I am just not getting a break”. But he took a breath and made the next shot. I tell clients that you can either say “what the heck am I supposed to do here” or say “here is a chance to make a great shot”.
The Nineteenth
(Golfing Herald): Sadly, we have reached the Nineteenth … to finish, do you have any more books in the pipeline?
(Saul Miller): I absolutely do. It is one I have been working on for I guess a dozen years at least. It is kind of like a memoir. I have worked with clients from about forty different sports and I have travelled all over the world with these sports. Also, my wife and I drove from England to India and we spent almost two years on the road. And over the years there have been some really foolish, stupid and embarrassing things that have happened! So, there are a lot of stories which I am trying to blend together.
(Golfing Herald): Sounds like you might have sufficient material for a memoir and a memoir sequel! Seriously though, it has been a pleasure to meet up with you and chat. All the best with “Winning Golf: The Mental Game” which I thoroughly enjoyed reading, and I look forward to reading your memoir when it is eventually published.
**************
Winning Golf: The Mental Game by Dr Saul L. Miller can be purchased in Canada (from ECW Press), the United States (from Amazon), the United Kingdom (from Amazon), and other Amazon Marketplaces.
Acknowledgements
And finally, a massive thanks to Anita Ragunathan, Digital Marketing Associate at ECW Press, Toronto, Canada for permitting me to use …
- images of the front and back covers from Winning Golf: The Mental Game.
- the graphical representation of Performance vs. Emotional Intensity.
- the profile photograph of Dr Saul L. Miller.
For all the other photographs, attributions are as follows …
- Nancy Lopez ~ Ted Van Pelt, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.
- Albert Einstein ~ Madelgarius, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.
- Winston Churchill ~ BiblioArchives / LibraryArchives, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.
- Marilyn Monroe ~ USMC Archives, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.
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