Attitude

A while ago on 606 I posted a thread on players who you thought would make a comeback.
I listed about 5 golfers who were a bit in the doldrums.
Interesting to see three of them playing at Fancourt.

When I sum up a golfer one of the main things I look for is 'attitude'.
Difficult word to bottle, but I know what it is, even though I would have a job to explain it.

What do you look for in a player and what would be the most important ingredient.

Doon, I like seeing a player that knows how to have a laugh/smile on course and doesn't take himself too seriously. Which immediately takes out you know who.

If a player has a smile on his face and seems to be enjoying a bit of banter with the gallery/caddie etc, it means he's feeling good about himself. yes we know players need to focus or get in the zone or put on their game face etc, but if you can do both ..........

As well as what SR already mentions I like to see someone that's balanced in their attitude towards good and bad shorts, no over the top outward anger e.g. Club throwing our verbal outbursts, likewise none of the ridiculous fist pumping and cheering themselvesa on good shots. Someone like Mickelson is a good balance or Donald.

I also like to see quiet composure and strength of character to hang in there when its not going your way, the likes of Stricker and Westwood who have brought their careers back to the pinnacle of world golf having been down into the abyss.

You must also be gracious whether in victory or defeat. Maybe its down to these qualites that I always list Stricker, Donald, Westwood amonsgt my preferred players!

What do you look for in a player and what would be the most important ingredient..

Passion combined with patience and, absolutely, no spitting!

Patience is a good call Gael.
Passion is a funny one I have watched many good players who don't appear to have any. It's like going to the office for some.

Luck has to be high up there.
Who was the politician who asked future cabinet ministers if they were lucky, Churchill I think?
I was once described to a semi-final opponent as a lucky golfer. I gave him a bit of a hammering and he said that he was waiting to see my shots bounce over bunkers and off trees!

Doon, I guess the best example of the sort of golfing passion to which I refer would be of the Sevvy kind not the aggressive kind as exampled by the likes of Tiger Woods.

As for luck, as someone once said to me ... ya make yer own luck in this game!

I think that determination to win, is a factor that all big players have, or to put it another way determination not to loose, you just need to watch Tiger to see that passion/determination he has in every tournament he enters.

There's a lot to be said for passion. Without that desire and the emotion that it brings success is a hard thing to achieve.

But there are different ways of channeling that emotion and passion. My personal attitude is to laugh at myself rather than throw clubs, shout, swear etc.... but in others it comes out in a different manner.

What I'm trying to say is that the attitude of the player can be the same... but they are channeling the negative responses in different ways which are appropriate to their personality. What works for one doesn't work for another.

I will always prefer to see someone shrug off negative results on the course with a positive reaction it can't always be the case. And if a quick club throw works then fine. Just don't do it so that it disrupts others or causes other issues (such as danger to the gallery). That's when it becomes too much in my opinion.

FYI... I will be teaching my little slug to release his negativity on the course to aid his performance in golf (or whatever other sport he chooses to play) but won't be deciding the best way for him to do so. I will provide an example as I think I'm pretty good at coping with that sort of thing but it's going to be his personality that determines that.