28 Aug Do you have the 4 qualities necessary for excellence?
Tiger woods intrigues me! He has a rare combination of qualities that he has mastered to handle pain, fear, pressure and disappointment on the golf course. Let me share what I observed when he played in an important PGA Tournament.
Tiger was several strokes behind the leaders going into the last round at the Barclay Tournament; a perfect spot for his kind of aggressive play. He seems to get inspired and focused when he “smells a win” close at hand. I imagine realizing this force of nature is storming towards them must be intimidating for the rest of the field.
However, on the back nine and after several holes of play, Tiger unleashed a powerful drive and crumbled to his knees in wincing pain. He had stressed an already vulnerable back area as a result of the tremendous torque he generates in his swing. The most powerful golfers on the Tour are capable of hitting a ball almost 200 mph off the tee! That 12th hole swing cost him.
For the next several holes, he struggled in pain to keep his focus on his game. One stroke at a time, he slowly completed the next several holes. Still behind by three strokes when going into the last several holes, Tiger birdied the 16th and 17th holes. If he birdied the last hole, he would be tied with the leader and go into a playoff. He was about 20 feet away from the pin when he putted. His stance appeared stiff, probably due to severe back spasms. He stroked the ball…straight toward the pin, only to stop dead one inch from the hole. It was not to be, not on this day.
Beside his playing, what impressed me about Tiger was what he was bringing to the game during these tense moments. He possessed Focus, Grit and Emotional Control. Focus has to due with keeping your eye on the target, Grit with indomitable spirit and pluck, and Emotional Control with keeping fear and anger at a low level during action. In addition, Tiger brings a fourth quality to this trio of qualities: Vision. He is a man possessed by being the best in class every time he plays. In his style of play, there is no second place or trying. He is totally launched like a 200 mph golf ball flying off the tee!
I think anyone who possesses these 4 qualities will be successful in whatever they attempt to do. All four are necessary for excellence. People such as local “Navigators for Success” Dick Vermeil, Sam Katz, and Larry Flick, possess to some degree or another a combination of these qualities in action. You may want to check them out and see what I mean.
How about you? Do you have any of these qualities? Which are missing or need improvement?