By Ryan Bologna
Professional athletes are creatures of habit, and that is especially true in golf. We are going to dive into some of the most interesting rituals we have seen from professional players, and not the obvious ones like Tiger Woods wearing red on Sunday because that is boring and everyone already knows about that. Let’s look into some of the most interesting rituals we have seen professional golfers use.
Davis Love III 1964 Coin Collection
Love carried 1964 pennies and dimes in his bag to mark his balls. It became a well-known ritual to the point that people would give him those coins when they found them. Love’s reason for linking those coins was he was born in 1964 and that 64 was a good golf score. That is not too crazy, but the most interesting part about it all is that Love does not believe himself to be superstitious. He was asked by a reporter in the 1980s if he was superstitious and he said no, only to later remember that he only carries coins from that specific year.
Bryson DeChambeau Never Practices On Course
The only time DeChambeau plays on the course is during competition. His practice routine is like no other. It involves going to the practice range and repeating the same shot over and over again to make it the most repeatable motion. He claims this is his approach because he does not want his play to be impacted by his emotional state. In his mind, a more repeatable shot leads to consistent performances regardless of his emotional state. Nearly every ritual is meant to give a player an edge in the mental game, while DeChambeau’s practices are meant to eliminate the mental factor completely.
Because DeChambeau practices mastering that one shot, his thought process during competition is different than anyone else. For specific shots, he thinks about how far he needs to deviate from the shot he mastered on the practice field. It is not about picturing how the ball should fly and land, it is about getting the right feel in his swing for the shot that is required.
Retief Goosen’s Golf Ball Ritual
This one is simple, as Goosen uses different numbered balls on each day of a tournament. On day one he uses balls with the number four, on day two he uses balls labeled with three, and keeps going down a number each day until the final round when he is down to number one. It is seen as a good luck charm, and many golfers use low-numbered balls in that way, but Goosen is the most well-known example.
Lee Trevino Does Not Use Yellow Tees
Having a lucky color is not uncommon, but Trevino is a little different than the rest in his preference. Instead of having a specific lucky color when teeing off, he explicitly avoids yellow tees because he believes that yellow is the color of cowardice. Any other color is fine, but yellow is where he draws the line. Given how common it is for players to not like using red tees it is surprising that Trevino does not have a preference or strong feeling about any other colors.
Picture Credit: Jacob Gralton
