Woods was a child prodigy who began to play golf at the age of two. In 1978, he putted against comedian Bob Hope in a television appearance on The Mike Douglas Show. At age three, Woods shot a 48 over nine holes at the Navy Golf Club in Cypress, California, and at age five, he appeared in Golf Digest and on ABC’s That’s Incredible.

At the age of 15 Tiger Woods became the youngest U.S. Junior Amateur Open Champion in golf history. He would go on to win the tournament three more times making him the events only multiple winner as well as the youngest. Continuing his record breaking career, Woods was the youngest to win the U.S. Amateur Championship which bought him a ticket into the PGA Masters. He tied for 41st making him the only amateur to make the cut.

His professional career has been just as prolific. Immediately upon turn pro, Tiger signed endorsement deals worth $60 million with Nike and Titleist. He played his first round of professional golf at the Greater Milwaukee Open. He tied for 60th place in his pro debut, but would go on to win two events in the next three months, and qualify for the Tour Championship.

Tiger Woods is the only golfer to win the PGA Player of the Year award in the year following his rookie season. The following April, Woods won his first golf major, The Masters, by a record margin of 12 strokes, became the youngest Masters winner, and the first winner of African or Asian descent.

He eventually set a total of 20 Masters records and tied 6 others, and has been the highest-profile golfer in the world ever since. He would go on to win an additional three PGA Tour events that year, and on June 15, 1997, Woods rose to the number one spot in the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time. Tiger Woods achieved this in only his 42nd week as a professional the fastest ever ascent to the No. 1 ranking.

Currently ranked #1 in the world, theres no doubt about it that Tiger Woods is one of the greatest golfers of all time. He has made the game of golf fun again as we all watch to see him continue to break records and win tournaments.

But golf is not a game about physical strength, adrenaline, or overpowering an opponent.  It’s about gently yet firmly guiding the ball to your desired target.  Think of a shepherd guiding sheep along the edges of the herd – he or she needs to be firm with their staff but obviously not tense or angry as this would startle the sheep.  Golf is much the same – you do need a bit of strength and force but it’s typically much better to be relaxed and calm in your approach so that your swing and stroke are smooth.

Unfortunately many have just the opposite problem with golf – they get so tense and anxious about their game that this tension shows up physically and their entire stance and swing becomes unnatural.

How can you relax yourself when out on the course, especially when you’re frustrated with your high score and apparent lack of success?  Here are some pointers to remember.

Recognize your Programming

Humans are programmed much like computers, except that our programming comes from the world around us and not just a programmer writing lines of code.  That programming includes specific instruction from someone but also includes our own impressions and opinions about things.  For instance, you may have heard repeatedly that for your golf swing to be successful you must keep your head down and keep your eye on the ball.  This is part of actual instruction.  But your programming when it comes to your swing and the game itself is also influenced by watching other players and by your own frustration and tolerance levels.  You watch Tiger Woods approach the tee and swing a particular way and think you should do the same.  You can’t break 90 and get so frustrated that every time you approach the ball you hear a voice in the back of your head telling you that you’re just wasting your own time.

That subconscious programming is very difficult to resist, if you’re even aware of it.  Often people don’t realize how they’re applying what they see and hear to their own actions and responses.  As an example of this, have you ever noticed yourself repeating something you heard your parents say while you were growing up, or has anyone ever told you that you walk like one of your parents or use the same types of gestures and facial expressions?  You’re probably not aware of these things but have simply learned them over the course of many decades of absorbing that behavior.

You need to recognize your own programming when it comes to your golf game or you’ll never be able to relax and concentrate.  If you just imitate what you see another golfer doing or allow your tension and anxiety to run amok, you’ll not progress and of course will never relax.  So recognize that programming and you’ll be on your way to fighting against it.

The benefit of going slowly

If there’s one thing that makes golf different from many other sports, it’s the pace.  How many other sports do you know that involve the players walking rather than running or jumping or skating?  Or where you don’t need to worry about flinging your body in front of your opponent or the ball or a puck?

Going slowly is not just part of how the game is played; it’s a great way to relax yourself and mentally prepare for each shot.  Anxious thoughts can be quieted.  Tension can be chased away as you instead focus on what you need to do and how you’ll accomplish it.

Some people may rush through their game simply because we often learn to rush through many things today – you need to get through one project at work to move on to the next, or you need to rush and get dinner on the table because it’s late and everyone is hungry.  Going slowly is not typically a habit that people have today, and yet it’s imperative in the game of golf.

Think seriously about your pace when you’re on the links.  If you find yourself constantly backing up against the group in front of you, this might mean you’re going too fast.  And really, what’s the rush?  Your ball isn’t going anywhere, so slowing down to take your time and really think about what you’re doing will help to get you relaxed, which in turn will loosen up the tension you might be feeling.