‘Will to Win’
No matter how good a player your are or how well you think on a golf course there is another vital element needed in your armoury to be a true champion.
It comes from within and can be called grit, determination, tenacity, desire or just simply the will to win when it counts.
I the latest Tony Jacklin autobiography I found reference to a poem by Walter D.Wintle which adequately describes inner strength and the will to win as follows:
If you think that you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you’d like to win, but think you can’t
It’s almost a cert you won’t.
For out in the world we find success begins with a fellow’s will;
It’s all in the state of mind.
If you think you’re outclassed, you are;
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before you can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man;
But sooner or later the man who wins is the one who thinks he can.
Remember that it is good to win but not at all costs and this poem suggest that while it is good to be a winner you can remain a nice decent person also.
Why do you think that us brits do not really like the yanks?
It is because they like and want to be winners while we are happy to play the game but come a sporting runner up.
Nick Faldo never endeared himself to the British golfing public because he was too American in his methods and will to win.
There is no need to display arrogance on the golf course, which we associate with the yanks, but you can have an inner drive and desire to be the best golfer that you can be.
If you can ally this internal desire with a sound golfing technique and good controlled thinking then you all have the opportunity to be the best golfers that you can be.