Between the Ears: The Psychology of Golf
Sep 20, 2026 · 6 min · 6 segments
J.J. Spaun arrived at Wentworth after being left off the U.S. Presidents Cup team and openly admitted he was carrying a “chip on my shoulder.” Then he birdied four of his final five holes, shot 67…
The chip on your shoulder when rejection makes you play better.
So, you don't make the team.
You thought you had earned your place.
Instead, someone else gets picked.
Now imagine standing over your next tournament shot with one thought somehow or somewhere in the background.
I'll show them.
And that was part of the psychological landscape, in my opinion, of J.J. Spahn at Wentworth.
Just weeks earlier, Spahn had withdrawn from the Tour Championship with significant pain around his right shoulder blade.
He subsequently wasn't selected as one of Brant Snedeker's six captains' picks for the U.S. President's Cup team.
Spahn arrived at the BMW PGA Championship admitting that he was carrying a chip on his shoulder.
Then he birdied four of his final five holes, shot a final round 67, and won by two strokes.
Which gave me some pause in thinking, why can't rejection make one golfer perform better while causing another to fall apart? Let's look at the brain.
Rejection creates emotional arousal, but arousal isn't automatically good or bad, really.
What matters is what you do with it.
Imagine two golfers who both believe they were unfairly overlooked.
Golfer A spends the round replaying the decision.
How could they leave me out? I'll show them.
Now attention is divided between playing golf and settling an imaginary argument.
Every bogey suddenly becomes evidence.
Golfer B experiences the same anger, but converts it into something narrower.
Fine, he's my target.
Hit this shot.
The emotional energy remains, but attention returns to something more controllable.
Research on pressure and performance suggests that how athletes interpret arousal matters.
The chip on your shoulder when rejection makes you play better.
So, you don't make the team.
You thought you had earned your place.
Instead, someone else gets picked.
Now imagine standing over your next tournament shot with one thought somehow or somewhere in the background.
I'll show them.
And that was part of the psychological landscape, in my opinion, of J.J. Spahn at Wentworth.
Just weeks earlier, Spahn had withdrawn from the Tour Championship with significant pain around his right shoulder blade.
He subsequently wasn't selected as one of Brant Snedeker's six captains' picks for the U.S. President's Cup team.
Spahn arrived at the BMW PGA Championship admitting that he was carrying a chip on his shoulder.
Then he birdied four of his final five holes, shot a final round 67, and won by two strokes.
Which gave me some pause in thinking, why can't rejection make one golfer perform better while causing another to fall apart? Let's look at the brain.
Rejection creates emotional arousal, but arousal isn't automatically good or bad, really.
What matters is what you do with it.
Imagine two golfers who both believe they were unfairly overlooked.
Golfer A spends the round replaying the decision.
How could they leave me out? I'll show them.
Now attention is divided between playing golf and settling an imaginary argument.
Every bogey suddenly becomes evidence.
Golfer B experiences the same anger, but converts it into something narrower.
Fine, he's my target.
Hit this shot.
The emotional energy remains, but attention returns to something more controllable.
Research on pressure and performance suggests that how athletes interpret arousal matters.
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