Course (And Stress) Management
Professional Golfer Sepp Straka on his approach to PGA Tour life
“It’s an emotional game,” says Sepp Straka. “I probably get angrier on the course than I do anywhere else.”
Straka is a 29-year-old professional golfer—and a very good one at that. In fact, at the time of writing, he’s actually the 50th best golfer in the world. He’s earned millions of dollars, has a handful of top-ten finishes, and snagged his first PGA Tour victory earlier this year at February’s Honda Classic.
Oh, and he’s also an Olympian.
Representing his home country of Austria, Straka fired off a first-round 63 to take the early lead in Tokyo last summer before eventually finishing 10th.
We’re chatting over the phone, and it’s almost impossible to believe he grew up in Central Europe. Straka sounds as American—and as southern—as they come. But things start to make a little more sense when I learn that his family made a move to Valdosta, Georgia at age 14.
He liked the area so much that he decided to play college golf at nearby UGA, and he remains a Bulldog through and through. (Kirby Smart is one of his athletic idols.)
And before you ask, yes—Straka did, in fact, coin a neat catchphrase to describe his upbringing: “I’m 100% Austrian and 100% American,” he tells me.
He also identifies as 100% stress-eater.
“Whether I play well and think I deserve a treat, or I play badly and feel the need to console myself, I tend to go for food,” he says with a self-deprecating chuckle—neither entirely thrilled nor upset about the situation.
Of all the food available to him, Straka prefers ice cream. Cookies N’ Cream is his flavor-old-faithful, but “nothing beats” a really good pistachio—if he’s lucky enough to find it. And to wash it all down? Diet Coke, obviously.
I’ve wanted to interview a professional golfer for quite some time now—partly due to my selfish love of the sport, but also because it’s a uniquely mental and (mostly) solo endeavor. Just like life.
Of course, I’m not the first to draw comparisons between golf and the human condition.
Listen to any Sunday CBS broadcast long enough, and the commentary will start to sound more like a sermon than sports coverage. With Jim Nantz as our preacher, we—the Joe Golfing Public—are his disciples. How to strike the right balance of enjoyment and effectiveness while hitting a little white ball around a field is the sacred question we’re all trying to answer.
And, like so many others, it’s an extremely tough one.
The game is unpredictable even with routine practice, humbling for even the very best. It requires a set of characteristics that are hard to exhibit and often contradictory—integrity, precision, compromise, acceptance. I could go on.
Mr. Nantz is great at his job of distilling the predicament of golf from a birds-eye view for television. But talking to Straka provides an understanding of what it all actually means at a much more grounded, human level.
We start small. I ask a simple question: how does one recover from a bad shot in a high-pressure tournament?
“You have to constantly remind yourself that golf is a tough game,” he replies. “Oftentimes, when you hit a bad shot, it may not even be the result of something you did. It could be a random gust of wind, an unlucky roll, or a weird yardage that you just don’t have the right club for.”
Actively acknowledging these variables, and giving himself grace when confronted with them, allows Straka to approach his next shot—whatever it may be—with a sense of ease. This is especially important for a player like him, who prefers to have a brain “devoid of swing thoughts” when standing over the ball.
Still, sometimes bad shots can turn into bad weeks. And bad weeks can turn into bad months. Straka has a strict prescription when this happens: get outside feedback, and get it quickly.
He explains, “It’s so important to get a look at your game from a different point of view, not your own. Whether it’s a coach, a caddy, or a friend…getting a diagnosis on exactly what you’re struggling with is crucial. Is it ball striking? Is it putting?” Once this knowledge is acquired, it’s time to get to work.
If the specifics of the problem aren’t clearly articulated, Straka cautions, they’ll likely seep over into other parts of your game.
In other words, it’s easy to totally unravel. The solution he offers for this situation is a widely applicable one: take some time off.
“Not touching a club for 4 or 5 days, not engaging in whatever your craft happens to be, is a great way to mentally recharge.” Straka’s done this a few times throughout his career, and he’s always returned feeling fresher than ever.
So, we’ve established that learning how to react to less-than-desirable outcomes is essential to success in professional golf. But learning how to manage less-than-desirable behavioral tendencies is perhaps even more so.
Like most everything else, personality influences one’s style of play and attitude on the course. According to Straka, this is all well and good—in moderation.
“The player who is a little bit hot-headed has no problem staying focused on competition. But he might need to bring himself down a few notches from time to time,” he says. “On the other hand, the guy who is super mellow and lets everything roll off his back—it’s easy for him to go into ‘la-di-da’ mode on the course.”
The sweet spot lies in the middle, which the Austrian-American believes can be achieved through mindfulness.
“That’s really the biggest piece of advice I follow: being hyper-aware of where my own thoughts and behaviors lie. I don’t scold myself for leaning into some of my habits or for having negative thoughts. I just recognize when they happen and then reset as needed,” Straka explains.
Taking this objective approach allows him to pull out of such moments much quicker than he otherwise would be able to. And it’s a tool he’s found as useful in life as it is on the golf course.
For the most part, Straka leans toward the more jovial, easygoing side of the golfer spectrum. One of his biggest challenges is actually having too much fun out there.
“I truly really enjoy playing golf,” he says. “There’s a big group of us UGA guys that like to get together on Tuesdays and mess around, play some little money games.”
But sometimes, this almost-childlike love for the game can get in the way of actual preparation. He admits he’s still learning to “achieve the right balance” between having a good time with his buddies and buckling down for serious practice.
Every now and then, though, he’ll get especially intense on the course. “I feel like I have an ‘Aha’ moment about once a month where I realize I’m overreacting about something,” Straka says somewhat shyly. “That’s when I step in and tell myself, ‘You’re playing golf. Get over it.’”
Another, lesser-discussed aspect of professional golf is the never-ending change. Tournaments are held in different cities (or countries) every week. Course layouts are altered daily thanks to tee and pin placements.
In order to keep up with it all, Straka has embraced spontaneity. “I actually love playing in totally new tournaments and learning the quirks of the course and the field. It energizes me,” he remarks.
That said, two constants support Straka’s ability to get comfortable in new environments quickly: his pre-round routine and his post-round sounding boards.
“I do the exact same thing before every round. It starts with a 15-minute stretch in the workout trailer. Then I putt for 7 minutes. Next, I’ll head to the range for about 35 minutes. Finally, I’ll go back and roll a few more putts before heading to the tee.”
The whole process takes just over an hour—roughly the same amount of time he spends debriefing his performance with his caddy, his twin brother (also a former UGA golfer), and his wife at the end of each day.
“They’re all very opinionated and great with advice,” he says with (what sounds like) smile developing on his face.
I end our conversation with another fairly simple question. How has winning on the PGA Tour changed Straka’s approach to the game, if at all?
The short answer: it really hasn’t.
“The win was a confirmation. It feels great to know that the work you and so many other people put in paid off,” he explains.
And sure, it changes the schedule favorably. He’s now totally exempt for the next two seasons, which means he has the freedom to be “pickier and choosier” with where he plays. That’s a nice logistical-burden lift.
But materially, his process remains unchanged. He’s still always trying to keep an impartial eye on his game and how he plays it.
“Being mindful of my emotions out there and re-focusing my attention to what I can truly control will continue to be the most important thing,” says Straka.
And I say, in golf as in life!