A confident J.P. Hayes won the Deere by making a series of excellent decisions, including a positively perfect pitch on the 71st hole

Courtesy of CBS

By Patti McGowan
One of Golf Magazine's Top 100 Teachers

What would you have been thinking? J.P. Hayes's ball was on a razor-tight lie, 20 yards from a pin cut just beyond a gaping bunker on the penultimate hole of the John Deere Classic (above). Yes, J.P. was 21 under with a four-shot lead, so he had some good vibes. But he's also a 37-year-old grinder who before last week had only one Tour victory, so his mind must have been racing and his heart thumping. Fortunately, J.P. is much more decisive and confident than he was in the mid-1990s when he was barely eking out a living and I gave him a couple of lessons. Without hesitation he addressed the ball, pitched to three feet and made birdie, clinching a resounding victory.

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ROOM TO IMPROVE In 14 years as a pro J.P. has slowly risen from a golfing nobody to a fringe player to a multiple winner, but he won't make the ascension to the Tour elite unless he upgrades his vision of himself. When a reporter asked if during the final round he had doubts about winning, J.P. said, "Oh, yeah, a lot." The best players may struggle at times, but they never stop believing in themselves.

PRIZEFIGHTERS The best pros are supertough mentally, but they battle the same insecurities that players like J.P. must overcome. In the early '90s I worked with Nick Faldo, and I'll never forget a practice-tee scene at the Honda Classic, an hour before Nick's first round of the season. I was leading Nick through a drill in which he was supposed to swing a driver extra slowly, but Nick couldn't do it. He was shaking, his eyes were filled with fear, and he was swinging so fast he was out of control. What made Nick such a great champion was that through the years he had learned how to rein in his emotions, and by the time he arrived at the 1st tee, he had regained his composure.

ON THE BALL Annika Sorenstam's 12 top-three finishes in 14 starts isn't the most impressive feat I've seen from her this year. We both live at Lake Nona Golf Club in Orlando and share the same trainer, Kai Fusser, who teaches his clients to swing while standing on a huge medicine ball. After several months of trying, I can barely kneel on the ball and take a tiny punch swing. This winter, Annika learned to stand tall and take full swings as casually as if she were on Nona's 1st tee.

ANGER MANAGEMENT Lanny Wadkins was impressive last week in his debut as CBS's lead analyst. I had thought he would be more high-strung and opinionated on TV than Johnny Miller, based on what I saw in Lanny as a famously hotheaded player. But he was surprisingly objective and stuck to reporting the facts with a minimum of personal observations, though he did uncork a few cracks about Pat Perez's tantrums over the last few holes.

Patti McGowan runs the Knack 4 Golf school at Lake Nona Golf Club in Orlando and is one of Golf Magazine's Top 100 teachers.

Issue date: August 5, 2002