Golf Players

Dr. Ian Peek on How to Adapt Holistically to Exceed the Demands of the Competition



Ian Peek is a Performance and Transition Coach with over 35 years of ‘hands-on’ coaching experience. Ian has a Master’s Degree and a PhD in Sports Coaching. He understands every client’s needs are unique and his coaching style and training methods are holistic and all-encompassing.

Ian joins us to share insights from his doctoral thesis and information on how the elite players improve their performance by focussing on more than their golf game, i.e., also on certain mental, emotional and behavioral concepts.

He discusses the his idea of “Adaptation to Exceed the Demands of the Field” and breaks them into four buckets – Biological, Physical, Psychological and Social. He also illustrates how you can see the “Big Picture” to improvement and elaborates on a few of those concepts:

The coach/player and player/caddy dynamics A player’s game-face and their media/personal game face Mental health challenges to players and competitors Gratitude as a superpower, and How to find a way, your individual way, to success. Dr. Peek uses PGA TOUR and DP World Tour examples in Sir Nick Faldo and Rory McIlroy to personalize some of his lessons.

STREAMING: On the Mark is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts and wherever else you listen to podcasts.

ABOUT ON THE MARK: Mark’s knowledge, insight and experience have made him a sought-after mind on the PGA and European tours. Through his career, he has taught and/or consulted to various Major Champions, PGA Tour winners and global Tour professionals such as: Larry Mize, Loren Roberts, Louis Oosthuizen, Patton Kizzire, Trevor Immelman, Charl Schwartzel, Scott Brown, Andrew Georgiou and Rourke can der Spuy. His golf teaching experience and anecdotal storytelling broadcasting style makes him a popular host for golf outings.

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It’s kind of somewhat sad for me to think that I last time I featured Ian Peak on this on Mark show was back in 2018 but thankfully you reached out again Ian and yeah we are thanks for joining us thanks for reaching out I appreciate you how are you great to be

Back Mark nice to see you uh some really nice Flags in the background there uh part of our our golfing history yeah exciting last time I was on I just started my PhD that was February 2018 mhm I was busy doing you know background research and and finding out about you

Know kind of what was coming to me and um reached out to what was in September October finished my PhD and great to catch up tonight to kind of you know talk shoping professional golf and how golfers see the world and the world around them yeah well folks you can go

And search that podcast was in 2018 and Ian spoke about the Tour player architecture so now I’ve grown up a little bit Ian’s not smarter because he’s always been smart but there’s some very cool topics that we’re going to address but I want you first off to tell

Our Global audience so folks who may not have listened to the first one back in the day um just a little bit about you obviously there’s the beautiful Scottish accent so so give us the whist well I’m trying to refine it so American friends will understand me but

Um you’re yeah I mean yeah yeah exactly I mean I mean a life like s a lifetime golfer and and student really of life and how things work um so I’ve been a golf coach for 35 years and um I didn’t go to university beforehand because golf

Was my life but I got to a 43 and realized as a coach I thought there was quite a few tools missing in my toolbox Mark so that took me to University and that was the first time we chared I did a master’s degree in sports coaching and my thesis then was

Looking at nine top Amat that didn’t make it to the Pro game all right and so you you and I chatted in 2018 and we talked about some of our findings then and having identified yeah I’m gonna interrupt forgive me please do was fascinating and it Springs to mind and

This is how fascinating it was because it stuck with me was how you dis discussed some of the great young Scottish golfers and how they were world beat as amateurs but then when they got on the European tour DP World Tour now they didn’t perform as well and it was

And the lare of the responses said something to the effective that they were not prepared for everything that happened extra curricular wise like dealing with flight changes and golf clubs not arriving and so and I was like this is so brilliant because there’s an element to golf that happens without the

Golf club’s in hand and the fact that you would identify that stuck with me and it’s so very important it was interesting you know because the kind of my positioning for my masters off my PhD was to ask pleas tell me about this so I didn’t go in

With a kind of structure but the stories they chose to tell obviously the the most emotive stories to them so similar to then with with my masters then my PhD was kind of going in say what did you go through the kind of my kind of lens as

It where my focus was we call lived experiences you know would you experience when you move from South Africa to the states tell me about your life MH what do you experience when you turn pro and that was the kind of the road we went down and say that took the

Last six years kind of three um 30 months of research and talking to the players over two or three periods and filling in the blanks so kind of to answer your question in recent years have you this kind of Journey to understand what creates high performance Beyond The Stroke average and strokes gained

What’s the stuff between the eyeballs what’s the stuff off course what’s the stuff with caddies with managers with other players how do they kind of negotiate know if tour life Mark is like a chess board how do they negotiate the chess board to get to Checkmate gotcha and everyone’s story is slightly

Different I’m so glad you would say that because I because I adopt this holistic stance to golf instruction I get into a number of heated debates maybe on this tell certainly on other podcasts where you have The Strokes gained Brigade and they’re trying to say well

If he wants to win he’s got to improve his Strokes gained I’m like come on you are so myopic in your approach here because golf life is Mercurial and and just when you think you have it another variable gets added so I’m glad you would address that because

In as much as golf can be simple it’s not easy because you have to look at it through this lens where like I’m a human being playing golf and not a golf of playing human being kind of thing yeah I think if I could draw in one line for my

The summary of my thesis you know the kind of so what it would be the best players in my thesis Mark adapted to exceed the demands of the field they adapted to exceed the demands of the field saying you’re say again so I can write it down adapted to exceed

The demands of the field yeah exactly the field is obviously your PGA Tour your DP World Tour and they did more than was required they did more than everyone else to get ahead now the adapting Mark was like you said holistically so in my language there’s three kind of pieces to the pie

The biological piece physical which is you know CAD speed being strong having the tools being able to play a full season you know and and stay let’s say um uninjured MH you’ve got the psychological piece how do I think about myself how do I think about the tour and

Then for me particularly interesting the social piece those around me when I travel how does a relationship remain with my wife and my kids what do I miss when I’m on the road who fills those gaps for me yeah if I’m a European player going to

The PJ tour and I’m I’m a I’m going to say I’m a a big um let’s say curling fan in Scotland MH and I go to the states and there’s not a lot of curling about you’re not going to see an ESPN yeah how do I adapt to that piece of my life

Missing is that through people that understand curling is that going to be mad who’s also Scottish or Irish guy that’s a curling fan as well how do I adapt to the change of Lifestyle travel let say the Europeans maybe for many years travel more together the state seems to be more family orientated

Everyone doing their own thing between tournaments how do I adapt to that lack of let’s say buddies maybe on tour that I had in Europe that I don’t have when I go to the PGA Tour MH so the very best I see my my so what

My cliff notes for my PhD were the very best adapt holistically to exceed the demands of the field now being able to do that my friend you need good people around you to say look we got to look beyond the swing videos with all due respect of course is that where’s the

Big picture coming from in your golf game and the players are less successful adapted least but also didn’t see the big picture of how could they adapt and there weren’t people around the mark to say this is what we need to do have we thought about this other angle

Here I’m glad you would say that um I often times use the cliche um which basically goes if all you have in your tool belts is a hammer then everything in the world appears like a nail and I’ve seen this at the very highest level I really have where if a golfer

Believes that it’s all about golf swing that’s the only place they look and then at the end of The Journey because you must understand now I work alongside some high Achievers on the CBS crew Titans broadcast and golf and now they all look back with the benefit of some

Wisdom because they’re not playing anymore and they’re like if only I had of big time and I’m even having this two I’ll never forget I was playing golf alongside y Becka Finch um in Canada earlier in 2023 and he’s a wonderful man very insightful you know loves golf just

Passionate about the game and we hit balls onto the six this sort of Redan style par three green I think it was and we walk up there and he’s talking Golf Course architecture and stuff and I said to some something to him I’m like you know if because he had asked me

Something about the swing and I gave him my take and it was helpful and I said you know if only I believed in what I was teaching more when I was younger things may have turned out differently and then I morphed that into when I was

Playing the game I was like I always felt like I was lacking and I had to do something more and he admitted to me goes you know Mark I was the same way and we both resolved then walking off the green that Shu if only I had of

Maybe had a wider circle of people around us who were not only loved us enough to be brutally honest yeah or also so then just the presence of mind to think wider to go well it’s not just my golf swing you know my golf swing is

Actually okay the way I am right now it’s just learning to play the game better perhaps I’ll I’ll let you have it from there yeah I mean absolutely I mean it’s this we’re going to go on a journey here in my yeah we need to be holistic as

Coaches and I think because I’m going to say most coaches tend to be slightly older than the players they’re working with understandably right otherwise a young player goes to mark imman because you have the experience but goes to Ean Peak whatever that’s fine so within that players it’s unfair to expect a young

Player to have that wider Broadband of vision but I think going forward it’s absolutely to be expected that the coaching industry will move into this wider sphere of you know what’s out there what’s the big picture yeah and and it’s not easy I think we all go

Through a journey you and I as coaches if we go back to even younger players we we were taught swing we taught swing mechanics I had a very technical phase myself for about eight years as a coach was a swing studio and the track man and

The four Spates I get it completely it’s part of the journey but it’s only part of the journey and I guess I guess my journey into this this holistic view came when I had all the technology marked and my players weren’t getting better it is it is important it’s just part of the

Pie the players that I think again that adapted most to accept sorry exceed the demands of the field were those that always they were cognitively smarter they were really looking they were looking beyond the obvious stuff to get ahead quicker and interesting going back to what you said

About your your your chat there with Ian Baker Finch the one of the the quick things that came through was during the rookie years I called it in my my thesis and there as emerging artists you know kind of these performers that arrive on the

Scene you see them every year in the PJ tour they come do they stay or do they go and those that were that were most successful as during r as the rukie years two things really stood out really stood out that kind of came from themselves was a watching better

Players really watching maybe not the techniques but what they were doing how they were training how were the practice rounds yeah and then having the strength to ask questions of those players when they could you know it’s crazy when I was playing back then and I managed to I was

Fortunate I was around a lot of great players but to summon up the courage to ask a Gary Player a question when it was a little old me yeah it was like moving a mountain yeah now I’m in the place where I have a show that people want to

Come on now because they understand that we honest in what we deliver and we find the best in the business to come and share insights I ask all the questions I should have asked some 30 years yeah and one of the differentials in that first stage of the

Career between being a uccessful um emerging artist or not was again they brought that they brought that strength of character with them some had learned it from the childhood and the dads had said you know the only silly questions when you don’t ask all they can say is

No all the kind of wisdom that we learn from our parents and they took that and they ran with it and um that made a big difference you they shortcut their learning period by asking questions they want wanted to know now not everyone gave them answers but just having the

Strength well if he says no I’m not telling you I’ll ask someone else Junior practice round Junior third round kind when you’ve got a captive audience it’s that time now I can ask this question and the players that took that step it was cognitive it was a deliberate choice

To shortcut the learning time because they knew this is it I want to grab this with both hands and I’m not afraid of being told no I’m going to ask the questions I want to know and it made a heck of a difference yeah I love that

And you know what I love about it because you you talk about the eras we’re currently in and the eror we in just about everything is measurable there’s a Strokes gain metric I mean we have apps on phones advise on course management and stuff yeah and that’s

Helpful but a lot of these things that you talk about are those immeasurable things that it’s so easy to poo poo in this age of what I call kind of Enlightenment that everyone thinks we’re in the game but the truth of it is all those High Achievers you talk about it’s

Stuff that you know that’s it comes from within it’s not stuff that’s measurable yeah I think the I say I had my Hightech journey I use Strokes G with all the players of support to understand when they’re talking back to me what they’ve been through in the

Hardware and but then we get pretty much quick well tell me what you were thinking what you feeling how did youa to bad shot how was your prep what happened post shot um and again but again if we go back to the street smarts and the kind of things we’re talking

About this stories that kind of stick in My Mind One play in particular he very early know had a successful good start and one thing that two things he really recognized with himself he said when he spoke to the Press he was reliving his commentary for them but for

Himself okay so he was getting off and he was he one of the most honest players you imagine major winner multiple Rider cup player so his interviews he felt when he was speaking to the Press he wanted to reive his what he been through he wanted to get it out there he wanted

To hear himself talking and as he talked he kind of made sense of what had just happened now you had other players when they talk to the Press they kind of tow the line fa was and greens um you know yeah yeah filling filling the space yeah

And this player found that it was a real help to him when he went into the the media to really go into what he’d been through for himself not for the benefit of the press really but obviously the Press loved it as well oh yeah we do of

Course you do I mean you think of tiger interviews you know or a good interview and you hang on it and oh and another thing he said the player he said um when he went to the Press he didn’t want to say anything that anyone else has

Said he was looking beyond the cliches yeah and with that as well Mark he was digging deep what have I just been through today it was all honest it’s kind of getting in touch with one’s inner self it it’s sort of it’s to me it’s the perfect segue of

What you texted me and folks um he texted a few bullet points um and I want to pick on a few of these and sort of have you elaborates please do you talk about Coach player caddy power dynamics um yes I I I I I want to put that aside

For a minute and first get to players Game Face yeah yeah I because because as my job as an OnCourse announcer I’m supposed to tell you things you don’t see um yeah you might not see the wind um you might not see the player and caddy interaction you might not see how

He’s hanging his head walking to the ball and it’s amazing to me comportment of the players at the highest level are playing badly you can see it when you arrive at them yeah and the folks are playing well you can see it as soon as you get there they have this aura that

They exhibit so so please elaborate there yeah great so as part of my so need with my PhD you need to kind of you’re standing on the shoulders of giants right and the research that was kind of underpinning what I was doing one of the the key gent is called Irving gofman

Canadian that lived a lot of it spent his academic career in the states and he talked about um in public life we always wear a face we’re wearing a mask yeah that that mask is generally authentic because we all have different personalities so I was upstairs half an

Hour ago with my three children and we’re having discussion about homework and getting ready for school tomorrow right I’ve come down to speak to Mark imman we’re a slightly different mask we’re talking golf we’re on a here it’s live so we gothman would see we’re always kind of looking

To fit into the current social situation we are in the language we use the body language use okay and I thought well does this also applying the golf course now you’ve been in the interview room a thousand times with t players and you see them you know you’ve seen them

All off mic and on mic yeah so my thing one of the things I wanted to identify I think for the first time look at resets was what game face what Mass do players bring to the tournament rounds between shots MH and basically what identified this is the feedback from the players

What they said two typical game faces but only one which will work best for them when they’re playing the best golf mhm the chatti between shots will look for discussion with his playing partners not always but enough think about aurori JT um Jordan spe yes not all the time

But specific moments they will look for some chat with their playing Partners they’ll generally be friendly there may be a laugh a joke some nice small talk the tough Fe think of tiger some other names you could mention won’t look for discussion with his playing Partners between shirs this

Isn’t Str play events yeah and what came back from the players Mark the players chose these those game faces because that was how they perform best the fascinating thing is the chatty he’s not chatting to be nice he’s chatting because it’s saving energy takes his mind off the game and it helps

Him play better being nice and popular is a positive side dish yeah uhhuh but the strategy behind it is that whole idea if I chat I can switch off I save energy and I know when I do that I play my best golf the toughy will say I play my best

Golf when I’m in the tunnel and I’m tough and maybe intimidation with my partners that’s why I’m the toughy and for my the 16 players that were good enough to kind of let me into their lives about their the career 11 were chatties in stroke play and only three were

Toughies okay now the big thing and this is interesting this going the power dynamics between players there’s always power involved so let’s say a chat’s out there with two tiies okay MH so the chaty would like to talk the toughest push him back obviously he can talk to

His caddy which is great you know he’s there’s backup the chatting but what one point in particular did to try and change the power Dynamic he would talk to the caddies of the toughies and ignore the toughies okay yeah so the message was well maybe you’re going to ignore me

Because I’m kind of the player and there’s a caddy I will talk to him and he will talk to me back because in the power dynamics The Players let’s see above the Cy yeah of course that was interesting truly is and it’s and there’s there’s a not presumption there’s a self-awareness to actually

Look at this as something that can be a game enhancer because again it’s intellectually lazy most golfers just do it they’re like well I got to improve my game okay I got to practice but yeah you’re identifying something where it’s like my game face and how do I perform

And it reminds me of when I was a young man I kind of learned the game from David Frost who who was pursed lips all the time when he was playing yeah and so I thought this was the way I should be and I tried this and then all of a

Sudden when I watched I’ll never forget a Skins game way back in the day when it was Arnold and Jack and Tom or Gary play and fuzzy zela yeah and yeah zel well actually I li well first trino and then zel but fuzzy walking along there whistling along telling jokes winning

All the skins and I was like I’m going to try be like fuzzy and learn behold I would play better now I certainly wasn’t chatty but I was way more light-hearted about the thing because I guess inwardly I tend to be kind of inward but this

Loosened me up to allow me to play better so it’s it’s a fantastic way to look at game improvement it’s not just like well going out to practice Yeah agree and the thing is it’s it the players again this being smart it was conscious at some point they worked out

I play better when I’m a chatty yeah or I play better when I’m a toughy and one of the players I said now why did you you know when did you last with his chatty face well El mccre play mini tours around about 20 and then in a

Moment he realiz recognized as well when he flipped the the coin when he was toughy and grumpy he played rubbish it was that moment say if I don’t be chat if I don’t get chatty if I don’t stay chatty I’m going to play worse now this is interesting again with a caddy player

Dynamics so Mr Chad’s made a double he’s not happy walk the next team and he has his moments he’s angry he’s curing himself he’s not enjoying the world but he will then generally the best try and pull himself back to being chatty or he’s primed the cad Mark to

Say look give me 30 seconds and I want you back in there talking to me I want you to pull me out of this hole so again power dynamics relationships between player and caddy and that was fascinating as my interviews went on how deep this went the thought that was in there especially

With the chatties they saw the advantages of saving energy being liked by their players but also having that kind of card in their back pocket if I’ve got a tough I’ll try and weaken his toughness by being nice to his cardi I’ll try and soften up his cardi so his team can

Front becomes a bit weaker yeah so as a as a coach myself I do quite a lot of work now in Switzerland with the Swiss golf Federation and they developed some really good strong players and I know you you know one of them particularly well exactly and this is one of my big

Things with them and the parents and it’s really about asking the players how do you feel when you’ve played your best tell me about your behaviors between shots and again most of them are coming down as a chatty there’s some toughies and it’s really being comfortable with that and having strategies after Double

Give yourself some time get back on the horse get talking it’s either talking to yourself positively or your caddy or maybe your mom’s in the crowd your coach is walking or your playing partners and it is important it seems to be it was it was important to these players to play

The best golf getting back to the game face as quick as they could do I would I want to make this applicable to the club golfer that’s listening to you now and watching this um like we’re talking about golf at the elite level with caddies and

Such but I can imagine as you sharing this Insight where two golfers on a golf cart driving especially in the states there’s more walking elsewhere but but yeah in the states where they’re driving it would behoove one if you want to play your best golf to put yourself

In a cart alongside a similar kind of a personality because if you get into the card and you got Mr Stern grumpy beside you it’s going to be a long day for for both folks so so is this something that the club golfer could go and try cuz

Look we we play golf alongside our friends but now let say you get grouped with someone you don’t know it’s important to kind of you know let birds of a feather sort of fluck together am I right in this I’d agree I’d agree I mean my strategy for the the players I work

With is if you do get a you get two toughies you got no caddies you got to have a going a little tangent slightly have a good conversation with yourself planned okay so that could be between the worst case now between shots you’re on the golf course okay maybe school

Next week what have we got on Monday morning what I’m going to do Tuesday got T the week after when am I flying what I’m going to put in my suitcase it’s that switching on and switching off between shots but yeah I mean um I guess you go

Down the Back The Years look at successful Rider Cup fors players of gel together in the states in Europe you don’t see many um let’s see you know plus and minus is jelling together similar people playing well together personality wise M now going back to game face I got an

Interesting one for you that I saw last year I think it was this year when I looked at it with my researcher lens was Rory miked up at the Masters wasn’t he was it whole 10 he was miked up might I think it might have been nine walking

Down n Fairway yeah but he was right right and obviously I saw as a fan the the critique from Nick falo you can’t do that in a major but they from social media as well golly they bananas yeah right but again with my I think knowledge now you s Sonic talking from

The toughy game face but Rory acting from the chatty Game Face exactly and for me that was absolutely the right thing for me to do matching his Persona what I’ve seen as a fan miked up interactions and it’s that conscious decision making or being being able to

Know this is this is my best performing self and to go with that so when I read I saw I get it completely son niic toughy cold wouldn’t do it Rory maroy from has seen you know he’s a buddy he’s a he’s a he’s a he’s a buddy he invict

On all these absolutely the right thing to do because he’s switching on and switching off saving energy and see the bottom line is I play my best golf when I’m ch this is what I’m going to do because this is my part of My Success formula it’s so interesting that you would say

That and from our point of view year in 2023 CBS Sports were the first one to do the OnCourse chat yes yeah um and and our producer at Year’s End came with a statistic that of how many interviews we did the players were under par and there

Was only one player that didn’t do very well and so he wanted Jim Nance to broadcast this on the air which Jim said something about because we very thankful that the players would open up but there were players too who declined the uh the invitation but then the folks that did

You could see they all sort of a similar personality they’re not afraid to talk between shots and the first one was with Max Homer and he was a treat and he won the tournament and from then it opened guys up to go well maybe when I’m out

There I don’t need to be that serious cuz I got to tell you you the the the player mood to this stuff has changed in a big way since the success of this endeavor in 23 big time I mean I mean I’m I mean I’m convinced because the players told me

About it took how can I say you know it was getting into discussing it and then all of a sudden after a few minutes of discussion say yeah you know and then they bring up moments you know where they really just having putting the chatty

Game face back on pull them out the hole you know the chatties I say 11 of 14 chatty three toughy and yeah absolutely it’s a conscious decision with with multiple wins your friends like you an interesting I made a note there um unfortunately not a big football fan in

The States but um I saw Netflix the the series with Patrick Mahomes the quarterback obviously excuse my ignorance here coming as a Scots yeah but um I was watching him and I was listening to his every word and interesting during the games when he gets hit is it by the defensive ends

When they come through and hit the quarterback yes yeah and how nice he was to them and they said good good play dog good play you know they were hitting him down and afterwards he said yeah he’s nice to the quarterbacks maybe they wouldn’t hit him as

Hard it’s true game game face yeah it’s true yeah Game Face uhuh he said almost verbatim you know I think if if I’m nice him they won’t hate me as much smart man smart play very much sir very very much I made a note of that at the time and I

Wrote it down again for so yeah gothman you went to irin gothman this this this researcher very very but he was all into yeah what does it take to get ahead and some will choose that game face chady as a golfer a few will choose a toughy done it stroke with competition

But fascinating yeah you you’ve touched on so many things already you’ve talked about the coach and caddy power dynamics and search the game face um and then we’ve just weaved our way through a bunch of these bullet points I do ask I do want to ask about this um and this

Will sort of be The Parting Shot and then I’d I’d like your kind of overarching bow on the conversation at the end yes sir um golf is a game and the lon share of the folks watching this or listen listening to this we all want

To do better yet we don’t play money for the game although there are a lot of Pros who listen to this I know because they come and tell me um they want to do better but in the same breath they’ll say they play golf to have fun and

Relax then when I watch said golfers on the golf course they look the furthest thing from having fun and relaxing they stressed they aggravated because golf will take you through this Myriad of emotions in four and a half hours or whatever it takes yeah and you’ve got to bullet point your mental health

Challenges because because look golf will get you down right depressed if you play it competitively yeah as what did arold Palmer Say it’ll take you from the highest to highs to the lows to lows and yet yet I love it dearly or whatever I’m paraphrasing so talk about that a bit

Because it truly is an emotional and I would argue a spiritual game so what’s your Insight well what I what I learned um to to kind of frame where we’re going just briefly so to allow the tour players Mark to top us talk as freely as

They can do yeah and my thesis is embargoed it won’t go to the public it’s it’s unlocking key okay because the players would be easily recognized uhuh and and there’s a lot of you know private difficult challenging discussions we had they had with me right so where I’m going with this um 16

Players involved eight during the career would suffer from depression anxiety now these were successful players these were some of the world’s best that were playing in Europe also the world T they’re playing PJ tour as well right so that going into this I couldn’t have imagined that 50% of

Successful PG tour players European tour players World players would would go through prol prolonged anxiety and depression yeah so to get to the point here when things are going great they’re great but as these Place careers headed south States you think about going from the PJ tour to corn

Fery in Europe you’re going from the DP World Tour to challenge tour when you’ve come off the big stage that’s a big fall now unfortunately there’s not a real happy end to this because what the players said once you’ve made that once you’re off the main two once you’re off the big

Stage understandable otherwise no one really cares about you’re no longer box office yeah you got you got a new generation of players so then you need some good support to help you find your feet and maybe get back but find your feet would be number one just to feel

Good about your place in the world mhm so the the mental health thing I would summarize what I’ve learned from understandably if you riding the wave you’re a tournament winner you’ve kept your card you’re you know you’re on TV you’re making the big bucks which everyone’s out there for right y I

Believe have you SE have you seen the news lately yeah yeah yeah exactly let’s and for time context for this podcast folks this is late 2023 when John Ram went to the to four hundreds of millions of dollars yes yeah so with with my let’s see caring hat on

About people and those around me going forward players need to know that when they enter the I call the Cameo phase of their careers yeah they’re not 50 they’re not eligible for the champions tour probably be somewhere between 40 and 46 even a successful Tour player the

The world will start to seem different and it is and those players then will need some good support to get through that phase yeah that’s good psychological friendly support to say okay this has been a career it may never come back how can we move on from this

MH Family Support good people good honest people around them the SE yeah excuse me there seven yeah carry on no please go ahead I was going to I was going to um just direct that to the club golf for listening but I do want you to finish your thoughts so

Please go ahead yeah sure so reviewing my PhD the seven that suffered never had that support okay they kind of didn’t know where to look they kind of felt on their own they kind of felt silly for feeling that way MH They carried it with them between their ears

So that was tough that was was tough for them it’s quite tough to when you understand that and you hear she was had a had a great wife they financially and when that went the kind of friends went and support went as well yeah so that

Was that was kind of tough so hopefully going forward things will improve and the support for those at the end of the career should and could be there for them well look in your own inimitable way like you normally do you are helping businessmen and women listening this

Folks who might the end of their career you know because really it’s a human lesson in the end what I do want to sort of just a pivot to the club golfer who’s playing golf and might be getting a bit depressed by the game is it as simple

Then to make sure that we keep you know a good positive outlook about the thing to realize why we play the game even though we want to win the bets and stuff but but it’s the why of the playing golf I think that we need to remind ourselves

On would you would you agree with that oh fantastic absolutely I think I think there’s two or three kind of wellknown tools that we can all use um talking about it yeah talking about your frustrations with people that care so let’s let’s say it’s hopefully your life

Partner or family friends yeah you know and again just just getting that out there is a help and just talk get it beyond your eyeballs getting out there so discussing it and the second second and third two I think they really impact was journaling okay or what you’re going

Through and I get a lot of my keep a lot of my players now to journal a daily reflection what they’re doing that’s the positive and the less positive MH and the third one a gratitude Journal how lucky am I to play golf and I’m out there you know and those three things

Together talking about it just hearing your own thoughts a reflective journal and then some some gratitude notes wow I mean at my age 55 three kids a career behind me but hopefully many years to go they the things that work best for those around me that have been really

Successful they seem to be three of the the biggest tools talking about it journaling and reflective Journal as well a gratitude Journey sorry as well yeah the Gratitude thing is a big deal um I put a post up the other day other day that the picture wasn’t mine but it

Was a picture of this um physically challenged golfer was basically connected to a wheelchair swinging a club with one arm lost the use of legs I wouldn’t say quadriplegia because there was one arm that was able to use but with one arm this golf for hitting golf balls and I

Was yeah and my quote was something to the fact of because he hit the ball onto the green over water and my quote was this might be the greatest shot I’ve seen this year and I’ve seen some cool shots this year yes yes I’m sure but but

Again it’s just to your point about the Gratitude it’s understanding really for all of us who still have all of our you know physical elements about us to get out there walk play golf enjoy the nature and stuff it’s something we take for granted sadly I think you know for

Me Mark it’s a superpower if you’re fortunate enough to be grateful it’s a superpower I don’t know if youw on it if it’s I’ve always been an optimist but it is a superpower to be grateful I love it I love it so very much Ian whenever I spend time in your

Council I feel like I’ve grown in leaps and Bows it takes you’re very kind I’m sure the the folks listening to this are feeling the same way so they’re going to want to find out more from you so I know they won’t find your thesis because that’s

Under locking key but how can they contact you even someone who would want to work with you where do they go great I’m easiest to find on Twitter I believe it’s called X now andan Peak coaching all right Ian PE coaching I think Twitter X I’m also LinkedIn dran Peak

Coaching so one of those two mediums Mark all right Dr Peak and there’s a website I know what’s the yeah it’s tnp coaching.com t andp coaching.com one word you’re the best I appreciate oh come on I know my shoe size no when I got my when I got that text I was like

Wow this is a blast from the past and I remember that’s why honestly I hadn’t listened back to the podcast but it was so impactful on me that I reme remembered the anecdote of the young Scottish golfer who talked about his clubs being lost and he felt so dished

He couldn’t play straight so it’s it’s a real part of what we do and I’m glad that you would shed light on it thank you for joining us thank you for having back on the show and thank you to your listeners how’s

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