Tiger Woods Can't Match the Mental Toughness of a 14 year Old Girl

What is mental toughness? Is it being able to grindShe has a mental toughness that keeps her in her
out a good score when things aren't going so well ongame and completely centered in each moment.
the course? Or is it the mental ability to stay strongRegardless of the circumstances. She has decided to
and committed in spite of distractions and on-courseplay with a mindset that says, "I determine how I
circumstances?feel and how I'll perform, not the other player or
Of course it is both of these things and more. Yetwhat might be happening around me." MacKinzie
mental toughness isn't something you simply acquireKline's mindset is the epitome of what mental
in the spur of the moment or when you "think youtoughness is.
need it." No, it's more of an overall mindset. AIt's almost routine to watch some frustrated whiner
perspective on the game that allows you to tapon the course toss his club 20 yards down the
another level within your mental game.fairway after a bad shot. Or complain about all the
Mental toughness is developed and built over time.bad breaks they get, why the bunker wasn't raked
Once you have a degree of mental toughness,properly, how the cup wasn't cut right, and on and
access to it when it matters becomes easier andon. Player after player, when faced with some
easier. Like any new skill it habituates over time. Anadversity, fold like a cheap suit and succumb to the
increased inner resolve that generates consistent,inertia of their own inner weakness.
confident swings.And then there's this 14-year-old girl with only three
Do you have the mental toughness of avalves in her heart with more character and heart
14-year-old-girl? I don't think even Tiger does.than any of us could hope to have.
Seriously. Is your golfing mindset solid and committedMental toughness is a state of mind that keeps your
in the many scenarios that unfold in your game? Doattention on each task. Each shot. Each moment.
you have as strong a mind as young MacKinzie Kline,MacKinzie Kline is committed to her mental game. She
the 14-year-old golfing phenom? She is incrediblyis committed to herself.
mentally tough.She accepts complete responsibility for her results
She was born with only three valves in her heart andand places no blame outside of herself for her
her kidney was on the wrong side of her body.circumstances. Amazing. Most everyone would agree
Having gone through several operations in her life,she has a right to feel self pity. That doesn't happen
she built a toughness. She went on to qualify for thewith her for even a moment. Her diminutive stature
Women's Amateur at the age of 14. She's alreadydisguises a towering mental game giant.
had three aces - and one of them was caught onShe chooses how she'll experience herself on the golf
film!course. Knowing mental toughness is a decision. A
Yet as she continued to play she began to feelcommitment to an inner ideal that is bigger then the
extremely short of breath. She was forced to takeoutcome of any one shot, or game. She chose to
an oxygen tank with her as she played and use itaccept ownership of her internal state and how she'll
between holes. Nothing would stop her fromperform.
competing. Imagine lugging an oxygen tank aroundTiger is unquestionably the dominant force in the
the course with you and remaining focused on eachgame and is so mainly because of his mental
shot!toughness. Yet I would place young MacKinzie Kline
Concerned, the doctors investigated what might bealong side him any day if forced to choose the
causing her shortness of breath and discovered shemental game giants in golf.
had a hole in her heart which they had missed someIt sure makes our own weakness on the course
time before that. So she underwent anotherseem pathetic, doesn't it?
operation.