This post is based on an article in the April 2001 issue of Golf Magazine Australian Edition and written by Jonathan Abrahams.

The first annual Science in Golf Prize was inaugurated on or around the date of the article, and the award of $18,000 for first prize was created. To launch the awards, this article based on the winning study conducted by Dr. Debbie Crews from Arizona titled ‘Psychophysiological Differences between Choking and Successful Golf Putting Performance’ was discussed.

The details of the study are explained in the article attached. It consisted of 10 amateur golfers with an average of about 5 years playing experience and reporting average 18 hole scores between 83.5 and 98.

In stage 1, the golfers were asked to hit 20 five-foot straight putts on a flat green and see how many they could make.

In stage 2, pressure was added and the golfers were asked to hit 20 more putts, but were told that they were being filmed for a TV program ‘Dateline NBC’ and would be seen by a national television audience.

In stage 3, in addition to being filmed by NBC, the golfers were told that they would receive $300 if they matched or beat their score from stage 1, but would lose $100 if they did not.

To be continued in the next post ….