Did Rory McIlroy Just Channel Epictetus?
More lessons from Rory McIlroy and the 2025 Masters
Thousands and thousands and thousands of years of evolution and yet, the human brain still defaults to survival mode. Flight, fight, or freeze and ask questions later is the default for our brains.
After finally winning, Rory McIlroy was asked how he felt before teeing off on the final round of the Masters.
Knot in your stomach. Haven't really had much of an appetite all day. Tried to force food down. Your legs feel a little jelly-like
That’s the brain preparing the body to take flight or fight. Survival mode comes first, even for a guy that has hundreds of millions of dollars from playing golf and is capable of hitting shots no one else on the planet can hit. Rory’s brain wants to see Rory excel within the tribe and not be embarrassed in front of the tribe, risking expulsion and eventually becoming the saber-toothed tiger’s breakfast. No, that’s not what would happen in the year 2025, but our brains haven’t evolved to that extent as of yet.
One of the amazing things about golf and the Masters is that we can relate to what Rory was experiencing, despite the fact that we’ll never be in that position. But we’ve all been in positions where the outcome is both in doubt for something that we are incredibly vested in. Whether it’s a local qualifier for a national tournament, a finals match in the club championship, breaking 80 (or 90, or 100) for the first time, or winning your winter sim league – it matters to us. It’s one of the many reasons we play the game – to see what we can accomplish.
The trick is finding a way to function at the highest level/your highest level despite the shaking hands, the short breaths and the hint of nausea. As Karl Morris says, the question is, can you access the skills you’ve worked hard on developing on the range and in practice? That’s the big question, and look, if it was easy, everyone would do it and frankly, the game of golf probably wouldn’t be as rewarding.
The ancient sages – Buddhists, Stoics, etc. – didn’t have access to the neuroscience and neuropsychology that we all have now in bookstores and the web. But yet, they realized, through centuries of journaling, contemplation, and reflection, that the best way to overcome the swirling thoughts and emotions and the physical symptoms they illicit is to stay in the moment, a mindset that’s backed by today’s science.
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” ~ Buddha
“Don’t let your reflections on the whole sweep of life crush you. Don’t fill your mind with all the bad things that might still happen. Stay focused on the present situation and ask yourself why it’s so unbearable and can’t be survived.” ~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 8.36
Wonderful, wise observations and advice. Also, much easier said than done.
So how do we go about actually following the advice of these wise men and applying it to our golf games or, say, an important event at work or in our personal lives? Unfortunately, it takes practice.
“No man is free who is not master of himself.” ~ Epictetus
And then it takes awareness to actually apply them on a regular basis when the time calls for it.
“However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act upon them?” ~ Buddha
The tournament could have gotten away from McIlroy any number of times. On Thursday, the double bogey on no. 15 could have actually been worse — he could have hit his ball in the water more than just once. On Sunday, the double bogey on no. 1 could have easily snowballed into another bogey on no. 2 (though some would say the par was functionally a bogey). He righted the ship with a birdie on no. 3, somehow getting his head straight.
On no. 13 on Sunday with a four stroke lead, he decided to play the hole conservatively and with around 85 yards to the pin, which was 5 yards from the creek that defends the green, Rory pushed his pitch into said creek! A genuinely bad shot for even a mid-handicapper with so much room to the left and to compound the situation, Justin Rose and Ludwig Aberg were making a charge ahead of him on the second nine.
But somehow, perhaps through mental practice, perhaps through innate ability, Rory once again righted the ship at a time when so many past would-be Masters champions were not able to get through Amen Corner well enough to keep the lead. Yes, Rory took double bogey on a hole that averaged under par for the week, but many people would have spiraled after dumping the easy pitch into the water.
“It is not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” ~ Epictetus
The funny thing about golf though, is that sometimes what happens to us is our own doing, which can make it even more difficult to forget about and focus on the task at hand.
“Your head could blow off for all I care just as long as you're 100 percent committed to the next shot. That's all that matters. That next shot should be the most important shot in your life.” ~ Tiger Woods
Tiger has had a colorful, to say the least, personal life. But his ability to make good decisions and focus on the task at hand on the golf course was second to none.
So how do we build that skill? Meditate. Journal. Put yourself out there and see how you hold up, and then learn from the experience.
Just keep on going. It takes time. Thankfully, it’s a ton of fun isn’t it?
……………..
Recommended Reading/Listening:
Charlie Warzel penned a great write-up of the tournament at The Golfer’s Journal.
Kyle Porter is writing like Will Ferrell’s Frank Ricard in the debate scene in Old School at Normal Sport. Possessed and really, really good.
The Shotgun Start podcast unpacks the Masters over two episodes (and counting?)
……………..