Small talk lifts the lid on PGA Cup impact

In the hullabaloo of flag waving, patriotism and intensity that is part and parcel of the PGA Cup, it can be easy to forget that for the players it will be back to the day job next week.

For Mike Small, the most experienced player on either side this week as he chalks up his fifth successive PGA Cup appearance, that means overseeing the bright young things at the University of Illinois.

The 47-year-old is the men’s head coach and this week at Slaley Hall, there’s an element of ‘practice what you preach’ as he seeks to play a role in America’s recent dominance in the event.

Small, a three-time PGA National champion, revealed how the ‘day job’ and the PGA Cup intertwine.

“There’s a lot similarities and a lot of experience back and forth,” he said. “I’ve become a better coach by playing in this, which I experience for a week every couple of years from the playing side.

“When I coach my guys, I am always thinking how can I get the best out them. This week I’m playing for a captain who’s leading us and I get to put myself in my players’ shoes and figure do I act like that, do I like that decision, do I prepare differently and as a coach it is a learning experience for me. I’m seeing it from my players’ eyes.

“The guys on my team have said that they like it when I play. I think they get some confidence out of it and I think they feel better when the coach can hold his own, I’ve been told that.

“I like to be able to hold my own and being able to relate great experiences, like this, back to them is huge in building a programme. I’m not reading out of a book or attending a seminar I’m actually living it. I will learn stuff this week that I know I’m not going to handle very well and be worked up about and regret I didn’t do better but I’m going to be able to explain all that to my guys.

“A lot of my good coaching over the years is via self-assessment and the things I’ve failed in. I wish I could do it again and I’m going to explain that to my guys. That it’s a positive when I can relate stuff and be honest.

“We have experiences and learn from failure and believe me I’ve had a lot of those. I’ve got to the Tour and fallen off the Tour and done everything imaginable in golf. A lot of it is negative but you turn it into a positive.”

Among the ‘negatives’ was in 2005 when Small was a PGA Cup rookie. He reflected the impact the week had on him physically and mentally, but admitted that looking after his charges expends more energy.

He said: “The PGA Cup week is exhausting, but when you win it’s not as exhausting a week. In ‘05 when we didn’t win that was a stressful week as it was my first time and the new guys [this week] will always have more stress. I’ve learned to compete and play from strength but you’ve got to enjoy it. Find that equilibrium.

“It’s like college golf, when I took my team on the road to play for the national championship in Alabama. That was more exhausting to me as a coach than a player.”

Coaching duties, as with all PGA Professionals, invariably impact on finding the time to not only keep the game in shape, but also to get out and compete.

Small, who has only played five multi-day events since November 2012, recognised the implications this has and revealed ‘visualisation’ plays a major role in his preparation.

“My preparation, experience is part of that but it’s visualisation. Sports psychologists talk about that. You've got to put yourself in positions as much as you can. Put yourself in a nervous position and imagine you get to point where you know you’ve got to calm yourself down. It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book but guys do that.

“When you’re there in that moment, then you de-emphasise that moment as much as you can. When you’re facing that crucial five foot or six foot putt you put yourself in a comfortable position, like being on the putting green with your mates, or hanging out with your kids and having a putt for an apple. That’s how I do it.

“It’s no coincidence that when you’re playing well you’re in a peaceful situation and you’re confident. When you’re not playing well that’s when things get away from you. The best players in the world will say the same thing but for us we don’t get to play as much. I have to do a lot more preparation off the course so that when I get in situations I can handle them better.

“I don’t get the time to build up rhythm and routine so I have to do a lot of mental stuff. I’ve played on the Tour, talked to those guys, worked with sports psychologists, read books so that when I haven’t played I can still visualise good swings and good tempo. I know these guys visualise uncomfortable situations so when it does happen they’re comfortable. As a coach I try and do that to my team as well.”