On Second Chances

 Dr. Alistair P. Mulligan PhD, Resident Behavioral Analyst, GSTPA

There is a growing movement among recreational golfers advocating the use of a second shot when the first does not meet expectations.

This practice is commonly dismissed as dishonest. It is, in fact, highly efficient.

A golfer who plays only one ball per shot is forced to confront the emotional consequences of that shot immediately. This creates stress, denial, and the false belief that something went wrong.

A golfer who plays two shots experiences something else: narrative flexibility.

The first ball establishes what could have happened.
The second ball establishes what should have happened.

This allows the golfer to select the version of reality that is most psychologically sustainable.

Field observation suggests that golfers who regularly take second shots exhibit:

• reduced emotional volatility
• increased optimism
• and a persistent belief that they are “close to figuring it out”

Importantly, the second shot is rarely superior in any objective sense. Its primary value is symbolic. It functions as a private appeal, a quiet request to the game for reconsideration.

Golf, which never reconsiders anything, nonetheless benefits from the illusion that it might.

The golfer leaves the hole not with a better score, but with a better story.

And in many cases, that is the more durable outcome.

Dr. Mulligan has spent two decades studying golfer behavior, largely by standing too close and listening. His work focuses on repetition, denial, and the emotional economy of golf avoidance.