Cougars' Hansen clears mental hurdle to earn spot in national championship

By: Marc Figueroa - Staff Writer
All golfers have bad days. It's the humbling nature of the game to suffer through bad swing spells.

For a time, though, Kate Hansen was convinced she was permanently cursed -- not by her mechanics, but by what was going on in her head.

This week, the Cal State San Marcos junior is playing in the NAIA Women's Golf National Championships at Lake San Marcos Country Club. But only a few months ago, Hansen was having trouble just making contact with the ball.

Her mind was so out of control that a miniature golf course was intimidating.

"I would walk up to a shot and think about 10 million things," said Hansen, the team's No. 3 player. "I would think about the group behind me. I would think about how the girl behind me just hit a great drive. I would have three great shots in a row, and then I would think, 'Oh no, that means I'm going to have a bad one on the next shot.' You have that many thoughts, you're not going to hit a decent shot."

Said Cal State San Marcos golf coach Fred Hanover: "Her mind was all over the place."

Hansen came to Cal State San Marcos this season, committed to making an immediate impact with the Cougars after two years at Moorpark College in Ventura County. She did, all right -- by becoming the worst player on the team.

Hansen consistently shot in the 70s and low 80s earlier in her college career. She worked hard and spent countless hours practicing after arriving at Cal State San Marcos, but she wasn't improving and soon found herself struggling just to break 90.

"I didn't understand why my scores weren't dropping. They were actually increasing," said the 20-year-old. "It just wasn't me. The entire fall semester, I didn't have one single round where I came off and said, 'I had an OK round.' It was more like, 'I played horrible.' And I'm not a negative person."

At first, Hansen was baffled. Then she became frustrated. Then she cried -- and cried some more. Hansen, who started playing her freshman year of high school, was so distraught she considered giving up the game.

"It was heartbreaking because you never want to see your teammates struggling," said Cougars sophomore Ellyse Siu. "There have been many times where I beat myself up over the littlest things, and then you throw your game away. Your round is done once you start having bad thoughts. It's inevitable."

Hansen finally hit bottom in February during a team qualifying event at the Vineyard in Escondido. She shot 100.

"I exploded," she said. "I sprayed a shot off to the right, then I'd chunk a chip, then I'd three-putt. There wasn't one thing that was wrong physically. But mentally, it was completely wrong.

"And believe it or not, I actually ended that round with three pars."

It was at that moment she knew something had to change.

She called on sports psychologist Erica Howard, who gave Hansen simple mind techniques to simplify what was going on between her ears. The tips were so basic -- envisioning a perfect shot while lining up her swing, thinking of a giant stop sign when she felt her mind starting to race -- that Hansen was almost in disbelief.

"I thought that was too easy," she said. "If it was that easy, I would have been doing it before."

Simple or not, it worked.

In her second round back, Hansen carded a 78, shooting par on the back side.

Then in early April, she won the Cal State Northridge Spring Invitational by two shots with rounds of 76-77. Earlier in the week, Hansen had won the team qualifier; up to that point, her best finish was a tie for 62nd.

Needless to say, the hell-and-back experience has not only humbled Hansen, it has made her realize the awesome power of the mind.

"It raises so much awareness that all the things you struggle with, all you have to do is open a door and suddenly you can do any of those things," she said. "Anything that frustrates me now, I have a new respect for. I think I needed this to grow up."

Her teammates gained perspective as well.

"In golf, it's not always going to be perfect every time you go out and play," Siu said. "Even though she'd go out and shoot 90, she always had a smile on her face. I think that's what led to her success --her positive attitude about life. I knew she would come through and shine, and she did, right at the right time."

-- Contact staff writer Marc Figueroa at marcfig@aol.com.

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