Aaron Wise wants to tell you about four things. And one thing.
On a video posted to his Instagram account a couple days ago, he introduces them this way:
“You’re on this planet for a long time and you never know what’s going to happen.”
To start Wise’s story, you should know that he’s as good as they come. NCAA champ at Oregon. PGA Tour winner at the age of 21, in just his 26th Tour start. “It’s everything I’ve dreamed of,” Wise said that day at the 2018 Byron Nelson. “I felt like when it rained today I was really going to tear the course up just because it allowed me to hit driver, which is my strength. I got a lot of short irons in my hand and was able to make a lot of birdies.” Later that year, he was voted PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.
Solid play followed. He moved to as high as 33rd in the world.
But in late March of 2023, he withdrew from the Masters just days before the tournament. The news came via his Instagram story, where he wrote the following, along with the words, “This hurts, but it’s needed. See you soon”:
“Golf is just as much a mental game as it is one of physical skill, and the mental piece of it has been a struggle for me recently. I don’t take the significance of playing at Augusta lightly, but know that I need to take some time away to focus on my mental health so I can get back to competing at a level I am proud of.”
The rest of that year, he played in just four events, then was done. Last year, he played in only one tournament, the Puerto Rico Open in mid-March, and withdrew shortly before his starting time in another.
This week, though, Wise is set to play again on the PGA Tour, at the Myrtle Beach Classic, the event being held opposite the Truist Championship. Previous to it this year, he’s made four Korn Ferry Tour starts. Back to that Instagram video now. It includes some of his first words in a while.
A thought’s helped him, he says. Maybe it’ll help you.
Here’s the complete message:
“You’re on this planet for a long time and you never know what’s going to happen. There’s bad breaks that could happen out there, there’s bad holes you could have, and just being able to bounce back from those sort of things and monitor the round as it’s going and keep myself kind of level would be a huge advantage playing golf.
“I can approach every situation I’m in with a totally different mindset. I go through the day that I just had and I think of four positive things that happened, I think of one negative thing that happened and one way that I could change that negative thing if it ever happens again to make it better. Something like that just changes your whole mood around in five or 10 minutes. It makes a big difference. To just get through the day with so much more positive thinking and to be so much happier has made me so much stronger.”
Editor’s note: The video was filmed with the organization Love, Your Mind. For more on the group, please click here.
