There are golfers who keep it cool. Stoic, unreadable, unshakeable. Jon Rahm is not one of them. And thank goodness for that.
From the first tee to the final putt, Rahm wears his emotions like a Tour-logoed polo — right out in the open. He fist-pumps, he fumes, he sometimes explodes. But underneath the fire? There’s a method. A strategy. A finely tuned balance between passion and performance that’s turned emotional outbursts into major victories.
Let’s break down how Rahm doesn’t just manage his emotions — he weaponizes them.
He’s Not Hiding Anything — And That’s the Point
Most players try to suppress their frustration, bottling it up behind a practiced poker face. Not Rahm.
“Every time I try to keep it to myself,” he explained, “just imagine a Coca-Cola bottle. If you shake it once, then it comes down. But once you open it, it’s a complete mess… Sometimes, I need to get mad.”
That image — the bottle, the fizz, the mess — says it all. For Rahm, emotion isn’t a glitch in the system. It’s the fuel. Trying to stifle it only leads to a bigger explosion later. So he lets it out in bursts: a slammed club here, a shouted curse there. Not because he’s out of control — but because staying in control requires those tiny releases.
This isn’t just philosophical. It’s tactical.
From COVID Heartbreak to U.S. Open Triumph
In 2021, Rahm was cruising at the Memorial — leading by six strokes — when a positive COVID test yanked him out of contention.
Two weeks later, he showed up at Torrey Pines for the U.S. Open and played like a man on a mission.
That Sunday, he made back-to-back birdies on the final holes — including an 18-footer on 18 — to win his first major. The uppercut fist pump? Vintage Rahm. Emotional. Explosive. But channeled. Controlled. Clutch.
Pressure Cooker? Perfect.
You’d think the 2023 Masters would have worn him down. Rain delays. Restarts. Thirty holes on a Sunday. And yet, Rahm held it together to slip on the green jacket — then followed it up with a T15 finish at RBC Heritage the very next week.
That emotional recovery? Newer for him.
Earlier in his career, a bad round might have tanked his week. Now, he’s learned how to cool down quicker, reset faster, and show up ready to grind again. That’s not just fitness — that’s growth.
The Power of (Good) Coaching
Much of Rahm’s mental game comes from his work with sports psychologist Joseba del Carmen.
“Our first conversation will always be about home,” Rahm says. They don’t start with golf. They start with family. Restaurants. Traffic. Life.
Why? Because separation matters. Del Carmen helps Rahm disconnect personal identity from performance. A missed cut isn’t a character flaw. A bad day on the course doesn’t follow him home.
“If I don’t win a certain tournament, or if I have a bad round, it doesn’t define me as a person,” Rahm says.
That perspective is everything. It lets him take risks without spiraling when they don’t pay off. And it’s helped him sharpen the boundary between frustration and focus.
From “Rahmpage” to Regret — and Redemption
Let’s be honest — early-career Rahm had some moments. Meltdowns. Mic’d-up mayhem. Full-blown “Rahmpages.”
But these days? The tantrums are fewer, and the recoveries are quicker.
Take his PGA Championship press conference exit — yeah, he walked out. But the next day? He came back and apologized:
“With that I could probably take a second to apologize everybody here… my attitude yesterday… wasn’t the best.”
That’s self-awareness most pros never show.
And then there was the 2023 Ryder Cup. Brooks Koepka called him a “child.” Old Rahm might’ve thrown a verbal punch back. Instead?
“I’m very comfortable with who I am and what I do,” he said, calmly. “I’ve done much worse on a golf course than that.”
Translation: I’ve grown. And I know it.
Controlled Explosions > Full Implosions
Mental coach del Carmen describes it best: “Keeping adrenaline and cortisol at the right levels.”
Rahm doesn’t aim to be calm — he aims to be balanced. That means creating moments to vent — the fist pumps, the sighs, the quick rants — without letting the emotion take over.
Remember that 63 at Royal Liverpool? The lowest Open score ever at that venue. Rahm didn’t go wild. He exhaled. Smiled quietly. Let the scorecard speak for itself.
It’s a shift. A new maturity. But still unmistakably Rahm.
Why It Works
Rahm’s not pretending to be chill. He’s not faking Zen. He’s just found the sweet spot between raw passion and steady focus.
It’s not a matter of hiding the fire — it’s about pointing it in the right direction.
So the next time you blow up over a shanked iron or a three-putt, maybe take a page out of Rahm’s book. Let it out. Shake the bottle. Then get back to work.
Because sometimes, the best way to stay in control… is to stop trying so hard to pretend you’re not mad in the first place.