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As you'd expect with the PGA tour's #1 draw and one of the greatest sportsmen of all time, speculation continues as to the timing of Tiger Woods' return to competitive golf. I'm not going to add to the speculation, but offer an observation about what might determine whether that return is successful or not.

The first of this year's golf majors, the US Masters Golf Championship (The Masters) tees off this weekend at the Augusta National Country Club in Georgia. 93 of the world's best golfers, from the PGA Tour, European Tour and Asian Tour, will compete for the Green Jacket. While much of the attention will be on the return of Tiger Woods, and his prospective duel against other major winners such as Padraig Harrington and Phil Mickelson, three teenagers will be in the line up this year. While none will be among the bookies favourites for the Masters, they could all have a real impact on the championship.

If Mark Twain thinks golf is "a good walk spoiled", then putting must be a brief pause to make you reconsider ever walking again. With about 50% of our score being determined on the green, we are constantly in search of the "secret" to getting the little white ball to disappear into the cup.Lucky for us, there is no shortage of really smart people also looking for the answer. The first 8 months of 2008 have been no exception, with a golf cart full of research papers on just the topic of putting.

There's a growing consensus in the academic and popular literature that our attitude and our mindset are more important than our technical capability that make a difference to our success. As Zig Ziglar puts it, "Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude."