That ability to blot out any distractions is an ability Lister has seen from only one other New Zealand golfer - Lydia Ko, who became world No 1 this week.
"Once she gets to the course, she goes into her world and nothing gets in. She knows what she is going to do and gets in the zone.
"Last year in the States she had an impossible shot to a green, a 60-yard shot to a tight pin over a bunker, and nailed it to six feet and made the putt.
"It's a product of her work ethic which is already legendary."
Lister has watched Ko's progress up close and has played several rounds with the teenager.
The head professional at the Peninsula Golf Club, Stuart Reese has observed her methods during the marathon hours she spent on the practice range.
Her attitude reminds him of the times he shared rounds and played practice sessions with a young Tiger Woods when they lived in the same part of the United States.
"The thing I got out of playing and practising with Tiger was his sheer joy of the game and trying to be as great as he could be with whatever shot he had to make," said Reese.
"We did a lot of chipping and pitching together and he always tried to find the hard shots for competition. He would do them perfectly and with plenty of joy while he was trying to beat your brains out.
"You could tell it was a personal battle but he loved it."
Lister and Reese, who played on tours in the 70s and 80s, are united in their views about Ko's success and what separates her from the rank and file on the LPGA tour.
She was talented, had a great work ethic and brought a belief in her ability, a conviction others felt at times but found hard to maintain.
Ko's assurance was unwavering, Reese said, and that gift was held only by top sports stars.
"I've always said attitude is far better than any talent you have. There are cricketers who make wonderful-looking 30s and don't go on while others might not have a classic style but they produce results.
"In golf, it shows when players shoot 65 then 75. Great players will do that every now and then but it usually happens to them because the paradigm of the environment has moved, they get to a situation where they are not so comfortable.
"The best players have the ability to go through that - they are tough enough to weather and overcome that before their confidence, training and latent ability kicks in and they become great players."
Players with some jagged mental edges saw hazards in their round while very good players saw fairways and greens and putts going in.
Nothing technical set Ko apart and she could not hit the ball like Michelle Wie. But her mistake rate was very low. Her wedge play was remarkably consistent from 100 yards in. Her style was built on metronome efficiency.
"The tougher the golf courses the more success she will have because she plots her way round," said Reese.
Lister and Reese agree Ko has to win a major to reinforce her global ranking and until then - and neither see any apparent obstacle - there will be a caveat about her global distinction.
"Someone like Michelle Wie will kill her if she gets her act together because she has shots other women and some of the men don't have," said Lister.
"She was injured a fair bit last year but when she played her form was a big plus and she is happy off the course too.
"Lydia's challenge will be to have fun because it is a hard game. You have to be happy to play well. With university in Seoul and studying psychology, that will help.
"Her mum says she is not into sightseeing or museums, she likes school work and that is great."
It bugged Lister when he heard people asking what happened to Ko when she finished down a leaderboard.
She was yet to miss a cut on the LPGA, and golf was the hardest sport to play. Each week you were up against a huge field of talent and that pool was expanding.
Ko's love of golf was undiminished and she knew how to get in her zone on the course.
Those gifts were helping her decorate her career from a ridiculously early age.
Her temperament matched her talent and practice work ideas.
She embraced challenges and the next were the majors, the measuring stick for all golfers.
Said Reese: "She is two majors away from being our greatest golfer, and I hope on many levels she does it because she is fantastic for the game."
