Summer Golf Tournaments

Summer golf tournaments are in full swing.

By now you have experienced an increase or decrease in your handicap from the beginning of the golf season. You have experienced the disappointment of making large numbers on a hole, the disappointment of not playing to your potential, three-putting and penalty shots.

On the bright side you may have experienced, chip-ins, birdies, low scores, playing well with friends and winning.

What do these two scenarios have in common? Your emotions.

Your performances are directly related to your emotions. It is an interesting facet of the brain that we remember good and bad things that happen because of our emotions. When you have strong feelings about a golf shot or a score, it is anchored into your computer data base also known as the subconscious mind.

In my weekly tournament play at my club I am always amazed at the golfers who are constantly anchoring the wrong emotional events into their subconscious minds. In NLP we call this negative anchoring. The subconscious mind takes everything literally and does not discern between what you desire and what you do not desire.

Yelling at your ball reinforces your fear and lack of confidence.

If you “talk” to your ball in flight and tell it not to go there (water, woods, rough, bunker, etc.) you are putting emotion into what you do not want. The subconscious mind then records this message by seeing the ball end up where you don’t want it to go.

And you say, “The pros talk to their balls.” The difference is that the pros are reinforcing their original plan for the ball to go to a certain target, not where they don’t want it to go. They are not afraid of where it will wind up because they have practiced every possible shot and have confidence in hitting it.

Golfers who talk to their balls are afraid they will not be able to successfully get out of a challenging situation. This fear then creates anxiety about the outcome.

And so you see that your emotions start with your thoughts. If your expectation is to hit a certain shot well and you don’t do it you will be frustrated, disappointed, humiliated and perhaps embarrassed. Instead of judging your result, let go of the emotions and determine what the thought was that created the miss. Learn from your mishit so you won’t repeat it. Let go of the emotion.

When you hit a successful shot, always anchor it into your subconscious with praise and a good feeling of success.  It can be enhanced with a smile, a fist pump or other energetic motion. It is basically an internal process that can be reinforced. You will feel confident and it will be easier to repeat the shot you want. Anchoring your poor shots with negative emotions will send a message to your subconscious that you want to repeat those shots.

Keys for producing golf shots with confidence:

• Know your ability level. If you are an 18 handicap player, your strategy is to make bogey on every hole.
• Practice shots you are afraid of.
• See recovery shots as challenging. Plan for the best possible outcome.
• Stay relaxed with deep breathing for good tempo and timing.
• Anchor your best shots with positive emotions. Feel within the joy of success.
• Practice having a positive attitude. Golf is a game where it is necessary to maintain composure, patience and an attitude of loving the experience of doing your best.
• Let go of fear thoughts. Love creating each shot to the best of your ability, and accept the result.

 Play “in the zone” with Joan

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