The two most important clubs in your golf bag are your driver and your putter. The adage “drive for show, putt for dough” still holds true. Emotions are the most important part of your mental game, and the driver and putter are the most emotionally charged clubs in your bag. You must have confidence in your putting game to score. You cannot be a great putter without confidence. You must really believe you’re going to make the putt, not just hope to make it.

Anyone can putt. A two-year-old can putt the ball into the hole. Putting may be the simplest task in all sport. The putting stroke itself is only one part of the art of putting. Of equal importance is seeing a clear picture of the path to the hole, having a consistent set-up, reading the greens and aiming the clubface correctly.

Putting is a game within a game. It is the part of the game where the ball never leaves the ground. It is artful because it requires that you create in your mind the path the ball will travel.  You then stroke the ball along that line with an artful stroke of gentleness or firmness depending on the conditions. It is the stroke where you need to trust your inner intuition and creativeness completely.

To be a great putter, you need to train your eyes to see a mental picture of the hole and the path that the ball will travel to drop in. Look at the hole until you have a mental picture of it, of the space where it is, and the path that the ball will travel to get there. Tiger’s father Earl taught him to “Putt to the picture.”  If you don’t see a picture, practice looking back and forth until you can close your eyes and see it. Then you will know where your target is without looking at it. Your own vision is one of the most powerful faculties you have for bringing an invisible activity into visible, physical form.

People are different. Putting strokes are different. Everyone can be a good putter. Golfers make it the most difficult by indecision and thinking fearful thoughts. When do you decide you are putting poorly? When do you decide you are putting well? Have you decided to become a great putter? Or do you constantly talk about how poorly you putt?

Fear thoughts are thoughts about missing. Fear is focusing on the outcome. Focus on the process of giving the ball the best possible chance to go into the hole. Trust that you can do this. Trust is better than training.

Putting is the most crucial part of the golf game. Putting is mental. 40-50% of all shots taken in a golf round are putts. It is the only shot used on every hole. It is the shot you must trust to score well/win the tournament. It makes up for other flaws. If you can master putting you will be the envy of all the other players.

Of all the clubs, the putter gets the least attention. People pick putters because they feel good, look good, or because they putt well with it the first time out. Your putter needs to have the correct length, the correct lie angle and loft, and correct weight to compliment your stroke.

Golfers make unorthodox movements to compensate for the equipment they are using, and the putter is no exception. If you have not been fitted for your putter, this is the first thing you need to do. When you are fitted correctly you will feel very confident knowing that your putter is giving you the best possible aim and alignment.

Performance anxiety comes from your belief about yourself and the way you view your putting ability. Here are seven mental keys to energize confidence in your putting game.

1. To become a great putter, you must have a positive attitude that includes being enthusiastic about wanting to putt, having your complete focus on the process of making the putt, having a specific plan, believing in your ability to carry out your plan, and being relaxed enough to putt the ball where you want it to go.
2. Change your thinking to believe that you can roll the ball well enough to give it a chance to go in. Putting requires imagination and creativity. It requires that you shut down your mind and feel the putter. You will never have total control over the ball because it rolls over imperfect grass. Accept all conditions or you aren’t giving yourself a chance.
3. Keep your focus on the process of creating each putt instead of putting pressure on yourself to play for a score. The way to focus and be a consistent putter is to use a pre-shot routine to keep your mind from wandering and overthinking. Immersing yourself in your routine keeps your mind in the present, focused on the task of rolling the ball into the hole. Using the same routine every time builds a rhythm which carries over into your putting stroke. You can then putt more solidly and confidently.
4. Don’t compare your results with your playing partners/opponents. Stay focused on the things you can control. Concentrate on the process of picturing what you need to do to make the putt.
5. Give every putt the same importance. Don’t label putts as birdie, par or bogey putts. Have the same attitude for critical putts, easy putts, or unimportant putts in the most crucial situations. Trying too hard for results produces tension, tightening and loss of touch or feel.
6. Become an effective lag putter and eliminate as many three-putts as possible. The average PGA Tour player lags putts over 30 feet to within 3 feet 99.4% of the time. When you have a lengthy putt, think distance 95%, line 5%, and lag it within the comfortable 3-foot diameter around the hole.
7. Stop thinking about missed putts. Remember and replay in your mind on and off the course the ones you made. Jack Nicklaus, one of the greatest putters of the game, forgot all his missed putts, and would not answer reporters who asked him about them. In his mind, he made every one of his putts. This belief will do wonders for your confidence. Putting is made difficult when the average golfer’s thoughts and feelings are comprised of negative suggestions from the outside world. When you let go of the idea that missing a putt has serious consequences, you will be enjoying a fun game that will end up with positive results.

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

To train your brain to believe in yourself and your abilities to play your best golf, you can listen to Positive Mental Imagery self-empowering guided imagery self-hypnosis CDs in the privacy of your own home. All eight different CDs are also available now as MP3s. www.pmi4.com/cart

If you aren’t able to maintain trust and belief in yourself on the golf course, email Joan at pmi4@bellsouth.net for a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation about developing a new mindset. Learn what is missing in your golf game so you can achieve the success you desire.

“THE HEART OF GOLF, Access Your Supreme Intelligence for Peak Performances” explores and explains negative emotions such as fear and performance anxiety, the four Cs of mind blockage, the four progressive stages of learning the supreme intelligence of the heart, and the way to access the zone in competition. It is a player’s guide for developing your true inner self by returning to the joy and love of self instead of seeking praise and rewards from the outside world.

“THE HEART OF GOLF“ guidebook for transforming your life and your golf game is available on Amazon and Kindle at http://amzn.to/2MQzjfq   All royalties will be donated to Junior Golf!

When pro golfers are interviewed after a round of tournament golf, they invariably start their answer by describing their successful shots and putts. After a competitive round of golf, amateur golfers will usually describe what “could have” happened if they hadn’t missed certain shots and putts. Both ways of thinking are stored in the subconscious mind and become stronger with repetition.

Golf is a mental game because your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and attitudes all affect your golf swing. Golfers who have a strong inner game in competition are confident, focused, and composed. For 30 years I have been teaching mental skills (www.pmi4.com Archived Newsletters) to every level of golfer for developing a mindset that helps them be “in the zone” more frequently where they can score at their peak performance level.

I have seen scratch golfers who had “perfect” swings and took “perfect” divots on the range but didn’t live up to their potential on course. These golfers didn’t have a strong mental game because it wasn’t stressed when they were learning to play. Their training was on perfecting the mechanics of the golf swing. The missing part was learning how to develop a mindset for a strong inner game where the golfer is fully engrossed, confident, focused and having fun.

We now know that once you learn the mechanics of the golf swing, and trust that it is good enough, the game becomes 90-95% mental and 5-10% physical. It’s a game that is won and lost inside your own head. That is why almost every tour professional today uses the services of a sports psychologist and/or hypnotist.

How do you know if you need mental game coaching? Here are some suggestions to help you decide:

• When you can’t take your game from the range to the golf course.
• When you have lost confidence in the ability you have experienced before.
• When you finish a round of golf and talk about what you didn’t do, and what you could have done.
• When you are thinking more about swing mechanics, other players, or outside distractions more than playing your own game.
• When you are holding your breath during your swing.
• When you lose control of your swing on the golf course and can’t get it back.
• When you have the “first tee jitters” or “yips” in your short game.
• When you are afraid to hit over a large body of water.
• When you think of too many things at once.
• When you are afraid of others watching and judging you.
• When playing with better players.
• When you are afraid of letting your partner/team down.
• When your game is inconsistent.
• When your game falls apart under the pressure of competition.
• When you aren’t playing to your potential.

Golf is an inner game. It is an inner search for Self. Golf will teach you who you are through your feelings. This is where the call of the heart comes into play. That is where the inspiration is. It is the driving force to discover/loving yourself enough to enjoy every shot and every opportunity to create the wonderful feeling of success. That is the power that resides within you. Trust and believing in yourself will transform your game.

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

To train your brain to believe in yourself and your abilities to play your best golf, you can listen to Positive Mental Imagery self-empowering guided imagery self-hypnosis CDs in the privacy of your own home. All eight different CDs are available now as MP3s also. www.pmi4.com/cart

If you aren’t able to maintain trust and belief in yourself on the golf course, email Joan at pmi4@bellsouth.net for a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation about developing a new mindset. Learn what is missing in your golf game so you can achieve the success you desire.

“THE HEART OF GOLF, Access Your Supreme Intelligence for Peak Performances” explores and explains negative emotions such as fear and performance anxiety, the four Cs of mind blockage, the four progressive stages of learning the supreme intelligence of the heart, and the way to access the zone in competition. It is a player’s guide for developing your true inner self by returning to the joy and love of self instead of seeking praise and rewards from the outside world. 

“THE HEART OF GOLF” guidebook for transforming your life and your golf game is available on Amazon and Kindle https://amzn.to/2MQzjfq

All royalties will be donated to Junior Golf!

What is keeping you from playing golf consistently at your personal best?

Your inner child’s mental programming!

For 30 years I have provided information about how to access the zone/flow state because that is where you play at your peak performance levels simply and easily. I have written numerous articles about how your mind works (https://bit.ly/3Fg8r3q). This month I will show you what keeps you from being successful in accessing that highest state of being.

Subconscious Programming 

First, you must understand that all of us were programmed by our relationships and surroundings up to the age of seven. In early childhood, a child’s mind accepts all information as true because there aren’t any existing belief systems based on previous experiences that could contradict the new information. The inner child takes in everything literally and stores it in the subconscious mind, Just like your computer, it is garbage in, garbage out (GIGO).

According to Bruce Lipton, PhD, 95% of our life is coming from the programs of how to live life that we get in the first seven years of life. 95% of your life after seven will be based on whatever those programs are. A child doesn’t think consciously until after seven. Before seven everything is recorded just as it is observed, downloading, and learning the multiple thousands of rules. This is how in early childhood you develop the personality and strong beliefs that impact you for the rest of your life.

Data from Harvard University shows the brain develops rapidly during the first years of life. Before children turn 3 years old, they’re already forming 1 million neural connections every minute. After seven you use the other 5% to consciously create but still based on those subconscious patterns.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle stated, “Give me a child until he is 7 and I will show you the man.”

If your life is easy, you have programs that support that. If there is anything you have to struggle with to make it happen, it is the result of your programs not supporting that. So, if your golf game isn’t easy and fun, you are sabotaging it with your own childhood programs.

Your Inner Child

The term inner child simply means what being a child meant to you. It is the true heart of your personality that follows you into adulthood. It plays a major role in your health, wealth, happiness, and the time to enjoy it. There is also the hidden part of a person’s personality accompanied by anger, hurt, and fear from childhood experiences.

To heal your inner child, the first step is to become aware of any negative programming your inner child has stored in your subconscious mind that is causing you a problem now. There are rapid change modalities available to reprogram the subconscious mind such as repetition, and hypnosis. Repetition is a conscious act and hypnosis connects directly with the subconscious mind.

Understanding + Experience = Progress

This is why I have created eight self-hypnosis CDs for golfers to change their limiting inner child programs (www.pmi4.com/cart) that keep them from the joy of playing this wonderful game of golf. By listening repeatedly to the CDs/MP3’s, the imagery (language of the subconscious) and suggestions form new self-affirming neural pathways in the brain.

The Heart of a Child

Have you made peace with your game or are you still questioning your abilities?

The mind can be convinced but the heart has to feel it. Play with the simplicity of the heart of a child. A child doesn’t know but is willing to learn. In the feeling of a full heart, time stands still (the zone state). Let your heart be your guide. Return to your heart, only feel love, let go of the mind. What you think and feel you bring into manifestation.

The heart of a child is simple: no doubts, no questions, just clarity.  That attention, that focus, that simplicity, just focuses in.  You have always had the heart of a child, but it’s been buried by so many rules.  It is time to let go of all the self-limiting rules, and once again let the heart of a child shine.

The process of discovery

Why is the zone considered the biggest mystery in golf?

Why can’t you find it?

Look inside. It has been there all the time. There is no more mystery, no more questions. Let go of analyzing, judgment, and be who you are within your heart. Feel real love. Enjoy your life. Enjoy your golf game. Go within and feel the joy that it brings to you. Discover who you are. Approach with the heart of a child, simple, accepting.

The wonder of your golf game and your life is right in front of you. Don’t let your mind wander away from it. This is not the time to let your ego mind take over and distract you. Stop looking outside of yourself and trust your feeling heart.

Fall in love with what you are doing, with playing golf. If you don’t know how, remember the feeling you had when you hit your first perfect shot. The teen-age golfers in Sweden are taught to carry a picture of someone/something they love. When their golf games go south, they look at the picture to move back into their heart-space and change their state. You carry that love within you wherever you are.

Train yourself to remember what love feels like inside of you when your mind distracts you from what you love doing. What are the distractions? Golf scores, others, fear. You will play your best when you access the heart feeling of peace, joy and love inside you. When you visualize or imagine the shot you want to hit, you are accessing the part of you that feels the joy of creating it. Be in the moment called now.

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

To train your brain to believe in positive thoughts and emotions and to play your best golf, you can listen to Positive Mental Imagery self-empowering guided imagery hypnosis CDs in the privacy of your own home. All eight different CDs/ are available now in MP3 form at www.pmi4.com/cart

If you aren’t able to maintain trust and belief in yourself on the golf course or have trouble figuring out what your negative patterns and habits are, email Joan pmi4@bellsouth.net for a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation about developing a new strategy. Learn what is missing in your golf game so you can achieve the success you desire.

“THE HEART OF GOLF, Access Your Supreme Intelligence for Peak Performances” explores and explains negative emotions such as fear and performance anxiety, the four Cs of mind blockage, the four progressive stages of learning the supreme intelligence of the heart, and the way to access the zone in competition. It is a player’s guide for developing your true inner self by returning to joy and love of self instead of seeking praise and rewards from the outside world.

“THE HEART OF GOLF” guidebook for transforming your life

and your golf game is available on Amazon and Kindle

https://amzn.to/2MQzjfq

All royalties will be donated to Junior Golf!

Thirty years ago today, on April 2, 1992, I founded Positive Mental Imagery, a mental sports consulting service dedicated to helping golfers achieve their peak performances.

Playing golf with the women at my country club I noticed that they spent an inordinate amount of time complaining and voicing negativity about their games. One player even kept a running track of the number of missed shots (in her opinion) in her round!!

Listening to constant complaining took away my enjoyment of playing. I asked my group if they would like to know how to have fun playing. Two gals said yes, and my business started in my family room. The first workshop was two hours long and continued for six weeks.

The following Fall at our opening day luncheon I gave a short presentation on what is now called “mental golf.” Thirty-five women signed up for the workshop. As they learned the mental tools, they reminded each other when someone slipped back into voicing self-limiting thoughts. By the end of the season the atmosphere on the golf course had changed, the participants’ attitudes were more positive, and they were having more fun.

Hypnosis Mind Imagery for Golf

For decades pro athletes, Olympic and sports teams have been using the mental tool of hypnosis to gain the mental edge on their opponents. In 1952 the Russians showed up at the Melbourne Olympics with 11 sports hypnotists. Their athletes dominated the games with 37 gold medals.

Self-hypnosis is a temporary altered trance state where the person is alert, relaxed, and in a focused state of consciousness. It is a natural state of life. You may have been in this state several times today although you may not have called it hypnosis. Some of the natural states of trance we encounter are highway trance, television trance, movie trance, video games, reading, eating, doing two things at the same time, daydreaming. Anytime you go into your own world and imagination you are going into hypnosis.

It is well known that Tiger Woods’ mental coach, psychologist Dr. Jay Brunza used hypnosis when Tiger was 13 years old to help him be “in the zone” for full focus and concentration on his swing and hitting the ball perfectly. Tiger used the power of self-hypnosis to visualize every swing, and putt in his mind before executing it.

Hypnosis is the easiest, quickest and most proven way to achieve great mental golf. https://bit.ly/3LBp8Zi Link for a further explanation of hypnosis.

To help my clients in more rapid change modalities, I became certified in 1994 in hypnosis, certified as a Neuro-Linguistic Practitioner (NLP) in 1996, became a certified sports hypnotherapist in 2001, and NGH Board Certified Hypnotherapist in 2006. I taught seminars at the annual NGH Hypnosis Convention to show hypnotists how to help their sports clients.

All hypnosis is self-hypnosis. When you are “in the zone” you are in an altered state where time appears to stand still. What happens is that you have slowed down your conscious problem-solving thinking mind. At the same time, your intuitive subconscious mind has speeded up so that you know what to do intuitively without any doubt, anxiety or fearful interference. You just know what to do. You are in the flow state where you are fully involved in the process of creating the shot, enjoying the feeling.

To help put yourself in this trance state of mind, I have created eight self-hypnosis audios with golf imagery and positive suggestions for changing your limiting beliefs. All you must do is listen daily in a quiet place for 30 minutes.

Self-hypnosis golf CDs and MP3s are available on the PMI website at www.pmi4.com/cart

As I competed in state, national, and international tournaments, I talked to more expert golfers and gave workshops all over the country. Golfers were taught how to enhance their natural learning skills of visualization, hearing, and feeling to gain a greater awareness of themselves and their golf games. They learned how to free their minds for sharper focus and concentration, which resulted in better shot making and lower scores. The workshops resulted in the following:

• 100% of the participants reported they were more relaxed on the golf course.
• 100% of the participants reported their attitude on the golf course was more positive.
• 90% of the participants reported they were having more fun while playing/competing.
• 50% of the participants lowered their handicaps 2 or more strokes after one month.

I received advanced mental golf training in 1995 with Chuck Hogan, PGA Professional in Dallas, TX. who was one of the first teachers to combine the mental and physical aspects of the game. In 1998 I travelled to Stockholm, Sweden to participate in the original “Coaching for the Future” 2-week seminar with Pia Nilsson, Lynn Marriott and Kjell Enhager. With the vision of shooting a 54 round, the Swedish Golf Federation program trained world class winners like Annika Sorenstam to have the confidence of a total human being, not just a scoring machine.

At the insistence of my workshop clients, I wrote “The Heart of Golf, Access Your Supreme Intelligence for Peak Performances” in 2017 which covers all the mental/emotional problems and solutions that golfers encounter on the golf course. It accomplished my purpose of showing golfers how to access the zone state for peak performances.

April is the signal for a fresh start with the new cycle of spring when nature begins to burst forth in color. Begin now to create a new mental golf game by using self-hypnosis. It will be your new nature and help unleash your full potential and enjoyment before the summer season arrives.

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

To train your brain to believe in yourself and your abilities to play your best golf, you can listen to Positive Mental Imagery self-empowering guided imagery self-hypnosis CDs in the privacy of your own home. All eight different CDs are available now as MP3s also. www.pmi4.com/cart

If you aren’t able to maintain trust and belief in yourself on the golf course or have trouble figuring out what your blocks are, email Joan at pmi4@bellsouth.net for a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation about developing a new strategy. Learn what is missing in your golf game so you can achieve the success you desire.

“THE HEART OF GOLF, Access Your Supreme Intelligence for Peak Performances” explores and explains negative emotions such as fear and performance anxiety, the four Cs of mind blockage, the four progressive stages of learning the supreme intelligence of the heart, and the way to access the zone in competition. It is a player’s guide for developing your true inner self by returning to the joy and love of self instead of seeking praise and rewards from the outside world.

 “THE HEART OF GOLF” guidebook for transforming your life and your golf game is available on Amazon and Kindle https://amzn.to/2MQzjfq   

All royalties will be donated to Junior Golf!

Babe Didrikson Zaharias is known as one of the greatest female athletes of all time. She broke world records in multiple sports constantly breaking her own records. In the 1932 Olympics she won gold medals in the javelin throw and the 80-meter hurdles. After hitting 5 home runs in one baseball game, she was nicknamed “Babe” after Babe Ruth.

Babe excelled in basketball, baseball, track & field, and many other sports, but is best known for her achievements in golf. She won 17 amateur golf tournaments in a row, had a career total of 82 tournament wins, and 10 LPGA major championships. In 1949 she and Patty Berg co-founded the LPGA, transforming a predominantly amateur sport into a professional one as there were limited options for female golfers in the 1940s.

Despite all her athletic achievements Zaharias found that golf did not come easily to her like all the other sports. She would practice hitting as many as 1,000 balls a day, spending 4-6 hours on the practice range.

“They say golf came easy to me because I was a good athlete, but there’s not any girl on the LPGA Tour who worked near as hard as I did in golf. It’s the toughest game I ever tackled.” – Babe Didrikson Zaharias

There is an easier way

70 years later we have the tools to learn and play golf without all that effort. We now know that once you learn the mechanics of the golf swing, and trust that it is good enough, the game becomes 90-95% mental and 5-10% physical. It’s a game that is won and lost inside your own head. That is why almost every tour professional today uses the services of a sports psychologist and/or hypnotist.

What most people don’t realize is that for the first six years of your life, you soaked up everything like a sponge that you saw, heard, or felt, unconsciously, without effort and without judgement. Unless you have changed this subconscious programming that you downloaded from other people, science shows that 95% of every day you are still automatically reacting to those patterns.

For example, by the time you were five years old, you were told negatives or NO, 30,000 times. By the time you were 13 years old, you were told negatives or NO 100,000 times. You grew up in an environmentally negative society. You heard the word bad more often than good. You were told you were wrong more times than you were told you were right. You were criticized more times than you were praised. You were told not to do something more times than you were told what to do.

The mental state you are in on the golf course determines how you will play.

Here are six areas that can sabotage your golf game. Change your thinking to free up your mind for positive outcomes.

1. Attitude

“A bad attitude is worse than a bad swing.” – Payne Stewart, PGA Tour Pro

To become a healthy, happy person free of debilitating feelings, involves learning to think differently. It requires being responsible for how you feel. It means taking action to change your thoughts. This is what is meant by an attitude adjustment.

To change a thought that has been reinforced hundreds of times requires reinforcement over and over again for the new thought to replace the old one. It then becomes your new belief system. It requires discipline and determination to let go of every thought that sabotages your golf game and your happiness. It is much easier to give up and feel sorry for yourself. In this world, it seems we receive more attention and pity when we are unhappy (or hit poor golf shots) than when we are in control of our life and are happy.

The bad news is that nobody can be positive 100% of the time and perhaps that is one reason why golf scores are inconsistent. The good news is that you can change your attitude, just as you can change any bad habit. Your attitude is your choice. The sooner you decide to choose how you will think positively about yourself and your golf game, the less anxiety you will have and the more you will enjoy your rounds of golf. Make your round of golf the most enjoyable experience possible.

2. Worry

Worry is a state of mind that focuses on an outcome in the future. Nothing was ever accomplished by worrying, except to cause anxiety for the person doing the worrying. It is like carrying around an extra burden. When you are having fun you are focused in the moment and the game is easy.

There are two types of situations in life and in your golf game; those that you can change and those that you cannot change. If you are worrying about what you can’t change, you are wasting valuable energy that could be used to move in a more positive direction. Let go of what you can’t change and concentrate on taking an active role to create what you can control.

The easiest way to keep worry/fear feelings out of our minds is to realize and to accept that we cannot really control anything. In golf, as in life, we can only do the best we can with the knowledge we have at that time. You can choose to focus on distractions, trouble, past missed shots, lack of confidence, what others are doing, or the score. Or you can choose to focus on the best that can happen in the present moment. What you focus and think about the most you will attract into your life. Keep all your thoughts focused on what you want to create.

3. Blame

You are your most important critic.  Nothing is more critical than the opinion you have of yourself. What you say to yourself in your inner mind is the most important conversation you will ever have.  You become confident by affirming yourself.

Don’t waste your round of golf looking at half empty glasses and making a victim of yourself!!!

You go against yourself when you Judge or blame yourself, other players, the weather, the golf course, your golf club, or anything except yourself for playing badly.  When you have good self-esteem and feel good about yourself, you take responsibility for your actions, on and off the golf course. Then you are tapping into your Authentic Self by using the mental tools of responsibility, acceptance, and forgiveness.

Keep doing your best.  If you always do your best, there is no way the Judge within can find you guilty or blame you.  When you give it your best effort, you learn to accept yourself. Practice, learn from your mistakes and look honestly at the results. This increases your awareness of your True Self.

4. Fear

The one thing that keeps you from the results you desire is FEAR. We each have our own fears because our own minds create these fears. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, or the fear of not being good enough are not real. They are imagined as a protection against what might happen. When you are fearful, or worrying, you are limiting yourself from achieving your dreams and goals.

Fear is a powerful feeling and is the opposite of the most powerful feeling; love. The mindset that you have on the golf course determines not only the enjoyment you will have, but also the success you will achieve. Everything in the universe is connected by love. We are disconnected by fear.

Fear can be overcome when you face it fearlessly. When you deal with it, you can conquer it and it won’t last forever. When you play fearless golf, there is no anxiety. Never let fear stop you from following your dreams. Instead of letting it hold you back, use it as motivation to achieve your goals.

Thinking about things that do not support your desires is a waste of time and effort. Begin to form the right state of mind by deciding which thoughts and emotions will help you to achieve it. You can use visual images, positive self-talk, affirmations, and empowering emotions to enhance your self-image to make your dreams a reality.

5. Punishment

Humans punish themselves endlessly for not being what they believe they should be.  It is the Judge, the Victim and our belief system within that make us do this.  The way we judge ourselves is the strongest judge there is. When we miss a shot in front of other people, we try to deny the mistake and take the attention off us by covering it up with excuses and rationalizing why it happened. To be a champion golfer, you need to seek your own approval, not the approval of others.

Self-esteem is the issue. Children learn early on that when a parent, teacher or trusted authority figure says you do something wrong, you need to be punished because you are bad. Hearing these messages over and over, they are programmed into your subconscious mind and take on the role of the authority figures even after they are gone. When you are standing over the golf ball and one of these self-doubting thoughts surfaces, your self-sabotage takes over and punishes you with a missed shot.

6. Judgment

Judgment is the comparison between how something seems and how we think it should be. We would like to believe that we could hit every golf shot perfectly. And when we don’t do that, we feel frustrated, embarrassed, humiliated, and reject ourselves because we feel inadequate. In other words, we pretend to be what we are not (perfect), because we are afraid someone else will notice that we are not what we pretend to be.

To maintain our balance and composure, it is necessary to look at the game of golf/life in a different perspective. We need to forgive ourselves for being human, for making mistakes. This is the answer to Judgment. It requires a change of attitude and a new belief system. There is no right or wrong. It just is.

Golf is management of imperfection. Each shot is a story. When it is over, you begin a new story.  Instead of blaming yourself for your mistakes, learn from them so you won’t repeat them. When we are “in the zone” and playing at our peak performance level, we are trusting and allowing, having intensified concentration and total focus on making the shot —– just enjoying the experience.

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

Don’t make the mental game of golf your last resort for success and happiness. Just by listening to self-hypnosis audios you can change your limiting subconscious thoughts to positive self-affirmations.

To help you imagine or visualize the peak performances that you are capable of, I have recorded eight self-hypnotic CDs full of imagery and positive affirming thoughts.  All eight different CDs are also available now in MP3 form at www.pmi4.com/cart

If you aren’t able to maintain trust and belief in yourself on the golf course or have trouble figuring out what your blocks are, email Joan at pmi4@bellsouth.net for a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation about developing a new strategy. Learn what is missing in your golf game so you can achieve the success you desire.

“THE HEART OF GOLF, Access Your Supreme Intelligence for Peak Performances” explores and explains negative emotions such as fear and performance anxiety, the four Cs of mind blockage, the four progressive stages of learning the supreme intelligence of the heart, and the way to access the zone in competition. It is a player’s guide for developing your true inner self by returning to the joy and love of self instead of seeking praise and rewards from the outside world. 

“THE HEART OF GOLF” guidebook for transforming your life and your golf game is available on Amazon and Kindle at https://amzn.to/2MQzjfq 

“I never know who is going to show up today!” is an excuse sometimes heard on the first tee to acknowledge the possibility of impending poor play.

The mental game of golf is about advance preparation of your mind-body-spirit so you will be calm, alert, confident, focused, and in control when you step on to the first tee. When we have learned that positive thoughts create positive outcomes while negative thoughts create negative outcomes; we have learned the power of the mind, body, and spirit connection.

Effective Goal Setting         

The new year is when most of us set goals for self-improvement. Within a few weeks those goals are no longer as important in our lives. The reason the new goals don’t work is because we tend to focus on the negative and what didn’t work. To accomplish a goal, you need to create positive mental habits that support the desired change.  If you have short term as well as long-term goals, they can help to cure anxiety and burn-out or “the poor me” (pity pot) syndrome.

Declare your “dream” goal of your ultimate best in the future so you know where you are headed. Then set short-term goal(s) to be accomplished daily that incorporate the following:

1. You must want to achieve the short-term goal.
2. You have a 50% chance of success or more of accomplishing it.
3. You must believe you can achieve the goal.
4. The goal must be positive.
5. It takes 30 days to form a habit. Challenge yourself to accomplish the goal daily for a minimum of 30 days.
6. Every day, recognize and write down when you were successful. Keeping track of your progress is important to learn about unconscious patterns of thought interfering with your success.

All of your thoughts are stored in your subconscious mind. If the negative thoughts are repeated over and over they produce thought patterns, feelings and actions that are not helpful. If the critical thoughts originated in childhood, and were reinforced over your lifetime without being changed, they will surface under emotional stress.

Create Your Own Field of Dreams

If you didn’t accomplish your goals in 2021, it is time for self-realization to find and change the patterns that are sabotaging your golf game success. The only way to improve is to change your belief system. You can change your past, present and future by the self-realization that you are holding on to patterns of belief that no longer serve you.

Now is the time to fix your golf game for the future with a new beginning. Create a field of dreams. Create a new positive field of energy. Create a field of hope. Create a field of love for yourself and your golf game. Create a field of fun to play the game no matter what the results are.

To create your desired golf future, change your thinking from “Who is going to show up today?” to “What you can do to bring the best ‘you’ onto the golf course in 2022?”

• Instead of doing things the same way with the same results, change your negative self-sabotaging habits one at a time.
• When you have a negative attitude about your game, change it to visualize and imagine yourself playing at your personal best. Attract to you what you want, not what you don’t want.
• Empower yourself by self-talk that is kinder. Be your own best supporting caddy.
• Be discerning in your thoughts instead of allowing others’ thoughts to control your actions.
• Use the opportunity in every moment to be the player that you want to be.

An important part of being focused is to be clear about what you want. Focus is an important part of daily life. It keeps you centered and moving forward on what is most important to you. Being focused helps you tune out the outer noise and distractions. It also aligns the energies to assist you with your goals. if you are truly in the moment, you are simply the observer without judgment and without programming.

We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience.”

 — John Dewey

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

To train your brain to believe in positive thoughts and emotions and to play your best golf, you can listen to Positive Mental Imagery self-empowering guided imagery hypnosis CDs in the privacy of your own home. All eight different CDs are available now in MP3 form at www.pmi4.com/cart

If you aren’t able to maintain trust and belief in yourself on the golf course or have trouble figuring out what your negative patterns and habits are, email Joan at pmi4@bellsouth.net for a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation about developing a new strategy. Learn what is missing in your golf game so you can achieve the success you desire.

“THE HEART OF GOLF, Access Your Supreme Intelligence for Peak Performances” explores and explains negative emotions such as fear and performance anxiety, the four Cs of mind blockage, the four progressive stages of learning the supreme intelligence of the heart, and the way to access the zone in competition. It is a player’s guide for developing your true inner self by returning to the joy and love of self instead of seeking praise and rewards from the outside world.

“THE HEART OF GOLF” guidebook for transforming your life and your golf game is available on Amazon and Kindle  https://amzn.to/2MQzjfq

Embarrassment and shame are common feelings in golf and in life. These feelings can surface from the need for perfection or the perceived judgment from others. If you don’t release them, they will sabotage your future performances.

The Seagull Lady

The most embarrassing moment in my golf career happened one year when I played in the South Atlantic Women’s Amateur Championship (SALLY) at Oceanside CC in Ormond Beach, Florida. It is the second 72-hole stroke play tournament on the Florida Orange Blossom Circuit held in January in Florida..

The members at Oceanside participate fully in the tournament in a Member-Contestant tournament, by hosting the contestants in their homes and by participating in all the weeklong social festivities. It began in 1926 and continues to field contestants from all over the world. The golf course is adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean where the cold winds in January can be an additional hazard.

I remember teeing off on the 10th hole with my five-wood to keep the ball in play. As I watched, the ball was barely airborne. It was a topped shot that struck a seagull flying low to the ground. I was mortified! The huge gallery surrounding the hole saw what I had done! As I crawled back into the golf cart, I felt so embarrassed and ashamed that I might have killed a seagull. My cart partner didn’t know what to say. I wanted to hide under the cart but had to continue playing. Someone from the pro shop came out and rescued the seagull. I don’t know if it lived or not. I was left with terribly painful feelings.

The word travelled fast about my incident and by the time I finished 18, I was being known and teased as. “the seagull lady.” My embarrassment grew stronger. Shortly after finishing my round, people from the club came up to me and told me their own golf stories about hitting seagulls. The gulls were very prevalent in the area. When I learned I wasn’t the only one to have had this experience, my shameful feelings abated. Even though this occurrence is as clear in my memory now as when it happened, I can laugh when I think of it.

When you miss a shot on the range, are you embarrassed and look around to see if anyone was watching and judging you? Or do you focus on your practice and use the feedback from the shot’s flight without judging yourself?

Shame is a universally felt emotion. It makes us feel bad about ourselves. Men and women tend to react to it differently. Men with low self-esteem who are embarrassed or ashamed tend to act with anger such as throwing a club or pounding a club into the ground. Women tend to hold their feelings inside and berate themselves. Either reaction is distracting us from taking responsibility for our missed shots.

Embarrassment

Embarrassment is also a universal human emotion that is common in golf and in life. I think it is safe to say that all golfers have felt some embarrassment from their golf experiences.

Poor alignment will cause offline shots and possible problem situations. When I practiced, I put down an alignment stick so I would be square to the target. This is not possible on the golf course. I didn’t want to point my club at the target for alignment because of a fear of embarrassment looking like a beginner. My fear was caused by misinformation. It wasn’t until I saw the gals on the LPGA tour doing it that I changed my fear thought and gave myself permission to do it also. As a result, my shots became more consistent.

Another example of feeling embarrassed would be hitting a ball in the water on a par 3 or hitting a ball OB and quickly hitting another ball to get away from the feeling of being inept in front of others. The truth is the feeling only matters to you because golfers for the most part only care about their own games.

There are many ways you will be embarrassed, and your self-worth attacked on the golf course. The good news is that you can change your emotion instantly by changing your thoughts. I learned to change embarrassment of missing a shot to an emotion of surprise that my shot didn’t come off as planned. Then I was able to regroup by taking deep breaths to think clearly, calming down, taking a couple of practice swings to regain the tempo that I had intended, and carefully going through my pre-shot routine. To do this required practice in changing the impulse to get out of the embarrassing situation quickly.

Give yourself the freedom to allow

Golf is a metaphor for life. If you are experiencing hurtful/painful feelings on the golf course…

1.      Learn how to let situations come and go.

2.      Changing your patterns of thought changes your feelings.

3.      Learn how to feel your feelings and let them come and go.

4.      To hold on to feelings is hurtful and physically damaging.

5.      Let the feeling of love for yourself and your game flow.

Whatever you choose, whether it is anger, embarrassment, blame, shame, or guilt, it is a distraction that keeps you from the most powerful emotion of all, Love. Love of the game is where you will find the fun. The negative emotions will hurt you and keep you from your enjoyment of playing.

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

To train your brain to believe in positive thoughts and emotions and to play your best golf, you can listen to Positive Mental Imagery self-empowering guided imagery hypnosis CDs in the privacy of your own home. Eight different CDs are available at www.pmi4.com/cart

If you aren’t able to maintain trust and belief in yourself on the golf course, email Joan at pmi4@bellsouth.net for a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation about developing a new strategy. Learn what is missing in your golf game so you can achieve the success you desire.

“THE HEART OF GOLF, Access Your Supreme Intelligence for Peak Performances” explores and explains negative emotions such as fear and performance anxiety, the four Cs of mind blockage, the four progressive stages of learning the supreme intelligence of the heart, and the way to access the zone in competition. It is a player’s guide for developing your true inner self by returning to the joy and love of self instead of seeking praise and rewards from the outside world.

“THE HEART OF GOLF” guidebook for transforming your life and your golf game is available now on Amazon and Kindle at https://amzn.to/2MQzjfq All royalties will be donated to Junior Golf!

Did your golf dreams come true this summer?

Dreaming about what you want to accomplish in golf will not bring it about. A dream is a manifestation of what your fondest desires are. To make your dreams happen, you need to let go of the fears that hold you back from accomplishing them. When you see only your shortcomings, you will always come up short. No matter what is happening, your attitude toward it is always your choice.

Thinking about things that do not support your dream is a waste of time and effort. Begin to form the right state of mind by deciding which thoughts and emotions will help you to achieve it. You can use visual images, positive self-talk, affirmations, and empowering emotions to enhance your self-image to make your dreams a reality.

The one thing that keeps you from the results you desire is FEAR. We each have our own fears because our own minds create these fears. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, or the fear of not being good enough are not real. They are imagined as a protection against what might happen. When you are fearful, or worrying, you are limiting yourself from achieving your dreams and goals.

Fear is a powerful feeling and is the opposite of the most powerful feeling, love. The mindset that you have on the golf course determines not only the enjoyment you will have, but also the success you will achieve. Everything in the universe is connected by love. We are disconnected by fear.

Fear can be overcome when you face it fearlessly. When you deal with it, you can conquer it and it won’t last forever. When you play fearless golf, there is no anxiety. Never let fear stop you from following your dreams. Instead of letting it hold you back, use it as motivation to achieve your goals.

Additional information about conquering your fears can be found at www.pmi4.com, Archived Newsletters: May 2009, Do You Have a Fear of Success or a Fear of Failure?, October 2008, Change Your Fears into Control, September 2007, Fear or Fun?, and November 2003, Fearless Golf.

Everything you need is within you

You can change your attitude/mindset and your emotions in an instant. It requires freeing yourself from the mental blocks of negativity of not being good enough. When you keep replaying past mistakes and self-judgments, your energy is at a low level. Energize yourself with a positive outlook, love, and gratitude for being able to play the game.

The determining factor for change is about aligning your choices so that your decisions honor what you truly desire and are not reinforcing what you don’t want. I suggest that if you are taking lessons from a golf pro that you ask to be shown what you are doing correctly, not what you are doing wrong. In every moment there is an opportunity for choice. Choose to reinforce what works.

You need to understand where fear comes from so that you can release it. You need to look within your feelings so that you will know what is real for you and what is not real for you. You need to remember who you are so that you can give up the ego’s fear-based control over your life and your game and return to your true self.

Create a mindset for having fun 

Golf is a game you can play as a means of relaxation, socialization, and a source of enriching your spirit. When you play for fun, you have the right balance of seriousness and relaxation. Dr. Bernie Siegel, the noted Yale surgeon and holistic author of 12 books, says that fun is something that causes time to stand still (living in the moment). That happens when you have having so much fun you want your golf game to go on forever.

When you see golf as a competition, your attitude changes, you want to win and are driven by the need to perform and score well. Your self-esteem is then at risk every time you “play”. If the only way to define success is by winning, then your self-esteem is always at risk. This is very taxing on you because you are constantly on an emotional roller coaster and there isn’t any harmony and balance within.

The reality is that there is only one winner (individual or team) and everyone else loses. So, you must realize that the goal isn’t to win. It is to do the best you can during the round so you will have enjoyed it. I sincerely believe that the best way to do that is by letting go of the judgments, expectations, worries and thoughts you have about yourself. Play the game not as a job or something in which you must excel. If you are playing with better players, it may not be possible to win. If you give it your best effort, you are a winner because you have accomplished your purpose of having fun.

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

 To train your brain for a mindset to play your best golf, listen to Positive Mental Imagery self-hypnosis guided imagery CDs in the privacy of your own home. Eight different golf enhancing CDs including “Fearless Golf” are available at www.pmi4.com/cart

Listening daily will change the energy that is needed to believe in yourself, trust your golf game, and have confidence in knowing what you can do.

If you lack confidence, control, concentration, and/or consistency on the golf course, email Joan at pmi4@bellsouth.net for a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation about developing a new strategy. Learn what is missing in your golf game so you can achieve the success you desire.

Please share this monthly mental golf newsletter if it has been helpful for you. Forward it to your friends. They may wish to subscribe so they can have more fun playing the game of golf while lowering their scores.