Just dreaming about what you want to accomplish in golf will not bring it about. A dream is a hopeful manifestation of your fondest desire. To make your dream happen, you need to let go of the fears that hold you back from accomplishing it. 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, supportive thoughts and empowering emotions to enhance your self-image to make your dream a reality.

Do you help or hurt your game?

In a round of golf, when do you believe that you can trust your putting skill?

When you miss a couple of three-footers, do you succumb to the fear of missing, tighten up, and leave every putt short?

The mental game of golf is about accessing your “inner self” that knows through experience and intuition how to make the dream happen. Keys to accessing this powerful “inner game” are:

• Empower yourself by erasing all fear thoughts with a clear intention of what you want to accomplish.
• Put more strong emotion into your good results than in poor results.
• Create your own positive beliefs instead of adapting the ego beliefs of others.
• Stay positive and focused on playing one shot at a time.
• Pay attention to issues inside yourself that no longer serve you.
• Release quickly all low vibration emotions such as anger, doubt, and worry.
• Trust in yourself and have patience to accomplish the results you desire.
• Breathe deeply to return to a relaxed mental and physical state for peak performance.
• Maintain a sense of joy in playing no matter what the results are.

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;

If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim,

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster,

And treat those two impostors just the same,

The world will be yours and everything in it,

What’s more, you’ll be a man, my son.

—excerpt from Rudyard Kipling’s poem, “IF”

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Fear has to do with an inner state of your mind. A fear reflects how you view yourself and your ability to handle a situation in your life or on the golf course. When you are afraid you move away from what you are creating in your golf game.

Generalized fears such as embarrassment, failure, success, inadequacy, making mistakes, rejection, or losing your self-esteem will pop up on the golf course if you have them in other areas of your life.

Simplify your life and your golf game; you either love to play golf, or you are afraid to play. Love is the highest frequency and fear is one of the lowest frequencies in your state of mind. Choose which state will enhance your golf game. Choose to become positive about your golf game no matter what the results are.

To release the fear of hitting a certain club, hitting over a water hole, or of missing a shot, develop the trust in yourself to handle any situation. And then accept the results to learn from if it wasn’t your best. If you love to play the game, and enjoy every shot as an opportunity to create a good inner feeling, you will have discovered trust in yourself.

Develop trust by taking action.

• Believe in every club. Practice trusting your least favorite club by imagining it is your favorite club until you believe in it.
• Feel the fear and do it anyway. Develop confidence by hitting a bag of balls over the water hazard until you no longer fear it.
• Practice for confidence. Practice the sand shot you keep sculling over the green until you can access the timing and feel of the swing.

We trust what is comfortable for us. Most people aren’t willing to move more than 10% outside of their comfort levels, and thus repeat the same behavior over and over.

Fear is at the root of most golfer perceived threats that trigger a mind-body defense mechanism. Fear defense systems vary individually. Some people are naturally more calm and relaxed under pressure and don’t let problems or frustration get to them.

Others are more sensitive to stress and may become upset much more easily. Fear can come from anxiety about losing self-esteem by what others think about you. Fear of embarrassment may also be imbedded after topping the ball. Fear or Fear itself is also natural.

*Excerpts are from Chapter 8, FEARLESS GOLF; “The Heart of Golf, Access Your Supreme Intelligence for Peak Performances.”

 Play “in the zone” with Joan   

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

© PositiveMentalImagery 2016 – All Rights Reserved

Internal voices of fear deter golfers from success. Listening to the PMI “Fearless Golf” CD will consistently transform the voice of past fears and failures on the golf course into positive, empowering self-talk. Available now at www.pmi4.com/cart

SELF-CONFIDENCE*

The official summer golf season is winding down and most club champions have been crowned.

How did you do? Did you play your best? Or did you lose your final match after you were several holes ahead on the back nine?

Self-confidence is a product of the way you view yourself. Discover the power of trusting yourself. Connect with your inner guidance that knows the way. Life can be easier and more fulfilling when you are confident. It is the feeling that you are worthwhile and valuable. Enhance and explore your intuition. Confidence means “with faith.” Con means “with” and “fidence” means ”faith.” Confidence is having faith in yourself and your abilities.

How can you trust if you keep reinforcing the worst? If you are playing well, it is easy to feel confident. However, on-going confidence comes from within. It is a product of believing in yourself and believing that you can improve. With constant reinforcement of this belief in yourself and your abilities, you will develop a state of confidence. If you constantly look at what went wrong, or didn’t happen, or could have happened, there will be no confidence. It is important to always look at what you did well, and the accomplishments you did make.

“Confidence has to be the golfer’s greatest single weapon… if he believes he can get the ball into the hole, a lot of the time he will, even if his technique appears to be unorthodox or even downright faulty.” ~ Jack Nicklaus

Developing self-confidence begins off the golf course. You must believe before you can achieve. As your confidence builds, you move from “I’ll try it” to “I think I can do this” to “I know I can” hit the shot, or break or 90, or whatever you desire. As you focus your attention on believing in your ability, you move forward toward your goal and become more confident as your skills improve.

A good role model would be Patrick Reed, the sparkplug who led the 2016 US Ryder Team to victory. Before he had even played in a major championship, Patrick said he regarded himself as a top-five player in the world and can’t be beaten when he is playing his best. He proved his confidence in himself by beating 5^th ranked Henrik Stenson,1-up in the Sunday singles match.

*Excerpts are from Chapter 16, Confidence; “The Heart of Golf, Access Your Supreme Intelligence for Peak Performances.”

 Play “in the zone” with Joan   

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

© PositiveMentalImagery 2016 – All Rights Reserved

The way to prepare your mind is with a consistent pre-shot routine on every shot whether it is a tee shot or a putt.

Most golfers consider the pre-shot routine boring, unnecessary, and too much work to develop. Using the same routine every time requires discipline until it becomes a habit. Without a good routine your results are going to be inconsistent and erratic. It can wreck your score.

Using the same pre-shot routine every time will help you stay focused. Preparing for a shot is like creating a map or a blueprint for what you desire to create. The pre-shot routine is composed of a series of movements and sensory feelings that give you a way to automatically execute your shots. These routines are the maps that give direction to your brain about what you want to do.

When you lose your swing on the golf course, you need to go back to the routine because you have deviated from your map and are going in a different direction and getting a different result. Some of these deviations are fear thoughts of avoiding hazards, fear of embarrassment, fear of failure, frustration at slow play, annoyances from other players, weather conditions and anxiety feelings about your performance or score. Your focus in then on the distractions and is not on preparing your mind and body for the shot.

I like to think of the pre-shot routine as a series of actions that move you from behind the ball to the place over the ball where you are eager to swing. When you are concentrating well, you are not thinking. You are totally absorbed in the routine process of getting the ball to the target. When you use the same routine each time, you then have control of your thinking and send good messages to your body.

A mind that is busy, restless or indecisive will find it difficult to concentrate on an activity. The first step toward improved concentration would be to quiet your mind. When it is your turn to hit, turn on your focus by going into your established pre-shot routine to keep your mind from wandering.

• Begin by taking deep abdominal breaths to relax and slow down your thinking mind.
• Be decisive about the club you are going to use.
• Take practice swings to feel your tempo.
• Mentally rehearse the shot by imagining yourself doing it.
• Trust that you will hit the shot that you have imagined in your mind.

Golfers always ask why they can’t take their golf swings from the practice range to the golf course after they hit the ball so well when warming up, and then swing badly on the golf course. One of the reasons is that they don’t practice their pre-shot routine on the range. For your swing to be consistent, your routine prior to swinging must be the same. Preparation is the only part of the golf swing over which you have 100% control.

Why have a pre-shot routine?  (www.pmi4.com, Archived Newsletters, February 2005)

•  The pre-shot routine prepares your mind to hit a shot.
• A consistent pre-shot routine will produce consistent results.
• The pre-shot routine moves you from the thinking phase to the automatic doing phase.
• It keeps you engrossed in the moment and your thoughts away from the pressure of the results.
• It is a signal to the unconscious mind to get ready to perform.
• It is a series of actions to get you totally absorbed in the routine process of getting the ball to the target.

Why have a post-shot routine?

The post-shot routine helps you build positive mental consistency. After the shot is hit, the routine prepares your mind to anchor a good shot or to let go of a missed one. Our minds are very active and the memories we remember the most are the ones connected to good feelings or negative feelings. Repetition of the post-shot routine will result in more self confidence. A post-shot routine will help you to maintain your arousal level and prepare you mentally, emotionally and physically for your next shot.

It is my belief that all errors in golf are mental errors due to incorrect preparation. Before you berate yourself for a poor shot and begin analyzing your shot, take a deep breath to relax your mind and body. The practice range is the place to analyze your swing flaws, not the golf course. I have watched many golfers try to fix their swings on the golf course with the result that they played even poorer.

One thing you can control in your swing is your rhythm. After a missed shot, step to one side while others are hitting and swing your club until you find the tempo that you wanted. Take practice swings until you feel the swing that you had intended. What you don’t want to do is go to your next shot with the memory of your missed shot in the forefront of your brain because it will be repeated. By finding your rhythm you will forget about the poor shot and focus on the upcoming one.

Anchor your good shots. Anyone who has had a hole-in-one can describe in great detail where, when and how it happened. Why? Because of the excitement generated which anchored it into the memory bank. If a shot comes off as you planned, anchor it by replaying it in your mind with a good feeling, good visualization and a trigger such as a smile or fist pump.

Let go of your missed shots. To release the emotions of a mishit and become positive:

• Release the frustration and anger with a swear word. It has been proven that this works.
• Take a deep breath to calm your mind and body from the tension.
• Do not try and analyze what went wrong with your swing.
• Step aside and swing the club you used until you feel the swing you wanted.
• Focus on accessing your timing and tempo.
• Visualize the ball going to the target.
• Anchor the good feelings and visualization.
• Don’t move on down the fairway until you have completed your post-shot routine. 

*Excerpts are from Chapter 17, Consistency, “The Heart of Golf, Access Your Supreme Intelligence for Peak Performances.”

 Play “in the zone” with Joan   

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

© PositiveMentalImagery 2016 – All Rights Reserved

Because we have so much free time to think during a round, there is a lot of time to stew about things that bother us.

Are you bothered by someone who gets very angry, or a Chatty Cathy who is talking when it is your turn to hit, or a complainer whose shots are never good enough? These kinds of distractions can keep you from focusing on your game.

The best way to handle these problems is to focus on the solution. For the most part, men and women handle these situations differently. Generally men handle annoyances by confronting them head on, often by making fun of the person’s behavior. Women on the other hand, are afraid of hurting feelings and will find solace in talking about the annoyance to the other players.

Here are some examples of relationship problems you might encounter on the golf course:

• A person who never stops talking.
• A chronic complainer.
• A slow player.
• A person who cheats.
• A person who has poor golf etiquette.
• A person/spouse who tells you what to do.
• A person who uses gamesmanship.

Paying attention to the annoying person and becoming emotionally involved will surely affect your game negatively. Think of these kinds of situations as part of the process of preparing your mind, just as you do for other challenges.When the annoying behavior breaks your concentration, take personal responsibility by using one of the following options:

1. Ignore it. All golfers says things out of frustration and expectation. Know that we are all human and having occasional emotional outbursts is part of the game of golf.
2. Detach yourself. Move away from the person. Get out of the cart, walk and breathe deeply to relax your mind and body. Focus your attention on something you love.
3. Confront the person’s behavior. If the person continually repeats the annoying behavior, say how it is affecting you. Communication skills are very important here so you don’t get into a shouting argument about who is right and wrong. When saying what you want it is important to speak up before you get too emotionally involved. Tell the person what it is you want, not what they should do.
4. Use imagery to change your belief. Reframe the picture in your mind of the person’s behavior. Use your imagination and see the person’s behavior as humorous instead of something to combat. If the person is talking too much, see the person as a chattering hyena or a Disney character like Elmer Fudd stammering.
5. Don’t play with the annoying person. The last option is to decide that you are playing golf for fun and will not tolerate the abusive behavior.

Golf is a game where you have to be responsible for your behavior. Without personal responsibility, there is a lack of self-worth. You must be responsible for how you create your life. Positive energy works more effectively than negative energy in each and every situation.

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances 

If you would like to improve your mental golf game, call Joan for a complimentary 15-minute consultation. She can be reached by phone at 828.696.2547 or by email at pmi4@bellsouth.net  Self-hypnosis CDs to improve your golf game are available at www.pmi4.com/cart