As you know, winning is not under your control.

What are the skills you can develop that are under your control?

1. There are the technical/physical skills where golfers practice in hopes of perfecting their golf swings.
2. There are also the non-technical/mental skills of self-empowerment.
3. An important skill to develop is a strategy for management of your game on the golf course.

Victor Hovland, the 25-year-old Norwegian who just won the last two PGA Tour Championships has been very vocal and honest about his journey to winning. Last season he was ranked 191^st in Strokes Gained. He learned through analysis of his stats that when aggressively hitting greens with pitching wedge through 8-iron, he was short-siding himself 30 percent of the time. The Tour average is 20 percent. His coach says he is now 55^th in Strokes Gained.

We can all relate and learn from his experiences.

1. Physical skills: It is important to practice until you can trust your swing or putt to not think about the mechanics. Have one basic golf swing for all shots.

Hovland voiced his lack of trust; “Before, when I was standing over every shot, I was like, ‘Don’t duff it, skull it, don’t leave it in the bunker.” Me and a buddy of mine, we made up this saying: Just land it on and keep it on. We set the bar pretty low when we had a chip. Now it’s a lot of fun to be able to open up that face and just slap the ground and put some friction on the ball.”

2. Mental Skills: The mental state you are in on the golf course determines how you will play.

Maintaining a positive attitude about your abilities on the golf course is important because it directly impacts your performance. When your negative attitude is stronger than your conscious effort, you will not be able to manifest what you want.

“I’m very hard on myself and I felt like even though I had the game to compete, I never truly believed it,” Hovland said. “I’ve just gotten better and better every single year, and with that comes the belief and I feel like the belief was the last missing piece.”

Do you think you are a positive person? According to the National Science Foundation, the average person has about 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts every day.

Of those thoughts, 80% are negative and 95% are the same thoughts you thought before. Are you aware of the repetitive and/or negative thoughts you have on the golf course that are detrimental for your golf game?

3. Course management: Save strokes and lower your scores with a good short game; putting chipping, pitching.

After his 7^th place finish in the Masters, Hovland hired Eduardo Molinari, Tour player and part-time data analyst to analyze his stats. The conclusion was that Hovland was being too aggressive with his approach shots and short siding himself too often. For approach shots, the center of the green is always the best target. The best players in the world say that their target is always the center of the green for every club longer than a 9-iron.

“If you want to get to the next level, you have to look introspectively,” Victor said. “I think when you try to be honest with yourself and ask yourself, OK, how can I get better, I just basically have to force myself to change a couple of these mindset things.”

On the hot, humid Sunday final round with an almost two-hour weather delay, Victor Hovland put all his skills together and shot 63 at East Lake Golf Club for a five-stroke victory in the 30-man FedEx Cup Playoff.

Develop a personal golf game strategy

• Early on in my golf career I watched as shorter hitters outscored the big hitters with their great short games. This is a wonderful skill to have as the distance of shots diminishes with age.
• Your swing tempo is the most important ingredient for making good contact. Deep breathing before each shot relaxes the body to easily engage your swing tempo.
• Use a pre-shot routine before every putt and shot for preparation, alignment, visualization, trust, and complete focus.
• Invest in playing lessons on the golf course to show you how to execute new shots and strategy.
• Hit for the center of the green. Tiger won with this strategy of hitting safely to 20 feet, shooting 70 and winning a bundle of majors.

The 2022-23 PGA season is officially in the record books. It begins all over again next week with the Fortinet Championship at Silverado Resort in Napa, California from Sept. 14-17.

Play “in the zone” with Joan

          Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

 To train your brain for improving and trusting your short game, listen to the Positive Mental Imagery self-empowering guided imagery self-hypnosis CDs/MP3 “Master Your Short Game for Low Scores” in the privacy of your own home. Eight different empowerment audios are also available at www.pmi4.com/cart

If these golf tips are of value to you and you would like to improve your mental golf game, call Joan for a complimentary 15-minute consultation. She can be reached by phone at 828-707-5478, by email at pmi4@bellsouth.net or through the Positive Mental Imagery website or blog.

P.S. Feel free to pass this monthly PMI blog of mental golf keys to any friends you may have. They may wish to know about it, and to subscribe at www.pmi4.com/blog — which, as you know, costs nothing. Send it on to a friend!

Modeling is the basis of Neuro Linguistic Programming. NLP is the study of the internal maps in successful people’s brains. Then their patterns of successful behaviors can be learned and modeled.

Children are the most accelerated learners. For children everything is new. They don’t have to compare their new learning experiences with old experiences (maps). Children learn unconsciously by trial and error without judgment. This is evident in the way they learn to operate cell phones, computers, and video games.

What is your knowledge base that keeps you from playing successfully?

Golf like everything else responds to your attitudes, beliefs, words, and your energy. Old, outdated beliefs create conflict and indecision. When you shift your limiting beliefs to positive empowering ones, it will be reflected in your physical game.

Energy follows thoughts

In its most successful realm, golf is a mystical experience. When you are playing “in the zone” you are experiencing a profound state of one-pointed focus of concentration, fearlessness, creativity, euphoria, and peacefulness. There is no need to think and analyze.

Model your behavior on success. Entrain your mind and body. Entrainment in golf means having your brainwaves and heart waves operating at the same frequency. This is known as being “in the zone” state where you play at your peak performance level.

1. Manage your emotions. Release a missed shot or putt by taking a deep breath and smiling. This will release endorphins to calm your mind so you can refocus for the next shot.
2. Manage your physical body. Stand tall, shoulders back, eyes straight ahead focusing on your target, moving at an unhurried pace.

Train your swing tempo

Imagine how you can access the perfect rhythm of your swing. For most golfers their swings tend to get faster during a round. This happens through increased confidence, or the opposite, forcing due to a lack of confidence.

Model the preparation routine of Tour players. Breathe deeply to relax your body and mind so you can focus on the shot you are about to create. Take a couple of swings before each shot, not to think about how to swing, but rather to access your natural swing tempo so your mental, physical and emotional selves feel comfortable and in sync.

Mentally practice taking the club back slowly and smoothly, making sure you finish the backswing before starting back down. There is a momentary pause at the top to accommodate the change of direction. Let the speed build gradually. If you finish out of balance, your swing tempo is out of balance.

When you stop thinking about how to swing the club, and instead feel the swing, you will access and trust your own perfect swing tempo.

Play “in the Zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

To train your mind-body connection to play your best golf, listen to Positive Mental Imagery guided imagery CDs,/MP3s available at www.pmi4.com/cart

The number one problem on golf courses today is slow play!

Golfers get annoyed with players who delay the game. An average 18-hole round of golf takes four hours and twenty minutes. Golfers say their rhythm is impeded when they must stand and wait for their turn. 

Slow play is due to many factors

• Looking for lost balls.
• Players take too many strokes on a hole.
• Players take too much time to plan their shot.
• Players who are not ready when it is their turn.
• Poor management of the order of play.
• Too much talking between shots.

What is your attitude about slow play?

Are you ready for a slowdown on the course? Or, do you become annoyed when it isn’t moving at the pace you like?

Playing “start and stop” golf becomes a mental problem when it affects your attitude. Your attitude about the situation will affect your emotions. Your attitude belief can cause annoyance in the same way as waiting in a slow-moving grocery line, or in stop-and-go traffic. 

What are the thoughts that are revolving inside your head when you have to stand and wait? In the grocery line are you judging the people in front of you who are taking up too much of “your time?” Do you tell yourself you lose your rhythm when you ust wait? Do you feel guilty that you are holding up the players in the group behind you?

If you think this way, you will become frustrated and try to make up for the slow play by playing faster. This will surely sabotage your personal rhythm and performance.

Americans are doers. 75% of our large urban population is made up of Type-A people. About half of the general population is Type-A.

Type A people exhibit the following characteristics on the golf course:

• They are easily irritated by delays.
• They have a high degree of competitiveness.
• They have a low tolerance for frustration.
• They are in a hurry to finish the round.
• They get really annoyed at themselves when they mishit shots.
• They cannot relax without feeling guilty.

Golf requires that you change your impatient, intolerant, always-in-a-hurry behavior. While you can’t change your personality, you can learn to behave in a patient, tolerant and more easygoing manner as required by the USGA Etiquette and Rules of Golf.

Fast Players

Under pressure such as slow play, fast players will speed up to make up for the delay. Their swings become fast and erratic causing mishits.

If you are a golfer who likes fast action, use the slow pace of play as a red flag signal to change your hurried pace. Practice slowing down by breathing deeply to relax, moving slower, and using the extra time to plan your shots more carefully. Decide that you will give every shot the same amount of time and attention. Use the extra time to consider all your options when you have a problem.

Slow Players

If you live your life in a relaxed manner, take your time, are deliberate and check thoroughly before you make a decision, you are behaving more like Jack Nicklaus or Annika Sorenstam. You are probably the “slow player” that the Type-A players are complaining about. As a slower player your personality requires being cautious and analytical. Under pressure slow players will slow down and become even more deliberate.

To be ready to hit when it is your turn, you need to develop a consistent pre-shot routine that you can count on. This will consistently program your mind and eliminate the need to overthink by checking and double-checking your strategy. Learn to enjoy your good shots, and not to internalize and dwell on missed shots.

Summary

Your golf game doesn’t reflect upon you as a person, but your attitude and behavior toward your golf game does! No human quality is good or bad except as it is used. Used properly it indicates a strength of character; improperly used it causes problems.

Play “in the zone” with Joan

            Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances 

If these golf tips are of value to you and you would like to improve your mental golf game, call Joan for a complimentary 15-minute consultation. She can be reached by phone at 828-707-5478, by email at pmi4@bellsouth.net or through the Positive Mental Imagery website or blog.

P.S. Feel free to pass this monthly PMI blog of mental golf keys to any friends you may have. They may wish to know about it, and to subscribe at www.pmi4.com/blog — which, as you know, costs nothing. Send it on to a friend!

To train your brain to play focused golf for accessing your peak performances, listen to Positive Mental Imagery self-empowering guided imagery self-hypnosis CDs/MP3s in the privacy of your own home. Eight different empowerment audios are available at www.pmi4.com/cart

Now that we are well into playing summer golf tournaments, how are you doing? In golf, every golfer can compete on his/her own level/flight which makes the competition fairer than having to compete only against the best golfers. That being said, there is still opportunity for your emotions, beliefs, and thoughts to take over and cause mismanagement of your on-course game, especially in tournaments. Your mindset/beliefs influence how you think, feel and perform in a given situation. It is what you believe about yourself that impacts your success or failure.

Golf is a game that tests all your beliefs, attitudes, personality traits, thoughts, and emotions, as well as your physical skills. It brings out the best and the worst sides of a person’s character. Unlike so many other activities in our daily lives, golf rewards success and penalizes failure immediately. You do not need to wait for a teacher to grade your efforts, or a boss to tell you what kind of a job you are doing. In golf you know as soon as the ball leaves the clubface how well you have performed.

Golf is a funny game where poorly struck shots sometimes will run onto the green and a great shot might end up embedded in a greenside bunker. Luck and a “rub of the green” are part of the game. It is up to you to accept the good breaks and to not let the bad breaks deter you from staying centered in your challenges on the golf course. Golf is not a game of perfection. An error-free round of golf is not possible. You are going to make mistakes and possibly have some bad breaks.

Golf is a game that is never mastered, never perfected. The better you play, the more the game entices you to improve even more to play better.

There are human qualities that enhance your performance. There are also qualities such as fear, anger and anxiety that sabotage your game. It is up to you to develop self-control, confidence, and an honest self-analysis. You can choose at any given moment how you want to react to a situation. Your golf game does not reflect on you as a person. The way you react to your golf shots does reflect on you as a person. “You can’t live and die by the results or try to play perfect golf. Golf is not who I am as person, they are two separate parts of my life”—Rory McElroy.

The golf course is not your opponent — you are your opponent. The golf course just waits quietly for you to challenge yourself on it. This is why it is such an exciting adventure. The golf course challenges you to get to know yourself and to grow from the experience. Remember, golf is what you do, not who you are.

Here are important areas to review for strengthening your mental golf game:

Concentration:

• Mental concentration is at its peak when your mind is clear of all distractions.
• “The ability to concentrate is good, but thinking too much about how you are doing what you are doing can be disastrous.” — Harvey Penick
• Be totally prepared mentally and physically to play before you hit your shot.
• Before addressing the ball, breathe deeply to slow down your busy mind for easier
• Concentrate 100% on the present shot. Use your pre-shot routine to calm, center and focus on the shot you wish to create.

Tempo:

• There is no rush. Swing as if you are working by the hour.
• Think positively as you approach your next shot. Every shot is a new experience. The next one may be the best shot of your life.
• Never make a change based on one bad shot or even a few missed shots.
• Stick to the one thing you can control—your thoughts and emotions. 

Emotions:

• Don’t get mad at your club; it’s the same one you used to hit that great shot yesterday.
• Choose to let go of negative thoughts and feelings. Fully experience the good feelings from hitting a good shot.
• You cannot be relaxed and tense at the same time. The easiest path to a relaxed body is through a relaxed state of mind.
• Know the difference between being self-centered and centered in self.
• Release fears and judgments that keep you bound in faulty thinking.
• Let go of the attachment to worry. You created your fearful thoughts — so you can let them go.
• Remember the confident feelings of playing “in the zone.”
• “It’s tough to play bad when you’re happy on the inside.” – Jessica Korda, LPGA 

Positive Mental Thoughts:

• It is more important to learn to score than it is to learn to swing.
• A miss-hit is a golden opportunity to learn what not to do.
• Experience is your best teacher.
• Always picture in your mind where you want the ball to land safely.
• Change “it’s impossible” to “anything is possible” – Just Do It!
• A consistent pre-shot routine produces consistent shots.
• Expecting to play a round of golf without error is unrealistic.
• The game of golf is “mind over muscle.”
• Golf is a waiting game. Wait for the opportunities to appear.
• Prepare for each shot with a good attitude. Act as if it is the best feeling and the most fun filled shot you will hit today.
• The mental game of golf is not so much what you know, as how you use that knowledge at the right times.
• “You just have to take the attitude that you’ve done all the training that is required, and what is the point of that training if you’re not going to trust it?” —Bob Rotella

To summarize mental on-course tips for winning your big tournament: 

• Use a positive pre-shot and post-shot routine. Consistent mental routines will produce consistent shots.
• Trust your swing. Let go of mechanical thoughts. Believe in your ability. It is impossible to “fix” your swing after missing a shot. Instead, find your rhythm and tempo.
• Remember your good shots, not the mistakes. Don’t keep track of your missed shots by continually talking about them. Congratulate yourself for your good shots.
• Take DEAD AIM at your target. Have a clear picture of your target in your mind and swing to it without thinking.
• Relax your mind and body. You can’t be relaxed and anxious at the same time. Take deep breaths to relax your body and slow down your thinking mind for sharper focus.
• Take the time to manage your game. When you miss a shot, make sure you can recover. Think the shot through. Play only percentage shots that you know you can hit.
• Be patient. Golf is a waiting game. Wait for the opportunities to happen. The more you rush, the less clearly you are able to think. The more you rush, the quicker your swing becomes and the more mistakes you make.
• Concentrate only on your game. Being concerned with your competitor’s game will distract you from being in control of your own game.
• Play one shot at a time. Play each shot as if it is the most important shot you will ever hit by giving it your full intention and attention.
• Use good body language to feel confident. Walk with your head high and look straight ahead. Looking down at the ground will access negative self-talk.
• Use affirming self-talk. Make sure the things you say to yourself during your round are helpful and not harmful.
• Change all fear shots into positive images. Give your full attention to what you want to happen, not what you are afraid will happen.
• Act like a champion. Act as if it is impossible to fail.

Match play tournaments have a completely different strategy and mindset. This information is available on the website, Archived Newsletters, Match Play Golf Tournaments, September 2010.

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

If these golf tips are of value to you and you would like to improve your mental golf game, call Joan for a complimentary 15-minute consultation. She can be reached by phone at 828-707-5478, by email at pmi4@bellsouth.net or through the Positive Mental Imagery website or blog.

P.S. Feel free to pass this monthly PMI blog of mental golf keys to any friends you may have. They may wish to know about it, and to subscribe at www.pmi4.com/blog — which, as you know, costs nothing. Send it on to a friend!

To train your brain to play focused golf for accessing your peak performances, listen to Positive Mental Imagery self-empowering guided imagery self-hypnosis CDs/MP3s in the privacy of your own home. Eight different empowerment audios are available at www.pmi4.com/cart

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!

Breathing is the most vital body function you have. The intake of oxygen is necessary for your brain function. Almost all your body functions interact with your breath. You can live forty days without food, ten days without water, but only four to six minutes without oxygen. Without breath, there is no life.

When we breathe, we inhale oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide which is a waste product of cellular respiration during the production of energy. The golf course is a wonderful place to energize your body as the trees take in your carbon dioxide waste and give off life-enhancing oxygen for you to inhale.

With a reduced intake of oxygen, you could also experience:

• Indecision: difficulty in choosing clubs or reading greens.
• Short term memory loss: forgetting to consider all options before hitting.
• Difficulty of complex tasks: trouble shots, short-sided shots, big breaking putts.

The way you breathe can directly affect your emotional state. Changing your breathing can change your thoughts and emotions. Paying attention to your breath is a vehicle for releasing stress and allowing the body to find its balance. Your breathing is a good indicator of your feelings and thinking patterns. Proper breathing can relieve stress-related symptoms, such as performance anxiety. It is important to keep your breathing even for consistent golf.

When you are tense or anxious, your body gives you signals such as perspiration, tightness or pain in the stomach, rapid heartbeat, short breaths, raw throat, and clammy, shaky hands. When you are relaxed, your breathing will be deep, regular, comfortable, smooth, and easy instead of shallow, rapid, and irregular.

Shallow breathing while stressed reduces your energy, compromises your motor skills, and reduces oxygen intake. In addition, there are psychological consequences that will lessen your abilities to perform.

Do you hold your breath when you swing? 

When frustrated or angry, most people breathe in, hold their breath, and tense their bodies. When there is tension, the body cannot move smoothly and efficiently. Tension is the number one golf swing wrecker and can cause a variety of golf problems. Instead of producing a smooth, effortless easy swing, the anxious golfer uses brute force resulting in a fast, jerky, hard swing.

Many golfers say that they do hold their breath when they are swinging. Pay attention to how you breathe. Like your golf swing which has a momentary pause at the top of the backswing to change direction, your breath also has a momentary pause when it changes from the inhale to the exhale. The rhythm of your breath is affected by changes in your state of mind. Conversely, you can change your state of mind by changing the rhythm of your breath.

Holding your breath causes more tension, which inhibits your smooth club motions. Less tension creates faster club head speed. Increased club head speed means more distance which is a goal of every golfer.

Slow down, take a deep breath, and calm down 

Your breathing is a good indicator of your feelings and thinking patterns. Proper breathing can relieve stress-related symptoms such as performance anxiety. It is important to keep your breathing even for consistent golf. Proper breathing can prevent nervousness and improve your short game motor skills when the pressure is on.

When nervous, frustrated, or angry in a pressure packed golf situation, golfers tend to freeze, tense their bodies and swing quickly to avoid the feelings. When there is tension, the body cannot move smoothly and efficiently. Tension can cause a variety of swing problems including poor club head speed, incorrect swing path and faulty clubface alignment at impact.

We have been taught to relieve tension by sucking in our stomachs, taking in a big breath and throwing our shoulders back. This creates tension and tightness in your chest and shoulder muscles. In golf we need to have these muscles relaxed so we can make a full shoulder turn to set up the torque for maximum golf club acceleration.

Breathing consciously and deliberately is a gamechanger for all golfers. Under stress you breathe high in your chest, which means that only half of the capacity of the lungs is being used. The air is only moving out from the top half of the lungs. When you use the entire lung capacity, the brain is then more fully oxygenated.

Breathing in deep, long breaths through your abdomen sends the incoming oxygen to every part of the body, refreshing and relaxing every cell. Whenever you want to focus in the moment, take several long, deep breaths. Now is the only time you have. Use deep breathing to experience the joy of the moment by releasing all perceived stress and anxiety as you exhale.

If your abdomen is not expanding when you inhale, and falling back when you exhale, you are not breathing the most efficient way for your mental, emotional, physical coordination and health. Abdominal breathing allows adequate room for the lungs to expand and take in adequate oxygen.

Deep breathing by allowing your stomach to protrude on the inhale is the key to relaxation. The more you relax, the better you feel. The more you relax, the easier it is to focus. The more you relax, the better you perform.

Relaxation of the mind and body is key to hitting one shot at a time, and for focusing in the moment of now.

My personal preference to relax before hitting any shot on the golf course is to inhale deep breaths during my pre-shot routine. I take three deep breaths consciously; one each to calm and focus my mind, my body, and my spirit.

Here are six important reasons for using deep breathing before every shot and putt:

1. Breathing deeply relaxes your muscles.
2. Breathing deeply clears and focuses your mind.
3. Breathing deeply helps you to visualize
4. Breathing deeply helps you to feel your shot or putt.
5. Breathing deeply keeps your arousal level
6. Breathing deeply helps you to regain balance after a mishit.

Use deep breathing during your range practice as well as during your round to get yourself to let go of overthinking and to focus. Make it part of your pre-shot mindset so you can pay attention to what you are doing in the moment.

Small disciplines repeated with consistency everyday lead to great achievements gained slowly over time!

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

 If you haven’t visited the Positive Mental Imagery website lately, I would like to invite you to log on at www.pmi4.com  The PMI website is dedicated to you and to your success in performing at your peak performance level on the golf course.

To help you develop a consistently strong mental game, the PMI website since 2000 has archived a monthly mental golf instruction newsletter, mental golf articles, Q & A, and eight different golf self-hypnosis CDs/MP3s to power up your mental beliefs and attitudes by listening in the privacy of your home. Order today on the website at www.pmi4.com/cart

Learn how to play on automatic pilot “in the zone” effortlessly to access your peak performances. Contact Joan for a complimentary 15-minute consultation. Learn what is missing in your game so you can achieve the success you desire.

If this monthly blog has been helpful to you, feel free to pass it along to your golf friends so they may have more fun playing the game of golf while lowering their scores. They may wish to know about it, and to subscribe—which, as you know, costs nothing. So. give them a chance to find out about the mental keys that will improve their golf games.

Are you using positive self-talk but sabotaging your game with your body language?

Non-Verbal Communication:

Recent research shows that the mind controls the body, and the body also communicates with the mind.  Babies first learn to make their wishes known by pointing, shaking their heads, crying, arching their backs, smiling, etc.  Actually most of our communication is done non-verbally, or as is more commonly known, body language. Adults communicate 55% of the time with non-verbal movements. Verbal communication consists of 38% tone, quality and volume and words and content are only 7%.

For example, when you see someone standing in the fairway behind you with their hands on their hips, what is your perception of what that person is communicating to you?

·        As you watch the pros on TV, what does their body language say to you?

·        What is the message you are sending to your brain about your next shot?

·        Do you stand up tall and walk briskly with confidence to your ball?

·        Do you look defeated and slouch in the golf cart after a missed shot?

·        Do you grimace when you miss a putt thereby reinforcing the memory of the missed putt in your unconscious?

·        Are you “anchoring” (reinforcing) your missed shots with your body language?

Your body “speaks” to your mind, just as your mind instructs your body what to do. How you use your body determines what portion of your brain you are using. If you aspire to play like a champion, you need to walk, talk and have the posture of a champion golfer.  

Verbal Communication:

Every thought or idea causes a physical reaction. Your thoughts can affect all of the functions of your body. WORRY thoughts trigger changes in the stomach that in time can lead to ulcers. ANGER thoughts stimulate your adrenal glands that put increased adrenaline in the blood streamccausing many body changes including a speeded-up golf swing. ANXIETY and FEAR thoughts affect your pulse rate.

Ideas that have a strong emotional content almost always reach the subconscious mind, because it is the feeling mind. Once accepted, these ideas continue to produce the same body reaction over and over again.

Develop a memory to replace a missed shot. Rehearse the swing that you do want either physically or in your mind. Focus on the “feel” and “tempo” of the swing. Rehearse the easy, smooth, effortless motion of the new swing in your mind. Anchor it into your unconscious by feeling the excitement of producing the new swing. When you tie it into your emotions it will be much easier to remember it the next time you stand over the ball.

How do we get out of the “tension trap” of listening to our minds that are creating dis-stress in our bodies?

1.   The first step on the ladder to mental calmness is awareness. Be aware of the tension created in your physical body by mentally scanning your body for tightness. Some examples are:

·        tension in the hands create too tight a grip on the golf club,

·        talking fast or with an anxious voice creates fast movements,

·        an ache in the stomach area causes a distraction,

·        clenching the teeth causes jaw tension,

·        facial nervous mannerisms such as biting the lower lip or holding the tongue        between  the teeth causes tension,

·        tension in the shoulders causes tightness in the shoulder muscles.

Consciously relax by telling yourself to let go of the tension by relaxing the muscles, or breathing into a suggestion such as loose and limp muscles in the tight area. As you let go of the tension, be aware of the resulting looseness and feeling of relaxation.

2. You are now ready to move up the ladder. The next step is to consciously relax your mind and become silent within to allow your unconscious mind to access the skills you have practiced.

A person goes to the library and asks for a certain book, but he keeps talking and does not listen for the information from the librarian. He continues to explain how badly he wants the book and how long he has been searching for it.  In golf, we are continually talking to others or ourselves about how we are doing. Let go of the chatter, become quiet, and listen instead to what your body is feeling, seeing and hearing.

3. Smile to reduce tension and relax your body. . Research has shown that smiling causes physiological changes in the body. Cortisol, the chemical that indicates stress in the body is reduced, and there is an increase in endorphins that elevate your mood and calm you down.

It’s okay to fake a smile. If you put on a happy face, or just smile inside to yourself, your body responds as if the smile was genuine. The next time you are frowning over a missed putt or shot, turn the corners of your lips upward and hold it and notice the change in your physiology. This simple change will cause your physiology to change and put you in better state of mind and body to execute the next shot. When you smile you become calm and relaxed and lower your stress level.

If you just believe in yourself you can do whatever your heart desires. Just stand back and smile and give yourself a chance.

4. At the top of the ladder you are now “being” instead of “doing”. Become consciously aware of yourself by becoming the observer. Without judging, be aware of your breathing, talking, walking, facial expressions, swinging of the club, and the interactions with other players. When you are watching yourself you are no longer thinking and are out of the “tension trap”.

5. Playing in the “Zone State” you have gone to a place inside your mind that is completely independent of the outside world. No matter what is happening out there on the golf course, you can be calm, at peace and in control inside.

Spring has arrived and with it the promise of new fresh growth. Clean out your mental closets of old ideas that no longer work for you. Pull out the straggly weeds and plant new ideas of letting go, relaxation, and experiencing being in the moment to produce new mental growth. Create a New World within that is always in control, confident, always ready to access your peak performances and has unlimited knowledge.

Access your true spirit. Enjoy your successes. Feel victorious and unstoppable. Know the truth of who you are and connect with your true Self that is always victorious.

Don’t allow your mind to trick you into believing your worst. Don’t allow your mind to keep reminding you of your missed shots. Keep your mind on track. Don’t flip the switch that transfers your mind like railroad cars from one track to another. Stay on track in the present moment with images of your best shots. Feel the resulting good feelings of playing at your best.  Don’t go down the other track of bad memories and missed opportunities. Stay in the NOW. NOW is NEW. NOW is FUN. NOW is CREATIVE.  Watch, feel, hear and enjoy!

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Brain for Peak Performance!

If these golf tips are of value to you and you would like to improve your mental golf game, call Joan for a complimentary 15-minute consultation. She can be reached by phone at 828-707-5478, by email at pmi4@bellsouth.net or through the Positive Mental Imagery website or blog.

P.S. Feel free to pass this monthly PMI blog of mental golf keys to any friends you may have. They may wish to know about it, and to subscribe at www.pmi4.com/blog — which, as you know, costs nothing. Send it on to a friend!

To train your brain to play focused golf for accessing your peak performances, listen to Positive Mental Imagery self-empowering guided imagery self-hypnosis CDs/MP3s in the privacy of your own home at www.pmi4.com/cart

“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!

How many times on the golf course after a missed shot have you realized what you had done to miss it? Take the time to prepare mentally before your shot to produce the result you desire.

Spring has arrived and with it the promise of new fresh growth. It’s time to clean out your mental closets of old ideas that no longer work for you. Pull out the straggly weeds and plant ideas of letting go, relaxation, and experiencing being in the moment. Create a new mindset that is always in control, confident, and ready to access your peak performances.

Don’t allow your mind to trick you into believing your worst. Don’t allow your mind to keep reminding you of your missed shots. Keep your mind on track. Don’t flip the switch that transfers your mind like railroad cars from one track to another.  Stay on track in the present moment with images of your best shots. Feel the resulting good feelings of playing at your best. Don’t go down the other track of bad memories and missed opportunities.

Managing your thoughts and emotions before, during and after your round of golf makes the difference between success and failure. This is the part of the game that does not depend on athletic ability. Everyone has the same ability to build a strong mental strategy for playing this game. It’s never too late for a great beginning.

Give every shot & putt your full intention and attention

It is my belief that all missed golf shots are due to mental errors. It is important to prepare your mind 100% for the result you want. The key to scoring is to prepare your mind thoroughly the same way every time. Practice your pre-shot routine on the range until it becomes a habit. This will turn your preparation over to your subconscious mind to close out any extraneous thoughts.

The USGA Rules of Golf allow you 40 seconds to prepare to hit your shot. This is plenty of time to do the following.

• Use good course management. Take the time to think positively about your strategy. Consider the lie of your ball in the grass. Is it on a slope? Is it under a tree? What is your safest target? Will the wind affect your distance and direction? Use conservative course management when you are not playing well. Increase your chances of scoring lower by hitting to places for the best advantage. Hit to the center of the greens to avoid short siding your next shot. When possible, leave the ball below the cup.
• Play percentage shots you know you can hit to keep you out of trouble situations. Weigh thoroughly the risk and reward options of being aggressive.
• Do not overthink the situation. When the analytical ego mind takes over, it creates doubt, fear, and resistance to the creative process of what you desire.
• Be decisive about your club selection. After you have analyzed all the factors that go into determining which club to use, be strong-minded, let go of all doubt, and trust your decision. It is important to believe that the club you have chosen is the perfect one you need to get the ball to your target. Trust the club in your hands to produce a good solid golf shot.
• Clear your mind of all previous shots. Thinking about missed shots in your past draws your attention away from the shot you are about to hit.
• Clear your mind of all negative emotions. Fearful thoughts are the result of past experiences. Decide not to bring the past into the present. Let go of all “what if” fear thoughts of where the ball might go offline. Visualize the trajectory of the ball and “see it” landing on your target. This will instruct your inner mind and body.
• Focus in the moment. Leave your ego at home. Remove all conversation in your head that says you should have, could have, or if only thoughts. Replace those thoughts with “I can…” or “I am….”
• Clear your mind of all distractions. If you are distracted by movement, noises outside your head, or thoughts inside your head, back off and begin your pre-shot routine again.
• Take a practice swing to feel your swing tempo. Stop thinking about how to swing the club. Feel your personal rhythm by taking practice swings. Limit your thinking to one thought about how to access your swing.
• Take deep abdominal breaths to slow down your thinking mind. Breathing deeply will put your mind and body in a relaxed state for alertness and easier focus on the process of preparation.
• Be precise in your alignment. Set up correctly. Pick an intermediate spot to align yourself correctly to your target.
• Be ready to enjoy hitting the shot. Smile inside to create a sense of ease, confidence, and fun for the shot you are about to hit.

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

If these golf tips are of value to you and you would like to improve your mental golf game, call Joan for a complimentary 15-minute consultation. She can be reached by phone at 828-707-5478, by email at pmi4@bellsouth.net or through the Positive Mental Imagery website or blog.

P.S. Feel free to pass this monthly PMI blog of mental golf keys to any friends you may have. They may wish to know about it, and to subscribe at www.pmi4.com/blog — which, as you know, costs nothing. Send it on to a friend!

To train your brain to play focused golf for accessing your peak performances, listen to Positive Mental Imagery self-empowering guided imagery self-hypnosis CDs/MP3s in the privacy of your own home at www.pmi4.com/cart

“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!

My daughter, a working mother and weekend golfer, called to tell me that she had shot a 40 on the front 9 of her golf course, and a 54 on the back 9. How many times has that happened to you? It is an indication of how mental the game of golf is.

It reminded me of the time a friend, a 36-handicap golfer broke 40 on the front 9. Her husband met her at the turn. She was so excited, she told him in detail about her round. On the back 9 she was back to her normal over 50 score. How does this happen?

When you are “in the zone” playing at your peak performance level, you are allowing your subconscious mind to perform with the habitual skills you have installed there.

When these two golfers realized that they had played at their personal best, they stopped allowing and moved into the conscious thinking part of their brain to analyze how they did it. You will remember that the conscious part of your brain analyzes, rationalizes, and judges your performance. This thinking causes indifference and a change in your state.

I also remember when my husband shot a course record 62 on one of our home courses. There was no talk about score or about how he was playing. Our conversation and his entire focus were on the current hole and making another birdie or better.

Heaven on Earth

Being “in the zone” is to experience moments of heaven. You are intensely present with the experience in the moment. There is a sense of perfection in that moment that nothing can go wrong. If it does, it will be rectified with the next golf shot.

In this state, a golfer experiences feelings of total calm and peace (no fear); ease and effortless in swinging; a heightened sense of intuition (which club to hit); ease of movement; total enjoyment; a sense of euphoria; increased power; intensified concentration (no indecision or distractions); mental clarity (seeing a line on the green/or a line to the target); and a feeling of being in complete control.

In order to access this heavenly state, you must let go of control (conscious mind) and allow your inner self (unconscious mind) to perform with the instructions you have put into it. When golfers are in this right state of mind, they typically play with more accuracy due to an increased sense of feel and awareness, hit the ball longer, and shoot lower scores indicative of their peak potential. In this right state of mind, you can access your peak performance throughout the round.

It might feel as if you are in a different world and someone else is swinging the golf club for you. You will experience joy in the present.

Change your state of being

To play at your best you need to change your state. What does this mean? It means that you change your inner state of thinking and analyzing to allowing your subconscious mind to activate all the information you have stored there.   To have more control, you must let go of control. It is called “the zone state” or the universal flow state. It is where you are the healthiest and are at peace within yourself and totally focused on what is happening in the present moment.

Everyone can be in the zone at any time they choose. You do it by relaxing into whatever it is you are doing, and letting go of thinking about what you are going to do in the next moment. When you watch small children playing you will notice that they are often so totally wrapped up in what they are doing, undistracted by anything outside such as parents calling them in for dinner, they just don’t hear the call because they are so absorbed in just being there in that moment.

Patrick Cantley, PGA Tour, explained how he won the 2021 FedEx after leading it for over a week. “It was tough. It was definitely different than any other week. It’s the longest lead I’ve ever held. I just tried to stay day after day in the present. I really did a good job of staying present and focusing as hard as I could on every shot. That’s what golf is — not getting ahead of yourself and just locking in and giving every shot your full attention.”

You are the only one that can change your state in an instant. Choose a positive state and play a new script. It’s really about mindfulness, your own mindset, being constantly aware of what you are thinking, saying, or doing in each moment. Pay attention when your mind is off somewhere else. Bring it back to the present by using your pre-shot routine which prepares you to focus on the process. It is a signal to the unconscious mind to get ready to perform.

Practice just being as often as you can during the day – stopped at a traffic light, waiting in line, in any free and unoccupied moment, and it will come easier and quicker on the golf course.

Smile every chance you get; not because life has been easy, perfect, or exactly as you had anticipated, but because you choose to be happy and grateful for all the good things you do have.

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

If these golf tips are of value to you and you would like to improve your mental golf game, call Joan for a complimentary 15-minute consultation. She can be reached by phone at 828-707-5478, by email at pmi4@bellsouth.net or through the Positive Mental Imagery website or blog.

To train your brain to play focused golf for accessing your peak performances, listen to Positive Mental Imagery self-empowering guided imagery self-hypnosis CDs/MP3s in the privacy of your own home at www.pmi4.com/cart.

“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!

February is the shortest month on the calendar, and this one in 2023 is jam-packed with must-see sporting events. Leading the roster is the NFL Super Bowl LVII championship with the Philadelphia Eagles facing off against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, February 12^th.  It is the world’s highest watched TV program every year.

Beginning this week, The Winter Olympics Games run for 17 riveting days from February 4^th through the 20^th in Beijing, in the People’s Republic of China. The Olympic constitution states, “The Divine Intent of the Olympic Games is for the Family of Humanity to set aside our differences and to come together in Peace as we attain our highest level of excellence.”

On the PGA Tour, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am will take place this week at the Monterey Peninsula Shore Course, Spyglass Hill, and Pebble Beach Golf Links from Thursday, February 2^nd through the 5^th.

How can these world-class athletes make sure their performances peak when it matters most?

Athletes are victorious when they perform with “heart”

“Heart” is the word we use in sports when an athlete competes totally laser-focused, supremely motivated, excited about performing and resilient against setbacks and failure. Playing with passion makes the game more fun. When a golfer is fully absorbed in the moment and enjoying the spirit of the game, they are “in the zone” playing way above their expectations.

February is the month of love. February 14th is widely regarded as the day of expressing love. In addition to remembering that you love someone else, remember that loving yourself comes first.

The feeling of love comes from your heart. The feeling of hitting a perfect golf shot resonates in your heart. Discounting that feeling by judging the result keeps you in your thinking mind.

Love is a state of peace inside and out where you are focused in the moment. Love is the greatest emotion that brings us joy.

As humans we block out the awareness of the feeling of love by allowing negative thought patterns and fear-based actions to interfere with enjoying our lives and our golf games. Play from your heart instead of your brain as your heart has 5-6,000 times more energy than the brain.

Perhaps this year you can gift yourself by remembering through all the adversities how much you love to play golf. When you are in love with playing golf, you have lost yourself in the euphoric feeling, forgotten your ego and personality, and are one with that feeling of being in love.

Love the game for what it is —  a compelling game full of ups and downs, twists and turns, ecstasy, and frustration. Love is a unique life force energy that motivates us. Love is the greatest emotion that brings us joy. Without passion, it is just dedication. Without love, it can feel like an all-consuming work effort.

Here are some reasons to love the game of golf:

• Golf is a fun game to play.
• Golf is a game played alone or with others.
• Golf is a common social bond among all who play the game.
• Golf is a game played outdoors in the beauty of nature.
• Golf is a game that challenges you against the golf course and others.
• Golf is a game that moves you into an inner state of focus.
• Golf is played in a peaceful setting that can relax you.
• Golf reinforces confidence in you and in your abilities.
• Golf teaches you about yourself.
• Golf is a game that pushes you mentally and emotionally.
• Golf is a game of honor.
• Golf is a sport that can be played for life.
• Playing golf “in the zone” is the same blissful feeling as when a person is “in love.”

What can you add to this list? What do you love about playing golf?

Let go of Self-Judgment

One of the mental keys for successful golf is to let go of self-judgment. When you think about how you are doing, or how to do it, you are judging yourself and your performance under the guise of helping your game. Any impulse to aggressively control your game will move you into these feelings of self-judgment.

When you judge yourself, you are likely to feel anxious, guilty, embarrassed, or angry. These feelings will ultimately sabotage your golf game, lower your self-esteem, and keep you from being successful.

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, and humiliated, and reject ourselves because we feel inadequate. And so, we pretend to be what we think we should be (the perfect golfer) by demeaning ourselves with words or physical actions of disgust. 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.

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 off the attention 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.

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. 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 not learning—– just enjoying the experience.

Become a magician! Use your thoughts and words and pictures to create the life and golf game that you desire. Let go of judgments that sabotage your game and put you into an internally self-created prison. Give yourself permission to enjoy the game of golf with its ups and downs, with its perfect shots and imperfect shots, with its humiliating situations and its joyous moments! Remember that golf is a game where an inch can make the difference between total disaster and absolute perfection! See the round in its entirety. Don’t be trapped by a few mishits into judging your whole performance by them. Reinforce and enjoy the good shots.

Affirm your self-worth

Peak performing athletes rarely put themselves down. They talk to themselves positively about what they are attempting to create. They change any past negative messages that come up into positive empowering ones. This is a part of their mental training program. They repeat positive mental affirmations and training routines until they are wired into their brains, body and spirit and become a conditioned response.

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.

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 Self.

Focus on the good that you want to create in your golf game and better results will come to you. This is the Universal Law of “like attracts like.” Be your own best coach. Encourage and treat yourself as well as you do the others in your foursome. Let go of all your unreal self-assessments in which you find yourself in any way inadequate that comes from never measuring up to being perfect. Accept and love yourself more than anyone ever loved you.

Golf is a game in which you must play your mistakes. Learn to forgive yourself for your imperfection of being human. Instead, congratulate yourself for what you did well during the round of golf. Gratitude is the answer to forgiveness. You probably made fewer mistakes than you thought.

Love yourself playing the game of golf more than you love the outcome. A change of heart changes everything.

Play “in the zone” With Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

Improve your golf game over the winter by listening to PMI self-hypnosis CDs/MP3s in the privacy of your own home. Order today at http://www.pmi4.com/cart

If you have a question, or need help with your mental game, email Joan at  pmi4@bellsouth.net or phone 828.707.5478 for a free consultation to learn about mental golf coaching in person, or world-wide by phone. Learn what is missing in your game so you can achieve the success you desire.

The New Year has begun and no matter where you live, now would be a grand time to do something different. The beginning of a new year brings the promise of change; the resolution that we can release something old and manifest something new. Begin the magical process of creating the golf game now that you have always dreamed of having.

I have enjoyed working with golfers for the past 30 years because they are so enthusiastic about improving their golf games and will do (or buy) anything that they think will lower their scores and handicaps.

Upgrade Your Mental Game 

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 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.

We all have individual golf swings, and we all have individual mental habits that keep us from playing at our peak performance level.

Do you still have excess baggage in the form of fear, anxiety and worry that you are carrying with you to the golf course? Until you let go of old beliefs that cause these emotions, your game will suffer.

As the cartoon character Pogo said, “We have found the enemy and he is us.” The more you know yourself, the happier you will be, and the better your golf game will be.

When you master something, you know how to do it without thinking about it. In golf we call it being in the zone. The most important thing you can ever learn in your life is to trust and allow. The more you tap into allowing (instead of controlling), the stronger your desires become and happen more often. What you desire is to feel free so you can enjoy playing instead of struggling to accomplish some goal.

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. It is important to focus primarily on the short-term goals which will keep you motivated and move you toward your long-term goal.

Declare your “dream” goal of your ultimate best in the future so you know where you are headed. Then set a 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 accomplishment.
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 short-term 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.
7. If you skip a day, you need to begin again as you have broken the train of thought which creates the habitual pattern.

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

Do something different 

1. Golfers like to win. Winning is tied into your self-worth. When you have an attachment to your score, it affects your self-worth. Are you sabotaging yourself with fear of failure to achieve your desired outcome?
2. Feeling guilty about not being good enough is the disconnect from your authentic self. Thinking about feeling guilty takes you down the fear path. Is it worth continuing to hold on to regrets and suffer the negative emotions generated by it? Forgiveness sets you free from the past and from recreating similar experiences.
3. What are you looking for? Fill yourself up with positive feelings of success. Visualize yourself as the golfer you have always dreamed of becoming.  Imagine this compelling vision daily for 30 days and you will have changed the habit of limiting fearful thoughts into personal enjoyment.
4. Trust your intuition in making decisions. If something doesn’t feel right to you, trust your feelings. Intuition is your innate ability to know what to do without having to consciously think about it. Intuition is the language of your heart which is the true connection to your authentic self.
5. Transform yourself by moving out of your comfort zone of self-doubt. You are the only thinker in your brain. Step out of your own way. Recognize your limiting thoughts and overcome them with positive, self-assuring beliefs about yourself and your abilities.
6. To create space for what you truly desire, allow yourself to let go of what is no longer working for you. Create an uplifting attitude that good things are coming to you and more will come sometime in the next year.
7. Connecting your mind, body, heart, and spirit is the formula for the grand possibility of a wonderful, abundant, healthy year to come.
8. Give your golf game a fresh start by trusting that you have within you all you will ever require for your whole golf game. Write, direct and star in the movie of your life and golf game. Have fun with your golf game, your life, and yourself by creating 2023 as your best year ever.

If you are a typical golfer, you frequently take lessons so you will know what to practice. You spend time physically practicing your golf swing. You stretch and exercise your muscles for strength and flexibility. Do you also practice your mental skills? Consider practicing being in a confident, joyful mental state where you can produce peak results in your life and in your golf game.

Every day imagine your golf game where you feel in complete control. Imagine playing where it is easy for you to stay in the moment and focus on each shot. Where you can let go of missed shots and trust your swing. Where you can make up for missed greens with an accurate short game. Where your confidence soars with each shot that you create. When you putt you remain calm. Where you possess total confidence and remain composed in competition. When playing the last few holes your concentration intensifies and you finish strong. You congratulate yourself for playing up to your potential enjoying the feeling of success! This is the pleasure we are all seeking.

Create a new year of possibilities. Take the time to envision the golf game you desire, and the golfer that you aspire to be. What you think, you create. What you can conceive and believe…… you can achieve!

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

 If you have a question, or need help with your mental game, email Joan at  pmi4@bellsouth.net or phone 828.707.5478 for a free consultation to learn about mental golf coaching in person, or world-wide by phone. Learn what is missing in your game so you can achieve the success you desire.

To train your brain to believe in yourself and in your abilities to play your best golf, listen to Positive Mental Imagery self-empowering guided imagery self-hypnosis CDs/Mp3s in the privacy of your own home during the off season. All eight different CDs/MP3s are available at www.pmi4.com/cart

 “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!