It has been raining for several days here in western North Carolina and the golf courses are closed. It is a good time to reminisce about how playing golf enhances our lives. The thing that unites us all on the golf course is the mental part of the game. As humans we all go through the same mental and emotional limitations that have to be overcome. Here are some quotes from famous professionals on what golf has taught them about themselves.

ARNOLD PALMER

“I’m absolutely flattered,” Arnold Palmer tells Golf Magazine of being voted the golfer you’d most like to tee it up with. Asked about the secret to his popularity he said, “I think it’s because I enjoy people. I talk to them. My No. 1 rule for a friendly round of golf: Make sure my playing partners enjoy their game. I offer tips. I compliment good shots. It’s important to let people know you enjoy their game as well as yours. And then we go enjoy it a little more at the 19^th hole.”

“I’ve quit worrying about poor shots.

I just tell myself; Relax, Bozo.

If you can’t have fun, you shouldn’t be out here.”

PATTY SHEEHAN

JASON DAY

“You have to take risks and be okay with failure. Sometimes you’ll win in style, and sometimes you’ll lose big. Accepting either result gives you a sense of calm.”

SAM SNEAD

“You don’t think about how to swing the axe when you’re splttin’ wood,” he once told a young reporter. “The same is true of a golf swing. Once you get ready to swing, you just let it go. The smoother you swing, brother, the easier the wood splits. Same thing with a golf swing.”

MICHELE WIE

“When I was younger, I spent so much time talking about the future, I want to worry about now, what makes me happy now. Thinking too far in advance about things you can’t control is pointless.” 

PADRAIG HARRINGTON

“I always thought that doing more was the way to success for me. There were many events where I would be in contention but I would still be on the range on Saturday thinking about working to improve my game. I always got better, but always played worse. There is another fine line between getting your head in the right place and hitting the ball well. When you reach a certain level you have to be big-enough and brave enough to say, I’m ready.”

“When I play my best golf, I feel as if I’m in a fog…

standing back watching the Earth in orbit with a golf club in your hands.”

MICKEY WRIGHT

DUSTIN JOHNSON

At the 110^th US Open at Pebble Beach, Johnson led the field by three strokes going into the final round on Sunday. He dropped out of contention with a triple bogey on the second hole and a double bogey on the third hole. He described his 82 round as; “I was just a little bit off today, and that’s what I’m working on – to never have it ‘off.’ So it was a great experience. I’m looking forward to next time.” Dustin also said; “You know, playing so poorly I still had a fun day. I enjoyed playing today. I’ll get it done next time.”

YANI TSENG

Tseng, who birdied four holes in a five-hole stretch on the back nine at Pinnacle Hills CC on her way to a final round 65 and a one shot victory at the P&G NW Arkansas Championship voiced her feelings. “After nine holes, I feel like my heart is not fighting,” Tseng said. “I didn’t feel like I really want to win this tournament. So after nine holes, I just wrote a lot of things on my yardage book, like I can do this. Just feel like you really, really want to win this tournament.”

HUNTER MAHAN

In the first round of sectional qualifying for the US Open he shot 73 and was just waiting for bad things to happen. He said, “I was so concerned with how I looked and how I swing, I forgot how to play and get the ball in the hole. I was able to let myself go out there and play and not criticize myself on the course as much.” Hunter shot 63 in the second round and qualified.

 “If I play with three things on my mind, I may as well stay home.

Two things on my mind, I’ll play good.

One thing on my mind, I’ll finish in the top 10.

If there’s nothing on my mind, no one can beat me.”

JACK NICKLAUS 

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances  

Visit golf’s premier mental golf website for additional information. Click on the Archived Newsletter page for additional mental golf instruction.

To train your brain to believe in your abilities, listen to PMI self-hypnosis CDs in the privacy of your own home. You can order today at http://www.pmi4.com/cart

Do you really love to play golf? Does playing golf bring you joy every time you play?

Your state of mind is your mood or mental state at a particular time. Our emotional states dictate how we feel. The lowest energy level of emotions that upset us are anger, fear, frustration, guilt, etc. At the highest energy level, the emotions that make us feel good are love, joy, care, compassion, etc.

Most golfers believe that when they play well they will be happy. And when they aren’t playing well they experience anger and frustration. To be successful requires a paradigm shift in the thoughts that cause your emotions. It is important to remain in a state of loving the experience of playing golf no matter what the results are. Albert Schweitzer explained it simply as:

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success.

If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” – Albert Schweitzer 

How do you change your stressful state? 

We become stressed when our performance doesn’t meet our expectations and we don’t manage our emotional reaction.

To change your emotional state, reframe the situation that upsets you. There is always another way of looking at a situation and reacting to it. For example:

You hit a perfect shot over a sand bunker to a pin cut in the front of a green. Your shot falls just short and imbeds under the lip of the bunker. Amid the frustration and disappointment, remember why you love golf. It’s a game where one-half inch can be the difference between perfection and disaster. Chasing perfection and avoiding disaster is the challenge that makes the game so captivating.

If you only love to play golf when the half-inch works in your favor, you will be frustrated and angry often on the golf course.

To change your state of mind and body when things don’t go your way, smile at adversity and be surprised rather than angry that it didn’t happen the way you expected. The more you repeat changing your state in this way the easier it will become to access and stay “in the zone.”

Play “In the Zone” With Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

If this article is helpful to you, and you want to learn more about developing a strong mental 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-empowering mental golf CDs are available on the Positive Mental Imagery website 

The first time I encountered the “good-good” expression was in the Coral Ridge international match play tournament in Boca Raton, Florida.  On the third hole, my opponent’s ball was about one foot beyond mine on the putting green and she asked if I wanted to concede that both our putts were good without putting into the hole.

Match play gives golfers the option of conceding an opponent’s putt no matter what the length. Asking your opponent “good-good?” means s/he will give your putt and in return you will then concede his/her putt. If your opponent agrees, both balls are picked up and counted as holed.

If the opponent putts after the concession is made a miss doesn’t count. Once the putts are conceded the hole is over. In my case, I did not agree and told my opponent to putt out as she was much farther away than I was. She asked the “good-good?” on a couple of greens after that. It became apparent that she was attempting to use gamesmanship on me so I wouldn’t be able to get used to putting the short putts. Then later in the match she would have me putt when it mattered and there was more pressure.

Conceded putts are only allowed in match play which is a scoring system for golf where the player/team with the lowest score on a hole earns a point. If the golfers/team has the same score, each is given half a point. Conceded putts are not allowed under the rules of stroke play as the golfer’s score is the total number of strokes counted over one or more 18-hole rounds.

To make certain that your putt has been conceded:

1. Look at your opponent to hear the concession from h/her.
2. Do not move until the concession is agreed to.
3. If you are not certain the putt has been conceded, ask your opponent.

“Gimmies” vs. Conceded Putts 

Conceded putts are only allowed in match play competitions. “Gimmies” are not allowed at any time in official competitions according to the USGA Rules.

“Gimmies” have been used in recreational golf to speed up play, but constant use can erode your confidence. A “gimmie” is a very short putt where the golfer determines that it can’t be missed, picks it up, and counts it as if holed.

Golfers who constantly use “gimmies” for longer and longer putts may mentally think they can make them, but under pressure will lose their skill and confidence. It is important to create a good habit of making short putts. Seeing the line to the hole and hearing the ball drop in the cup will build confidence.

Sam Snead used to say, “Be careful of the guy giving you the short ones. He’s probably afraid of putting the short ones, and he wants you to give them to him.” Because he made his living by playing money games in match play, Snead never gave a putt to anyone.

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Brain for Peak Performances

Improve your mental golf game now by listening to PMI self-hypnosis CDs in the privacy of your own home. You can order today at http://www.pmi4.com/cart

For more information about how to play with a better mental golf game for lower scores and more enjoyment, contact Joan at 828-696-2547 or visit the Positive Mental Imagery website at www.pmi4.com.

The 2015 golf tournament season is winding down now with winners being decided in club championships all the way up to the President’s Cup being played in South Korea this week. Whether you are playing in an individual competition or a team event, here are some areas to review for competing successfully in the rest of your season.

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 focus.

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—you.

Emotions:

• Don’t get mad at the club; it’s the same one you used to hit that great shot yesterday.
• “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
• You cannot be relaxed and tense at the same time. The easiest path to a relaxed state of mind is through a relaxed body.
• Know the difference between being self-centered and centered in self.
• Release fears and judgments that keep you bound in faulty thinking.
• 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 without error is unrealistic.
• The game of golf is mind over muscle.
• Golf is a waiting game. Wait for the opportunities to appear.
• Practice the way you want to play.
• The mental game of golf is not so much what you know, as how you use that knowledge at the right times. 

Play “In the Zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Brain for Peak Performances

Learn to prepare your mind through relaxation, imagery and suggestion by listening to PMI self-hypnosis golf CDs in the comfort of your home. 8 CDs are available on the PMI website for moving into the zone state to access your peak performances. www.pmi4.com/cart   

Dreaming about what you want to accomplish in golf will not bring it about. A dream is a manifestation of what your fondest desire is. 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?

When do you believe in a round of golf 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 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”

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Brain for Peak Performance! 

Improve your golf game NOW by listening to PMI self-hypnosis CDs/tapes in the privacy of your own home. Train your brain by listening to positive imagery and suggestions in eight different areas of your golf game. Order today at www.pmi4.com/cart

One on One Coaching: Call 828.696.2547, or contact Joan by email for a free consultation to learn about mental golf coaching in person or worldwide by phone. Learn what is missing in your game so you can achieve your peak performances.

Congratulations to the US Women’s golf team who created history last weekend by overcoming a 10-6 deficit with a record shattering win of the 2015 Soldheim Cup 14-1/2 to 13-1/2 over the defending European Women’s’ team.

Besides being remembered for the largest comeback in Soldheim history, the tournament will also be remembered for the controversary that occurred in the morning fourball matches which caused deep emotions to surface for both teams.

In the final group, Alison Bell of the US team had an 8 foot birdie putt on the 17^th green to go one up over the team of Suzanne Pettersen and Charley Hull. Alison missed the remaining 18-inch putt. Thinking the putt was conceded she picked it up. Pettersen then claimed she had not conceded the putt and the umpire gave the win to Europe by forfeit.

That left Alison Bell to deal with the embarrassment of having done something wrong and feeling guilty for letting down her team. As with most golfers when they are caught making a mistake, she probably rationalized that she heard someone give her the putt. And the outcry of unsportsmanlike conduct for not conceding the putt punished Suzanne Pettersen even though she had adhered to the Rules of Golf.  Both had acted in accord with the rules pertaining to match play, but were publicly shamed for their actions.

Guilt is an emotion triggered when you have done something or said something you regret or wish hadn’t happened. And others can make us feel guilty about something that isn’t our fault.

What is the lesson to be learned? 

After reflection, Pettersen decided that her actions cost her the respect and admiration of a lot of her peers and golf fans. She accepted that she couldn’t change the past, and began to make amends by apologizing soon after the completion of the matches.

Pettersen’s public apology stated, “ I never felt more gutted and truly sad about what went down Sunday at the 17^th hole at the Soldheim Cup. I am so sorry about not thinking about the bigger picture in the heat of the battle and competition. I was trying my hardest for my team and put the single match and the point that could be earned ahead of sportsmanship and the game of golf itself! I feel like I let my team down and I am sorry.”

It is important to take care of business as soon as possible. If you are a tournament player, you most likely have encountered a similar situation that evoked intense bad feelings of anger, embarrassment or guilt when you had to call someone on a rules infraction, or someone called you on a rules infraction.

Guilt will make you feel awful. When you get into an emotional situation, it is important to deal with it as soon as possible so you can release the feeling. Otherwise, the more you mull it over in your head and put off, the more it will bother you and interfere with your performance. Not dealing with the situation will keep the bad feelings going. When you take action to deal with the situation you will feel better and the guilt feelings will subside.

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

Available now is the new CD “Master Your Short Game for Lower Scores” to train your brain to use your senses for confidence to score low around the greens. You can order today at http://www.pmi4.com/cart

Focusing or concentrating in the moment is a skill that you can develop as well as any golf professional.

Golf is called a mental game because you need to manage your thoughts and emotions to play well. Internal or external distractions keep golfers from playing at their peak performance levels.

The human mind processes thousands of bits of sensory information every second so it is no wonder that we have trouble focusing on one shot at a time. A lot of golfers believe they have to concentrate on the game for four or more hours. Actually it is a good thing to relax and joke with your golf partners between shots and focus only when it is your turn.

As you approach your ball, begin to change your outer focus of attention to inner focus to create the shot you are about to hit. Imagine that you are wearing blinders and can only see the execution of the upcoming shot. Focusing on seeing, feeling and preparing for your shot will replace your distracting thoughts.

Your pre-shot routine is the key for concentration

Your pre-shot routine is the map that gives direction to your brain about the shot you are going to hit. For your results to be consistent, your routine prior to swinging must be the same every time. Successful golfers train their minds to do the same routine in sequence over and over until it becomes a habit. On the golf course they can then activate the sequence by a trigger or swing key to start the process.

Analyze the wind, yardage, type of shot, target and club selection. Be totally committed to the club and shot you have selected. Narrow your focus further by standing behind the ball, connecting clearly with the target and visualizing the flight of the ball to the target. Finish narrowing your focus by feeling the swing, either by swinging the club or mentally imagining it in your mind. If you have practiced your swing using a swing-thought or swing-cue, activate it to initiate your swing.

Concentration is the art of allowing yourself to become interested. Allow yourself to become enraptured with what you are doing.

When you are watching an engrossing movie, your attention is focused on the action. In the same way, planning a golf shot can be just as engrossing. Focus your full attention along with your full intention on what you want to happen. Stay committed to your mental and physical routines. This will keep you calm, in control, and focused on hitting one shot at a time. 

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart and Mind for Peak Performances

 Available now is the new CD “Master Your Short Game for Lower Scores” for training your brain to use your senses for confidence to score low around the greens. You can order today at http://www.pmi4.com/cart

If you are too tense you will lose the freedom of an easy, rhythmic swing which produces the consistent power that you desire. The unwanted tension instead will cause tight muscles to produce a rushed,  jerky swing. Telling yourself to swing slowly or smoothly will not change the habit of tensing up when you are standing over the ball. You have to train your body to stay relaxed throughout the entire swing.

Effortless Power

In most sports power comes from effort. But golf is different. Less is more. Club head speed produces distance, and club head speed is the result of relaxed muscles. Using less effort will produce more club head speed and more distance.

Tension and tightness will decrease your club head speed, change your downswing and the solidness of the club striking the ball. Pay attention to what you feel instead of what you think or see. Practice swinging your club with your eyes closed to feel the tempo of a free flowing powerful swing.

Deep breathing is the key to relaxation 

To be confident and to play at your best, you have to be relaxed. You can relax by learning the natural way to breathe by expanding your abdominal area when you inhale and by contracting it as you exhale. When you are tense, the tendency is to breathe high in your chest. This creates tightness in your shoulders, restricting your backswing.

Many good players incorporate a deep breath into their pre-shot golf routine to automatically relax themselves. Watch Jason Day visibly exhale to slow down his mind and body for easier focus when creating each shot. If you are anxious or tense, you might want to take more than one deep breath and say to yourself as you exhale, “Let Go and Relax”.

Play relaxing music in your headphone

On the golf course, some players use music to quiet their minds and relax their bodies. Pro golfers Fuzzy Zoeller, Brad Fabel, and Mark McCumber were often heard whistling. To relax your body between shots, hum or whistle a tune that you find pleasant and soothing. As you approach your ball, listen to your favorite song inside your head, in your “mind’s ear”.

Imagine being in a peaceful place

If you have an active mind and are prone to performance anxiety, use your imagination to relax your mind between shots with pleasant images of things you like to do. You are limited only by your own interests and imagination.  Make it enjoyable using details of seeing, hearing and feeling the activity.  Fred Couples has relaxed using images of himself lying on his sofa with a remote control in his hand.

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

To train your brain and body to score low around the greens, listen to the PMI self-hypnosis CDs: “Master Your Short Game for Lower Scores” and “Confident Putting for Low Scores” in the privacy of your own home. You can order today at http://www.pmi4.com/cart