Imagine your golf game where you feel in complete control. Where it is easy for you to stay in the moment and focus easily on each shot. You can let go of missed shots and trust your swing. You can make up for missed greens with an accurate short game. Your confidence soars with each shot that you create. When you putt, you remain calm. You possess total confidence and remain composed in competition. Playing the last few holes, your concentration intensifies and you finish strong.

Whether you are a pro golfer, amateur golfer, junior golfer, or golf coach, now would be a good time to gain greater awareness of yourself and your golf game. Available on the Positive Mental Imagery website are the following mental tools for you, or to purchase as a Christmas gift for your favorite golfer.

1. Learn how to relax, focus in the moment, and enhance your mental golf game by listening to eight different self-hypnosis CDs/Mp3s, available at com/cart

• Confident Putting for Lower Scores
• Concentration for Consistent Golf
• Release for Performance Anxiety
• Fearless Golf
• Confidence to Win Golf Tournaments
• Progressive Relaxation of the Mind & Body
• Master Your Short Game for Low Scores
• Self-Hypnosis for Playing in the Zone

2. “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 at https://amzn.to/2MQzjfq   All royalties will be donated to Junior Golf!

3.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.

4.Gift certificates for your special golf friend or relative are available on the Positive Mental Imagery website at bit.ly/3Y7b3tE

Happy Holidays and Warmest Wishes for the happiest and the most successful of New Year’s…from your Mental Golf Coach!

Joan King, BCH, NLP

Peak Performance Strategist

NGH Board Certified Sports Hypnotist

There is a new spirit around this holiday season. It is the spirit of good will towards men and women. Everywhere there are lights bringing a new warm spirit around us uplifting our energy. Songs are being played reminiscent of past warm memories, opening our hearts. Now is the time to begin programming that same lightness and joy into your golf game, playing from your heart instead of your head.

This is a wonderful time of year. It is the season of love, peace, goodwill, and brotherliness. It is a time to celebrate all that is good and joyful.

Life is a choice, and you have the power to slow down and enjoy the season.  Oftentimes the heart and soul of the holidays get lost in the hustle and bustle of shopping, planning, and entertaining. In the same way you can lose the joy of playing golf by trying too hard to understand, analyze, and perfect your golf swing.

In most parts of the country, golfers have now turned to other interests including holiday celebrations.  Regardless of whether you are playing golf now, or not, the end of the year is a good time to reflect on what you did well during the past year and decide how you can improve for the upcoming year.  A good place to start the New Year is with a mental training program to improve your life and your golf game.

With the holiday season well underway you are probably experiencing a lot of extra hurried activity…. decorating, shopping, and socializing. The increased pace can cause additional stress on your mind and body.  And this is the time of year when most of us fall back into old habits of excess that could have long-term effects on our health.  Now is the time to train your brain and body for new empowering habits to avoid the guilt feelings of being out of control.

The mind is like a wild horse. If you try to control it, it will just get worse. If you let it be, it will settle down into its natural state of restfulness and calm. See this metamorphosis as it is in nature. The trees allow their leaves to fall so they can bring forth new ones in the spring for a new experience. Let go of overthinking, all the resistance, and allow the change to happen. It will renew your physical body with clean energy.

Relief from stress

When you close your eyes, you are not distracted by external happenings. Focus on your breathing and you won’t be thinking about anything else, and you won’t have any judgments or expectations about what might happen next.

Practice using relaxation techniques to balance your mind, body and spirit whenever you feel anxious or stressed. Practice now and by the time the golf season rolls around in the Spring you will have mastered the art of relaxing and centering within to perform at your best.

Take the time right now as you read this letter to inhale deeply through your diaphragm. Hold your breath for a few seconds and then exhale twice as long as you inhaled, just the way you do when you blow out the candles on your birthday cake.  If you feel any tension in any part of your body, focus your attention there and allow the tension to move out as you exhale. Take three deep breaths in this manner and then notice the calm inside your body. Notice how you are now focused within instead of on the outer world’s activities.

Stress Management 

People deal with stress in different ways. A recent study at UCLA suggests that women respond to stress with a production of brain chemicals to make and maintain friendships with other women. The hormone oxytocin is released and buffers the fight or flight response and encourages women to tend children and gather with other women instead.  This calming response does not occur in men. They appear to deal with stress more effectively through exercise or escaping into their office to solve the problem.

• Walking the golf course, or some other kind of exercise program is a fantastic way to deal with stress. Exercise helps you sleep. When you are not fatigued, you deal with stress more effectively. If your golf course is closed for the winter, this would be a good time to walk the course, imagining playing each shot to start programming your career round.

• Breathe deeply to relieve stress. When people feel anxious, they unconsciously hold their breath. Take a few moments during the day to take three full, slow breaths, let it out slowly to release any stressful feelings. This is a good time to practice breathing in your golf swing while indoors. Inhale on your (imaginary) backswing, pause, and exhale on the downswing. Do this every day until it becomes a habit. In the Spring you will notice the increased distance!

• Have a positive outlook on life. This will give you extra energy. Having a positive mental attitude is having a good spiritual connection. See the good side of everything you do and everything that happens to you. See the bigger picture and don’t get ensconced in the “small stuff”.  Write down what you like about golf. Write down a description of the kind of golfer that you would like to be.

• Golf and life and are meant to be enjoyed. Golf can be a way to relax if you let go of expectations of not being good enough. Enjoy everything that you are doing in the moment. Practice being in the NOW.

• Giving gifts is a tradition during the holidays. A Spiritual Law says, “Giving and receiving are the same.”  When you give a gift and it is well received, you receive the gift of pleasure in return. To increase your self-esteem, begin to acknowledge compliments with a heartfelt “thank you” instead of thinking you don’t deserve it, or judging the gift or its giver. On the golf course, accepting compliments into your heart from your foursome will keep you in a positive frame of mind.

• Physical tension is a result of mental stress. Choose what will bring you joy. Catch yourself when you are experiencing the anxiety producing “what ifs.” Stay in the moment by focusing on enjoying what you are doing. When you are experiencing indecision, take a deep breath and go to your heart center and decide what is best for you. It is easy to give so much that you are no longer giving or helping and are experiencing anxiety or worry. Have you noticed that you do this on the golf course also?

• Your body language reflects your state of mind. Develop an awareness of how you carry yourself, especially when you’re feeling stressed. Change your posture to a straighter alignment. If you do it, even if you don’t feel like doing it, you will feel better. It’s like smiling. Sometimes you smile because you are happy and sometimes because you want to be happy. Your speaking rate and style can also affect your mood and other reactions to you.

• Recognize stress in all facets of your life. Learn to take control of your body and your reaction to stress and anxiety. Decide to live your life with the emphasis on the importance of relaxation, fun and pleasure. The more you relax, the better you feel.

• Share your life with others in a meaningful way. All the great research, all the religions, all the philosophies indicate this is the root of happiness.

• Be grateful and give thanks for all your blessings.

• Create a HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON! 

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances 

Learn how to relax, focus in the moment, and enhance your mental golf game by listening to eight different self-hypnosis CDs/Mp3s in the privacy of your own home during the off season. Available at 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.

Imagine your golf game where you feel in complete control. Where it is easy for you to stay in the moment and focus easily on each shot. You can let go of missed shots and trust your swing. You can make up for missed greens with an accurate short game. Your confidence soars with each shot that you create. When you putt, you remain calm. You possess total confidence and remain composed in competition. Playing the last few holes, your concentration intensifies and you finish strong.

Whether you are a pro golfer, amateur golfer, junior golfer, or golf coach, now would be a good time to gain greater awareness of yourself and your golf game. Available on the Positive Mental Imagery website are the following mental tools for you, or to purchase as a Christmas gift for your favorite golfer.

1. Learn how to relax, focus in the moment, and enhance your mental golf game by listening to eight different self-hypnosis CDs/Mp3s, available at pmi4.com/cart

1. • Confident Putting for Lower Scores
   • Concentration for Consistent Golf
   • Release for Performance Anxiety
   • Fearless Golf
   • Confidence to Win Golf Tournaments
   • Progressive Relaxation of the Mind & Body
   • Master Your Short Game for Low Scores
   • Self-Hypnosis for Playing in the Zone

2. “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 at https://amzn.to/2MQzjfq   All royalties will be donated to Junior Golf!

3.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.

4.Gift certificates for your special golf friend or relative are available on the Positive Mental Imagery website at bit.ly/3Y7b3tE

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

Here in the northern hemisphere, and in many other countries, we have just celebrated Halloween. All Hallows’ Eve was known as Samhain to the ancient Celts—the death of the old year. It marked the end of the life of summer and the beginning of the darkness of winter.

Animals like black cats, bats and spiders symbolize Halloween. Figures such as ghosts, skeletons, witches, wizards, pumpkins, graveyards, cobwebs, and haunted houses are also symbols that represent Halloween.

What images symbolize your mental golf game? Are there sand bunkers, water hazards, tight fairways, woods, creeks, fast breaking greens, or players who are better than you? Or is your game symbolized by images of fun, companionship, sculptured fairways, challenging greens, beautiful outdoor weather, and a playful way to exercise and compete?

As the seasons change, with the leaves turning brilliant colors of red, gold and orange, we are reminded that there is a season for everything. If the trees hold on to their leaves in the fall, there would be no room for new growth in the spring. If they didn’t rest in the winter, they would be too tired to bud. What are you holding on to in your golf game that isn’t working for you?

Hypnosis for changing unproductive beliefs

Programming your mind with positive thoughts and images is the key to playing great golf. If you have neglected the mental aspect of your golf game, now in the off season is the time to develop a mental program that enhances your physical game. This is a time to write down the beliefs that did not serve you well this summer, and to create new ones.

We create our lives with our beliefs. Our poor golf games are still dominated by unproductive beliefs about ourselves learned in our childhood years up to the age of 7. These habitual programs were downloaded into our subconscious minds, and we continue our life script to fit into these patterns.

Hypnosis has proved to be the easiest and quickest way to program your subconscious mind for great performances. Hypnosis is a natural state of life. It is an altered state of awareness. In golf, it is known as “the zone state.” You have been in this trance state several times today. You may not have called it hypnosis. Anytime you move from an outward perception to an inner awareness, you enter a trance state. Anytime you go into your own world and imagination, you are going into a hypnotic trance. For example, when you were completely focused on what you were seeing or doing, and a loud noise startled you, you were in this altered state of awareness.

Your unconscious is running the show

The subconscious is the part of your mind that controls the physical movements of your golf swing, just as it has control of your breathing, heartbeat, and other internal organs. It tells your muscles how to do this by the patterns that you have given it. The subconscious does not judge. It cannot distinguish between what is real and what is imagined. It takes in the information literally and stores it. When you repeat patterns, it automatically develops a habit with the goal of making it a program. It stores and organizes memories, emotions, and programs. Over 95% of what we do, think, and say comes from old programming in our subconscious mind. Thus, the subconscious runs your life and old negative programs will sabotage your best intentions of playing your best if you do not reprogram them.

Reprogram your subconscious habitual patterns

1. Repetition is the key to programming the subconscious. This is why you will see the same ads repeated continually on TV. It creates a program in your subconscious. You can create your own programs by affirming and visualizing often what you desire in your golf game. Emotions have an extraordinarily strong impact on the subconscious mind. Whenever you hit a successful shot that you want to repeat, anchor it into your subconscious by feeling the good emotion inside and with a physical action such as a fist pump.
2. The subconscious mind does not recognize negatives. All affirmations and statements must be positive. When you say a negative, your mind visualizes the picture. If you say, “I’m not going to hit it in the water,” your subconscious mind doesn’t register the “not” and sees the ball going into the water, thus programming your result.
3. The subconscious mind represses memories with unresolved negative emotions. The memories will get buried, yet the beliefs and feelings associated with them will still control your reactions. Is this why golfers often change putters? Or have the yips? And nothing changes?
4. The subconscious is much more powerful than your computer. It takes in everything through your five senses and logs it into its vast filing system with a photocopy. When you criticize, judge, or blame yourself or others, it is recorded and can be triggered by a similar situation when you don’t want it to.
5. The subconscious works on the principle of least effort. It follows the path of least resistance. Without purposeful direction from our conscious mind, it follows the easiest, usually more negative path of our engrained habits.
6. The subconscious only functions NOW. This is apparent when you are in the “zone state” and are totally focused in the moment with complete confidence because there is no past or future thoughts interfering. When you rewrite your negative programs from the past, make sure they are what you want in the present. ex., “I AM calm, focused and ready to putt,” instead of I will, or I can.
7. When you allow your subconscious to perform it can be a spiritual experience. Golfers “in the zone” describe themselves as being “out of mind & body.” It is the source of a higher aspect of yourself. Accessing the subconscious opens us up to higher levels of soul energy. When you are in this state, you are experiencing the ultimate energy of your creation — love for what you are doing and love for who you are.

Make a change to empower yourself 

As you know, golf is a metaphor for life. It can show you the life lessons you need to be aware of to create balance in your life. With this awareness you can train your brain to create programs that will bring you more enjoyment and lower scores. It will not happen without effort on your part. Here is a simple plan to do this.

1. Desire. Do not limit yourself. Write down specifically what it is you want in your life/golf game. (Health, wealth, strength, flexibility, calmness, focus, consistency, etc.)
2. Imagination. Create a movie in your mind by visualizing your success in each category by using your imagination. Instruct your brain to make it important by using affirmations, music, and imagery.
3. Take Action. The Law of Attraction states that “like attracts like.” A good example of this is the Placebo Effect. When you believe something is helping you, your mind and body will create the result you desire. If you believe that something will not help you, or you fear changing, “what you resist persists.” When you act in the direction of your desire, do it with emotion — the language of the subconscious. Feel good about what you are planning to accomplish.
4. Gratitude. To create the life/golf game that you desire means staying positive and feeling good about the process to keep your energy level up. Look for positive moments that you have during the day. At night before going to bed, write down several things in your life/golf game that you are grateful for. Do this every night adding new items. In the morning look at the list and you will begin your day with a grateful heart. Start the day in love, live the day in love, and end the day in love.

I have created eight self-hypnosis CDs/Mp3s for your golf game empowerment in the areas of confidence, concentration, anxiety, relaxation, imagery, self-hypnosis, the short game, putting, and fearlessness. Listening to these repeatedly will create new positive programs in your subconscious as described above. They can be purchased online at www.pmi4.com/cart

Enjoy the period of Indian summer that is happening now where the days are dry and unseasonably warm, the skies are blue, clear, and cloudless, and the nights are chilly.

It’s a fun time to get out and play!

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Brain for Peak Performances!

Improve your golf game NOW by listening to PMI self-hypnosis CDs/Mp3s in the privacy of your own home. Order today at 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.

What is it that keeps you from success on the golf course?

It is the way you view yourself. You have been told over and over what to do, how to do it and when to do it. What is missing is you accessing your free will and acting on what you know to be true for you. Once you have learned the fundamentals of the golf swing and made them a habitual reaction, it is time to let go of all the instruction and trust yourself to swing the club unconsciously.

“When have you learned enough about the golf swing?” This was a question I was asked by Chuck Hogan, PGA in a golf clinic. Of course, like everyone else, I said “never.” He explained that until I believed I knew enough, I could never trust my swing and would always be trying to fix it or improve it. Ben Hogan kept practicing and practicing until his swing was perfect, but he still didn’t believe that it was good enough to win. His wife Valerie believed in him and encouraged him to believe that he was good enough to play and win on the PGA Tour.

Awareness of Self

The inner game of golf is made up of the mental beliefs you have of your Self and your abilities. The mental game includes learning the skills to eliminate your mental interferences that keep you from playing your best. You reach your peak performance levels when you become aware of only what you are experiencing in the present moment. You are then playing “the game” in the zone state.

Accessing this awareness comes from relaxing your thinking mind for the total focus needed to hit the next shot. To relax and focus on playing, you must overcome the interference of fears such as failure, embarrassment, self-criticism, and any other beliefs that keep you from moving forward toward success. If you use the time in-between shots to think of failing, reverse your inner critical voice, and replace it with an encouraging, affirming voice just as a good caddie does.

Are your beliefs your own?

Do you believe it (winning) when you see it (your success), or do you see it (confidence) when you believe it? In the former you must wait for your confidence to build by doing well, and in the latter case you can build success upon success because you believe you can.

Golf and life are about what you believe and how you act on those beliefs.

A belief is acceptance of the actuality of anything without certain proof. Our beliefs control everything in our lives. We consciously accept and focus upon our beliefs, never questioning them because the results look so real. Free yourself from the mental blocks of not being good enough by reversing all beliefs of unworthiness. Energize yourself with a positive affirming outlook of love and gratitude for playing the game.

What are your beliefs that keep you from low golf scores?

Henry Ford said, “Believe you can or believe that you can’t. Either way you will be right.” One of the reasons Ford was so successful was that he walked around his automobile plant congratulating his people on doing something right.

The Law of Attraction, popularized by the film “The Secret” states the belief that like attracts like. Your positive thoughts and actions bring good things into your life. Negative things that happen to you are the result of your negative thoughts and actions. Now is the time to release those limiting beliefs that anchor you into repeating those failure memories.

It is important to control your own thoughts to achieve success, as well as controlling the energy that thoughts have with their ability to attract other thoughts. When you shoot a big number, it triggers previous times when you also had a big number and compounds the emotions you want to avoid. Always charge your good shots with good emotions so they are stronger memories than your misses.

What you believe you will produce in your life and in your golf game

Are you successful because you believe in yourself, or

Do you only believe you are successful when you win?

A strong mental game promotes success when you believe in yourself and your abilities. If you only believe in yourself when you win, you will be disappointed a lot, and will have lost the fun of the challenge of the game.

You are not your beliefs. You can change them any time you wish.

Recently I have had clients who were struggling with the following limiting beliefs:

• I can’t finish a tournament well.
• Other golfers are judging my swing and my game.
• I make different swings on the range and on the course.
• I can’t let go of big numbers.
• Losing is much more painful than winning is enjoyable.
• Winning is the only thing that matters.
• I need to control/hold the lead when I am ahead.
• I can’t keep a good game going.
• I get tight late in a round.
• I have a need to impress others with my golf game.
• When my opponents play well, I am defeated.

These are all limiting beliefs that keep you from achieving your potential. What you resist changing will persist. If you have any self-defeating beliefs, it is time for you to reverse and reprogram your subconscious mind so you are no longer emotionally blocked from success.

Begin today to believe in the many good abilities you have seen in your previous games.  Success begins with positive beliefs. Visualize your success. Be creative. Enjoy using your imagination to create the golf game that you desire. Think out of the box. Balance your flow of energy harmoniously among your physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental selves. Believe in your Self.

Watch your words, monitor your thoughts, examine your beliefs, and intentionally choose your actions. Write down the characteristics of the golfer you want to be. Picture yourself using each of those characteristics on the golf course.

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

© PositiveMentalImagery 2022 – All Rights Reserved

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

To train your brain to believe in yourself and your abilities to play your best golf, you can listen to Positive Mental Imagery self-empowering guided imagery hypnosis CDs in the privacy of your own home. 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!

.

It is almost impossible not to become frustrated on the golf course. Bad shots are part of the game for all golfers. It is important not to let it get you discouraged. What is possible is how you can control your frustration and how you react so it won’t affect your performance.

Judging a shot as good or bad will trigger emotions that go with it. Your subconscious mind will remember emotionally charged situations more than unemotional ones. That is why it is so easy to recall where, when and how you made a hole-in-one. There is much celebration and emotion. In the same way if you keep thinking about a bad shot frustration, it will be easily triggered to repeat by your subconscious mind that stores everything literally.

The secret to anger management is how quickly you can let it go.

When you focus on your mistakes, fear of failing, or keeping your score going, your emotions can control you. It is best to release the anger quickly and then refocus on the next shot. Most champions stay calm in the face of adversity, forget about the mistake, and move on. Use your positive energy to prepare for the next shot instead of analyzing the error, which is now in the past. Reprogram your brain to forget mistakes by putting the situation into a delete file in your computer brain.

In golf it is important to experience the feeling of anger and then release the thought that connects with it as soon as possible so you won’t carry it on to the following holes. Blocking or suppressing the emotion only delays dealing with it. Usually, we get angry because things don’t go our way. We feel afraid that we have lost control of the situation.

When we get angry our muscles tense, blood recedes from our arms and legs, and we lose our sense of “feel.” To counter the effects of anger, inhale slowly and smoothly through your diaphragm and exhale the same way. This way of breathing will calm and soothe your nervous system, reduce your anger and put you back in a focused mindset to perform.

Recovery from mishits

This is the time to be patient and not give up. Golfers know the game can turn around on their next shot. Accept that there are going to be times when you feel that you aren’t in control of your mind and/or golf swing.

When you miss a shot, you have lost your rhythm. Don’t try to analyze what went wrong. While you are playing, it is impossible to determine what technically caused the mishit.

Breathe deeply and slowly to relax. Step aside and make practice swings until you find the tempo you wanted. You probably swung too fast and your body attempted to make up for the lack of proper swing sequence by quick wrist action which then caused topped and fat shots and misalignment of the clubface. Do not think about changing your swing. Before hitting another shot, take practice swings to regain your sequential body movements. Swing slowly until you feel this transfer.

Physically Release the Anger

Learning to manage anger properly is a skill that must be learned. The key is to distract the mind from holding on to the thought that caused the anger.

Frustration is an emotion that results from failure to achieve what you want. It happens to all golfers because none of us is perfect. The difference between pros and amateurs is that the pros’ reaction time is shorter. By the time pros get to the next shot they are completely focused.

Earl Woods told Tiger that any time he got angry on the golf course to imagine there was a 10-yard circular fence surrounding him. Tiger had ten steps in any direction to feel, express, and deal with his anger. When he reached the edge of the imaginary fence on his tenth step, Tiger had to let go of the anger and not let it interfere with the next shot.

When we get angry, our muscles tense, blood recedes from our arms and legs, and we lose our sense of “feel.” Following are some of the physical triggers that world class golfers use to release their anger after missing a shot so they don’t carry their anger forward.

• Dropping the club at the end of the swing.
• Forcibly exhaling the breath.
• Swearing under their breath.
• Shaking their hands back and forth.
• Counting to 10.
• Taking 5 steps forward.
• Ripping off the golf glove.
• Smiling.

Unrealistic Expectations Cause Frustration

Frustration on the golf course could be the result of unrealistic expectations of your game. When you set high standards that aren’t readily attainable, you will constantly experience failure and frustration. It is important to acknowledge that you will hit bad shots. Blaming yourself and feeling angry only increases the chances that you will make even more mistakes because you will be on an emotional roller coaster.

You will experience less frustration and be more relaxed if you do not demand perfection from yourself. Don’t make your missed golf shots the central theme of your thoughts. The more you replay your missed shots in your mind, the more you deplete your mental and physical energies to play good shots.

Golf teaches us about many facets of our personality. The mental game of golf is solid when you have thought through your expectations for what you can and can’t control and you remain in the present with positive thoughts and images of what you want to accomplish.

Lower your frustration level strategy   

• Choose to hit shots that you know you can pull off successfully. Failing to pull off the “miracle shot” can result in frustration.
• Be realistic about the distance you can hit your clubs and don’t expect to hit the maximum distance every time.
• Use your missed shots as an opportunity to “bounce back.”
• Decide that you don’t have to hit every shot perfectly to score low.
• A round of golf is very seldom all good or all bad. Focus on the good shots that you have made successfully.
• Know that failure is life’s greatest teacher.
• Stay patient until things turn around.
• Have the feeling that golf with all its ups and downs is a fun game to play!

Develop a short-term memory strategy 

The way to regain your confidence and move on with your game is to have Short Term Memory Loss. This means that you can’t remember what just happened. You let go thinking about the mishit and approach the next shot with a clear mind. You do this by developing a strategy for recovering from missed shots. Any negative thought about your last bad shot will affect your next shot if you don’t let it go.

Jack Nicklaus was famous for his Short-Term Memory loss. When asked about a missed shot in a round, he was not able to remember it. 

• Clear your mind. The bad shot is in the past.
• Clear your emotions.
• Clear your body. Release the frustration with a physical trigger.
• Understand no one can be perfect at the game of golf.
• Have short term memory for any poor shots.
• Use your long-term memory to store the good shots. Get excited and praise yourself for every good shot.
• Instead of trying to “fix” your swing, take practice swings until you regain your tempo so you are ready for the next shot.
• Take a slow, deep breath and move on with a new mindset.

Golfers who understand the game of golf know they will not always play their best and a round of golf can be full of ups and downs. It is the golfer’s task to minimize errors to the best of their ability, control their arousal level, be diligent in pre-shot preparation, and play one shot at a time. When golfers make this kind of positive thinking a habit, the subconscious mind will operate more efficiently, the game will be more fun and lower scores will result. 

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.

Do you really believe you deserve to win?

On a deep level of feeling, most golfers believe that they don’t deserve to be the winner. They will point to golfers who are better than they are and to the weaknesses in their own games. To play at your best, you need to believe in yourself and in your golf abilities. Believing in yourself is all about focusing on your strengths and on what you do well instead of focusing on what isn’t working.

Self-Worth 

Self-Worth is the core of our Self. It is a sense of how we view our worthiness and value as human beings. Lacking Self-Worth is like being a tree without roots. When you have healthy self-worth, you have a positive attitude and feel comfortable being yourself.

Self-Esteem

 Self-esteem is how you feel about yourself or the opinion you have about yourself. In a pressure situation on the golf course anyone can find it hard to believe in themselves. When you have healthy self-esteem, you have a positive attitude towards the things you want to achieve.

Self-esteem is not about your ability. You can have good golf abilities but still have low self-esteem.

When you have a high level of self-esteem, you will be confident, motivated, happy and have a positive attitude to succeed.

Low self-esteem will keep you from taking chances. Low self-esteem is reinforced by thinking negatively, criticizing your performance, or by listening to others who criticize you.

Confidence comes from within. If you have self-worth and are confident, you will have the mental strength to face new challenges. Confidence is enhanced by self-appreciation. On the golf course everything is new. Every day the golf course and every shot is a new experience.

How to develop self-esteem to win

1. Don’t compare yourself to others. Limit your competition to playing the golf course the best you can. Don’t compare your performance or abilities to someone else’s. Play your own game by sticking to your own strategy for playing and for overcoming challenges at your own pace. Your personal satisfaction and fulfillment are much more important than what others are thinking or saying or doing.
2. Use positive self-talk. Always talk to yourself as if you are your best friend. Champions decide what they will feel or think during competition. Replace the negative thoughts in your head with positive healthy affirming thoughts about your worth.
3. Don’t analyze your performance until it is over. Adding up your score or projecting the outcome will put you on an emotional roller coaster when your expectations aren’t met.
4. Use good body language. Walk and stand as if you are confident. You will feel more confident and look more confident to your playing partners.
5. Let go of short-term memory. Release thoughts and emotions of missed shots immediately. Stay in the present by giving every shot your total undivided attention and intention. Don’t bring up memories of missed shots on a particular hole. Visualize the shot you plan to execute.
6. Use your long-term memory. Remember the best shots and games you have played in the past. If you do think about a missed shot in the past, look at how you can correct it. This will change your attitude and how you look at the process of creating the shot.
7. Take deep breaths to relax. By taking deep breaths you can relax your mind and body to access a positive state of thinking and physical performance more easily.
8. Remember to smile. Smiling inside by remembering someone or something you love will bring your focus into your heart and out of the judgmental part of your brain.
9. Reinforce your good shots. Anchor your good shots into your memory bank by congratulating yourself with a heartfelt, congratulatory warm feeling.

Purpose for playing golf

Golf is a game we play for fun and for the thrill of challenging ourselves to be the best we can be. When we know who we are and are comfortable with who we are, we have self-esteem, no matter how poorly we perform.

Remember golf is what you do, not who you are. If you are what you do, and then you don’t, YOU aren’t.

Affirm your self-worth by continuing to maintain understanding, acceptance, and love of your Self.

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

Learn how to be confident enough to win by purchasing the self-hypnosis golf CD “Confidence to Win Golf Tournaments” at www.pmi4.com/cart

Contact Joan at 828.707-5478 or pmi4@bellsouth.net for a free 15-minute consultation. Learn what is missing in your game so you can become the winner.

To train your brain to believe in yourself and your abilities to play your best golf, you can listen to Positive Mental Imagery self-empowering guided imagery hypnosis CDs in the privacy of your own home. All eight different CDs are available now in MP3s 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 the joy and love of self instead of seeking praise and rewards from the outside world.

“THE HEART OF GOLF” guidebook for transforming your life

and your golf game is available on Amazon and Kindle

https://amzn.to/2MQzjfq

All royalties will be donated to Junior Golf!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

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

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

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

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

All royalties will be donated to Junior Golf!

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

Your inner child’s mental programming!

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

Subconscious Programming 

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

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

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

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

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

Your Inner Child

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

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

Understanding + Experience = Progress

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

The Heart of a Child

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

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

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

The process of discovery

Why is the zone considered the biggest mystery in golf?

Why can’t you find it?

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

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

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

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

Play “in the zone” with Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances

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

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

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

“THE HEART OF GOLF” guidebook for transforming your life

and your golf game is available on Amazon and Kindle

https://amzn.to/2MQzjfq

All royalties will be donated to Junior Golf!