“My biggest problem is consistency.  How can I play more consistently?”

Every golfer wants to play consistently all the time. However, golf like us, is defined more by its diversity than by its sameness. To play consistently, you would need to allow total focus for 40 seconds, 72 times or more (depending on your score), during a four-hour or greater time period.

Here are three mental skills to practice for consistency:

1. The first ingredient for consistency is perfect practice. The best place to practice perfectly is in your imagination. See yourself over and over again, swinging with your perfect swing, playing the game perfectly. Then go to the practice range and hit the shots as you saw them in your “mind’s eye”. Next go to the golf course and play the course as you imagined it.
2. The second ingredient for consistency is the pre-shot routine.  It is important that you
   mentally program the process of creating the shot you want to happen. Write down each step in your routine. Take the list to the practice range and practice the routine with every shot until it becomes habitual and you don’t have to think about it anymore. The
   routine will get you focused and eliminate all inner and outer distractions. It will set your mind into the same mental patterns every time to program you for consistent results.
3. The third ingredient for consistency is your rhythm and tempo.  Maintaining a relaxed state of mind and body will help you access your natural rhythm and tempo. The easiest way to access this relaxed state is by having fun playing golf, and remembering how easy it is when you play well.

For more information on how to play at your peak performance levels call Joan at 828-696-2547 for a complimentary 15-minute consultation.  Feel free to email this mental golf blog to any of your friends who might like to know about it. They can then subscribe by simply clicking here.

          We live in the 21^st century where we have instant gratification from using technology that gives us what we want right now. For example, 

1. We don’t have to get up from our chair to change a TV channel. The remote control does it for us instantly.
2. If we don’t like the TV channel we can surf through hundreds of programs in a matter of seconds.
3. Internet surfers demand shorter and shorter blogs to read.
4. When we don’t get the result we want on the computer, we immediately try something else.
5. We use faxes, email and texting for instant communication.

      Gratification is the emotional pleasure reaction to fulfilling a desire. You need to be aware of your behavior to instantly want things to happen so that it doesn’t carry over to the golf course. Seeking this gratification on the golf course can lead to rushing through preparation to hit a shot. Sometimes using productive behavior off the course can be an unproductive behavior on the golf course. The good news is that we can change our behavior any time we are aware of it.

       Emotion, like your thoughts, is a motivator of behavior. When you are emotionally bothered on the golf course, take notice of the annoyance and take action to change it to your benefit. The more times you do this, you will train your brain to act in an automatic way. Here are some opportunities on the golf course when you need to have self-control by using your mental skill of patience:

1. When you are ready to hit the ball and are distracted by noise. Back off from the ball and go through your pre-shot routine again.
2. When there is a slow player in your foursome. Do not speed up your preparation to make up for the delay by the slow player. Prepare patiently  when it is your turn to hit.
3. When your foursome is a hole behind the group ahead. Play “ready golf” until you catch up.
4. When you miss a six-footer for par and have a short putt coming back. Remember that every putt counts the same and requires the same amount of time to execute.
5. When you have “lost your swing” during the round. Have the patience to regain your tempo until it comes back.
6. When you are distracted by someone moving in your peripheral vision. Don’t let your ego tell you it doesn’t matter. Wait until they have stopped moving and begin again.

 For more information on how to play at your peak performance levels call Joan at 828-696-2547 for a complimentary 15-minute consultation.  Feel free to email this mental golf blog to any of your friends who might like to know about it. They can then subscribe by simply clicking here.

On the range you will notice that most golfers are practicing their full swings. If you want to score better, you need to practice the shots you use the most.

For all levels of golfers, full shots from the driver through the wedge are used in only 37% of the total number of shots! The half shots; chipping, pitching, sand, and putting comprise the other 63% of your score.

If you want to score lower, put your time and energy into practicing and gaining confidence around the greens in these less than full shots. Practice half and partial wedge pitch shots into the green as a scoring tool, not just as a recovery shot. This is why the professionals carry as many as four wedges in their bags.

Your goal is to get the ball on the green close enough for two putts, or less.

1. Practice until the wedge feels as comfortable as shaking hands with an old friend.

2. Practice until you feel that you can get the ball close to the hole.

3. Practice until you know the exact distance you hit your wedges on full and partial shots.

The average golfer can reduce his/her score by 3 to 12 shots per round by practicing the pitch shot and the chip shot. The pitch shot is executed with a pitching wedge or sand wedge and is less than a full shot. The chip shot is executed with any club with the same stroke as a putter. The club used lands the ball on the green near the edge and lets it run to the hole. The axiom for chipping off the green is “less air time, more ground time.”

Your mental goal is to believe you can get the ball “up and down” from any place around the green.

1. Repeat an affirmation that you love to hit these scoring shots.

2. As you practice, emotionally affirm your successful shots.

3. Release judgment of unsuccessful practice shots by learning from them.

For more information on how to play at your peak performance levels call Joan at 828-696-2547 for a complimentary 15-minute consultation. Feel free to email this mental golf blog to any of your friends who might like to know about it. They can then subscribe by simply clicking here.

When you feel insecure it is probably because you have put too much importance on getting the ball into the hole and are focusing on a certain score.  Certainly it is frustrating to miss a putt.  Missing is part of the game.  The more you dwell on missed putts, the more insecure you will feel.

There are only two ways to miss a putt, either by miss-hitting the ball, or miss-reading the line of the putt. Through practice you will learn to combine the right speed and direction to putt the ball. Most good putters focus their attention on rolling the ball on line.  If you can pick the right line and roll the ball on that line, that is all you can do. The results are out of your control. The  challenge is in getting those two parts of the equation to work together, and accepting the end result.  Prepare your mind by using the same pre-shot routine every time.  This will enhance your chances of accomplishing the putt without interruption or distraction.

If you have feelings of fear, doubt or worry, know that your mind is wandering into thoughts of your past or future putts, and away from the task at hand. To refocus, use the time while waiting your turn to prepare your mind.

• Take in as much information as you can about the green.
• Choose your plan to roll the ball on the line into the hole.
• Rehearse it in your mind until it is very clear.
• Breathe deeply to relax your mind and body.
• Take practice putting strokes to access your feel and tempo.
• Trust that your plan is a good one.

Improve your golf game NOW by listening to PMI self-hypnosis CDs/tapes in the privacy
of your own home. Train your brain to trust your putting abilities by listening to “Confident Putting for Lower Scores.” Order today at www.pmi4.com/cart

Like an eagle, you can soar to your highest potential by changing your
limiting thoughts. 

Limiting thoughts I heard on the golf course:

• These yardage markers on the driving range are not accurate.
• The speed on the putting green is not the same as the greens on the course.
• It’s too cold and windy to play well.
• My putts aren’t going in today.
• This bad hole has ruined my score.
• It’s going to be that kind of (bad) day.
• This is not my kind of course.
• I don’t expect to get better because I am getting older.

When you hit the golf ball, you always get what you think. 

If you find yourself saying any of these, these beliefs are running in your subconscious mind and it will produce those results. Our beliefs control everything in our lives.

If you say a limiting belief, your subconscious mind doesn’t know if you are kidding or feeling sorry for yourself. It takes all thoughts literally and stores them as the truth for what you want.

Begin to look and listen to what you are saying and doing from a higher perspective. Before you react to an emotion, take a deep breath and think about what you are going to say. If it is a limiting thought, don’t say it, or change it into a positive thought about what you do want to happen.

If you have trouble changing limiting or negative thinking into positive thoughts, call Joan at 828-696-2547 for a free 15-minute consultation.

Concentration is a skill that you can develop as well as any professional.

Golf is called a mental game because you need to manage your thoughts to play well. Internal or external distractions keep golfers from playing at their peak performance levels. Focusing your attention on the problems and possible penalities of a shot is destructive to playing good golf. Golfers tend to focus on their technique when they are under pressure. This is exactly what not to do.

To concentrate means to be absorbed in the task at hand. To concentrate means to
be focused in the moment free from any internal or external distractions.

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 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 wider focus of attention on things outside of you, to a narrower focus on the shot you are about to hit. Imagine that you are wearing blinders and can only see the execution of the upcoming shot.

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.

“I would like to enjoy golf to its fullest, but I worry about each shot.  How can I stop
worrying?”

Worry is a form of fear

The only way to get rid of the fear is to go out and play through it. Pushing through a fear is less frightening than living with the underlying emotions about what might appen. When you give in to the emotion of fear, you sabotage your self-esteem.

Here are five ways to release your fears:

1. Let go of the attachment to worry.  You created the fear thoughts, so you can let them go.  Know that this attachment is keeping you from playing up to your potential.
2. Change negative self-talk to positive self-talk.  Choose to let go of negative thoughts and feelings and to experience the good feelings from hitting a good shot.
3. Imagine/visualize yourself playing with all of the skills you have learned.
4. Decide to play in the now.  Concentrate on the present shot. Use your pre-shot routine to focus on the shot you want to create.
5. Prepare for each shot with a good atitude.  Act as if it is the best feeling and the most fun filled shot you will hit today.

Improve your golf game now by listening to the PMI self-hypnosis CD “Fearless Golf” in the privacy of your own home. Order today at http://www.pmi4.com/cart

“My biggest problem is relaxing over the golf ball. How can I do that?”

To be confident and to play at your best, you have to be relaxed. You can relax by learning the natural, correct 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. 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”.

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 are 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”.

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.

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