At the PGA Players Championship last week we watched Kevin Na fight his mental block that caused self-inflicted full swing yips. He waggled, waggled, and waggled, took practice swings, and backed off shots as he tried to release the demons of indecision in his head. Spectators, who had no patience, compounded the problem for Kevin when he could hear them saying “pull the trigger.” Kevin said this mental block was due to a swing change he is making that he is not comfortable with.

A few years ago we watched Sergio Garcia grip and regrip his club over and over as he wrestled with his grip change. At the Mercedes Championships he was seen adjusting his grip and waggling up to 24 times as he tried to get comfortable enough to hit his tee shot. At the Canadian Open the frustrated gallery following Garcia counted, “Une, deux, trios” with each waggle. Sergio said he regrips and waggles to give himself time to get his head clear of negative thoughts before hitting a shot.

Jack Nicklaus’ slow play also caused spectators discomfort when they followed him. However, his slow play was not out of indecision or fear. Jack taught us to visualize every shot and to be more meticulous in preparation. Jack said, “I think it (preparation) is the single most important maneuver in golf. It is the only aspect of the swing over which you have 100% control. If you set up incorrectly, you’ll hit a lousy shot even if you make the greatest swing in the world.”

Sunday in her Sybase Match Play Championship semifinal against Azahara Munoz, Morgan Pressel was penalized for slow play. After Munoz and Pressel fell eight minutes behind the allotted pace on the 11th hole, LPGA rules officials placed the match on the clock. Playing the 12th hole, Morgan took 2 minutes, 9 seconds to play her three shots which was 39 seconds over the 30-second limit per shot. In match play, the penalty for slow play is loss of the previous hole. Pressel thought she had won the hole with a par to Munoz’ bogie giving her a 3-up lead in the match. Instead of being 3-up, Pressel was back to being only 1-up. 

Last season, the LPGA issued five slow-play penalties. The last time the PGA Tour is believed to have issued a penalty stroke for slow play was in 1995. Glen Day was penalized a shot after the third round of the Honda Classic.

Does a slow player in your foursome frustrate you?

Do you hurry and rush your swing when playing with a slow player?

Do you play faster when your group falls behind the group in front? 

Does it bother you if the group behind you is waiting on every shot?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, this article is for you: ”Don’t let Type-A tendencies rule your game. Resist the urge to get upset with slow play in the group ahead.”  http://bit.ly/Lw0FVk

Play “In the Zone” With Joan

Entrain Your Mind & Heart for Peak Performances

If this newsletter was helpful to you, and you want to learn more, call Joan for a complimentary 15-minute consultation about your mental game. She can be reached by phone at 828-696-2547, or through the Positive Mental Imagery website or blog. Other tips to improve your mental golf game are available on this website, where you can sign up for a free mental golf newsletter and purchase empowering self-hypnosis mental golf CDs.

Before his Masters win last week, Bubba Watson was known for his behemoth drives, his self-diagnosed ADD, his bubble gum pink Ping G20 driver, his emotional nature, and his charities. So far this year Watson leads the PGA Tour with an average driving distance of 313.1 yards. He is now #4 in the Official World Golf Ranking and #2 in the FedExCup Ranking. His scoring average is 69.71. 

He is now also known for his spectacular 155-yard gap wedge shot hit out of the pine straw at Augusta National that hooked 40 yards to land on the unseen green for a 10-foot birdie putt to win the Masters championship. It was the shot of the week that will be replayed over and over again. 

How did he hit that spectacular shot with the pressure of the 2^nd playoff hole? 
What was he thinking?

When he hit his tee shot into theGeorgiapines, of course it crossed Bubba’s mind that he might have lost his chance to win the Masters. Seeing that Bubba’s tee shot was in the trees, Louis Oosthuizen put his driver back in the bag and hit his 3-wood. It also went to the right side of the hole, but a lucky bounce kicked it back in the fairway, 220 yards from the green.

When Bubba saw that the South African had over 200 yards to go from the rough, he thought Louis probably wasn’t going to make birdie, but might make par. Bubba then figured out a way to make par. When he got to his ball he found that he had an opening, but had to hook the ball severely around the pine trees to avoid the fairway bunker to make it to the 10^th  green that he couldn’t see. “I was there earlier today, during regulation,” he said. “So I was used to it. I knew what I was facing there. I had a good lie, had a gap where I had to hook it 40 yards or something. I’m pretty good at hooking it.”

What did we learn from Bubba’s performance?

How did he create this miraculous shot? 

He doesn’t have a golf coach, has never had a lesson, and has never seen his swing on video. He is his own swing coach. 

Bubba practices on the range by shaping shots that curve right and left a lot with every swing. He says he never hits a straight shot.

With this kind of practice he has taught himself through trial and error how to hit draws, hooks, fades and slices. He uses his imagination to create shots instead of calculating distances and producing repetitive shots. 

He relies on his ability to visualize a ball curving to the green. At the Masters he pictured every shot. We all remember the 2005 Masters when Tiger Woods used his visualization skill and creativity to chip his ball 25 feet above the hole from the second fringe to drop it in the 16^th hole. 

Watson relies on his sense of feel to get the ball to do precisely what he wants it to do. 

Use target imagery and your intuitive skills

Believe in your ability

 One of the most valuable lessons I learned was when I was asked, “When will you know that you have learned the golf swing? When I decided that I didn’t need any more lessons on the swing and just played the game, I had more fun and consistently had my lowest scores. For most players this means letting go of conscious thoughts and slowing down your brain to produce the information you have put into it. Bubba skipped the step of mechanics, accepted his different swing, and enjoyed creating shots with his awareness. 

Visualize the shot you want to hit 

What kind of visual pictures can you imagine for your swing or the flight of the ball?  Does the ball look like an airplane taking off and then making a left hand turn? Your mind is full of these kinds of images. The more visualization you have and the less thinking you do, the easier it will be for your mind to create the shot you want. Imagine hitting your tee shots down the narrow aisles of a grocery store. What does your swing feel like, and what does the ball’s trajectory look like? The stripe on a highway is about the same width as your putter. Imagining this stripe on the putting surface between you and the hole will provide a specific picture for your mind to follow. 

Develop your sense of “feel” 

In golf you can’t look to see where your backswing is, so you have to “feel” where it is. To access this awareness, swing with your eyes closed. Tee up a 7 or 5 iron, and take a practice swing with your eyes closed. Then hit the ball with your eyes closed. You can do this because the ball doesn’t move. By focusing internally on the feel and image of the swing, you will use your sensual awareness instead of thinking about mechanics. To practice awareness in your short game, pitch balls to a target without looking at the result. Before you look up “feel” whether the ball went right, left, short or long of your target. Feel what happened in your swing to make that happen.

Play “In the Zone” With Joan

Log on to the PMI website and Blog for more mental golf tips.

Since we are all part of the golfing community and want to improve, I would like to hear from you. Let me know what your concerns are, the parts of your mental game that you need help with, what excites you, and what you love about the game.

Everyone watched in horror along with I. K. Kim as her one-foot putt to win the first LPGA major of the season on Sunday spun around the rim of the cup back at her. She had birdied the previous two holes to get into the position to win with a one stroke lead going into the 18^th hole.The unexpected missed “gimme putt” obviously upset her. She lost the first play-off hole to Sun Young Zoo who made birdie. And now she has to live with the distressing emotions, thoughts, and media attention.

This kind of miss happens in golf if you aren’t focused in the moment. The way to prepare your mind is with a consistent pre-shot routine on every shot whether it is a tee shot or a putt. 

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

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

Why have a post-shot routine?

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

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

Let go of your bad shots. To release the emotions of a miss-hit and become positive:

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

Play “In the Zone” With Joan

Log on to the PMI website and Blog for more mental golf tips.

Since we are all part of the golfing community and want to improve, I would like to hear from you. Let me know what your concerns are, the parts of your mental game that you need help with, what excites you, and what you love about the game.