Another year is drawing to a close and I thank you for your support and feedback in my mission to help golfers have more fun while playing “in the zone.” In 2012 I will be beginning my 20th year of counseling golfers how to balance their mental, emotional, physical and spiritual bodies for lower scores.

Now is the time to reflect and think about what was good and what not so good in the past year. We sometimes get so caught up in our busy lives, that life passes us by. Take the time now to write down what made you happy and what you learned in 2011. Celebrate yourself and constantly remind yourself of your greatness.

Use your thoughts to create your world, and the golf game that you desire. Enlighten yourself with positive visions. See the good in all the things you are experiencing and you will feel the happiness deep within yourself. Feel it, see it, experience it, and react to the happiness you have created. Feel the shift in perception. You create in your world exactly what you focus your attention on.

Here are mental, emotional and spiritual attributes to bring you into balance for a more rewarding life and golf game:

• Be aware. Thoughts, words and deeds are the tools of creation. Every act you perform is an act of self-definition. It is important that you use your full awareness to speak and act consciously instead of just repeating what you have heard from others.
• Focus on what you desire, and not on what you don’t want. Choose the results you want. Have complete trust that it will happen. The degree of your trust will be the degree that the results will happen.
• Put yourself at the head of your gift list. Be kind to yourself. Think, talk, play golf, and live your life the way you would like it to be. Play for your own enjoyment, not to please others.
• Turn frustration into a smile. Smile through adversity. When you are frustrated in traffic, at the shopping mall, or on the golf course, acknowledge the emotion as an opportunity to change. Smile inwardly to change your physiology and send lightness into your heart and the world instead of darkness.
• Turn worry into action. No one has ever accomplished anything by worrying about it. When you begin to fret about something in your life, let go of your attachment to the outcome. Formulate a plan and execute it. Affirm what it is you want to manifest NOW. For example, instead of worrying about hitting the ball on the first tee, formulate a plan to relax, and then focus on your tempo and target.
• Be grateful. By being grateful for the things you do have in your life, you create a positive attitude and send positive energy into your mind and body, and also out into the world.
• Forgive yourself for your mistakes. Understand that making mistakes is the best and fastest way to learn and grow. Forgive (give for) yourself for being human and give yourself the gift of letting go of blame and guilt. Return to a peaceful and harmonious state of mind.
• Make your self-talk positive. Monitor your thoughts. Change the words “if only” to “next time.” Stay in the present by changing fear thoughts from the past, and anxious thoughts of the future, to thoughts of what you want to happen in your life right now.
• Make happiness a habit. Look for the “good” in all situations. Have faith in the perfection of your life experience. Know that you do not always know what is best for you. Acknowledge that on another level you are creating every situation for your learning experience.
• Use your sense of humor. Children laugh 500 times a day and adults only around 50 times. When you laugh your body produces endorphins to make you feel good. Humor can take the tenseness out of a situation. Humor builds self-esteem if you can laugh at your humanness.
• Accept your circumstances. Acceptance is surrendering to what is; your feelings, your problems, your relationships, your golf game. Before you can change what is, recognize that this is the way it is right now. Resist the struggle. Accepting the situation brings a peace to your soul. It releases the pressure and brings relief. When you relax, you change your heartbeat, physiology and energy pattern. Then you are better able to see what to do next.
• Do random acts of kindness. Fill in a divot, fix a ball mark, return a shopping cart, or pick up trash. You will not only feel better, you will be helping the environment and creating good will.
• Love what you are doing. You will never be good at anything unless you love it. Enjoy the process of creating what you want. If you are “in love” with what it will give you (the results) it will run away from you very fast.
• Believe in yourself. You have practiced, studied, and played this game so that you can participate fully in it. Focus on the process of hitting and enjoying each shot, knowing that you have done it well many, many times before.
• Create a habit of being optimistic and cheerful. When you go to bed at night, visualize the pleasure you are going to have the next day. See yourself waking up cheerfully ready to participate fully in the day’s activities.
• Maintain a balanced emotional level. Practice being in “the zone state” in your everyday activities by breathing to relax your mind and body and by focusing your full attention on what you are engaged in doing.
• Train your brain to be and do what you want. Repetition is the key to performing at your highest levels without conscious thought. Create patterns of thought (habits) in your subconscious mind by replaying over and over what you want.
• Think clearly and decisively. Do not make choices out of fear. Use discernment. Admit the fear, feel it, and do it anyway. When you are feeling fear on the golf course, recognize it, feel it, and manufacture a plan to relax your mind and body. Focus on your tempo and target and swing as if you had always hit that shot perfectly.
• Schedule downtime. To restore balance between your mind and body, take 10 minutes during the middle of the day to sit quietly, close your eyes, let go of all thoughts and breathe to relax. Ten minutes of this kind of downtime is like taking a two-hour nap that will restore your mind-body balance.
• Have fun… Golf is a game. Play for the pure joy of playing. Let your participation be your ultimate reward without being dependent upon the rewards of praise or prizes.

Let the brightness of the holiday season shine in your life bringing you
peace, harmony and love for yourself and all that you do.

Play “In the Zone” With Joan

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

© Copyright PMI 2011. All Rights Reserved.

Learn how to play on automatic pilot “in the zone” for your peak performances. Contact Joan at info@pmi4.com or 828.696.2547 for a free 15-minute consultation. Learn what is missing in your game so you can achieve the success you desire.

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

Traditionally in the United States, summer ends on Labor Day weekend. Autumn begins the day after that and continues until Thanksgiving thus signaling the transition from warm to cold weather. Here in western North Carolina the fall weather has brought sub-freezing temperatures at night causing morning fog and frost on the greens to delay morning tee times until the sun and temperatures rise. The deciduous trees have displayed leaves in spectacular colors which are now falling off with the rain and wind. With greens keepers busy using leaf blowers, golfers no longer have to hunt for their golf balls in the piles of leaves. 

As the golf season wanes it is a good time to reflect on all that summer held for you. It is a perfect time to reflect back on how you played and to reframe all the disappointing times into learning experiences for what you want to accomplish in the future. If your scores didn’t go down, or you didn’t play as well as you desired most of the time, the first place to look is how you manage yourself on the golf course.

Have an Attitude of Gratitude

Thanksgiving in the US and Canada is the day to give thanks for a good harvest and to celebrate the hard work done to produce it. In the same way, now is the time for golfers to have an attitude of gratitude for all the wonderful occurrences on the golf course this past summer. Remember all the delicious fruits of your efforts and put them into a cornucopia overflowing with your memories of fun and happiness. Smile often as you remember your successes and the people you played with that enjoyed it with you.

As we venture into the uplifting holiday season, it is time to be introspective and change any lingering negative beliefs and emotions that could be carried over to the golf course next spring. Emotions are the most important mental ingredient in your golf game. Learning how to change your limiting beliefs and expectations that cause upsetting emotions is an important part of establishing your strong mental game. (July 2011 newsletter www.pmi4.com)  

Use Self-Management for a Strong Mental Game

1.  Mistakes are for learning. When you make a choice that does not produce the result you want, making an excuse will distract you from the lesson. When you mishit a shot, take the time to swing your club until you find the exact timing and tempo you desired. Learn from the mistake by repeating the correct swing until your subconscious mind has recorded it.

2. Replace fear thoughts before swinging. Change your fears to positive thoughts by visualizing the best that can happen, not the worst. What your thoughts are constantly focused upon will be attracted to you. Build a new belief system of success. If it doesn’t work, discard it. If it works, keep it.

3. Use your inner awareness. When a golfer misses a shot his/her first reaction is that there is something wrong with their technique. This is the time to take a deep breath and ask yourself what was missing in your mental preparation. Was the swing too fast? Was there interference from thinking about the score? Was there indecision or other thoughts that would cause the bad swing or bad putting stroke?

4.  Play within your ability. A common mistake made by golfers is that they make shot selections based on their best shots rather than on their usual shots. By playing within your ability to hit a shot 50% or more of the time, you can exceed your expectations. As the weather gets colder and windy, this is the time of year to swing at 80% for control.

5. Make a decision to feel good. Create a good state of being on the golf course to have good results. Good results come from good decisions. Good decisions come from when you are in a good state. Bad results come from bad decisions. Bad results come from when you are in a bad state. If you are feeling good you will attract what you want. Know that you deserve it.

Play “In the Zone” With Joan 

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

© Copyright PMI 2011. All Rights Reserved.

Learn how to play on automatic pilot “in the zone” for your peak performances. Contact Joan at info@pmi4.com or 828.696.2547 for a free 15-minute consultation. Learn what is missing in your game so you can achieve the success you desire.

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

The scramble has become a very popular team event for golf. Every player tees off from the first hole. The team selects the best shot from the four tee shots, and all four players hit from that spot. The process of playing the best ball of the team after every drive or stroke continues until the ball is holed.

This format should be a fun game to play because it takes the pressure off of having to count every individual shot. It also focuses on the best play of the foursome.

But many people develop fears about playing in a scramble. They worry about not helping enough and letting the team down. They worry about the missed opportunities.

The best formula for winning is to stay in a positive frame of mind, relaxed, enjoying the opportunity to hit a shot knowing that there are three other players to make up for your missed shots, and staying focused when it is your turn.

But because you have a back-up of three other players doesn’t mean that you should go for your “Tin Cup” (perfect) shot when it is your turn. Always swing within yourself and hit your percentage shots.

There are different strategies for playing a scramble.

Some players decide to take the best shot each time. Some like to save their best player for the toughest holes. Decide collectively on your team strategy. You might be surprised to find that each of the players in your foursome has a different idea of how to play the format.

Ask what the intention of each player is. Are they serious about winning, or are they just out for a day of play?

Here are some don’ts for forming your strategy:

• Don’t presuppose. I hear golfers saying things like; “I wish we weren’t starting on a par 3 (or tight par five or tough par four).” Make up your mind that the hole you are starting on is the best one for a low score for your team.
• Don’t predict what you might shoot. This puts you in a realistic comfort zone. You will produce what you think. This kind of thinking will have you believe that is the only possible range.
• Don’t talk to yourself in generalizations. When you make a mistake, don’t make statements like, “It’s going to be that kind of day!” This will be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Just because it happened once or twice doesn’t mean it will happen again. Play each shot as if it is the most important shot you will hit in that round.

Here are some do’s for scoring low:

• Commit to a pre-shot routine. Take the time to use the same routine on every shot so your brain will know exactly what to tell your body to create.
• Breathe deeply to relax and focus. This is an important step in letting go of distractions and focusing within.
• Let go of worrying about shooting your “A” Game. A champion’s mindset is to get the ball in the hole and not worry about how they are hitting it.
• Increase your focus on the last three holes of the round. This is where most tournaments are won or lost. Make up your mind ahead of time that you can stay in the game and finish strong.

Are you the designated long driver?

Hitting the ball long off the tee certainly makes the second shot into the green easier, but only if the ball has a good lie. The scramble format is psychologically easier because you are able to place the ball and “tee it up” through the green.

Swing within yourself to access your own personal tempo. Check your balance when you complete your swing to see if you have done this. The ball will go farther and straighter with a smooth, easy, effortless swing than with a forceful, jerky swing.

How to add distance:

Golf is different from other sports. In golf, less is more. Hitting the ball further is not accomplished by swinging harder. Here are 5 tips for taking advantage of having a good lie to go for additional distance:

1. Increase your clubhead speed. Clubhead speed can be heard by the whoosh of the club on the downswing. The greater the clubhead speed, the louder the sound. The lighter the grip pressure, especially in your right hand, will increase the whoosh. Feeling as if you are going to throw the club instead of hitting at the ball will increase clubhead speed.
2. Hit the ball on the center of the club. The best center-face hits happen when your club is in the correct ball position and you swing your arms and hands extended without tension throughout the swing.
3. Set up for good clubface and body alignment. Take the time to use an intermediate target for the best alignment. Pick a spot two feet in front of the ball on your target line and place your clubface perpendicular to that spot. Draw a line from the intermediate spot to the ball to visualize a parallel line on which to place your feet.
4. Breathe normally and don’t hold your breath. For extra added power and distance, exhale on the downswing releasing all of your energy into the impact.
5. Swing through to your target. As Harvey Pennick said, “Take dead aim (on your target).”

Play “In the Zone” With Joan

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

© Copyright PMI 2011. All Rights Reserved.

Learn how to play on automatic pilot “in the zone” for your peak performances. Contact Joan at info@pmi4.com or 828.696.2547 for a free 15-minute consultation. Learn what is missing in your game so you can achieve the success you desire.

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