{"id":1555,"date":"2014-03-06T21:18:18","date_gmt":"2014-03-06T21:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/positivementalimagery.com\/blog\/?p=1555"},"modified":"2014-03-06T21:18:18","modified_gmt":"2014-03-06T21:18:18","slug":"how-do-you-stay-in-the-zone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/positivementalimagery.com\/blog\/how-do-you-stay-in-the-zone\/","title":{"rendered":"How do you stay “in the zone”?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rory McIlroy apparently was \u201cin the zone\u201d at the Honda Classic at PGA National for his first three rounds. He took a 3-shot lead into the last round with rounds of 63, 66, 69. <\/span><\/p>\n

On Sunday the ease of flow in his game changed. His front nine consisted of 3 bogeys and 2 birdies. At the 12th he 3-putted from long range for another bogey, and began to hit loose shots that moved left. He had to scramble for pars on the next 3 holes. He hit his 16<\/span>th<\/sup> tee ball into a fairway bunker and then dropped the 192-yard shot into a lake for a double bogey. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Needing an eagle to win at the 600-yard par 5 18th<\/sup> hole, McIlroy prepared himself by visualizing, believing and trusting himself to do just that. He hit a big drive down the middle of the fairway leaving 245 yards to the pin. Hitting his 5-wood, he hit a pure shot over the sand and water to a pin placement that could have been tucked precariously on an island green. He landed his ball softly, sticking it inside 15 feet. Why didn\u2019t he hit shots like that previously?<\/p>\n

“A lot of the shots that I faced on Sunday on the back nine were right to left wind and I was holding the ball up and I was losing it left,”<\/i> Rory explained. “Any time I have a right to left wind, I always fight it<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being \u201cin the zone\u201d is the absence of mental interference. Being \u201cin the zone\u201d is trusting and allowing your subconscious mind to \u201cjust do it.\u201d Being \u201cin the zone\u201d happens when you are totally absorbed and focused on creating your shot. Coming out of the zone state happens when you analyze too much and stop trusting what you have already accomplished.<\/p>\n

To gain control you have to let go of control<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

You move out of the zone when you try and control your shots. Golf is a highly technical sport. There are many parts of the golf swing that need to be coordinated. Golfers choke under pressure when they think too much.<\/p>\n

When you break your swing down into its parts, you have created a problem and are using your conscious mind to try and find a solution. In the flow state you feel the tempo of the entire swing.<\/p>\n

When you are \u201cin the zone\u201d you don\u2019t worry about the results and thoughts you have about yourself. You allow the feeling process to continue without effort instead of trying to control your shots, and then golf becomes fun. When you are \u201cin the zone\u201d your mind is relaxed, free of tension and absorbed in creating your shot. When you give up conscious control of trying to make things happen, your peak performances manifest.<\/p>\n

The zone state or flow state is when a golfer is totally focused and has full involvement<\/em> and enjoyment<\/em> in the process of playing the game of golf. This is what it means to be centered, in the moment, or in the present. You are completely engrossed and giving all of your attention to the task at hand. Self-awareness is gone. Mental pressures don’t exist. Your emotions are positive, energized, and aligned with the process of shot making. There is no awareness of anything except the creation of the present shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cStaying in the present is the key to any golfer\u2019s game. Once you start thinking about a shot you just messed up or what you have to do on the next nine to catch somebody\u2026you\u2019re lost.\u201d \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

<\/i>—<\/i>Paul Azinger<\/p>\n

Play \u201cIn the Zone\u201d With Joan<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

To prepare mentally to play your best golf, listen to the guided imagery CD, \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cSelf-Hypnosis for Playing In The Zone\u201d <\/i>available at www.pmi4.com\/cart<\/a>\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

PMI \u00a9 2014 \u2013 All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rory McIlroy apparently was \u201cin the zone\u201d at the Honda Classic at PGA National for his first three rounds. He took a 3-shot lead into the last round with rounds of 63, 66, 69. On Sunday the ease of flow … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newsletters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/positivementalimagery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/positivementalimagery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/positivementalimagery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/positivementalimagery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/positivementalimagery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1555"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/positivementalimagery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1559,"href":"https:\/\/positivementalimagery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1555\/revisions\/1559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/positivementalimagery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/positivementalimagery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/positivementalimagery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}