In most sports, the body is trained to react to different situations because there is no time to stop, ponder choices, and make a decision. In golf, the ball waits for the golfer. The actual swing time for a 4-hour round of par golf is just a few minutes. This leaves more than 3 and one-half hours of time to think in-between shots.<\/p>\n
The golfers who \u201ctrain their brains\u201d<\/em> to produce the shots they desire, are the ones who are using proven mental tools such as: relaxation, positive self-talk, patience, a consistent pre-shot routine, trust, playing one shot at a time, no self-judgment, no expectations, staying in the present, giving each shot equal importance, narrowing their focus to the target, visualization or some other kind of imagery such as rhythm and tempo.<\/p>\n When a golfer is in the right state of mind, s\/he can produce his\/her peak performance throughout the round. This means letting go of all irrelevant thoughts and focusing on creating the shot s\/he wants. When the brain and body are in harmony before<\/em> the swing, they act as one and the swing occurs without conscious effort or thought.\u00a0 This is called playing \u201cin the zone\u201d. <\/em><\/p>\n For additional information from Joan go to Archived Newsletters<\/a> and The Mental Game at Golf Out Loud<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In most sports, the body is trained to react to different situations because there is no time to stop, ponder choices, and make a decision. In golf, the ball waits for the golfer. The actual swing time for a 4-hour … Continue reading