Making Golf Childs Play

In my last article post I finished with suggesting a mantra for life – what the mind can perceive, the mind can believe, and the mind can achieve. Have you noticed how true this is? What is in your mind, your thoughts, your memories, and the things you know to be “right” are simply your own perceptions of reality.

You and I could be standing at a junction and you see the traffic light is red and I see it to be green. It all depends upon the angle from which you are observing the lights. It depends on your perspective. You could, of course, choose to walk to the other side and view it from a different angle.

I would like you to take one minute now to carry out a simple task. Wherever you are at this moment in time, take one minute to look around you and notice, really notice, what around you is the colour blue. Notice as many things that you can that contain the color blue. Spend a full minute really noticing everything that is blue…and then read on.

Now, without looking around again, can you list what is the color red? This simple exercise should demonstrate what happens in everybody’s mind ALL of the time. Our observations and the judgments which we make of “reality” are shaped and colored by what we are focusing on, by what we expect to see or happen. Thus our perceptions are not only shaped by the angle of observation but also by our expectation, our underlying beliefs – we see what we expect to see. This is true of everything in life, not just golf. But in golf the effect is so very noticeable!

As Kendal McWade, the genius behind Instinctive Golf, states “Golf balls always do what they are told”. Now, if you are telling yourself that you are a bad putter, what are you telling the ball to do? Putting can so ably demonstrate the doubt and fear that holds us back in everyday life – emotions which can literally stop us in our tracks.

A child is not born with fear. We learn fear. Sometimes fear is a useful emotion and protects us from danger, but let’s face it, a putt shouldn’t be fearful. Even Tiger says that when he was a teenager he would hit the first putt so solidly that if it missed it might go five feet past the hole, and would simply rap it back into the hole without worry or fear…but that as he has got older he isn’t quite as fearless. Fears can creep into even the strongest of minds…if you allow them to do so.

So how do we remove fear when it’s not needed? How can we change state easily and quickly? Awareness is all important. Most of us are not really aware of the thoughts that are running through our minds. And yet your thoughts create your emotions and direct your actions (and the club and the ball). Let us try another exercise. Stop reading and spend the next minute just observing your thoughts. Notice just how many thoughts pass through your mind in one minute.

How many did you have? I bet there were quite a few. How many thoughts do you have in the very short time in which you swing a golf club? Or, more precicely, how many thoughts do you try to have whilst swinging the club? And how many thoughts run through your mind as you are setting up to the ball, be it for a tee shot or for a putt? Five, ten, fifteen?

Once you become aware of these myriad thoughts, it is easy to understand why the outcome of the shot can be unpredictable to say the least. All of those thoughts can be likened to ants running through your mind, each competing for your attention and focus, thereby taking your awareness away from what really matters – the ball and the target. These two things never change; or, at least, they shouldn’t change, assuming you have taken the time to select an exact target.

So the question is “how do we stop these ant-like thoughts from crawling all over our minds?” Cast your mind back to when you were a child and the answer should come to you quite easily. Children’s emotions change quick as a flash, crying one moment and laughing the next. They change state easily, quickly, INSTANTANEOUSLY; you and I were born with this ability; it’s an instinctive part of us. When a child falls over and scrapes their knees, they cry, and what does the parent do? The adult offers a sweet, they DISTRACT their attention away from the knees that are hurting.

The easiest way in which to displace a negative thought (or a selection of negative thoughts which are competing for your attention) is to give your mind something clear and precise to do. Give your mind something meaningful, interesting and relevant to do, something that is fascinating.

Fear is a function of either the past or the future. Fear does not exist if you are focusing on the now. Think about that for a moment. What are you afraid of on the golf course? The putt not rolling in? That’s in the future. The memory of the last shot sailing into the trees? That’s in the past. Making a fool of yourself? That’s in the future.

So when you are approaching a shot on the golf course, allow the “child” in you to surface – the part of you that’s fascinated, curious, the part of you that’s “in the now”. I was playing with a friend the other day and when we reached the green and saw where my ball was I said something to the effect of “oh, wow! This is an interesting one!” My playing partner’s response was “is that a new reframe for “Oh Hell?”!

Try it…and notice the effect. Because if you are “in the now” you will be aware of what you need to be aware of – the ball and the target. And if you are sizing up the situation with child-like wonder and fascination, you will be thinking “how can I get this in” or something to that effect, rather than being a puppet manipulated by A-N-Ts (Automatic Negative Thoughts).

Being “in the now” is a wonderful place to be. It allows you to be aware of what is really happening around you, to appreciate each moment for what it is. It allows you to notice when a rhododendron leaf glistens in the sunshine, or water sparkling as if thousands of stars are twinkling on its surface, and so on. It allows you to notice the feel of the fairway beneath your feet, the feel of the club in your hands, to notice the feel of your swing. (And wouldn’t greater feel come in handy?) Being in the now allows you to enjoy the time between shots, remaining relaxed and peaceful; it allows you to fully enjoy the game of golf, AND the game of life. If you aren’t in the now, you aren’t really living.

Another wonderful thing about being in the now is that you reap the rewards immediately – literally in the now. So many people say that it is impossible to change without hard work and effort. What can be hard about noticing what’s happening now? What can be hard when you are interested and curious and fascinated? When you are in the now, past beliefs cannot hold you back.

Are you ready to control your golfing destiny? Are you ready to make a commitment to yourself to play golf “in the now”? Are you willing to allow the natural instinct for wonder and fascination to come to the forefront of your mind? Are you ready to enjoy your golf and play better golf than ever before? Because you are the only person who can choose your thoughts. All you have to do is to choose to do so.

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in golf hypnosis cds and hypnosis mp3 downloads.

With a degree in psychology and qualifications in hypnotherapy, NLP and sports psychology, and a great passion for golf, Roseanna Leaton is one of the leading golf psychologists. You can get a free hypnosis download from http://www.RoseannaLeaton.com and view the GolferWithin golf hypnosis cds and hypnosis downloads.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/making-golf-childs-play-998301.html

The Practice Green – Friend or Foe?

This problem resonates from there being one underpinning factor; that a long putt is an approach putt. There is NO such thing in golf, or in any other sport, as attempting to miss! A true winner has no concept of an “approach putt”. If you do, then you have already set yourself up in a defeatist mind-state.

“The player that gets around the course in the least number of shots is the best paid” – Tony Bennett, PGA Master Professional.

“When a basket ball player goes for a jump-shot their goal is never to just hit the backboard or hit the rim, but to get the ball through the hoop.” Dr Bob Rotella – Putt to Win.

When Seve was asked his thoughts on the many astonishing recovery shots he has produced in his career he answered; “as long as I can see the hole, my aim is to get it in it”.

These quotes have shown you that the aim of golf is to get the ball in the hole in the least amounts of shots, so why attempt not to? If you wish to be successful you must ‘play to win’ and for starters if you attempt to get the ball in the hole every time you putt or chip you will play better golf. First of all the ball will always be closer to the hole even if you do happen to miss. And, if it does go in, then your goal is achieved.

You are now most likely thinking, in order to counteract this effect “if I try to hole it there’s a chance that I might miss, the ball blasts past the hole, leaving myself a tricky return putt”. Again, you are simply placing yourself in a defeatist mind-set. Sports Scientists have for some years now understood the concept of developing visualisation as a means of governing our execution. Our movements tend to follow our visualisations, so it is important to imagine that ball going into the hole.

Secondly, there’s an interesting paradox that governs how the ball ends up in the Hole. For some time we have been told to measure the pace or weight of our putts to finish approximately 17 inches past the hole. This concept has now been challenged by recent scientific evidence which, together with a good old fashioned side order of Newton’s Laws comes into effect to create a new approach now being adopted by the very best putters on Tour. It’s “mind blowingly” simple:

A ball that skims the hole at the 17 inches pace has absolutely no chance of dropping in. Conversely, the ball travelling at ‘dead-weight’ pace has greater chance of falling into the hole.

And, if you miss read the direction, then the next putt is a simple tap-in. From this you can quickly deduce the fact that for the “dead weight” the hole is actually larger!…both physically and in the Minds Eye.

These are some of the skills and drills we teach in our Break 30.com Academy, but if you are still unsure as to why you are leaving putts short then it can be for one of the following reasons:

1. It is because you see a problem before you even attempt the putt

2. You have problems with your pace control on the greens.

There are many different tried and tested techniques to help improve your pace control BUT what if I told you that if you stood directly behind the ball looking towards the hole your mind instinctively knows exactly how far the ball is away from hole AND further more how much it needs to exert itself to get the ball there.

It is only your conscious self that is clouding this judgement. You and ONLY YOU create the self doubt in the target. In so doing, you fool yourself into a state of mind that there’s “more to this putt than meets the eye”. The resulting layer upon layer of misjudgement and compensations feed the process of mistrust…And, at the critical point when you execute the putt your mind is so muddled that you’re completely disconnected from your more powerful subconscious “Flow State”, sometimes referred to as the Zone.

This exasperating train of thoughts is the most common cause of over-compensation and failure in all levels of golfer. Have you ever heard of the term ‘letting go’ and/or seen Bob Rotella’s ‘look and go’ putting drill where you take a quick glance at the hole and then putt, attempting to leave any conscious analysis out of it and just flow. While some comment that a player misses an important putt due to a loss in concentration, we prefer to keep ALL conscious forms of concentration out of the execution; instead just let it happen. The putting stroke is incredibly simple. Do not let anyone convince you otherwise. This is exactly what every golfer needs to attempt to achieve you must trust in your first and probably most accurate interpretation and just do it. This is not just a problem seen on the greens but throughout the whole game.

If you do feel yourself over-analysing and your mind is flying from one thought to another while over the ball; be it a putt, a chip or an iron shot… just step away from the ball and re-set. Remember, if it does not feel right then you cannot fully commit. This way you will establish strong convictions in your ability to control the situation. If you are able to do this then you will feel a lot more confident in your golf and in yourself.

In the future these articles will aim to expand on this subject in more detail; aiming to change how you define yourself as a ‘putter’ because how you see yourself is how you will be; in putting, in other parts of your game and in life. Being negative or pessimistic about your putting will not help you putt well and indeed will only serve to undermine your self-belief and confidence. By working on believing that you can hole every putt you will become more confident in yourself which in turn will lead to you enjoying your golf a whole lot more.

My passing thought. Take a quick look at what the current range of practice and training aids have to offer you. There’s a distinct theme. Most tend to make the task harder. For some of us this can have the effect of adding pressure which tests our skills; the rationale being that is we can undertake a more difficult task on the practice ground then it should be a piece of cake on the Course? For me, putting is the part of the game where the Brain gets the closest to the Ball, so there’s still something missing in the process.

Ask yourself the question: Do we “Think” better under pressure? Does repetitive failure enhance our feelings of confidence? In my work I have the privilege to witness at close hand the very best golfers in the world. Some have more putters and practice gizmo’s than hot diners. In a few notable cases they spend hours trying to perfect their putting; endlessly hitting the exact same putt, after putt after putt, until the sun goes down. I remain convinced there is still no evidence that “practice makes perfect”. What is more likely the case is that “Practice makes Permanent”.

Yes, there are some great putters that work hard on their practice, but they have one thing that sticks out which I believe is the key and something I hope you take away from this message…They do not Confuse movement with Action.

“Golf is Game with an Aim. Know your Target like Yourself” Zen Golfer.

I have produced a sample of 4 Zen Drills on a DVD which are great for helping you to acquire the precise tempo and movements as well as giving you the actual feedback and “feelings” on every aspect of your putting stroke. Remember, the Zen Oracle is the ONLY putter that is guaranteed to improve your stroke.

‘Practise makes permanent make yours perfect!’

Here is an invaluable tool to help with you putting – “FREE REPORT” – “The Definitive Guide to putting” www.howtoputt.co.uk

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/the-practice-green-friend-or-foe-844894.html