Make
Mental Training Part
Of Your Round
Just
like the bunkers, there
are many mental
hazards to
watch out for as well
while you are playing
a round.
Hazards
such as getting overly
annoyed, trying too hard,
first tee nerves, and getting mentally
tired (which
causes concentration loss)
must be erased before they
can have any major impact
upon your round. These
mental changes during a
game are the very source of
the cause of
those missed easy putts,
and must not be under-estimated.
The
best way to overcome
these negative mental
changes is to build some
mental safeguards into
your round until they
become an automatic part
of your golf game. This
ensures you are giving
yourself the best possible
chance, physically and
mentally, of playing
a good round each time
you go out to play.
The
first step towards safeguarding
against these is detection -
you must see the problems
before they happen. The
best way to do this is
to watch
yourself through the eyes
of another -
this means 'checking
in' with yourself regularly
and monitoring
your feelings and reactions throughout
your entire round. This
way you are able to detect
a potential problem immediately, and
troubleshoot it before
it can have any effect
upon you.
A
good time to do this is
when you are walking in
between shots - just do
a quick mental check on how
you are feeling - noticing
if you are feeling any
signs of annoyance, tiredness,
nervousness, urgency, tightness,
or overly rushing etc. Troubleshoot
trouble before
it appears, as it is much
easier to deal with at
this stage, plus your scores
remain unaffected by the
possible disturbance.
If
you do notice some negative
signs within your mind
or body, this is also the
very time to eradicate
these immediately, using
some positive self-talk,
or affirmations repeated
over and over (all within
your mind of course, not
out loud!). Tailor
the affirmation to
suit the particular problem.
eg. If you are feeling
annoyed, you might repeat
to yourself something like "It's
a beautiful day" or "I'm
letting it go",
or if you are feeling tense
you might repeat to yourself "I'm
calm and relaxed" -
over and over again while
you are walking, all the
way until you are ready
to hit your next shot.
Another
good habit is to hit
all shots in
your mind before
you even consider hitting
them physically. This
means using visualization,
picturing the perfect result of
the shot before walking
up for a practice swing.
This can be done with either
eyes open or closed within
a few seconds. This simple
practice takes little time,
makes an enormous difference,
and sets up a mental blueprint
for your body to follow
for the next shot.
Whenever
you play a round of golf,
take your psychology and
mental training with you
and make it a permanent
part of your game. It troubleshoots
any problems before
they arise, and
also to pre-program your
next shot into your mind
for your body to follow.
Your mind and body must
be working
together each
time you hit a shot, to
ensure that you play a
great round.
"The
Mind controls the body,
and the mind is unlimited".
The best of success, Craig Townsend
