Mind Training For Golf - Golf Tip No.32
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How To Never Stop Improving

Many golfers seem to feel frustrated that they are either not improving, not improving enough, or even going in the wrong direction altogether - backwards. Often this can just be their perception of their game, however there are in fact a few ways to ensure that, in the long run, you will always continue to improve, regardless of the occasional bad round.

Not surprisingly, this can be done by continually reducing (and finally removing) the negative aspects of your game, whilst increasing (and focusing upon) the positive aspects. Before I go any further, it's needless to say that any physical stroke improvements will also greatly contribute to your improvement, as this allows your mind to have a greater range of tools at its disposal to work with - however today, we are going to the very heart of the issue.

The best way to ensure you continue to improve is by working directly with the control center of your golf swing - your subconscious mind - and I have brought this down to 2 major points for you.

As we have discussed before, your subconscious controls all bodily movement - and that includes your golf swing. All movements such as your swing are kept on file in the archives of your subconscious mind's vast memory bank, ready for re-use whenever you happen to play again. You then access these stored golfing experiences, and you might shoot a fabulous score, which then gets stored in your memory bank as well for future use. Unfortunately, your mind can just as easily access a negative memory instead of a positive one, depending upon the quality of your mental commands.

Your subconscious also possesses an enormously powerful imagination - a tool which is capable of creating your greatest shots ever - and also your worst shots ever. Your imagination creates the images, pictures and movies that you run through your mind whilst on the course - and these have a huge impact upon your standard of golf each and every moment you play.

Yes, even just one negative thought just as you setup for a shot can trigger a destructive image (images being the language of the subconscious), which relays an electrical impulse from your subconscous to the nerve endings in your arms during your shot - and... slice!

Your subsconcious has both your memory bank and your imagination at its disposal to literally program the stroke you are about to hit, and as it's the mind that controls the body - it has the final say as to how the shot will be executed.

So regularly monitoring your thoughts while you play - deleting any thoughts or images of a negative nature and replacing them with the opposite - will continually reduce the level of self-sabotage which most golfers experience. This aspect is so crucial it cannot be emphasized enough - and it will have a very positive long-term effect upon your game. Of course, a regular visualization exercise at home is also invaluable, working along the same lines.

The other aspect which will make a huge lasting impression upon your golf is practicing maintaining your emotional control thoughout your entire round - until you have mastered it. You do this by using instant 'damage control' after a bad shot where required - so that you no longer allow bad shots to spill over into the remainder of your round.

Isolate any bad shots immediately and then trash them from your memory bank - and then get on with your next shot with a clear, renewed and positively expectant mind. Remember, we don't get what we deserve, we get what we expect!

So if you are after long-term golf improvement, work with your mind on the course, to reduce your level of sabotage and increase your level of positive expectation. This can only make your game go in one direction - forwards.

"The Mind controls the body, and the mind is unlimited".

The best of success, Craig Townsend