Mind
Training For Golf - Golf
Tip No.33
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Classic
Mental Mistakes To Avoid
There
are many pitfalls in golf
to avoid on the course -
pitfalls other
than the
trees, bunkers, difficult
greens and rough - and these
are far
more difficult to notice. I'm
talking about the powerful intangibles that
directly affect your performance
on the course - your thoughts.
I
have enough room here to mention
what I regard to be four big
traps that golfers commonly
fall into - and the number
one trap is is focusing
upon what you don't want.
So
many golfer
fall into this trap, and
the strange thing is they
often do this again
and again - and still it
continues to happen to them.
Fearing a
shot simply focuses your
powerful mind upon the worst
possible outcome - and your
subconscious will make absolutely
certain that this happens,
as that is its job.
Never
forget this - we
attract what we fear. So
if you are thinking
negatively about
a shot (eg. over the water
or trees), you will most
likely meet with disaster.
Only run positive thoughts
and positive movies of
your shot through
you head at all times before
each shot - as one negative
thought is
all it takes to
sabotage your shot.
Another
really big trap for golfers
is taking
the negative emotion from one
bad shot into the remiander
of your round. OK,
it's perfectly natural to get
angry at times after a bad
shot, but it is absolutely
essential that this anger does
not spill
over into
the rest of your round - and
even your very next
shot.
So
when you get angry after
a shot, restrict or compartmentalize this
anger to a maximum of only
one minute after that
shot (and one minute only!),
and then mentally move
on, delete
it and forget it.
Remind
yourself that there is absolutely
no reason why one
shot should
ruin the remainder of your
round, and from that point
onward, focus only upon each
of your future shots,
not the historical ones! You
would be surprised (or then
again, maybe not) at just how
few golfers
can actually do this.
There
are two other mental mistakes
which I also consider important,
and one of these is hitting
when you are not mentally ready
to play the shot. There
are two parts to this issue
- one is having
the awareness to recognise
when you are feeling uncomfortable
about a shot, and
the second is having the fortitude
to walk
away from the ball and then
come back to it to
set up once more.
Most
golfers ignore this feeling
and simply go right ahead
with the shot, regardless
of the fact that they knew something
just wasn't right (which
is your subconscious mind's
way of trying
to communicate this message
to you). Sure
enough, they usually find
out that they were absolutely
correct! (after their stroke,
that is). So always ensure
you feel
mentally ready to
hit each shot, otherwise
walk away and then come back
to it.
The
last mental mistake I will
mention today is that of going
against your own gut instinct. As
I have mentioned earlier, your
subconscious knows everything about
your game and your own abilities,
and it also knows the exact
shot you should choose
to hit (and those you should
choose to avoid) - and this
information usually comes to
you in the form of gut
instinct.
Good
golfers are usually very
well-connected to their instincts,
and usually follow them most
of the time. Those who go
against their gut instinct
usually find themselves regretting
it afterwards - you may often
here comments like "I
just knew I
was going to do that!".
So
be aware to avoid these mental
pitfalls and generally you
will be able to steer clear
of most of
the stormy weather out there
on the course - leave that
to your playing partner!
"The
Mind controls the body, and the mind is unlimited".
The best of success, Craig Townsend
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