Your Mind Can Make You a Better Golfer

The mind is the most wonderful part of the human body.  It controls most of the things you do all day without you having to figure out how.  For instance...if you want to throw away a piece of paper you simply pick it up and without thinking put it in the wastepaper basket.  If the basket is close you can do it every time.  The brain figures out the weight of the paper, the distance to the basket and the trajectory necessary to get it in.  You don't have to think about the mechanics or do any mental calculations.

Have you ever just before you hit a shot had a picture in your mind of what that shot was going to do and look like?  Were you amazed that it actually happened?  This is the positive result your mind can achieve.  But....it can also cause a negative effect. Have you ever said to yourself don't hit it right into the pond and to your dismay it went into the pond?  Well... by looking at the pond and thinking about the pond you programmed your brain to make the body hit it there.  You need to feed your brain positive thoughts and pictures or you'll be the guy or gal picking the ball out of the pond next time.

I've never in my years of golf seen a player who mumbles "I just can't hit my fairway woods" ever hit a good shot.  They're programming themselves for a bad shot.

I also play with a good friend of mine of equal ability.  We only bet birdies for a dollar.  He will often say when I have a birdie putt "It's a good thing you can't putt" even though he knows I'm a pretty good putter.  I just don't let it get in my head and you can't let negative thoughts get in your head.

One way I used this negative effect to turn it into a positive for me I don't recommend you try.  It isn't fair for the other player and we're supposed to keep the game fair and honest aren't we?  There's actually a rule 33-7 that says a player who tries to get you to incur a penalty can be disqualified for taking an action contrary to the spirit of the game.  I'm not sure this next example counts. Two of us were playing #9 on the old course at Half Moon Bay.  Before they built houses on the course the left side was an open field out of bounds.  My friend who I'll call Bob had hooked his ball out of bounds the last time we played.  Wanting to humor him a bit I said "I sure hope you don't hook it left into that field again,"  You can guess what the result was....a giant hook into the center of the field.  I had just planted a negative idea into his head for his brain to work on.

When I was in my thirties I was playing to an 8 handicap...we didn't have indexing then.  My uncle was the golf pro at the Navy course in Southern California.  His were my first real lessons.  He taught me the Hogan Method and recommended I read nothing else except Ben Hogan Five Lessons, The Modern Fundamentals of Golf.  After two lessons the handicap ballooned right up to a 12 after hitting at least 500 balls a week for a month to get used to the new swing and knowing more about the proper swing.  I didn't realize back then how that could happen but as I look back on it....it was because I went from focusing on the target and where the ball was going to go to focusing on my new swing mechanics.  I'm glad I don't have to think that much about the mechanics anymore and I can concentrate on where I want the ball to go.  It's not an easy transition.  I still catch myself thinking about the swing or my putter stroke and the result is usually not as positive as I would like.

In the coming weeks we're going to be exploring my take on a really good book called Zen Golf -
Mastering The Mental Game by Dr. Joseph Parent. Dr. Parent is a noted PGA Tour Instructor at www.mentalgamemastery.com.  He has a Ph.D in psychology and has taught Buddhist philosophy and stress-reduction methods for over twenty five years. I'm not a Zen kind of guy but there are many great ideas in here worth exploring which I think can help you play better golf

Short Game Lesson #1

SHORT GAME LESSON #1
Since many of you don't always hit the green on your second shot, your short game can make or break your golf round.  Sound technique can add consistency to your  miss hits.  Consistency only happens when set up to the shot in the same way every time and swing the club the same way.  Let's go over the basic set up and swing for a pitch shot.

THE SET UP
Start with your hips, shoulders and feet square to the target, use a narrow stance.  You should use a neutral grip. Open your stance but keep the shoulders and hips square to the target; you'll feel a little coil, that's all we want and it's important. The ball should be a little back in your stance in order to create a descending blow at impact..  Remember ball first; than grass!

THE SWING

The pitch swing is very short, waist high in the back swing, a little past waist high in the follow through.  One of the most important aspects of the swing is the club path.  Because your hips and shoulders are square the club goes back farther down the target line.  You don't want the club to get behind you.  There should be a slight wrist break and the grip should be pointed parallel to your target line.  As you start the down swing your waist and shoulders rotate slightly and line up with your open stance.  After you strike the ball straighten up your knees as you follow through and finish tall.  The club at the finish should be pointed down the target line.  The key to this shot is keeping your left side stiff throughout the swing........... MIKE