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The US Open Can Have A Significant Effect On Your Game!

2:10 pm April 30, 2010

So you may be wandering just what does the US Open Golf Tournament have to do with my game? Well, if you want to play well under pressure it should have everything to do with it. When you practice simply focusing on your swing and blasting balls at the range it’s only one small aspect to true practice. This is what is called the practise makes perfect method. Yet if you’ve golfed for any length of time you know this simply isn’t true: practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice makes permanent. So practice what is really necessary to play at your peak. Your inner game of golf requires the same attention .

In order to play well with the anxiety of stress you need to practise under the same conditions. When the chips are down and you need to hit the shot of your life, the self imposed pressure felt increases 10 fold for most golfers. The trial by fire approach to improving your mental game of golf toughness and performing under pressure is a haphazard method. Yet this is all most people know.

By entering more competitions and tournaments they have the false impression that this is going to improve their mental game and concentration skills. Unfortunately it just doesn’t work that way. What do you see happen most of the time with this typical approach ? Yes you guessed it; the vast majority of players never perform up to their own potential because they lack mental game preparedness.

Inevitably when they fail it’s chalked up to experience and they simply hope to be in a position to win again. They call this strategy the natural way. Just get in contention enough times and you’re bound to win. It’s a very haphazard mental game approach. Although the odds are if you are in position enough times sooner or later you are going to win.

I want to submit to you that the more times you are in contention and don’t win that what you are doing is increasing the likelihood of losing again, not of making winning easier. Why is this, lack of mental game preparation ? You have built a mindset of losing in your subconscious mind around not performing well under pressure. It will drive your behaviour (your thought processes and the swings you make under pressure ). You will automatically reproduce the experience of losing that you are accustomed to.

It certainly is a hard pill to swallow but if you ever want to become more than just a mediocre golfer then mental game training can save you months, and even years for some people , of pointless inner chaos around pressure, performance anxiety, competitive stress and its influence on your game . So what if you could replicate the US Open tournament pressure when you practise and then were able to take that mindset out to the course when you play?

Now let’s say you have a mental game visualization routine that is filled with every imaginable pressure situation you could encounter. Do you think it would be safe to say that you are a few steps ahead of your competition? You most certainly would.

By feeling with your mind’s eye, not simply seeing, you can undergo the exact pressure you’ll face in competition. Your subconscious mind will absorb these sessions and add them to your mental game collection and integrate them into your golfing self image. They become real situations in your subconscious. This technique provides the body and mind with sensory specific information of what pressure is and how you need to perform when it’s present.

You are, in fact preparing your mind and body to act and perform in a desired way when under pressure. Practise your mental game by imagining you are in the US Open and at the range hitting balls. Give yourself only one shot to hit your desired target. Establish a scoring system to examine how well you perform this way. Increase the pressure by taking only one drive, then one iron, then a chip shot if you miss your target with your approach shot. Try to pay very close attention to how your perform when using this technique.

If you want to speed up your mental game progress and begin to play well under pressure then it’s imperative you simulate pressure in your practice sessions . How else are you going to prepare for the inevitable? Do you really want to rely on the time worn method of entering more and more tournaments and matches just hoping to get use to the pressure? How much time money are you prepared to spend before you make the changes necessary ?

Take hold of your potential by developing a rock solid mental game. Your overall mindset on the course, your Mental Game of Golf toughness, your sense of clarity and inner confidence under the gun, and a list of other benefits will enter your game. Not just sporadically but for a lifetime. You will be amazed how the little things that used to distract you before no longer enter your mind.

To get information on the golf’s mental game and to find a Mental Game Coaching system visit TheGolfaholic.com where you will also find comprehensive Golf Reviews .

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Tags: golf, inner game, inner game of golf, mental game, mental game of golf, mental game training, mental toughness, staying in the moment

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Golf- The Mental Game

11:25 pm June 1, 2009

The fundamentals of golf are very different than many other sports.
Take baseball for example.

When you get up to bat to swing, your need to adjust to the pitch
based upon on how it’s thrown at you. In other words, the game is
built around your reaction towards what someone else is doing.

You don’t make your move until the pitcher throws the ball.
In golf, however, you are in control. You are in charge of making
every move. The ball just sits there, waiting for you to take a shot.

You are responsible for every play that happens, disregarding natural
elements of course. You cannot blame a bad play on a pitch, another
teammate (unless on a team), or anything else. It’s kind of a solo
endeavor.

This is what makes golf so difficult, challenging, & yet fun to play.

And on top of that, you have people watching you, all in complete
silence.

Talk about the need for focus!

A. Positive Mindset

Golf requires that you focus & think about every shot you try.

Golf requires so much attention to what you are doing that any type
of negative thought or worry can have a dramatic effect on the
outcome of your game.

Doubt can easily seep into your mind, especially if you are a
beginner. Once this happens, your body may firm up, you may get
nervous & jittery, & the next thing you know, your ball has landed in
the rough.

Consider it to be the equivalent of stage fright. Yes, golf can be this
difficult, if you let it.

How can you prevent negative thoughts & feelings from arising on
the course? The answer is extremely simple, yet it may be difficult to
comprehend at first.
All you have to do is take action. Take action faster than your mind
can start thinking about bad swings. That’s the thing about golf – you
can literally think your way into a slump. But quick action can help
get you out it!

Stick with the basics and focus on simple repetitive movements.

Keep your body loose & as you prepare for your shot, shift the
weight of your body from foot to foot: back & forth.

Wiggle your club a bit & loosen up. Have fun & stop worrying about
negative consequences.

Just learning how to play a stress-free game may be the hardest
lesson you’ll learn in golf…