20:20 Vision for 2020

Posted on 3rd November 2019 at 14:47

This is the time of the year when all serious sports people have already set goals for the new season, and I wonder if you’ve set yours yet?. Well if not then if you use the SMART goal setting system properly and then take the appropriate action then I can guarantee that you’ll have a greater chance of succeeding than if you don’t!

When you write a SMART goal, it should only be about 12 – 15 words long and if you give it to a ten-year old, he or she should be able to clearly understand it. The analogy of SMART most people know, but for those that don’t and as a reminder for those that do:

S - Specific, Simple

M - Measurable, Meaningful to You

A - Achievable, Act As If You’ve Achieved It

R - Realistic

T - Timed, Towards

Now this is where 99% of all people fail to use SMART properly as they just either make a mental record or just write their goal, instead of using the NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) ‘Well-Formed Outcome Questions’. If you write your answers to the following questions and then write your goal for the coming 2020 season, then you’ll have a greater chance of achieving your goal/s.

1. What specifically do I want?

2. Where am I now in relation to the outcome?

3. What will I see, hear, feel and notice, when I’ve achieved this?

4. How will I know when I’ve achieved this?

5. What will this outcome get for me or allow me to do?

6. Is it only for me?

7. Where, when, how and with whom do I want to achieve my outcome?

8a. What do I have now, and what do I need to get to my outcome?

8b. Have I ever had or done this before?

8c. Do I know anyone who has?

8d. Can I act as if I’ve already achieved this?

9a. For what purpose do I want this?

9b. What will I gain of loose if I achieve this?

9c. What will happen when I get it?

9d. What won’t happen when I get it?

9e. What will happen if I don’t get it?

9f. What won’t happen if I don’t get it?

Once you’ve written all the answers to the questions then you'll be in a position to write your SMART Goal. Now write your goal and then share it with your golfing buddies, okay? And my goal for 2020 is “To reach, hold and play to a handicap of 10 by the 31st October 2020”.

Importantly the action I must take to achieve my goal is:

1. Get match fit and stay fit throughout the season (physical and mental toughness)

2. Book a series of lessons with my PGA Golf Professional

3. Practice twice a week for one-hour, every week

4. Play at least twice every week

5. Play in as many competitions as possible

6. Have lots of fun and enjoyment playing the greatest sport (in my opinion!)

If I consistently do those six things, then my current playing handicap of 12.7 will be just a memory!

Hopefully you’re beginning to find the My Golf Mind blog articles of interest and have started getting you thinking about the importance of the ‘mind game’? Please forward to your golfing buddies and if you have any questions or want further advice, then either ring My Golf Mind on 07973 614969 or complete the form below.

As always - ‘Keep It On The Fairway’

Eliminating The YIPS

Posted on 25th October 2019 at 16:41

I guess that most golfers have either experienced the yips or know someone who has. It’s that extraordinary phenomena where a shot is fluffed, normally when putting, or chipping and pitching from just off the green. Remember Sergio Garcia a few years ago when he took absolutely ages to hit the ball from virtually everywhere on the golf course. He would address the ball and waggle his club at least ten times or more before he hit the ball. It’s a good job he sorted that out as he played magnificently to win The Masters in 2017. Bernhard Langer was another major golfer who suffered badly with the yips and found solace in the long-handled putter.

It’s not an affliction just for golfers – even darts players get the yips as they’re unable to let go of the dart for some time. Another sport is snooker where the yips exhibits itself the same as the golfer or darts player.

“All knowledge has its origins in perception”

Leonardo Da Vinci

So, what exactly is the yips and how can you minimise the risk of getting it in the first place or getting rid of it if you’ve got it now! Well from my research and understanding the yips is a loss of confidence which in turn causes stress and anxiety. This loss of confidence or self-belief that when I’ve got a short or long putt, a chip or pitch shot from just off the green gives a golfer the signal or perception that he / she will again fluff the ball – either short or skin it across the green. Due to the quantum changes within the mind-body connection which is mainly caused by using our senses as we perceive what is or not about to happen. As this action is repeated time and time again it begins to become habitual and if assistance to manage and rid yourself of the yips is not forthcoming it becomes even more habitual.

The most important thing is to not get the yips in the first place by being focussed and attentive over every shot and using the two-box routine on every shot. And remember to breathe deeply as you step over the imaginary dividing line between the ‘Strategy Box and into the Execution Box’. You may have a slightly different routine but it’s about being in the moment, having a quiet or a neutral mind and taking 100% control of the situation.

Another way of helping to eliminate the yips is by the language you use when you inevitably talk to yourself (soliloquy). If your inner voice talks to you in a negative way, then change the words that you use to be more positive – who’s in charge of your inner voice? Begin to ask yourself positive questions prior to executing the shot by saying something like “what does a good shot look like here”? You can use this positive self-talk / question on every shot that you take to build up your levels of confidence and self-belief that you’re going to make the best possible shot within your resourceful self. In doing so you then perceive that you’re going to make a good free-flowing swing on the ball.

Take a little time out to watch the low handicap juniors play at your golf club and see that they have no fear over the ball – they decide what they’re going to do and JFDI. It seems as we get older that we’re not getting any wiser as the fear of failure creeps in and creates this self-doubt which in turn creates the yips – so be a young kid again!

Another way to rid yourself of the yips may be to have a lesson from your golf club PGA profession for the short game. He / she will be able to iron (sorry for the pun) out the bio-mechanical technique so that your using the right club and swing to be able to take a free-flowing shot on the ball. Remember to use the pre-shot routine to ensure that you’re in the moment as you take your putt or shot.

On occasion, I use hypnotherapy to remove the negative thought patterns and instil with positive thought patterns with golfers and other sports people. Hypnotherapy is a natural phenomenon where a trance (relaxed) like state is induced and creates the opportunity to make the relevant behavioural changes. We naturally hypnotise ourselves daily by being in a trance-like state for example: when we drive from ‘A’ to ‘B’ and unable to recall how we got there; being totally absorbed in a book, a film or the television and the house could burn down around our ears; or the short time just before we fall asleep and wake up. So, utilising this natural state then positive changes can be made relatively easily!

So, whether you currently have the yips or go on to have them in the future you’re now armed with the knowledge that if Sergio Garcia and Bernhard Langer can overcome them and go on to win majors then you can now beat the dreaded yips and enjoy your golf once more!

Until next week - keep it on the fairway ...

Remember that My Golf Mind carries out 1-2-1 and group sports master mind-factor coaching sessions, either face-to-face, Skype / FaceTime or telephone if you want to improve your mental tenacity. My Golf Mind also offer a free session if you book (six sessions for the price of five) my gold performance coaching programme.

Do give me a call on 07973 614969, leave me a comment or fill out the form below to send me an email if you have any questions or challenge what I've said.

Keith Haynes

Northamptonshire’s First Sports Master Mind-Factor Coach

PS ... My Golf Mind deliver a two-hour 'Spring Clean Your Mind; Spring Clean Your Game' seminar if you or your golf club are interested! And now everyone gets a free gift for attending that is guaranteed to improve your mental tenacity and golf, so get in touch now ....

Making Sense of Motivation

Posted on 11th October 2019 at 12:27

Like every amateur and professional golfer motivation is key to consistency and success. So, the important thing is to develop a way of getting motivated for 18 holes over a four to five-hour period. Neuro-scientific research informs us that we process about 2,000,000 bits of information every second of the day. This vast amount of information can only come to us through our five senses – sight, hearing, feeling, smell and taste. We then process this information with our unconscious mind through the three filters of deletion, distortion and generalisation, which reduces the 2,000,000 down to around 130 bits per second, which we are then able to decipher and make sense of what’s going on at that point in time.

The real importance of this cycle of events is the use of our five senses, because that’s all we have and these five senses is what we then use to motivate and behave on the golf course. So, by going back to basics and having a sound understanding of our senses and how best to use them to get the result that we want is extremely important for anybody, let alone golfers!

In the practice of NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) we call the five senses ‘modalities’ and each modality (visual, auditory, kinaesthetic (feeling) , olafactory and gustatory) have ‘sub-modalities’. These finer distinctions are extremely powerful to make the difference between being just ok, to being highly motivated if we are acutely aware of their importance. For example, a past memory of a good result may either give you vivid positive pictures, or sounds or feelings, or a combination of any two or all three sub-modalities. Generally, smell and taste tend to be less used, although never ignored if the client uses them to achieve the desired motivational levels required.

If the sensations are positive then we can use them to enhance our unconscious chosen sense/s to trigger motivation as and when we need it. If on the other hand the sensations are negative we then must work at the sub-modality level to trigger a more positive result and increased motivation. The following list of sub-modalities for the three main senses gives us an indication on what works and doesn’t work for the individual sports person.

Visual: colour / black and white, contrast, bright or dim, framed or panoramic, near or far, movie or still etc.

Auditory: location, direction, internal / external, loud or soft, fast or slow, tonality, pauses, duration etc.

Kinaesthetic: location, size, shape, movement / duration, vibration, pressure / heat, weight etc.

By using linguistic techniques, we can turn the negative sub-modality and replace it with a positive one or more and begin to improve the motivation levels and consistency out on the field of play over a period of time.

When I achieved my first hole-in-one I’ve got new and very powerful visual, auditory and kinaesthetic sub-modalities to keep me highly motivated on the course that will assist greater motivation, consistency and success as and when I need it!

Until next week - keep it on the fairway ...

Remember that My Golf Mind carry out 1-2-1 and group sports master mind-factor coaching sessions, either face-to-face, Skype / FaceTime or telephone if you want to improve your golf. My Golf Mind also offer a free session if you book (six sessions for the price of five) the gold performance coaching programme.

Do give My Golf Mind a call on 07973 614969 or leave a comment on the form below if you have any questions or would like to challenge what I've said.

Keith Haynes

My Golf Mind

Northamptonshire’s First Sports Master Mind-Factor Coach

PS ... My Golf Mind delivers a two-hour 'Spring Clean Your Mind; Spring Clean Your Game' seminar if your golf club or society are interested! And now everyone gets a free gift for attending that is guaranteed to improve your mental tenacity and golf, so get in touch now ...

Golf Is Like A Crossword Puzzle!

Posted on 4th October 2019 at 16:22

You may have never consider this but golf is just like a crossword puzzle – nine across and nine down. Yes, the front nine and the back nine and you must complete all 18 clues to solve the conundrum! With the crossword, its only you pitting your wits against the author, by attempting to fill in all the correct letters using the 18 clues. On the golf course, its just you using your knowledge and skills to shoot par or better and instead of the author it’s the course architect and green keeping staff that’s giving you the clues.

So, when you out on the course in a competition, whether it’s your club’s monthly medal or professional tour event with 100 to 150 golfers you must remember it’s only you against course and the elements, no-one else. So, you need to use all the relevant information available to you to plot yourself through the maze of 18 holes for example:

Score card: gives you the yardage / metres, par and stroke index for each hole, front and back nine as well as the overall 18 hole; and the standard scratch score for the course. You just need to fill in the blanks!

Course planner (yardage book): in the good old days, every club had a course planner where pictorial layout of each hole giving distances off the tee and to the centre of the green, hazards and slopes etc. These courses have either stopped doing these as they have a series of pictures or video with notes or a running commentary on their website instead!

Satnavs and Scopes: with the ever-increasing speed of technology the array of navigational systems (watches, phones and specific devices etc.) provide all that the course planner does or did! The scopes provide distance from where your ball lies to the flag or a specific hazard or point on the hole you’re playing. All these electronic items come at a cost, but it seems the average golfer is more than willing to shed a fistful of money for the latest gadget!

Rules of Golf: every golfer should have the very basics of the rules of golf and frequently increase their knowledge and use, because there will be times when they can be very useful and not always penalising you. Many clubs often have ‘rules of golf’ evenings to raise the level of knowledge and understanding during the winter months and at the start of each season.

Caddie: for serious amateur and professional golfer then an experienced caddy (often a low handicapper him / herself) are recruited to assist the golfer around the 18 holes.

However, the final part in solving the crossword is you the golfer who must make the right mental strategic decisions and physically execute the shot and plot yourself around the course and fill in the score card with the number of shots taken. Unlike cricket if you have a good front nine you can’t retire you must fully complete all 18 holes before you can hand the scorecard in!

Practice rarely makes perfect, but it should make improvement so using the relevant and range of information at your fingertips (see above list) and then by using the principle of the two-box routine on every shot you should over time be able to build sufficient knowledge to plot yourself around the course with a good level of intelligence rather than just hitting driver off all the par 4’s and 5s and hoping it lands in the middle of the fairway. So, there is a good chance you’ll not only play to your handicap but may even finish the crossword puzzle!

If your serious about your golf and want to make major strides to lowering your minus or plus handicap and be in contention more often then perhaps make contact with My Golf Mindso we can see if we can work together!

Until next week - keep it on the fairway ...

Do give My Golf Mind a call on 07973 614969, or leave me a comment by filling out the form below if you have any questions or want to challenge what I've said.

Keith Haynes

Northamptonshire’s First Sports Master Mind-Factor Coach

PS ... My Golf Mind also delivers a two-hour 'Spring Clean Your Mind; Spring Clean Your Game' seminar if you or your golf club are interested! And now everyone gets a free gift for attending that is guaranteed to improve your mental tenacity and golf, so get in touch now ...

Golf - A Game of Emotions (Thrones!)

Posted on 27th September 2019 at 15:37

Have you ever been in such a state on the golf course where you could have broken your club over your knee, threw the club in the lake (just like Rory!) or got so angry you swore like a trooper? Well most people when playing golf or any other sport can get so frustrated with themselves that their behaviour becomes filled with negative emotions. In fact, most of my golf and other sport’s clients seek my services due to not being able to control their emotions before, during and after their chosen sporting event.

“the secret to the mental game is the ability to instantly

recall past success and let go of failure” Tiger Woods

So, what is emotion – well the dictionary states that ‘emotion is an effective state of consciousness in which joy, sorrow, fear, hate or the like is experienced’. As our bodies are made up of matter and energy then emotion is a form of positive or negative energy moving within our body – positive or negative. Also, as everything in life is a choice – we either choose to do or not do (there is no try - remember Yoda!) with the things we have control over and where we don’t then we choose how to react!

The other thing to remember is that if we begin to act negatively on a regular basis when we don’t pull off a good shot we get emotional and have a good old swear, get angry, our pulse races and blood pressure rises and out comes the negative behaviour, which in turn becomes habitual. And that is where the following key actions are needed to break the negative emotional habits:

• Choose to be positive or at worst neutral when things don’t go according to plan – it just is!

• Always use the two-box routine and remember to deeply inhale and exhale as you step over the imaginary dividing line between the strategy box and execution box

• Anchor positive emotional feelings of a past sporting success i.e. hole in one, winning a match or competition, and eagle

• Visualise playing the game the night before in perfect conditions and playing to your handicap or one or two shots better

• Between shots hold your head high and keep focus on the top of the flag as you walk towards the green

• Use the 4:4:4 breathing technique – inhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds and exhale for four seconds

All the above techniques are easy to do and easy not to do! So, take a leaf out of Jeff Olsen’s book ‘The Slight Edge’ and do the easy things and see your handicap move in the right direction.

Another technique that My Golf Mind uses when a client has serious negative emotions and it’s impacting the progress in their sport is, I get the client to simply hold a pencil tightly in their hand and ask them if they could simply let go of it. They all say yes, so I then ask them to let go of the pencil, which they do. I then get them to do the same exercise again but instead of tightly holding on to a pencil, they are holding onto a negative emotion and repeat the above instruction. Some get the metaphor straight away and begin to change their negative emotions to neutral and positive behaviour. Those that don’t let go need further work to release them of their poor habitual behaviour on the course!

Until next week - keep it on the fairway ...

Remember that My Golf Mind carries out 1-2-1 and group sports master mind-factor coaching sessions, either face-to-face, Skype / FaceTime or telephone if you want to improve your mental tenacity. My Golf Mind also offers a free session if you book (six sessions for the price of five) onto the gold performance coaching programme.

Do give My Golf Mind a call on 07973 614969 or fill out the form below if you have any questions or would like to challenge what I've said.

Keith Haynes

Northamptonshire’s First Sports Master Mind-Factor Coach

PS ... My Golf Mind also delivers a two-hour 'Spring Clean Your Mind; Spring Clean Your Game’ seminar if you or your golf club are interested! And now everyone gets a free gift for attending that is guaranteed to improve your mental tenacity and golf, so get in touch right away ...

PPS … As Christmas is getting closer golf widows / widowers can now purchase a MY Golf Mind Christmas Voucher for their loved one, so get in touch now …

Ben Hogan's Blackboard

Posted on 13th September 2019 at 11:54

What’s your pre-tournament medal or stableford match preparations? Well with today’s technology you can invariably visit the course website to see and read about the course layout and each hole in detail. More and more golf courses are using video shot by drones to escort you through each hole in turn to get a fantastic movie and often a commentary from people like Peter Alliss of the course you’re about to play. Serious amateur and professional golfers who play on the various tours around the world have for a very long time been provided with course planners or yardage charts, which are invaluable for the caddie and golfer to plot their route around the course.

If you go to a professional tournament or just watch golf on the television, then you will see every player and caddie working together using the yardage charts before and sometimes after each shot. These extremely valuable aids should be used prior to the actual day of play to set up a picture in your mind how best to play each individual hole depending on the pin position/s for the competition. Also, the top professionals record their own analysis of their performance. All this information is kept so every time they go to play the same course out comes the yardage chart and analysis so that they can be even better prepared than last time. So, if you play at your local course every week do you use a yardage chart and record your own analysis to help reduce your handicap by one or two or even more every year?

Its reported that Ben Hogan – one of the greatest golfers of all time used to take a blackboard and chalk with him to the hotel wherever he was playing and especially for the four Majors. So, each night he would chalk out each hole and indicate the best position for the ball to end up for each shot depending upon the hole position. So, stop and think what sort of advantage Ben Hogan had over his contemporises before he even went to bed! I’m sure Ben Hogan would be amazed at the number and different types of electronic gadgetry and systems available to modern player these days.

So why is this so important to building up your mental tenacity on the golf course I hear you say? Well firstly the best decisions are made when you have sufficient and valuable information to make an informed choice. So, building up a library of important information over a number of rounds or years is tremendously advantageous to golfers of all abilities. Secondly if you have this wealth of information you can build up your levels of confidence to be able to place the ball exactly where it needs to finish up to give you the chance of being in contention. In addition, your unconscious mind has the information stored up ready for use when you go out and play the round of golf. This also enhances your levels of confidence and mental tenacity as you build up your resources to deal with the pressures coming down the stretch or when things don’t quite go to plan. Remember its only you out on the course and you’re just doing battle with the course architect and the green keepers!

If your serious about your golf and want to make major strides to lowering your minus or plus handicap and being in contention more often then perhaps collecting hole by hole data is what’s needed?

Until next week - keep it on the fairway ...

Do give My Golf Mind a call on 07973 614969 or leave a comment on the form below if you have any questions or want to challenge what I've said!

Keith Haynes

My Golf Mind

Northamptonshire’s First Sports Master Mind-Factor Coach

PS ... I deliver a two-hour 'My Golf Mind - spring clean your mind; spring clean your game' seminar if you or your golf club are interested! And now everyone gets a free gift for attending that is guaranteed to improve your mental tenacity and golf, so get in touch now ...

The Colour Of Golf

Posted on 6th September 2019 at 10:52

Tiger Woods always wore a red shirt on the final round of a tournament, Patrick Reed also now dons the same colour. Karl Morris (The Mind Factor Coach) had Louis Oosthuizen the 2010 Championship Golfer of the Year (at St. Andrews – the home of golf) draw a red dot on his golf glove as a reminder to pay attention to Louis’ pre-shot routine. So, the importance of colour can be paramount to the success of a golfer.

Colour is significant in our everyday world and in particular for the flora and fauna species for repelling a predator or attracting the opposite sex!

Red is often used as it is the same colour of blood and can symbolise aggression and even war! Colour is also an energy which has been proven to impact on one’s physiology and psychology. Red would make Tiger more confident and powerful, while his opponents would feel intimidated! Hence when Tiger was at his best just the colour red could be a signal to some professional golfers that their goal was at best second place. They just accepted that Tiger in red on the last day would be most likely to win!

The following exercise is one that I get most of my clients to do – I get them to state what their favorite colour is and think of an extremely memorable event i.e. a hole in one, winning a tournament or golf club competition. I then guide them through the following stages to create a very powerful resourceful anchor that they can draw on as and when needed on or off the golf course.

Imagine a 2’ / 60cm square in your favourite colour on the floor just in front of you

Now step onto the imaginary magic coloured square and think of a golfing event that meant the most (hole in one, winning etc.). Now see yourself in the event, hear the sounds that you heard, feel the emotional feelings that you felt and notice anything else that made the event so very, very special. Now double the sensation – what do you see, hear, feel and notice, double the sensation again and again. Enjoy this sensation until it just starts to wain and then step off the magic coloured square

At the height or most intense feeling you get then clench you fist to provide a stronger anchor that you can replicate the sensation as needed

Repeat this at least five times regularly, and especially when challenged

Whenever you need additional energy, resources and or to boost your confidence then just imagine the coloured magic square and clench your fist to regain the energy and confidence to utilise as you need, okay. Only you will know that as you walk down the fairway as you’re stepping out onto your resourceful magic coloured square. Give it a go because it won’t work unless you practice it! And remember practice doesn’t make perfect - it makes continual improvement!

One of my PGA Touring Pros uses this technique and often walks down the fairway on an imaginary blue carpet!

Hopefully, you're beginning to find my blog post of interest and have started getting you thinking about the importance of the mind game? So why not share them with your golfing mates, okay.

Do give me a call on 07973 614969, leave me a comment or fill out the form if you have any questions or would like to challenge what I've said, okay?

Keep it on the fairway ...

Keith Haynes

Northamptonshire’s First Master Mind-Factor Coach

PS ... I deliver a two-hour 'spring clean your mind; spring clean your game' seminar if your golf club or society are interested! Get in touch ...

Click on this text to edit it.

Practice With Purpose

Posted on 30th August 2019 at 12:54

How many mid to high handicap golfers do you see down on the driving range hitting ball after ball, bucket after bucket most days and nights of the week, without real purpose to their practice? As I've said before this makes the golf range owners very happy and rich, but it's not reducing the golfer's handicap! The danger is also that they're grovving bad habits which they then take out onto the golf course. In addition, these golfers get more frustrated with their game and keep going back to the driving range, so building up the anxiety and stress which minimises the chances of putting a free-flowing swing on the ball?

Q. How does a gardener keep his garden free of weeds? Well the answer is "little and often, and with purpose". And that's how any level of golfer needs to practice - LITTLE and OFTEN and with PURPOSE!

By pupose I mean to practice specific skills with different clubs and in different scenarios as you would play in any competition. So, practice every shot as though you were going to win your weekend four-ball, medal or stableford or even your favorite Major i.e. The Masters, USA Open, The Open and the USA PGA. By using this approach, you begin to put yourself under the circumstances and pressures to totally improve your handicap, or change your golfing career and perhaps your life! Importantly it's also building up your two-box (see my first blog and video - https://www.mygolfmind.com) routine by making the best decisions (Strategy Box) and executing (Shot Box) a free-flowing swing on the ball with PURPOSE. Remember to take a deep breath in through the nose as you begin to step over the dividing line between the two boxes and exhale through the mouth as you step into the Shot Box!

If you have lessions with your club's PGA Professional, he/she will give you the practice drills to improve specific areas of your bio-mechanical game. But the big question is what are you doing regularly (remember - how does the gardener keep his garden free of weeds?) between those lessions? Well may I suggest that you consider spending at least one-hour per week to start off if you're a handicap golfer and practice using some of the following tasks; or more if you're a single figure, scratch or PGA Professional. Remember you're not only practicing and improving your bio-mechanical part of the game but honing and strengthening your mental tenacity at the same time! And if you can get a buddy to practice with you then you can set up little competitions between yourselves!

Putting, Chipping and Pitching:

Place five balls at equal distance all around the hole on the practice putting green 3' from the hole. Putt them all in before moving the balls out to 5' and then again to 10'

Place five balls at 4'distance from the hole and putt them all in before moving them to 8' and then to 24'

Place five balls each off the practice putting green at the following distances to one specific hole: on the fringe, 3' off the fringe and then move around the putting green to four other distances. These could be 10', 20' and 30', and five from the bunker and five just over the bunker

Irons and Woods:

Using your full range of irons hit five balls with each club to the distance flags on the driving range and get within 10' with the lower irons and 20' with the mid to long irons. Keep reducing the level of dispersion as you improve

Using your full range of woods and rescue clubs hit five balls with each club to a specific distance within a dispersion of 20 yards, then 15 yards and then 10 yards

Play a series of clubs as you would on any hole at your club i.e. driver, 5 wood and then a wedge on a par 5 hole

Note: you're also practicing your distance , feel and touch as well as accuracy with all these purposeful practice sessions, which again builds up your confidence when you're in the Strategy Box for deciding which specific club and shot you're about to take. Which in turn reduces your anxiety and stress out on the golf course.

And remember the gardener's philosphy - 'little and often and with purpose' - so just go ahead and practice as though you're in your favorite competition - JFDI.

Until next time - keep it on the fairway ...

Hopefully, you're beginning to to find My Golf Mind blog posts of interest and have started getting you thinking and taking action on building the mental side of the golf game? So why not share them with your golfing buddies, okay?

Do give me a call on 07973 614969, leave me a comment or email me at keith@mygolfmind.com if you have any questions or like to challenge anything I've said or written.

Keith Haynes

Northamptonshire's First Master Mind Factor Coach

p.s. I deliver a two-hour 'spring clean your mind; spring clean you golf' seminar for golf clubs and golf societies, so make contact for further details

The Art of Focus

Posted on 19th August 2019 at 16:10

The danger of focusing too hard on a single golf shot is that it can create stress and anxiety in the body and mind. This in-turn can and does impact on making a free-flowing golf swing, which creates tension in the muscles and therefore un-forced errors and inconsistency.

There are basically two types of focus – Foveal and Peripheral vision.

Foveal Vision is where you focus and concentrate hard on one particular thing. In golf this is okay for each shot for just a few seconds, but the danger is that it can create stress and anxiety. You’ve heard the old saying that you can’t see the wood from the trees! You also may not take in all the right information if your focus is for example just on the pin placement. Subtle borrows may mean that the best place to put the ball is above or either to the left or right of the hole or beneath it! You just get sucked it!

Peripheral Vision is where you have a soft gaze at an area of interest. In golf that could be the whole green, trees and bunkers surrounding it and the subtle borrows. Emergency drivers (police, ambulance, paramedics and fire and rescue personnel) are trained in using peripheral vision while driving under the ‘blues and two’s’ to be able to see what’s in front, to both sides and behind them, so that they can take evasive action. And just as importantly be able to handle the vehicle and any situation that crops up calmly and in control. In between and when approaching each shot it is best to use peripheral vision to observe the whole area as you approach your shot so that you see all the important things that may have an impact on where the ball finishes up.

So how do we balance the two types of focus when playing around of golf and in particular a single shot?

So, whatever shot you’re about to play then as you approach the imaginary two boxes – before and in the strategy box use the peripheral vison technique and once you’ve made your decisions (i.e. club selection, high raking draw and rollout etc.). Then step across the imaginary dividing line into the shot box, change to foveal vison to focus on the actual shot itself. As you execute the shot you should then be free of any undue stress and anxiety and make a fluid and free-flowing swing to get the desired result.

To practice going into peripheral vision just gaze softly a spot on the wall in front of you or the little camera on your computer monitor and breathe easy. Keep your head still at all times and blink naturally. Continue looking at the spot, breathe easy and keeping your head still, gradually open up your gaze to see the whole wall in front of you, then each side wall and above and below you. Do this for five minutes at first and notice what you see, hear and feel as you enter and maintain peripheral vision. Once you’ve gained the skill to go into peripheral vison indoors then take it out on the driving range and then the golf course. With practice you’ll begin to notice that you’re taking in all the right information to make the right decisions and execute a free-flowing golf shot – JFDI.

Once again if these small actions if done regularly it will begin to have a major impact on your game and boost your self-belief and confidence. In principle its Kaizen or the aggregation of marginal gains! In the excellent book by Cranfield, Hansen and Hewitt – “The Power of Focus” the quote ‘the road to confidence is paved with weekly victories’ which clearly highlights there is no quick fix just lots of practice of little tasks regularly! And remember these little techniques are easy to do and easy not to do, so take a leaf out of Jeff Olsen’s book “The Slight Edge”.

Hopefully, you're beginning to find my blog posts of interest and have started getting you thinking about the importance of the mind game? So why not share them with your golfing buddies, ok.

Do give me a call on 07973 614969, leave me a comment or send me an email if you have any questions or want to challenge what I've said, and until next time.

Keep it on the fairway ....

Breathe Your Way To Better Golf

Posted on 14th June 2019 at 16:06

May I start with a question “how does a gardener keep his garden free of weeds?” (answer at the bottom).

Breathing is normally an unconscious function and becomes a conscious function when we specifically think about breathing when we’re doing something i.e. meditating, swimming, yoga or playing golf. The inhalation and exhalation of air allows the oxygen and carbon dioxide to traverse to and from the external environment into and out of the blood system.

So how can our breathing patterns help us to play better golf and improve our mental tenacity. Well by breathing effectively and efficiently it increases our energy levels and enables us to stay calm by minimising stress and anxiety. Typically, when we breathe normally our intake of air is only a fraction of what our lung capacity can take, thus not fuelling our blood supply to that miraculous thing – the body and the brain. Thus, oxygen and carbon dioxide starvation could over time impact our health.

When was the last time you fully filled your lungs with a deep breath – try it now and feel how different it is to your normal shallow breathing pattern. Remember to always inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth!

There are four specific breathing techniques MyGolfMind would like to share with you today that will greatly improve your energy levels when you need them and to keep you calm on the putting green and as you come down the stretch in contention. After all golf is a game of patience – staying calm and focussed and waiting for the other golfers to make mistakes. That’s a strategy that help Jack Nicholas to his 18 major victories – so if its good enough for Jack then it should be good enough for you! And remember you only have influence on your game not your opponents!

Energy

Ha Breathing: is a technique used by the ancient indigenous tribes of Hawaii – the Huna and Ha means the ‘breath of life’. If you practice and use this method as you travel to the course, then you will begin to expand your lungs and get the blood flowing around your body and brain giving you the breath of life or energy.

Start by taking a deep breath and as you exhale chant the sound of ‘Haaaa’ until you empty your lungs. Do this for at least seven times in the beginning and then build it up for five to ten minutes if not more.

5:20:10: I got this technique when I attended a Tony Robbins’ “Unleash the Power Within” seminar many years ago and its one I practice virtually every single day as part of my morning stretching exercises regime.

Simply take a deep breath and fill your lungs in five seconds. Then hold for 20 seconds and then exhale slowly for ten seconds ensuring that you fully empty your lungs. Repeat for at least three times and build up to ten repetitions. Once again do this breathing exercise when you feel that additional energy is needed, ok.

Calming

4:4:4: this is a technique that is used by the military when in the heat of conflict to be able to stay calm and composed when using their fighting and self-defence skills. During these heightened and emotional times, military personnel need to be emotionless and focused on the task that they find themselves in.

Simply inhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds and exhale for four seconds. Repeat the sequence at least ten times and whenever you need to be calm and focussed i.e. when faced with a sliding downhill putt to win the money!

Counting Breathes: this breathing technique simply count ONE as you inhale and ONE when you exhale; and count TWO as you inhale and Two when you exhale all the way up to TEN. You may want to repeat this sequence two or three times. The same reasons apply as the 4:4:4.

So, give these breathing techniques a go as they will enable you to stay patient throughout a round of golf and to manage your emotional state. By becoming an expert at breathing correctly your mental toughness improves, and you too will have nerves of steel, just like Tiger Woods!

So “how does a gardener keep his garden free of weeds” – “little and often”! So, practice these techniques regularly and I guarantee that your mental tenacity will improve and make your overall golf stronger.

Hopefully, you're beginning to find MyGolfMind blog posts of interest and have started getting you thinking about the importance of the mind game? So why not share them with your golfing mates, ok.

Do call MyGolfMind on 07973 614969, fill out the contact form to send me an email if you have any questions or even disagree with what I've said, ok?

Keep it on the fairway ...

KEITH HAYNES

MyGolfMind

PS ... I deliver a two-hour 'spring clean your mind; spring clean your game' seminar if you or your golf club are interested! Get in touch ...

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20:20 Vision for 2020

Eliminating The YIPS

Making Sense of Motivation

Golf Is Like A Crossword Puzzle!

Golf - A Game of Emotions (Thrones!)

Ben Hogan's Blackboard

The Colour Of Golf

Practice With Purpose

The Art of Focus

Breathe Your Way To Better Golf

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