Distract Your Conscious Mind

It’s very important to get rid of that nagging mental chatter before it escalates and creates physical tension in your body. This can be achieved simply by humming or whistling a favorite tune, which is the preferred method of golf-great Fuzzy Zoeller.

Here’s another distraction technique:  As soon as you catch yourself thinking “what a @@## shot that was…I can’t play this game for @@###”….before that stress takes hold of your body, take a deep breath or two and think the words: “Peace, Harmony, Relax, Relax.” If you catch yourself soon enough, this technique will distract those bad thoughts away and you’ll be back to neutral – ready for your next shot.

Actually, I suggest that my golf clients do this in their pre-shot routine -- especially to calm themselves down on the first tee.

First Tee Jitters are one of the reasons so many weekend golfers need First Tee Mulligans. But if you’d rather play by the rules, here’s how to handle that early fluttering in your stomach before your first shot: Don’t fight it. Use the adrenal pump of energy to your advantage, just like Jack Nicklaus used to do. Focus your attention on your target while you take a couple of deep breaths. You’ll find this will immediately calm you down. Got tension in your arms and shoulders? Do “gorilla arms,” which is the rapid shaking of your hands and arms almost as if you were flicking water off your hands. Then take a smooth practice swing towards your target. If you like it, say “just like that” to yourself. Step up to the ball, take another look at your target, burn that image into your brain, and swing.

Watch your ball sail out to your target. Sure, you can relax and enjoy the compliments. But mostly you feel good because you’ve learned how to manage those First Tee Jitters.

Remember, the key is to mobilize the anxiety that’s trying to take over. Take control of it rather than let it control you.

Educate Your Subconscious Mind

Thinking is Conscious activity and usually the root of stress. For example, if you think, “On this water hole, I’ll use an old ball, so if I hit it into the lake, it won’t be so bad.” You know what happens next. Plunk!  Obviously, you didn’t want the ball to go in the water, so why did you hit it there? Because your Subconscious took over your swing.

Your Subconscious Mind doesn’t understand negatives like “not” or “don’t.” It functions through imagery and emotion. It sees the lake you’re gazing at, senses the emotion attached to it and obediently makes it your new target.

So in order to stay out of the water, you’ve got to concentrate on the positive. Focus on the target and visualize the trajectory of where you want the ball to go.  This is a universal truth, and it works whether you’re driving, pitching or putting.

You’ll play better the whole round if you’ve educated your Subconscious Mind to respond the way you want it to. Obviously, you can’t do this on the golf course. It happens at home, in your office or anywhere away from the course where you can relax and learn the techniques of Self Hypnosis.

By the way, Self Hypnosis is safe, easy to learn and must be practiced on a regular basis if you want to let new positive suggestions sink down into your Subconscious Mind and Body. Today, many of the top PGA touring professionals use Self Hypnosis (including a golfer you may have heard of whose initials are TW. He learned it when he was 12 years old).

Once you master the skills necessary to Distract Your Conscious Mind and Educate Your Subconscious, you’ll be able to eliminate the destructive effects of stress, both on the golf course and in your everyday life. Then when your golf partner says, “Watch out for water on the right,” you’ll be able to reply “What water?”

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