| I've been writing a lot lately about the negative and | | | | to me! |
| positive golf psychology of fear on the golf course. | | | | So where is all this going, Andrew, I hear you ask. |
| While I've been thinking all about golf fear | | | | Well, we hear and read a lot about pre-shot routines |
| consciously, it seems that my unconscious mind has | | | | and most of the people I know now use them |
| been quietly working away on the question of how | | | | diligently. But few if any use any sort of post-shot |
| we actual do this "fear" thing in our golf minds. Using | | | | routine. They usually just replace any divot, put the |
| a post-shot routine was the answer - to the | | | | club back in the bag - sometimes firmly, sometimes |
| problem, not the question. | | | | gently - and either, walk forward happily or trudge |
| Now in NLP and golf hypnosis, we have many ways | | | | forward miserably. Of course some rant and rave, |
| of managing a person's fears. If it's a full blown | | | | but we'll ignore those for now - seems like good |
| phobia, we can deal with that easily. If it's a habit or | | | | advice to me. |
| belief that's blown out of all proportion, we can help | | | | If you react positively after hitting a golf shot, your |
| there too using techniques like the NLP Swish Pattern. | | | | brain produces lots of happy chemicals and associates |
| If we need a skill that someone else has we can use | | | | those good feelings to the shot you've just hit and |
| modelling and Richard Bandler's "Stealing a Skill" | | | | to the hole you've just played. The next time you |
| technique. If the fear is doubt related and, as we | | | | play that hole or a similar shot, you have the |
| might say colloquially, there's a part of me that wants | | | | opportunity to unconsciously remember that feeling |
| to play a risky shot and another part that's saying it's | | | | and the associated result. In NLP we call this |
| too dangerous, then we've got the NLP Visual | | | | anchoring. Something similar happens if you react |
| Squash parts integration technique. And there are | | | | badly after hitting a shot and that bad shot can get |
| many more NLP tools we can use before we even | | | | anchored too. |
| start looking at golf hypnosis. | | | | So my recommendation is to really enjoy your good |
| So why not use one of these techniques to manage | | | | shots - you want to remember them - and release |
| or eliminate fear? Well, you can use these techniques | | | | the bad shots to the past without any emotion, like |
| and if they are really deep-seated fears, you may | | | | someone else hit that bad shot. You can't go back in |
| need them. But what about nipping the fears in the | | | | time and replay a shot, so just forget it and move |
| bud, so that we don't have to remember them | | | | on. |
| every time we come to play a similar shot? After all, | | | | Now I don't like prescribing detailed pre-shot routines |
| didn't I read somewhere that Tiger Woods says | | | | to people as it is far better to develop your own one |
| about hitting bad shots, "I hit it and forget it?" You | | | | from what works best for you. I think the same |
| can't go back in time and replay a shot, so just | | | | applies to a post shot routine, so I'll just list these |
| forget it and move on." If there's a way to forget | | | | few simple pointers: |
| our bad shots, then surely we don't need to fear | | | | |
| them. | | | | 1. Identify a specific trigger for the post-shot routine, |
| Now that reminds me of a story I've used many | | | | like seeing the ball stop moving |
| times before about Jack Nicklaus genuinely only | | | | 2. If it's a good shot, then really feel good and replay |
| remembering the putts he holed, never the ones he | | | | the shot in your mind just as it felt when you hit it |
| missed. So has Jack ever missed from inside of six | | | | 3. If it's not a shot to remember, then don't react at |
| feet on the last hole of a major? Of course he has! | | | | all and just see it briefly as if you were watching |
| Does he remember it? Not a chance. And do you | | | | someone else play the shot |
| think he cares that he can't remember? Some people | | | | 4. Good or bad, consciously release the shot to the |
| would probably say that Jack is deluded in his | | | | past and relax as you start walking forward to the |
| thinking, that it is not based on reality. Well, we all | | | | next shot. |
| create our own realities and Jack's seem pretty good | | | | |