| I've been thinking about the application of golf | | | | them in your rehearsal swing. |
| psychology to the issue of the swing thought. In | | | | That's what I mean when I keep harping on about |
| other words, what do you and should you be thinking | | | | unconscious golf. Your unconscious mind knows all |
| about when you actually swing the club. It seems | | | | about the shot you're visualising and it also knows |
| that every time I watch someone play they seem to | | | | about the rehearsal swing you just made. Now's the |
| be taking an inordinate amount of time fidgeting with | | | | time to get your conscious mind out of the way and |
| their grip, their stance or their play. The more time | | | | let your unconscious mind do its job and hit the ball |
| they take to get round to swinging the club, the | | | | the way you visualised and rehearsed. It's that simple. |
| more likely they are to hit a bad shot. One golfer I | | | | How I wished I'd understood this back in my youth |
| met recently admitted to almost running between | | | | when I played off 2-handicap. I even had regular |
| shots so that he has adequate time available to | | | | demonstrations of it when I played with my father's |
| fidget over the ball. | | | | friend. If you haven't already read the article that |
| The average golfer is often preoccupied with his | | | | comes with my free "Your Own Virtual Caddy" golf |
| current set of - sometimes conflicting - technical | | | | hypnosis programme, then let me explain. He was a |
| swing thoughts, from coaches, books, websites and | | | | fanatical newcomer to golf - yes we've all been one - |
| golf magazines and TV programmes. And even if he | | | | and whenever I played with him he would try to get |
| isn't, someone may have given him a set of the tee | | | | to my ball before I did so that he could ask me how |
| pegs I saw recently that had different swing | | | | I planned to play the shot. What I didn't realise at the |
| thoughts printed on each one! | | | | time was that by describing my thoughts in detail, I |
| Now to be absolutely clear, I do believe that you | | | | had to visualise the shot to describe it. |
| should take adequate time to consciously plan your | | | | By the time I'd finished explaining it all, I was rushing |
| shots before stepping up to the ball and taking your | | | | to hit the ball and didn't have any time for any swing |
| stance. And this should include time to fully visualise | | | | thoughts. I just quickly took a practice swing and hit |
| and rehearse the shot or putt that you are about to | | | | the ball without further conscious thought. If only I'd |
| make. I've written before about Jack Nicklaus | | | | realised how much better my shots went and how |
| describing how he's never hit a shot without first | | | | well I scored playing with him. I didn't realise until I |
| seeing himself playing it. | | | | started developing my own approach to golf |
| I also believe that once you have that clear | | | | psychology and understood the power of trusting |
| visualisation of the shot you are about to make and | | | | my unconscious. |
| the confidence of the short-term recent memory of | | | | Now I've written here before about the perils of |
| your rehearsal or practice swing, then the sooner you | | | | Analysis Paralysis, the benefits of Visualisation and |
| hit the ball with that thought in your mind, the better. | | | | the need to Speed up your shot routines, but I'm not |
| If your rehearsal swing was adequate, then there's | | | | alone. In researching this article I found an interesting |
| nothing more to do than to take your stance, briefly | | | | question asked by Karl Morris, |
| check your alignment, take one last look at your | | | | "Whenever you have played your very best golf, is it |
| target and start your swing - before you forget how | | | | usually down to MORE or LESS thinking?" |
| you rehearsed it. If you needed any specific swing | | | | I'll leave you to answer that one for yourself. |
| thoughts, then you must really have incorporated | | | | |