Sports Performance Psychology
...and golf
September 30, 2008
GNT is a "Notablog" Associated with Sprudio.net
"Not Just About Golf "
Reading About Golf and the
Subconscious Mind
"The ball landed
like a butterfly with sore feet"
Scenario
You are required to hit a five- or six-iron shot over a lake 170 yards into a light breeze and a small green. If you make the green, everything is ok. If not, the planet Earth has to be destroyed. Would you be confident enough to plant that iron shot on the dance floor? If not, shame. You could have saved the world. But no, you put off learning golf until "later." Let this be a lesson to all: You never know when a global emergency might call for golf skills.
Non-Tour Gamesmanship
Do you have regulars in your foursome who know how to push your buttons? Are they playing you? When they get your goat do you make a bad shot? Do they do it to win side bets?
Read this EAMON LYNCH article to begin learning to clear your head of this nonsense, real or imagined. It could save you a few critical strokes and make the difference between glory and disaster!
A lot has been written on this subject, so if you've never considered throwing a rubber snake at your opponent like Lee Trevino did to Jack- and you're the type to resort to this unethical practice, be prepared for payback. And we all know that paybacks are at least twice as bad as the original crime.
Don't Fear Fear
Chemical Theory
Dr. Phil Harmonica, Director of Operations, Rhode Island Instite for Research With Regard to the Criminally Insane (RIRWR) of New Savannah, Rhode Island, is a Weekend Warrior; he's a dedicated duffer who used the department's facilities to study endorphin reward delivery systems in human golfers.
"Dr. Phil" believes that anyone with a reasonably strong addiction to endorphins, along with the desire to hit great golf shots, can improve their game greatly with drugs. "Just give yourself a blast of my tonic when you make a great shot," he explains, "and pretty soon you won't even need it! You'll be all weak-kneed just thinking about making a good shot."
Dr. Harmonica's use of human subjects came into question last year when he was caught forcing inmates to bowl, drink beer, talk loud and play video games under ultraviolet light. He was also reported to have had them canoe.
Accumulate Advantages
Your buddies all have an idea of how they want you to shoot today. It's not good. But little do they know, you have decided to outsmart them today. You have absorbed the subliminally transmitted GolfNinja Eye of Golf™ technology which will transform the way you view and approach Golf.
Ever notice a song playing in your head? If not, forget it- you'll never be a golf ninja; but if so, plant a good one, sing it a couple of times in the car on the way to the round - or start it in the moning, in the shower. Make it a happy tune so you don't crash on no. 12 from sheer depression; play it from a cd or mp3 file - get a good song in your head and then let it occupy your intrusive conscious mind when it interferes during the round- which it will, of course.
What is Golf Ninja?
Ah, the debate of the ages. As rare as Bigfoot and every bit as elusive, golfninja might even be one for all we know! He's like a ghost sneaking around causing all kinds of golf madness to occur. For example, Harry up in Minnesota gets three eagles in a row... seconds later, Mike in Texas sinks a bending eighty-footer. Coincidence? We don't think so.
Big Eye Floating in Sky
Mantra
Say it like this: "The EYE? of golf. The EYE? of golf. The EYE? of golf. The EYE? of golf.
Now lay down, close your eyes and repeat the same phrase out loud (or to yourself quietly) a couple of hundred times. This will put you in a deep hypnotic trance (after you get past the laughing part). When you wake up you'll feel refreshed and alert without pain.
Use Reincarnation
to Your Advantage
It doesn't matter if reincarnation is real or not; the mind is capable of many things. Imagine that you have been born, lived, golfed and died many times. The carnage you have witnessed, the wealth, the poverty! The endless mental memories of missed pars and penalty strokes!
With your newly-remembered vast warehouse of experiences, those tough shots won't seem so intimidating any more. Maybe you were a golf shark in one of those past lives, and you've just been sandbagging up until reading this. That's it! The memories are awakening now- your game will experience a paradigm shift.
- Seeds of Victory
Knowing the Rules
Most golfers haven't a clue when it comes to the rules of the game; so naturally, it is to your great advatage to learn them. Get a rule book, take quizzes on line and work to master something that is admittedly a challenge.
It might sound like legalese at first; the rules of Golf are unique and sometimes confounding! And they are not intuitive. You cannot just take an attitude of playing fair and assume that you understand the rules if you have never actually read them!
A player hits into a lateral water hazard. "What should I do?" he asks. Well, what did you do the last 300 times that happened? It is truly amazing how so many people play golf for so long and never once read the rules or apply them correctly! Did you know that you can drop the ball anywhere on the line from where it entered a hazard (not lateral) all the way back to where you hit it from? Sometimes a longer club is the smarter shot to choose, for example if there's a tree in your way and you need to get over it.
You would never play any game or sport without learning the rules first, so why is golf so different? And how can so many players claim to be a certain handicap if they have never been up on the rules? Thousands of golfers have been cheating all along and never knew it. Or, maybe they did.
Bud's back!
He sure would like to go golfin'
90% Mental - the Other Half is Physical
In order to golf correctly, one must pray to the spirits of Bobby Jones and Chi Chi Rodriguez for guidance and luck. Set up a little golf shrine somewhere around the house or office. Light candles (because all magic is done with candles) and visualize all you know about golf in one big green cloud. Practice the art of Zen Golf in your mind's eye:
First you putt the ball, and zen it goes down into the cup.
Follow the link to Bike Race to read how a guy smoked a cigarette and then actually won! From the NYT!
Born To Golf!
Unforgettable Golf Shot
As I hit the shot I knew it would be ugly. The lie was a combination of hardpan and a little ditch in the ground. The ball flew out low and bouncing just as my partner Al was motoring down the fairway in the cart. I watched in horror as my bouncing ball followed the cart, gaining on it at a rapid rate. It actually bounced up off of a rock and came to rest on top of a cloth accessory pouch on the side of the cart. "Wait! Stop!," I whispered, as the cart sped toward the green with my ball teetering on that bouncing canvas.
The next thing that happened was unbelievable- the cart tipped inward in a wheel rut as Al rounded the corner behind the 15th green, causing my ball to erupt from its perch. It bounced one time solidly on the cart path, and then it kicked off the hill toward the green. Amazingly, again, it reached the second downslope with enough juice to trickle down onto the putting surface near the pin!All three of them assumed that I had hit that shot onto the green from 260 yards out. I didn't say anything because those guys are just a bunch of morons. I can't hit a driver that far, much less my dreaded 2-iron! Suckers.
-name withheld
Subliminal audio for golf
OOPS! They went up to $8.99 now, better hurry before
they go up again!
Spine Angles
Golf Ninjas know this instinctively
Consider Voodoo for Tight Situations
When you could use a couple of extra strokes' advantage -and if you have the guts- give Voodoo a shot. Be careful what you wish for, though...
Live this dramatic saga of one golfer's
brush with danger
Hypnotic-State Golf
Beta blockers, the 'steroids' of the PGA: What do they know that we don't? Well, for one thing they know how to break par. Plus it sure seems like nothing gets those guys very upset, not for long anyway. Certain types of brain waves (Beta) are just bad for performance. Then there are Alpha, Theta, and Delta waves. Here's a handy article to elaborate on mental golf and brain waves; the end of Chapter One explains it nicely. Inside the Tour gets physical in this article too - check out Chapter Three!
A Google search for "beta blockers for golf" returns about 140,000 hits. Some people do this naturally, without drugs. Is it possible to control emotions? Only to a degree, and some are better than others when it comes to remaining calm in high-stress situations. Beta blockers are well known to restrict circulation and could therefore be dangerous on a hot day or an uphill walk; also, they might be good for putting -but maybe not so good for power shots.
Are there other ways to control your own brain waves? Of course! They just don't come naturally to most of us. Very few, in fact. Some pro golfers might have steel nerves; like a meditating monk, they're oblivious to external distractions, and might even putt for all the marbles with 4,000 cameras zoomed in on them at 400x magnification while 300 million viewers look on.
Are they using something? Who cares? It's legal! Besides, if someone gets to be dependent on a substance for performance, he will fall. It is each person's right to decide to control his or her own brain waves the natural way, as well.
Meditation is good for relaxation and stress relief. It can be very effective in driving you toward greater brain wave control. The problem is, you have to actually do it. And not just once; you have to do it a whole bunch of times for it to work.
Get a Handle on Your Grips
Ever play in the rain? Humidity? Sweat? Fix it! Keep those grips dry and clean and enjoy a great advantage over those evil sandbaggers you play with. If it's raining, use your club cover- keep those grips dry. Do whatever you can to maintain friction between your hands and the club grip in order to make every shot tight. Knowing this, go forward with confidence and the edge you need to get those skins! You might want to lightly grease the grips of your opponents' clubs, as well. A wise man once said that it is easier to push a camel through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased; not that this has anything to do with golf, but what the heck you can visualize that during your backswing, now.
How to Really Stink at Golf
Jeff Foxworthy is a funny guy. We do not condone this behavior, though, because those who adopt this philosophy on the course are really annoying and slow down play.
Mental Stamina
...is easy when you get off to a good start. If that strategy fails, you need to turn it around quickly. Accumulating problems tends to tighten the muscles, stress you out and ruin your day! Fun game, huh! Relax, repeatedly, resisting the negative energy and maintaining balance ... breathe. Each shot is a new opportunity for extreme happiness and renewed enthusiasm! It is so much fun hitting the ball (the actual moment of impact, about 15 miliseconds) when it clicks - and winds up in a good shot, even great, and you knew it in that moment. That instant is the critical instant in every shot. The moment of impact. How are you set up during that particular instant? Sometimes if we're not focusing properly, we're all out of whack at impact because our timing is being interfered with or distorted somehow.
Find your center again, soon, and have a good time with it in a scientific sort of way. You're curious, not furious. You need to know where each new problem is rooted, and shake it off! Play that song in your head again! Plus if there's a mechanical problem, admit it. Analyze it as with a pretend caddy like Aristotle or John Daley! Will Smith from Bagger Vance! What would Jesus do on this shot? He would do the right thing. And you know the right thing deeply within your inner self. Whether you have the courage to let that self hit the ball (without interference), or not (these shots are less accurate), the point is that there is actually no point. Either you get it at impact, or you don't. Balance and focus, Glasshoppah.
-Sandy Barker
Copyright © 2007, 2008 GolfNinja.com
™
Minute Trainer
Play Song - more effective with music
Links (pun intended)
Pay Attention
It's that simple
Duffer of the Month:
Reader Breaks 80 For First Time
"It was amazing," says 41 year old Hijah Hawks of Broken Truck, Montana. "I was with my regular Friday foursome and I went into a kind of zone."
Hawks credits golfninja.com with creating for him a new mental picture of how golf (and other things) should be approached; with a near-insane, ninja-like intensity strangely combined with an eerie calm.
Hopefully Mr. Hawks won't fall into the deadly "unconscious sandbagging" trap like we see springing up regularly in cases like his. Hijah's friends will undoubtedly make him give up more strokes now. The pressure will be unbearable. If he views this as a negative, or punishment, his inner Golf Ninja will falter and find ways to lose- effectively getting those old comfort strokes back.
This whole sandbagging nightmare is the downfall of many a duffer. They don't want to break 80, not really. Oh they practice hard, as if anything will change; but ultimately, most duffers are comfortable inside with their strokes. Instead of the comfort zone, they should be looking for the one Hijah Hawks found on that Fateful Friday!
"Thinking about all this mental stuff did something to me I think." Hawks continues, "I was standing over the ball on the first tee, and I remembered that video [above] and the tune that was playing. A weird calm came over me; I didn't feel any pain anywhere and I could see better."
Our Duffer of the Month deserves the credit; he's the one who pushed through a personal barrier and courageously stuck with the zone into the unknown.
Duffer of the month stories can be submitted via contact email address above
WARNING: GOLF-RELATED MATERIAL
The Eye of Golf
The Eye of Golf
Is upon youIts focus ever keen;
It plants a tune for fairways
And one for on the green.In your head the seedling swells
-Unending rock & roll...It seems the Eye of Golf forgot
To give you full control.-anonymous
How to Play Golf (Disney 1944)
Lowering Your Index
How to lower your handicap: Don't focus on your index. Perfect the fundamentals, and practice enough so you're confident out there, period. Relax. Focus on each shot because every shot counts.
Most mistakes are mental, choices and judgments that turn out inaccurate. So get rid of those, and you have it made.
A fresh practice routine can cause a sandbag shift as well. Think of it as a new level in a video game. Get yourself a new, higher perspective on the big picture, Sport.
The Far East philosophers have it right when they talk about intent, physical balance and trust. So take Yoga, Martial Arts and for your long-term health in general add nutrition and Tai-Chi.
Or at least take it easy a few times a week if you worship food. Nothing's wrong with that. But stay in shape. Take a mult-vitamin a few times every week. And drink a bottle of red wine a week. Red wine is good. Drink the whole bottle, or spread it out over a few days, or a week. That's worth a good stroke, solid.
Smoke a good cigar. The magic from the premium stogie will essentially give your conscious mind a sort of hypnosis and get it out of the way of the more accurate and competitive subconscious [mind]. If you are nicotine challenged and do not possess this skill, control your bood sugar with some radishes, chilli or Red Bull (if you have opposite reactions to massive doses of caffeine) or a banana. Snacks are critical, so be prepared to be primally satisfied and happy while golfing. Just keep it fairly light until the 19th, ok? A little hunger is good for pace! Envision that 19th Hole with patience and anticipation; in other words, avoid indulgence fatigue.
Every round is war, like you're in a playoff for The Open against Sergio Garcia and you're three behind with five to play. Terminate the enemy by beating par, the course and its record! Yeah that'll happen. Just consider the fact that every shot counts, Tiger.
Mr. Monk & the Sand Trap
Adrian was last seen arranging the grains of sand on #14 at Augusta National.
