Mental Coaching
Course Performance: Mental Coaching
A Message from Katherine:
I have a saying on and off the golf course: “Stay in your comfort zone and you will remain the same. Push beyond the comfort zone and you will make the changes you desire. Living outside of your ‘box’ is where the change occurs.”
When we do not push ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually we become like the stagnant mud at the bottom of the lake.
In fitness, I expect my students to push themselves to create change. This does not mean pushing beyond the point of intense pain or causing injury, it refers to pushing beyond the comfort zone. I have often written that “feeling discomfort in the muscles is acceptable, pain is not acceptable.”
These concepts are exactly why all my books, DVDs and articles are presented in the Par, Birdie and Eagle formats. While developing a fitness program remember these three words, modify, modify and modify the poses. Once you have modified the pose to accommodate your current physical condition, and then push outside your comfort zone once positioned in the pose. Breathe, move inward, focus on your core and lengthen the spine.
The intention with which you approach your fitness is a direct correlation to the way you approach golf and life.
Exploding down the Fairway
by John Zulli
The Little Dragon
Martial arts legend Bruce Lee was a mere 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighted 145 pounds yet he had the power to send opponents nearly twice his size flying backward with a punch that traveled the distance of only one inch. Curiously, the secret to Bruce’s one inch punch, and your key to harnessing explosive force on the fairway, is relaxation.
Say Goodbye to Tee Block Jitters & Hello to Higher Performance
Here is a universal rule: Tension impedes performance. Physical tension stifles fluid movement and inhibits control. Worst, physical tension quickly converts into mental tension causing you to lose focus, hurry shots and feel frustrated. When Bruce approached his opponent he kept his body ready but relaxed. Free of unnecessary resistance, Lee’s muscles moved with smooth, lightening speed; instantly converting grace and velocity into greater power. Because muscle control also creates mental control, relaxation gave Bruce laser like concentration. When all the muscles in his body simultaneously came into play and were directed into his target, the resulting kinetic explosion was enormous.
Putting Relaxation into Play
It is time to create some explosive power of your own. This simple technique discharges needless tension from the body and increases mental focus. Before you approach the ball, inhale and slightly tense all the muscles from your feet to the top of your head and out into your arms and hands. Hold your breath, keep your muscles tight and count to three. On the number three exhale and let your muscles relax. Repeat this cycle of breathing, tensing and relaxing just a few times. You are not trying to turn your body into silly putty. Your goal is to develop a sense of “muscle mastery” that leads to greater concentration and composure. Now when you swing, your relaxed muscles respond quickly and efficiently and you generate more energy with less effort. Integrate this tense and relax cycle into your game and you will be blasting the ball off the tee in no time.
About John Zulli:
“Developing mind-body mastery is easier then dancing the Hokey Pokey”, says author, speaker and seminar leader John Zulli. And Zulli has proved it! From Senior Pro Tour Players looking to lower their score to pregnant moms aiming for an easy delivery, his powerful approach to peak performance has worked magic in thousands of lives. John has taken his message and authored The Mind Rules: Master the 3 powerful principles that rule your performance, success, and happiness.
John A. Zulli
San Luis Obispo, CA
805-627-1599
jaz@themindrules.com
www.themindrules.com
The Power of Suggestion
by Jennifer Scott, Clinical Hypnotherapist
Have you ever seen Stage Hypnosis?
If you haven’t, make sure you do. There’s no better way of understanding the Power of Suggestion then by watching a Stage Hypnotist at work.You’ll watch people act as if there’s a terrible smell of rotten eggs in the room and then switch — before your eyes — to believing that they’re inhaling a delightful fragrance of roses. How can this be? Is the Hypnotist playing some kind of trick and acting like a magician? Not at all. He has gained access to their Subconscious Mind.
As soon as your Subconscious Mind does not reject a statement, it will accept everything else you tell it as true. When you watch a Stage Hypnotist at work, you’re there to be entertained. But the Power of Suggestion also works in a clinical setting. Diehard smokers become unable to smoke. Chocoholics lose all desire for chocolate. And what about golfers? Those with low self-esteem can turn on a dime and believe they’re winners. As long as you and your Subconscious Mind don’t reject the idea that you’re a winner — that you can lower your handicap — that you can win your club tournament — you can make positive, powerful changes in your game.
For those of you who have bought my CD, “Own The Zone,” I have a suggestion: Listen consistently every day for three weeks to “The Golfing Journey” on the second CD. You’ll be amazed at the improvement in your playing. It won’t be an accident, a lucky break or magic. You will have persuaded your Subconscious Mind through the power of my suggestions. If you haven’t bought my CD, try repeating either of these two thoughts before you go to sleep at night: “Infinite intelligence leads and guides me in all my ways.”
“The principles of right action and Divine Order govern my entire life.” These two positive ideas are taken from The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, written by Joseph Murphy in 1963. They can be very effective at neutralizing self-deprecation.Your Subconscious is receptive to these suggestions right before you fall asleep and just as you are slowly waking. If you say either of these two phrases for three weeks, you’ll be amazed at how much calmer and more peaceful you’ll be both in your everyday life and on the golf course. Of course, “Own The Zone,” which is tailored specifically for improving your golf game, will probably help you even more!
About Jennifer Scott:
Seen on The Golf Channel, Jennifer Scott is now the Mental Fitness Expert for Golf Magazine’s website, www.golfonline.com. You can see her monthly articles there under “Fitness.” Jennifer is author of “Own The Zone,T” a 2 CD audio set for golfers, to which GOLF Magazine gave the highest rating. She welcomes your questions and comments.
Jennifer Scott
Scottsdale, AZ
480-483-6941
jscott@ownthezonegolf.com
ownthezonegolf.com
Fixate on Your Target
by Jennifer Scott, Clinical Hypnotherapist
Here’s a Mental Tip that can jump start your season of golf.
It goes without saying that learning how to groove your swing in a nice easy rhythm will go a long way to improving your golf. But it can’t go all the way. Because there’s something else out there that’s equally important.
The Target.
Since accuracy is just as important as distance, fixate your attention on the target in your pre-shot routine. Focus not just in a general way, but also on something very specific. For example, don’t just look at a tree or a shrub. Concentrate on a specific branch of that tree or a spot on that shrub.
In putting, focus on a blade of grass or a spot on the green or an edge of the hole. This will not only help in your aim, it will also help distract your conscious mind away from all that useless mental chatter.
By focusing intensely on a very specific target, you’re creating a neural pathway — an energy connection between you and the target. Now hold it in your mind’s eye.
The more focused you are on your target, the more powerful that pathway will become. Then, when you’re ready to swing and you’re looking down at your ball, the image of the trajectory of your ball moving towards its target becomes so strong that your Subconscious Mind gets triggered. And it knows just what to do. It initiates your swing, moves your arms, hips and shoulders back. They coil, “load up” at the top of your backswing, and then uncoil. Whoosh! Your ball heads majestically and purposefully towards its target.
For those of you who have listened to my audio CD program, “Own The Zone™,” you’ve already experienced — in Self Hypnosis — the power of target focus by taking a deep breath and saying the trigger words: “Level B, Relax Now.”
Why not reinforce this experience by listening to “A Golfing Journey” (on the set’s second disk) at least three times a week, so you have both added confidence and a deeper experience of this energy connection. It will pay off for you.
For those who have not purchased “Own The Zone™,” here’s a routine for you to try:
As you address the ball, take one last long look at the target, “burning in” the image. Take a deep breath, look down at your ball and let it out slowly as you swing. Your Subconscious Mind will take over. And the more your Subconscious Mind is in control, the less you’ll worry, fidget, analyze and just generally think too much.
Next time you play, fixate on your target, not on your swing.
About Jennifer Scott:
Many golfers have written to me about the exciting improvement in their game! I never tire of these stories, so please keep sending them! They help me better understand how to fine-tune my program.
I’m a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist with offices here in Scottsdale, Arizona. You can call me at 480-483-6941 or you can email me here or from my website, ownthezonegolf.com
Jennifer Scott
Scottsdale, AZ
480-483-6941
jscott@ownthezonegolf.com
ownthezonegolf.com
Your Most Powerful Tool
by Denise Hatch, Hypnotherapist
Your mind is your most powerful tool. If it’s not working for you, it’s working against you. There is no in-between, and no idle thoughts. So how do we make the mind work for us on the course? The most accomplished athletes in the world will tell you, it’s not as much about the skill level as it is about the level of mental discipline.
Mental discipline starts with the understanding of thought. Every thought takes form at some level. Becoming aware of our thought is the first step to getting a handle on it. Let’s look at what occurs on the golf course. When approaching your ball, recognize the self-talk, the thoughts that are occurring, knowing that a predisposed pathway is already in place for those thoughts that arise at this time, positive or negative. This pathway is reinforced every time you approach the ball. If you have had mental training in this area, you may already have a pre-routine that gets you focused, and that’s the goal, taking the thought where it needs to be and away from that which is self defeating.
The pre-routine ritual that you perform when you step up to the ball, whether it is a practiced one or one that you are unaware of, is in place. If it is self defeating the work that must be done is to be vigilant of the thoughts, stop the pattern and create a new pattern or pathway. Think of it as a routine that gets you centered and focused.
The human mind focuses on approximately 9-12 things at any given time. An accomplished athlete narrows that 9-12 to 2.
A good pre-routine might consist of a deep seven-count inhalation and an exhalation of seven through the mouth, lips parted. Saying to yourself on the exhale just two things you want to focus on. Example: I am calm and confident and I swing to my target. Use your breath with the things you want to focus on and set up your routine for the perfect shot every time.
Denise Hatch
Denise4health@aol.com
How about that Chattering Mind?
by Katherine Roberts
The root of the Sanskrit word yoga is yug, which translates to the union of the mind, body and breath. A yogi or one who practices yoga, uses the postures to change the body from inflexibility to flexibility, from fatigue to strength, from an over active mind to level of quietness never experienced before.
Many PGA and LPGA professionals like Gary McCord, Andrew Magee and Annika Sorenstam are utilizing the benefits of yoga for better golf. In the words of Gary McCord, “Preparing for golf, from the viewpoint of a professional, is an exhaustive task. You have to tighten your swing, practice your short game, get in the right frame of mind and get physically fit. Or you can practice yoga and accomplish all of the above,”
Amateur golfers looking for increased strength and flexibility are gravitating toward yoga. Bruce Ollstein, Super Coach and author of the bestseller Combat Golf believes, “All warriors and athletes must be highly conditioned and maintain flexibility to protect themselves from injury and increase the probability of success. Yoga is an excellent path to gaining that advantage.”
Thinking you can’t do yoga because your leg doesn’t go behind your head? Not true. Yoga is now the fastest growing form of exercise in America. There are many styles of yoga, from the most physically active called Ashtanga or Power yoga, to the more meditative and gentle style of Kundalini. There are numerous beginner yoga classes and tapes out on the market; even yoga tapes specifically designed to address golf specific issues. When investigating the style that is right for your fitness level, ask the instructor about the necessary physical requirements, duration and intensity of the class.
