First
Aid
The Competitive Edge Part II - Mental
exercise drills
by
Dr. Gary Wiren,
PGA Master Instructor
In the last issue of FORE FLORIDA, we discussed the general
concept of controlling your mind as the "missing link" to improving
golf performance. This month, we are focusing on six specific mental
exercise drills that you can practice to change your self-concept and
enhance your competitive edge over your golf opponents.
The following six mental exercise drills are to be practiced
each day for 10 minutes and then repeated just before beginning a
round...preferably in a quiet place away from others. These drill
instructions can be kept in a desk drawer, on a card in a golf bag,
or wherever it is most handy.
Drill Number 1
Tension is the great destroyer of the golf swing. We too often
approach our game with mind and body racing. This is not conducive to
good golf. This drill will relax and prepare mind and body for the
remaining five exercises:
I
will close my eyes and begin to relax; imagining that I'm in a very
restful place...the beach, woods, a mountain, a meadow or a cozy
room on a snowy night. My body will feel very relaxed. First my hands
and fingers. Then my forearms, free from tension. Then my biceps and
now my shoulders feeling very heavy. Then my neck, my head. My facial
muscles are loose, very loose. Now the back of my neck and upper back
muscles are releasing tension, my chest and stomach are relaxed. I am
feeling free of tension. Very relaxed. Now my legs and buttocks, my
thighs, knees and calves. My feet and toes feel as though all tension
is draining out. I feel very calm...calm and relaxed...calm and
confident.
Drill Number 2
We must think of ourselves as good players or we won't be good.
Thinking of oneself also as a smart player will help us make better
on-course decisions, particularly those that require a reason to
conquer ego. This drill will help players do both.
The last part of this drill underscores a point a great NFL
quarterback made recently when asked whether the huge NFL defensive
linemen intimidated him during his years as an all-pro.
"I respect them," he said, "but I'm a pro and I know what I can do
and I don't let them keep me from doing it."
We all know what we can do on a golf course. We are the only ones
who can let ourselves to be intimidated or feel inferior.
One
of golf's wisest sayings is: Don't quit, for you never know what
might happen. This drill also will instill that tenacity...plus the
maturity to admit to a score without a bunch of excuses, but rather
with a plan to do better next time. I am a good player...a smart
player. Like a professional I know what I can do. I do not let my
fellow players, the course or any spectators influence me or keep me
from doing what I know I can do. I am tough. I don't quit. And I
don't need excuses.
Drill Number 3
Creating positive mental images is as important to scoring well as
is creating clubhead speed. Good players see good results just before
they swing.
The ability to recapture and focus on the feeling of past
successful shots will help a player program himself for the shot at
hand. The keenness with which one is able to sense and imagine will
be seen in the ability to score.
Some days these qualities and powers come easier than others.
Research has shown that mental practice will help bring some measure
of consistency to this ability.
I know what my best swing
looks like and I will visualize it again, again, and again. I know
what my best shots have felt like and I will sense that feeling
again, again, and again.
Drill Number 4
A routine helps with precision and consistency, two companions of
good golf. It also reduces tension by occupying the mind with
thoughts of shot preparation rather than negative images.
Most good players have established routines. This drill is aimed
at helping those without one to begin developing one. It will also
help those with a pre-shot routine by strengthening their powers of
recall and imagery.
I will go through the
following steps before each shot (steps may vary from player to
player);
„Analyze the wind, lie and other
conditions in relationship to where I can reasonably expect to hit
the shot at hand.
„Select my club accordingly.
„Visualize the shot, from the moment
it leaves the club face to the place where I want it to land.
„Feel the swing to make the
shot.
„Complete preparation to
swing.
„Focus on the target, a cue or key
swing thought.
„Twist and swing.
Drill Number 5
This drill is aimed at reminding us what competitive golf is all
about. Even if we do not play regularly in tournaments, we are always
competing against the course and ourselves.
There's a world of difference between playing "for fun" and
playing in competition when you have to put a number on the board.
Competitive
golf is a game of numbers. I know that and I'll play like I know
that. I'll be prepared to answer the question: What did you
shoot?
Drill Number 6
A strategy should be developed for every round you play. Standing
on the first tee without a plan on where you would like your tee-shot
to land will most likely result in that ball coming to rest in a
place you don't want it to be.
Golf is like chess. It requires a certain amount of thinking ahead
while focusing on the task at hand.
I
am now going to play a tee-to-green round in my mind, on the course I
am about to play or will be playing in the not too distant
future...and I'll see only positive results on each and every shot
that I play.
Summary
If practiced regularly, these six drills can help improve
attitude, self-concept, state of relaxation, ability to focus, powers
of imagery, body awareness and course management habits.
Practicing the competitive edge, or a version of it, can be the
most productive 10 minutes of daily golf improvement a golfer can
invest. It must be practiced daily, however.The dividends will not
seep through the storage pocket of a bag, or through a desk drawer,
by osmosis to your mind and body.
Players must accept the need for mental practice with the same
conviction that they embrace the benefits of hitting practice balls.
And when they do, the range practice, the drills and the lessons from
their PGA professional will take on a new value.
Gary Wiren is a PGA Master Instructor and a Ph.D.
He operates "Golf Around the World" in Lake Park, Florida. The
company conducts golf seminars, schools and personal visits, and
sells golf teaching aids, books and videotapes. Call 561-625-1928 or
800-824-4279 for information.
Garyw@floridagolfing.com
