48. To know the mind of a better player is very difficult but you can begin by watching, or noticing, their body language

Only the other day, I overheard a group of people discussing diet and the best way of losing weight. Everything from cabbage soup brews to mouth watering fruit and lettuce leaf programmes were suggested along with the more extreme measures of having either your jaw wired up or stomach stapled to half size. Eventually, one of the group piped up and agreed that whilst all the diet plans had merits, true dieting as in losing weight and keeping it off is a "Holistic" thing. She went on to explain that it can only be successful if you embrace a whole new way of living which requires a totally new mindset. Effective dieting, she explained, is more than eating less food; it requires you live and think as a "lighter person" would live and think and do it consistently for the rest of your life.

This really struck because it reflects totally the golfing problem. Many times, I tell players that to play to a 9 handicap, you need to think as a 9 handicap player thinks. Cast your mind back to several years when Justin Rose turned Pro immediately after his 4th place "Open" finish. He was still an amateur player, even though he signed his "Pro" papers, because his mindset was still in the amateur mode. His journey through the wilderness of 21 missed cuts on the Pro tour was when he took on the mindset of the Tour Pro until finally in 2002 his great talent revealed itself with 4 tour wins and a strong showing in the Open that year.

Repeating 10 times a day, "I want to get better" and expecting it to happen is a complete waste of time. Start your route to improvement by trying to get into the mind of a better player. Good Golf is a Holistic experience. It is far deeper than making a "good pivot in the backswing" or "hip release through the ball." You have to get into the good players mindset to see where he or she is coming from. There is a saying that goes, "If you want to know more, notice more". To know the mind of a better player is very difficult but you can begin by watching, or noticing, their body language.

If you doubt this science, just ask yourself what a very depressed person’s posture would be; stooped spine, slumped shoulders, eyes looking down, shallow breathing, and slack jaw. Do you see the message? Likewise, a person who has just been informed of a huge lottery win would communicate it through his body actions. These are extremes but even so, the more subtle states of mind set are still communicated through body language. We simply need to be more observant.

(There is a wealth of information on the power of physiology in “Awaken the Giant Within” and “Unlimited Power” by Tony Robbins.)