87. The top player does not picture himself failing so he is not surprised when he hits a great shot. He is temporarily stunned though when on the rare occasion, he does miscue badly

The subject for this lesson is Hypnosis and I do not mean the type displayed on stage by characters in glittering suits who go by  the name of "The Great Marvo."  I am relating to Self Hypnosis. Many people from Actors to Public Speakers, Politicians to Professional sportspersons use Self Hypnosis as a means to enhancing their ability to perform. The technique makes you more receptive to positive suggestions and mental imagery which in turn creates greater confidence in your ability, so making you capable of better performance

It is impossible cover the subject in a 500 word column. There are many great publications in the book shops for that as well as practicing Hypnotherapists listed in yellow pages. All I aim to do is bring it to your attention and ask you keep an open mind and hopefully pursue it. It is a must for the serious competitor, and can prove helpful for the fun player. I dare say there are plenty of skeptics still about but I can assure you, you will find few skeptics in the ranks of the modern successful sports performers. The top performers are at the top because they are better mentally prepared.

Lesser able golfers instinctively gravitate to the negative side of the game when for instance they are faced with a bunker in front of them or maybe a long carry over water, or maybe a 3 foot putt. They are never surprised when they fluff the shot because they are always seeing themselves failing. They are however very surprised when they hit a great shot The top player on the other hand does not picture himselffailing so he is not surprised when he hits a great shot. He is temporarily stunned though when on the rare occasion, he does miscue badly.

Quite simply, if you see yourself performing badly in your mind, you will perform badly on the course. See yourself performing well in your mind strongly enough and you will see marked improvement in your game. Golf is a Self Fulfilling Prophecy where the pessimist is always right and the optimist is always right. Several years back I read this extract by Denise Lewis in her "Olympic Diary" for the Daily Telegraph as she was in the process of winning the Gold Medal in the Heptathlon

Sept 22nd. "Made sure I am totally hydrated. Afternoon sleep. Read for a couple of hours, then Mental rehearsal. I see myself hurdling. Try to see if Eunice Barber is in the next lane, she is, adrenaline kicks in, mouth goes a bit dry". 

So effective is she at running the mental rehearsal, she actually gets the bodies engine room fired up. Explosive sports like track and field events require visualization of short duration; i.e. the hurdles take about 13 seconds. Golf is a slow "release" sport and your success is dependant on you staying focused for 4 hours. That means keeping the negative vibes at bay with strong positive images. It requires strong discipline and the top players do it so well they appear to spend their entire round in a trance like state which sadly sometimes gives them the appearance of been aloof.

I will leave you with the following quote from Bob Toski, the well known American
golf coach. "Most golfers prepare for disaster. A good player prepares for success."