What do desire, belief and patience have in common? They are all important ingredients of success in anything that you do or try to accomplish. If you want to shoot lower scores, take an honest look at the above recipe to see what you could be doing better.
Let’s start with desire. How strong is your desire to lower your score? On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the highest, if you are not doing everything under your control to improve your golf, your desire is less than a ten. That’s OK as long as you realize that your success will be limited according to the actions you are, or are not, taking.
If you claim to desire scores lower than what you are willing to work for, you do not have a desire. You have a wish. A wish will never be strong enough to attain the scores you supposedly desire. You have two choices. Either change your goal and accept higher scores, or take more action to lower them. Why frustrate yourself if you only have a wish and not a strong desire?
If you truly have a desire and are backing it up with positive thoughts and actions, you have to believe that your efforts will pay off in the end. Otherwise, why do the work? It is important to believe in the processes that you are working on to improve. If you have selected legitimate processes that will result in lower scores, don’t keep looking over your shoulder at your scores until you have mastered the process.
Always keep in mind that the outcome is merely a by-product of the process. Keep focusing on improving the process until your lower scores become a reality. What happens in many cases is the golfer gives up on the process before the results appear, and blames it on the process not working. Rarely does the golfer blame himself for not working the process.
Instead of always looking for new techniques, training devices or equipment to try out in the hope of lowering your score, have patience and master what you are working on. When you plant a seed in a garden, you don’t dig it up before it has a chance to grow and bloom. Patience is a very important part of the learning process and golf.
When you play golf, belief and patience work together. Before attempting any golf shot, you must totally believe that you can make the shot if everything goes right. Otherwise, change your shot selection. You must believe in your percentages of success for making the shot and have the patience to trust the process.
You won’t make all of your shots, but if you are patient and believe in your ability to make your share of shots, you will be a lot more successful and accomplish your desire to shoot lower scores.
Used by permission of the author Michael Anthony
Golfballs.com
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Buying Those First Golf Clubs
Several years ago two of my sons harassed me to go golfing. I finally agreed just to get them to leave me alone, after nine holes I knew that I had found the release from the stress of my job at the time. I was so taken with the game I went directly to Wal-Mart and grabbed the first set they had on the shelf. It did not take me long to learn the importance of using clubs that fit. Choosing the right clubs for you from all the different brand names can get very confusing.
To the untrained eye a golf club is just a golf club, one is not different from another; but the pros know that there is a big difference between a golf club and the right golf club. Golf clubs have been designed to help you achieve your best in the game so if you get the right one you’ll play the right game. If you are a beginner, you need to know how to go about getting the right golf clubs to be able to enjoy playing the game. Let me help you make good decisions while searching for your first set of clubs.
Feel free to ask for expert opinions about clubs. Visit your local Pro Shop or Sporting Good Store for a swing evaluation, your grip size, club length, and flex. This will go a long way in determining the right club for you. Let golf experts tell you the necessary things in getting a good golf club. You can use the internet to check out reviews, expert opinions, and recommendations about what the best golf club should be and feel like. While the experts may give you textbook answers or things that work for them, it’s up to you to find out what works for you.
Getting the right golf clubs is important to playing the right game. To do this easily you should seek expert opinion, use the internet to narrow down your search. Then shop around and compare pricing on the internet and Pro Shops. Remember you don’t have to spend a fortune on your first set.
To the untrained eye a golf club is just a golf club, one is not different from another; but the pros know that there is a big difference between a golf club and the right golf club. Golf clubs have been designed to help you achieve your best in the game so if you get the right one you’ll play the right game. If you are a beginner, you need to know how to go about getting the right golf clubs to be able to enjoy playing the game. Let me help you make good decisions while searching for your first set of clubs.
Let Experts be Your Guide
Feel free to ask for expert opinions about clubs. Visit your local Pro Shop or Sporting Good Store for a swing evaluation, your grip size, club length, and flex. This will go a long way in determining the right club for you. Let golf experts tell you the necessary things in getting a good golf club. You can use the internet to check out reviews, expert opinions, and recommendations about what the best golf club should be and feel like. While the experts may give you textbook answers or things that work for them, it’s up to you to find out what works for you.
Getting the right golf clubs is important to playing the right game. To do this easily you should seek expert opinion, use the internet to narrow down your search. Then shop around and compare pricing on the internet and Pro Shops. Remember you don’t have to spend a fortune on your first set.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
It's Half the Battle, Your Emotions Part 7
"Training, Training, Training"
After a friendly game with a stranger, he bought me a drink and told me that I had intimidated him. Then he said firmly, "I don't get intimidated."
I asked him why he got intimidated. He replied that my level of confidence never changed whether I made or missed a shot and I always played as if I would make the shot. Then I asked him what he did. He told me that he coached wrestling and was the lead man for a swat team.
Being curious, I asked him what exactly does the lead man for a swat team do. He told me that he was the first person through the door and his job was to take out whoever was on the right side of the hallway or room before he was shot or killed.
I told him that I was a mental trainer and asked him how he mentally prepares himself to do his job. He told me that it's the same for wrestling or being the first one through the door. Training, training, training was his answer.
He trains himself to focus totally on executing the process without any fear or concern about the outcome. I asked him if he had any fear. He said his only fear was that the second man through the door behind him wouldn't take out whoever was on the left side of the hallway or room.
Then he told me that he relies on his partner's training to keep him out of harms way. Can you rely on your mental training to keep you out of harms way on the golf course or do you still get emotionally involved and think about the outcome?
Scientific research has revealed that human beings learn and remember what they have learned through repetition. Isn't it amazing then, that so many golfers expect to read a piece of information one time and retain it forever?
You may think my mental tips are somewhat repetitious, but that's OK. They are designed to be repetitious to help you stop focusing on the outcome and keep polishing the wheel until you have the best mental game around. Once you have a great mental game, it's important to keep training, training, training to keep it that way.
Used by permission of the author Michael Anthony
If you are not working on improving your mental game, you are playing golf with only half of the equipment. If you have not read "The Mental Keys to Improve Your Golf," your mental game will benefit greatly by seeing the whole picture instead of just pieces contained in these mental tips. My book gives you the tools to improve your mental game. My CD "Using The Mental Keys to Polish the Wheel" makes it much easier to keep using them.
"To develop a great mental game it's critical to realize that your mental state affects the chemistry of your brain which in turn affects your ability to perform. Then, it's just a matter of reprogramming your mind to optimize your chemistry so you can play in the zone."
- Michael Anthony
After a friendly game with a stranger, he bought me a drink and told me that I had intimidated him. Then he said firmly, "I don't get intimidated."
I asked him why he got intimidated. He replied that my level of confidence never changed whether I made or missed a shot and I always played as if I would make the shot. Then I asked him what he did. He told me that he coached wrestling and was the lead man for a swat team.
Being curious, I asked him what exactly does the lead man for a swat team do. He told me that he was the first person through the door and his job was to take out whoever was on the right side of the hallway or room before he was shot or killed.
I told him that I was a mental trainer and asked him how he mentally prepares himself to do his job. He told me that it's the same for wrestling or being the first one through the door. Training, training, training was his answer.
He trains himself to focus totally on executing the process without any fear or concern about the outcome. I asked him if he had any fear. He said his only fear was that the second man through the door behind him wouldn't take out whoever was on the left side of the hallway or room.
Then he told me that he relies on his partner's training to keep him out of harms way. Can you rely on your mental training to keep you out of harms way on the golf course or do you still get emotionally involved and think about the outcome?
Scientific research has revealed that human beings learn and remember what they have learned through repetition. Isn't it amazing then, that so many golfers expect to read a piece of information one time and retain it forever?
You may think my mental tips are somewhat repetitious, but that's OK. They are designed to be repetitious to help you stop focusing on the outcome and keep polishing the wheel until you have the best mental game around. Once you have a great mental game, it's important to keep training, training, training to keep it that way.
Used by permission of the author Michael Anthony
If you are not working on improving your mental game, you are playing golf with only half of the equipment. If you have not read "The Mental Keys to Improve Your Golf," your mental game will benefit greatly by seeing the whole picture instead of just pieces contained in these mental tips. My book gives you the tools to improve your mental game. My CD "Using The Mental Keys to Polish the Wheel" makes it much easier to keep using them.
"To develop a great mental game it's critical to realize that your mental state affects the chemistry of your brain which in turn affects your ability to perform. Then, it's just a matter of reprogramming your mind to optimize your chemistry so you can play in the zone."
- Michael Anthony
Thursday, December 23, 2010
It's Half the Battle, Your Emotions Part 6
"Improve While You Sleep"
When you go to sleep, your brain is very busy processing all the thoughts and actions that went on your tape during the day. It is preparing how to respond in the future. This fact makes sleeping one of the best times to improve your golf and mental game.
Unfortunately, most golfers don't take advantage of this opportunity to get better and lower their score. Typically what happens after a round of golf, golfers get together and share their war stories about how they got robbed by old man golf and how they should have shot a lower score. Then on the way home they talk to themselves in frustration about their bad shots or the score that they could or should have shot.
Rarely, do golfers take an honest look at how they played and use the feedback to find ways to improve. Unfortunately, they have trained their tapes to dwell on the negatives instead of making lemonade out of the lemons. As a result when they go to sleep that night, their brains are busy processing this information so that their tapes will have them repeat the same scenario the next time they play.
Fortunately, you can reprogram your tape to change for the better since the last input on your tape has the biggest impact on your brain's responses. So instead of dwelling on the bad shots or mistakes that happened during your round of golf with negative emotions, start looking at the feedback objectively for a way to improve.
If you don't do this, your tape is going to remember all the bad shots that you made and it's going to program itself to repeat all those bad shots the next time that you play. However, if you take the time to critique yourself and tell your tape how to improve all those bad shots in your mind, while you are sleeping your brain will start telling your tape to get better the next time you play.
Used by permission of the author Michael Anthony
If you do this every time you play, you will be amazed at how much you can improve while you sleep. If you want help reprogramming your tape, listen to Part Two of my CD "Using The Mental Keys to Polish the Wheel" on your drive home from the golf course or before going to bed.
Before you go to sleep reflect on the feedback from your last round of golf and tell your tape how you would like to play the next time. If you do, I'll be happy to post your comments about how much better you're playing in the future.
If you are not working on improving your mental game, you are playing golf with only half of the equipment. If you have not read "The Mental Keys to Improve Your Golf," your mental game will benefit greatly by seeing the whole picture instead of just pieces contained in these mental tips. My book gives you the tools to improve your mental game. My CD "Using The Mental Keys to Polish the Wheel" makes it much easier to keep using them.
"To develop a great mental game it's critical to realize that your mental state affects the chemistry of your brain which in turn affects your ability to perform. Then, it's just a matter of reprogramming your mind to optimize your chemistry so you can play in the zone."
- Michael Anthony
When you go to sleep, your brain is very busy processing all the thoughts and actions that went on your tape during the day. It is preparing how to respond in the future. This fact makes sleeping one of the best times to improve your golf and mental game.
Unfortunately, most golfers don't take advantage of this opportunity to get better and lower their score. Typically what happens after a round of golf, golfers get together and share their war stories about how they got robbed by old man golf and how they should have shot a lower score. Then on the way home they talk to themselves in frustration about their bad shots or the score that they could or should have shot.
Rarely, do golfers take an honest look at how they played and use the feedback to find ways to improve. Unfortunately, they have trained their tapes to dwell on the negatives instead of making lemonade out of the lemons. As a result when they go to sleep that night, their brains are busy processing this information so that their tapes will have them repeat the same scenario the next time they play.
Fortunately, you can reprogram your tape to change for the better since the last input on your tape has the biggest impact on your brain's responses. So instead of dwelling on the bad shots or mistakes that happened during your round of golf with negative emotions, start looking at the feedback objectively for a way to improve.
If you don't do this, your tape is going to remember all the bad shots that you made and it's going to program itself to repeat all those bad shots the next time that you play. However, if you take the time to critique yourself and tell your tape how to improve all those bad shots in your mind, while you are sleeping your brain will start telling your tape to get better the next time you play.
Used by permission of the author Michael Anthony
If you do this every time you play, you will be amazed at how much you can improve while you sleep. If you want help reprogramming your tape, listen to Part Two of my CD "Using The Mental Keys to Polish the Wheel" on your drive home from the golf course or before going to bed.
Before you go to sleep reflect on the feedback from your last round of golf and tell your tape how you would like to play the next time. If you do, I'll be happy to post your comments about how much better you're playing in the future.
If you are not working on improving your mental game, you are playing golf with only half of the equipment. If you have not read "The Mental Keys to Improve Your Golf," your mental game will benefit greatly by seeing the whole picture instead of just pieces contained in these mental tips. My book gives you the tools to improve your mental game. My CD "Using The Mental Keys to Polish the Wheel" makes it much easier to keep using them.
"To develop a great mental game it's critical to realize that your mental state affects the chemistry of your brain which in turn affects your ability to perform. Then, it's just a matter of reprogramming your mind to optimize your chemistry so you can play in the zone."
- Michael Anthony
Friday, December 17, 2010
It's Half the Battle, Your Emotions Part 5
"How to Regroup -- Quickly"
What do you do when you start out slow or fast and your game falls apart? How do you regroup quickly while you are playing a round of golf before it's too late and you end up with a higher score than you are capable of shooting?
If you don't have a plan for regrouping quickly, here are three questions that will help you get back on track fast. First, ask yourself "What time is it?" The answer is always NOW.
If you are upset about previous bad shots, you are living in the past. If you have fear about repeating past bad shots, you are living in the future. By asking yourself "What time is it?" you are reminding yourself that you can only play in the present, which is NOW. How well you perform in the present determines how well you execute your next shot. So stop agonizing about the past and worrying about the future and realize that NOW is the only time that exists.
Once you are in the present, ask yourself "Is my glass half full or half empty?" Every shot has a probability of success of making the shot and a probability of failure of not making the shot. If you are thinking about the probability of missing your next shot, you are playing with a glass that is half empty. At this point, start focusing totally on the probability of making your next shot so you can play with a glass that is half full. See my previous tip four "Half Full or Half Empty."
The final question to ask yourself is "Do I believe?" This question has two parts. One, do you believe that you can make the next shot if everything goes right? Two, do you believe that everything can go right? No one is a fortune teller and you don't know what will happen, but if you BELIEVE that you can make the shot if everything goes right and BELIEVE that everything can go right, you raise your chemistry and increase the probability of making your next shot.
If you don't BELIEVE, you are back at question one where you are not in the present or at question two where your glass is half empty.
If this is the case, make sure you have a talk with yourself and ask yourself these three questions. What time is it? Is my glass half full? Do I believe? If your answers are NOW, YES and YES, you will regroup very quickly. If not, old man golf is going to have a field day and kick your butt.
Since it takes time to reprogram your tape, start asking yourself these questions NOW before your next round of golf when the battle begins on the six inch golf course between your ears. If you do, you will regroup quickly. It's your choice.
Used by permission of the author Michael Anthony
If you are not working on improving your mental game, you are playing golf with only half of the equipment. If you have not read "The Mental Keys to Improve Your Golf," your mental game will benefit greatly by seeing the whole picture instead of just pieces contained in these mental tips. My book gives you the tools to improve your mental game. My CD "Using The Mental Keys to Polish the Wheel" makes it much easier to keep using them.
"To develop a great mental game it's critical to realize that your mental state affects the chemistry of your brain which in turn affects your ability to perform. Then, it's just a matter of reprogramming your mind to optimize your chemistry so you can play in the zone."
- Michael Anthony
What do you do when you start out slow or fast and your game falls apart? How do you regroup quickly while you are playing a round of golf before it's too late and you end up with a higher score than you are capable of shooting?
If you don't have a plan for regrouping quickly, here are three questions that will help you get back on track fast. First, ask yourself "What time is it?" The answer is always NOW.
If you are upset about previous bad shots, you are living in the past. If you have fear about repeating past bad shots, you are living in the future. By asking yourself "What time is it?" you are reminding yourself that you can only play in the present, which is NOW. How well you perform in the present determines how well you execute your next shot. So stop agonizing about the past and worrying about the future and realize that NOW is the only time that exists.
Once you are in the present, ask yourself "Is my glass half full or half empty?" Every shot has a probability of success of making the shot and a probability of failure of not making the shot. If you are thinking about the probability of missing your next shot, you are playing with a glass that is half empty. At this point, start focusing totally on the probability of making your next shot so you can play with a glass that is half full. See my previous tip four "Half Full or Half Empty."
The final question to ask yourself is "Do I believe?" This question has two parts. One, do you believe that you can make the next shot if everything goes right? Two, do you believe that everything can go right? No one is a fortune teller and you don't know what will happen, but if you BELIEVE that you can make the shot if everything goes right and BELIEVE that everything can go right, you raise your chemistry and increase the probability of making your next shot.
If you don't BELIEVE, you are back at question one where you are not in the present or at question two where your glass is half empty.
If this is the case, make sure you have a talk with yourself and ask yourself these three questions. What time is it? Is my glass half full? Do I believe? If your answers are NOW, YES and YES, you will regroup very quickly. If not, old man golf is going to have a field day and kick your butt.
Since it takes time to reprogram your tape, start asking yourself these questions NOW before your next round of golf when the battle begins on the six inch golf course between your ears. If you do, you will regroup quickly. It's your choice.
Used by permission of the author Michael Anthony
If you are not working on improving your mental game, you are playing golf with only half of the equipment. If you have not read "The Mental Keys to Improve Your Golf," your mental game will benefit greatly by seeing the whole picture instead of just pieces contained in these mental tips. My book gives you the tools to improve your mental game. My CD "Using The Mental Keys to Polish the Wheel" makes it much easier to keep using them.
"To develop a great mental game it's critical to realize that your mental state affects the chemistry of your brain which in turn affects your ability to perform. Then, it's just a matter of reprogramming your mind to optimize your chemistry so you can play in the zone."
- Michael Anthony
Saturday, December 11, 2010
It's Half the Battle, Your Emotions Part 4
"Half Full or Half Empty?"
The whole goal of the mental game is to create a mental state that optimizes your brain's chemistry, which in turn increases your ability to perform. If you have fear or doubt that you can make a golf shot, you lower your chemistry and decrease your chance of making a successful shot.
You can transform your negative emotions into positive ones by creating a mind set that your glass is always half full. You don't want to play with a glass that is half empty. The liquid is in the middle of the glass, but there can be two different emotions to the same fact. One emotion is positive and one is negative. It is up to you to decide if your glass is half full or half empty.
If you believe that your glass is half full, you will have a higher level of chemistry than if you believe that your glass is half empty. As simple as this concept sounds, it can make the difference between making the shot or missing the shot because it makes the difference between whether your chemistry is high or low.
The way you create the mind set that your glass is always half full is to look at how your probability of success influences your emotions on every golf shot you face. If you have an easy shot, you feel that your glass is half full and you’re confident that you can make it. However, if it’s a very difficult shot, many golfers feel that their glass is half empty and worry about missing the shot.
A way around this up and down swing of emotions is to select only positive emotions when looking at your probability of making the shot. Even if it’s only one in a hundred that you can pull the shot off, you have a choice of focusing on the 99% of not making the shot or the 1% of making the shot if everything goes right and expect everything to go right. Your only other choice is to look for a safer shot if one is available.
If you decide to go for it, you can raise your chemistry by focusing totally on the 1% probability of making the shot and expecting to make it if everything goes right. That’s the key. You have to focus totally on expecting to make the shot if everything goes right and not even think about the 99% probability of not making it.
No one is a fortune teller and you don't know what will happen. However, if you train your tape that your glass is always half full and expect to make the shot if everything goes right, you will elevate your chemistry to a very high level. As a result you will make a lot more shots playing with a glass that is half full, instead of half empty.
The nice thing about it is that it's your choice and it will reflect in your score.
Used by permission of the author Michael Anthony
If you are not working on improving your mental game, you are playing golf with only half of the equipment. If you have not read "The Mental Keys to Improve Your Golf," your mental game will benefit greatly by seeing the whole picture instead of just pieces contained in these mental tips. My book gives you the tools to improve your mental game. My CD "Using The Mental Keys to Polish the Wheel" makes it much easier to keep using them.
"To develop a great mental game it's critical to realize that your mental state affects the chemistry of your brain which in turn affects your ability to perform. Then, it's just a matter of reprogramming your mind to optimize your chemistry so you can play in the zone."
- Michael Anthony
The whole goal of the mental game is to create a mental state that optimizes your brain's chemistry, which in turn increases your ability to perform. If you have fear or doubt that you can make a golf shot, you lower your chemistry and decrease your chance of making a successful shot.
You can transform your negative emotions into positive ones by creating a mind set that your glass is always half full. You don't want to play with a glass that is half empty. The liquid is in the middle of the glass, but there can be two different emotions to the same fact. One emotion is positive and one is negative. It is up to you to decide if your glass is half full or half empty.
If you believe that your glass is half full, you will have a higher level of chemistry than if you believe that your glass is half empty. As simple as this concept sounds, it can make the difference between making the shot or missing the shot because it makes the difference between whether your chemistry is high or low.
The way you create the mind set that your glass is always half full is to look at how your probability of success influences your emotions on every golf shot you face. If you have an easy shot, you feel that your glass is half full and you’re confident that you can make it. However, if it’s a very difficult shot, many golfers feel that their glass is half empty and worry about missing the shot.
A way around this up and down swing of emotions is to select only positive emotions when looking at your probability of making the shot. Even if it’s only one in a hundred that you can pull the shot off, you have a choice of focusing on the 99% of not making the shot or the 1% of making the shot if everything goes right and expect everything to go right. Your only other choice is to look for a safer shot if one is available.
If you decide to go for it, you can raise your chemistry by focusing totally on the 1% probability of making the shot and expecting to make it if everything goes right. That’s the key. You have to focus totally on expecting to make the shot if everything goes right and not even think about the 99% probability of not making it.
No one is a fortune teller and you don't know what will happen. However, if you train your tape that your glass is always half full and expect to make the shot if everything goes right, you will elevate your chemistry to a very high level. As a result you will make a lot more shots playing with a glass that is half full, instead of half empty.
The nice thing about it is that it's your choice and it will reflect in your score.
Used by permission of the author Michael Anthony
If you are not working on improving your mental game, you are playing golf with only half of the equipment. If you have not read "The Mental Keys to Improve Your Golf," your mental game will benefit greatly by seeing the whole picture instead of just pieces contained in these mental tips. My book gives you the tools to improve your mental game. My CD "Using The Mental Keys to Polish the Wheel" makes it much easier to keep using them.
"To develop a great mental game it's critical to realize that your mental state affects the chemistry of your brain which in turn affects your ability to perform. Then, it's just a matter of reprogramming your mind to optimize your chemistry so you can play in the zone."
- Michael Anthony
Saturday, December 4, 2010
It's Half the Battle, Your Emotions Part 3
“Handling Tournament Pressure”
What mind set allows you to have a swing that holds up under the most intense tournament pressure on the professional tours?
The answer is simple, but impossible to achieve with a Western philosophy or mentality of being concerned with the outcome and winning. It starts with the realization that there is no such thing as intense tournament pressure, except what you make of it in your mind.
Pressure only exists if you are concerned about the outcome. Playing a practice round and playing in the U.S. Open are the same exact thing! It is the same 18 holes and Old Man Golf -- everything else is irrelevant. You may disagree with this statement, but it is true.
If your mechanics and strategy are good in practice rounds, you should be able to duplicate them during competition. If your game folds when competing, train your mind to stay in the present and let the outcome take care of itself.
Focus on improving your mechanics and strategy. In time you will become a subconscious competent and your execution will be instinctive. The only purpose of the outcome is to let you know where you stand in terms of feedback and what you have to work on to keep improving. You will be a winner when you deserve to be.
It is imperative that you clearly understand that your emotions affect your brain's chemistry and performance. This is important to understand because you are usually relaxed when you practice since you are not concerned with the outcome.
When you play a round of golf and focus on the outcome, your emotional state changes because you open yourself to fear, doubt, anger, frustration and other negative emotions. This makes it impossible to duplicate the same relaxed stroke you had while practicing because your negative emotions cause your chemistry to change, which throws your entire game off.
The outcome only exists in the future. By training your mind to stay in the present, your emotional state will remain calm and steady. This will allow your stroke mechanics to be more consistent and fluid. Plus, your focus and concentration will increase to meet the challenges you encounter since your emotions are not allowed to enter the equation.
In many cases you don't have to be mechanically better then your opponents are. All you have to do is be even or not too far behind their skill level.
If you are good enough to be close during a tournament, most of your opponents will start to worry about the outcome and create self-imposed pressure. They will end up beating themselves. By staying in the present and ignoring the outcome, you will not beat yourself and greatly increase your chances of winning.
This is why Tiger is so hard to beat.
Used by permission of the author Michael Anthony
If you are not working on improving your mental game, you are playing golf with only half of the equipment. If you have not read "The Mental Keys to Improve Your Golf," your mental game will benefit greatly by seeing the whole picture instead of just pieces contained in these mental tips. My book gives you the tools to improve your mental game. My CD "Using The Mental Keys to Polish the Wheel" makes it much easier to keep using them.
"To develop a great mental game it's critical to realize that your mental state affects the chemistry of your brain which in turn affects your ability to perform. Then, it's just a matter of reprogramming your mind to optimize your chemistry so you can play in the zone."
- Michael Anthony
What mind set allows you to have a swing that holds up under the most intense tournament pressure on the professional tours?
The answer is simple, but impossible to achieve with a Western philosophy or mentality of being concerned with the outcome and winning. It starts with the realization that there is no such thing as intense tournament pressure, except what you make of it in your mind.
Pressure only exists if you are concerned about the outcome. Playing a practice round and playing in the U.S. Open are the same exact thing! It is the same 18 holes and Old Man Golf -- everything else is irrelevant. You may disagree with this statement, but it is true.
If your mechanics and strategy are good in practice rounds, you should be able to duplicate them during competition. If your game folds when competing, train your mind to stay in the present and let the outcome take care of itself.
Focus on improving your mechanics and strategy. In time you will become a subconscious competent and your execution will be instinctive. The only purpose of the outcome is to let you know where you stand in terms of feedback and what you have to work on to keep improving. You will be a winner when you deserve to be.
It is imperative that you clearly understand that your emotions affect your brain's chemistry and performance. This is important to understand because you are usually relaxed when you practice since you are not concerned with the outcome.
When you play a round of golf and focus on the outcome, your emotional state changes because you open yourself to fear, doubt, anger, frustration and other negative emotions. This makes it impossible to duplicate the same relaxed stroke you had while practicing because your negative emotions cause your chemistry to change, which throws your entire game off.
The outcome only exists in the future. By training your mind to stay in the present, your emotional state will remain calm and steady. This will allow your stroke mechanics to be more consistent and fluid. Plus, your focus and concentration will increase to meet the challenges you encounter since your emotions are not allowed to enter the equation.
In many cases you don't have to be mechanically better then your opponents are. All you have to do is be even or not too far behind their skill level.
If you are good enough to be close during a tournament, most of your opponents will start to worry about the outcome and create self-imposed pressure. They will end up beating themselves. By staying in the present and ignoring the outcome, you will not beat yourself and greatly increase your chances of winning.
This is why Tiger is so hard to beat.
Used by permission of the author Michael Anthony
If you are not working on improving your mental game, you are playing golf with only half of the equipment. If you have not read "The Mental Keys to Improve Your Golf," your mental game will benefit greatly by seeing the whole picture instead of just pieces contained in these mental tips. My book gives you the tools to improve your mental game. My CD "Using The Mental Keys to Polish the Wheel" makes it much easier to keep using them.
"To develop a great mental game it's critical to realize that your mental state affects the chemistry of your brain which in turn affects your ability to perform. Then, it's just a matter of reprogramming your mind to optimize your chemistry so you can play in the zone."
- Michael Anthony
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