Are You Mentally Fit For Golf?

"The game of golf begins in your mind, more than athletic ability, more than technique, more than practice or ability or anything else. The mind-set you bring to the game determines not only the enjoyment you desire from golf but also the level of proficiency you will achieve". The great golf teacher, Jim Flick, made this statement. He further stated "Golf is 90% mental...and the other 10% is mental".

Tom Kite has been quoted to say "I have to spend as much time on the mental side of golf as on the practice range".

No matter what level you are at with your golf, your mind set is an ultra-important part of your golf game. Your mind set will dictate your ability to learn, your ability to play golf and, if you are a teaching professional, it also massively affects your success in this domain. As with everything in life, a holistic approach is what is needed. There is no point honing in a great physical technique if your golfing mind is letting you down.

The right golf mind training helps you to learn more quickly, retain and use more of what you learn, and to perform at higher levels. This is undisputed fact. Your muscles in your golfing mind train up in the same way as your physical muscles - with repetition; it is therefore important to ensure that you are mentally rehearsing what you want to rehearse - a strong, powerful and positive golf mind. Whatever mental images and thoughts you are repeating, you are strengthening. It is easy to train your golf mind so long as you know how your mind works; unfortunately, most people don't realize that their habitual thoughts are in fact sabotaging their game...so let's take a situation and see in what ways you may be thinking. Imagine now that you're on the Tee, playing a hole which you've played before, some trees nearby which have caused a spot of bother in the past.

Thought 1. "Ok, I do not want to go in the trees here" might seem to be the right thought, but in actual fact this thought will usually induce the opposite effect of that intended. The golf ball will, 99% of the time, end up in the trees if this is what you are thinking.

Thought 2. "I mustn't think about going into the trees. I'll think about that spot on the fairway instead" indicates a move in the right direction, but still isn't good enough; a lot of thought energy is still being focused on the trees, with an attempted change of focus.

Thought 3. "Ok there's trees there, the best shot is to aim along that line and end exactly there; That's where I'm going” is a whole lot better again, although still not perfect.

So what is the perfect golf mind set?

Thought 4. "OK, there are trees there; the best shot is to aim along that line and end exactly there; that’s where I'm going". Now visualize the shot, really see it, imagine the perfect swing, feel it, see the ball landing there, stick to your preferred pre shot routine and know that is where the golf ball is going.

That's the best golf mind set.

Let's return to the first line of this article. Are you mentally fit for golf? Is your instinctive thought process aligned with this fourth example? Because, if not, it should be...and it can be...with a little bit of golf mind training.

Like I said before, your mental muscles train up in much the same way as your physical muscles. You go for lessons and you practice your swing, you practice different golf shots - draws and fades, high and low shots, chips and pitches. You spend hours on the putting green. And all this practice pays off. How much time do you spend on your mental muscles?

Why not raise your game to a higher level by taking a more holistic approach to your golf game and get mentally and emotionally fit for golf? Golf mind training is the part of your game which takes the least time and effort to produce significantly better your results and lower your handicap. Get the right guidance, make sure you are honing in the right golf mind set, use a bit of golf hypnosis to relax and to make the most beneficial thought processes automatic. It really is very easy...so long as you make the decision to tackle your own golf mind.

Alternatively you can choose to play golf averagely as compared to your potential ability. It is your choice.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people know that their golf mental skills could be improved upon and yet they won't attempt to work upon them. Instead, a new putter, or a new driver is purchased, a new training aid, etc, etc. Why is this? I have come to the conclusion that it's because the majority of people think "this is how I am" and either don't think that they can change their thought processes, or think that it would be very difficult to do so. If you are one of these people, let me assure you that you are wrong on both counts. If you want to get mentally fit for golf, you can. If you don't want to, or cannot be bothered, you can't. Once you decide to work on your mental golf skills, they are relatively simple to hone in.

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in golf hypnosis cds and hypnosis mp3s.