Try Renewal Rather Than Resolutions for Golf Improvement

Traditionally, this is the time of year when people develop resolutions for making changes and improvements in various areas of their life, including golf. The idea of resolutions is a good one, but as we know, all too often we loose steam after a month or so and the desired results don't come to pass. What often happens is that we set resolutions that are exceptionally lofty or difficult. While a motivating challenge is good, excessive goals can cause frustration and burnout. When it comes to our golf game, it's common for our resolultions to "bypass" core skills or exceed our abilities, including our mental ones. What happens is that we strive to do something better without having to strengthen the core skills that are needed for the change to successfully occur. With this in mind, an exercise that I have started as part of my positive golf approach, instead of traditional "resolutions," is the renewal of my focus on certain key core skills for the year. These are skills, both mental and physical, that I feel are especially important for yielding improvements and more positive experiences in my particular game. I have listed the ones here that I have chosen for 2010. I encourage others to do this same exercise and share your comments here on the blog about how it has helped your game. One of the benefits you will notice is that this exercise helps you get more comfortable and adept at developing positive habits. Picking three core skills for renewed focus throughout the year gets you used to doing something positive on a regular basis. The format of this exercise, with frequent attention to core skills, is also more conducive to success rather than burnout or frustration that may come from resolutions that are excessive or difficult.

So, here's to your renewed focus and success in 2010!

Core Skills for My Renewed Focus and Practice in 2010:

1. Forget past mistakes and poor shots. I still have a tendency to dwell on mistakes and poor shots long after they occur and it distracts my focus away from more productive thinking. It is a mental tendency of mine that deserves more attention and change.

2. Cultivate and use a greater sense of feel in my putting. I have tuned in and developed this skill with great success for my full swing (and written about it in my ebooks), and now I plan to use this practice to a greater degree with my putting.

3. Strengthen my patience and persistence. Patience and persistence are two skills that are enormously valuable to long-term improvement in golf, or anything for that matter. It takes continued mental discipline to practice patience and persistence and stick with new mental and physical techniques to see them through to fruition. I still get impatient and want to see results more quickly and sometimes feel like "throwing in the towel" when changes don't occur fast enough, so I am going to give renewed attention to strengthening my patience and persistence this year.

Here's to positive changes and great golf in 2010!

Rick Semple
Positive Golfer
Co-Founder, TheHeartofGolf.com
http://www.TheHeartofGolf.com

Recap of Positive Golf Improvement Project

As the unseasonably warm weather turns cold and snowy in the Northeast, I leave the course for a little while and reflect back on this past season and the Positive Golf Improvement Project for the year. My Positive Golf Improvement Project for 2009 - achieving better balance (see original posting on April 4, 2009) - came about as a result of my inability as a weekend golfer to consistently "time" my weight shift with my swing motion, a fault which often led to off-balance, off-course golf shots. Over the years, my standard antidote for this nagging problem has been to practice "punch shots" - a process which involves moving the ball back, keeping my weight forward, shortening the swing, and driving down through the ball with a lower finish. A common term for this general techniqaue is "trapping the ball," and I was often amazed how it seemed to instantly deliver more solid contact and a beautiful (albeit lower) right to left ball flight along with a balanced finish. Thus, the punch shot aproach was my starting point, and my intention was to gradually build my full swing around it. My goal was to eliminate or at least greatly lessen the need for "timing" by significantly reducing lateral body motion during my swing. The substitute for lateral motion was better rotational motion.

Over the year my quest proved to be quite challenging. Retraining one's mind and body seldom happen overnight. My success has come about gradually, with patience and persistence. Like most recreational golfers, I have limited time to practice, and the truth is that I've done the greatest part of my work at home - two minutes here and two minutes there - ingraining the feeling of what it's like to swing on balanced footing. I'm working with a number of ideas, the overall concept from mind to body is as follows:

With a relaxed lower body and steady left foot weight pressure, swing the club with the hands and arms and let the natural body rotation follow.

I've made good progress so far and plan to achieve further gains in 2010 following both the mental and physical elements of the Positive Plan that I put together. I will also develop a Positive Plan for improvement of another facet of my game. Have you planned a Positive Golf Improvement Project for 2010? I invite you to share your plans with other Positive Golfers right here.

Here's to great golf in 2010!

Ricke Semple
Positive Golfer
Co-Founder, TheHeartofGolf.oom
http://www.TheHeartofGolf.com

Tips for a Consistent Game

With Tiger's win of the FedEx Cup title, there has been a lot of talk this past week about the value of consistency in playing the game. It's important to remember that at the heart of playing consistently is a consistent mental game, which includes the consistent use of positive mental practices. This is a fact that is simple in its truth, but not easy in its application. Even Tiger has had some "blips" in using his positive mental practices now and then, which is reflected in his game, but the key is that he gets himself on track again and gets back on the road of consistent good thinking and playing.

The question from a lot of recreational golfers who are still building their "mental muscle" to support their physical game is this: What can I do to build a consistent mental golf mindset that inspires consistency on the course? There are a few key practices that can help you with this by getting you in the mode of doing some positive things regularly and naturally. Here they are:

1. Practice a positive mental pre-shot routine for every shot. Do this for every shot in every round, not sporadically when you feel pressure, are trying to make a difficult shot, or are trying not to be angry or frustrated.

2. Regularly use a positive "mantra." This is a short phrase or affirmation that you regularly repeat silently to yourself that helps you think affirmatively about a certain aspect of your game. An example is "light is right" regarding grip pressure. (See my blog posting from July 17, 2009 for more details.)

3. Regularly use one or two key swing thoughts. Stick with one or two swing thoughts, rather than bombarding yourself with too many and then getting overwhelmed or burned out from trying to remember too much. Repeat these swing thoughts to yourself regularly throughout each round.

4. Practice the regular use of one or two key positive words. Pick one or two positive words, such as "can" and "will," to incorporate into your positive golf language, and practice the regular, consistent use of these throughout each round.

5. Regularly remind yourself to focus on the target and the shot at hand. Do this by asking yourself before every shot, "What is my target?" and "What is my strategy to reach that target?" This can get you to habitually orient your thinking away from distractions and toward the target and the shot at hand. This is an essential element of the laser-like focus Tiger is famous for and it is something that every golfer, from weekend player to professional, can do.

Following regular practices like these helps build "mental muscle" and gets your mindset "warmed up" and "conditioned" for additional positive, productive thinking that supports a consistent game.

Here's to great golf!

Rick Semple
Positive Golfer and
Co-founder
TheHeartofGolf.com
http://www.TheHeartofGolf.com

Another Mental Golf Question to Improve Your Game

As a follow-up to my previous post on 4 Questions to Improve Your Mental Game, I am inspired to add another question to that list. The thing that inspired me were some remarks made by Tiger Woods regarding his putting at The Barclays. In his remarks, he wanted to make it very clear that it was those tricked-up greens that led to his near miss in Jersey City last week, and certainly not the player holding the putter in his hands. "Not too many golf courses that you misread putts that badly," he said, adding, "This course is one." Steve Politi, the sports columnist for the Newark Star-Ledger pointed out that Woods "sounded like a shortstop blaming the infield grass for an E-6 or a goalie blaming the Zamboni for a bad goal." He went on to say that "Tiger is forgetting the simplest truth about golf: Everyone in the field plays the same course. And everyone else - or at least the ones on the leaderboard - seemed to handle the greens just fine."

The remarks by Woods are a classic example of using blame when one is experiencing less-than-desirable results in the game. The thing about blame is that it might help you justify the situation and feel better about it for a while, but in actuality it distracts you from focusing on the real reason for your golf problem. Spending mental time and energy on blame takes you away from spending that time and energy on the actual cause of the problem - what you are doing wrong - and thereby hinders you from correcting it and preventing it from happening again. Using blame is like a "crutch" and is not a practice that ultimately leads to positive golf experiences.

Tiger's remarks show that blame is a practice that even a player with a highly refined mental game can fall into without keeping it in check. It's a good reminder for any player to ask themselves the question: Am I using blame as a "crutch" in my mental game? Tune in to your own thoughts and remarks as you are playing and see if this is a mental practice you are prone to. If so, stop the blaming and start making some mental and physical changes. Go beyond the blame and get to the heart of what is really causing your golf problem and make the appropriate mechanical changes in your game. This "blame-free" approach is more certain to lead to better results and more satisfaction in the long run.

Here's to great golf!

Rick Semple
Positive Golfer and
Co-Founder
TheHeartofGolf
http://www.TheHeartofGolf.com

4 Questions to Improve Your Mental Game

When mental golf practices don't seem to be helping your game, the tendency is to stop using them and chalk it up to mental golf not being right for you or mental golf not working at all. Before you throw in the towel and decide to stop developing and applying these skills, however, ask yourself these four questions:

1. Do I really believe mental golf practices work and can help my game?

2. Am I utilizing these skills consistently throughout each round (not just when the "going gets tough")?

3. Am I overwhelming myself by trying to change too many mental practices at once?

4. Am I putting too much pressure on myself to master these practices and get "instant results"? (This was one of my main tendencies when I was beginning the development of my mental game.)

Your answer to these questions can give you some very good clues as to why the application of mental golf skills isn't working for you. An answer of "no" to the first two questions and "yes" to the second two indicates some things that are blocking the success of using positive mental practices in your game. If you have been trying to develop your mental golf mindset this summer (or at any time) and have not experienced any improvement in your game, take a moment to reflect on these questions and the answers. It can be time well spent that gets you past the threshold of quitting and onto a new and more effective path. Changing your approach in any of these four areas (and certainly in all of them) can help to make a difference in your evolution as a successful positive golfer!

Here's to great golf!

Rick Semple
Positive Golfer and
Co-Founder
TheHeartofGolf.com
http://www.TheHeartofGolf.com

A Mantra for Your Mental Golf

At first, a mantra doesn't sound like something that could be helpful to your golf game, but the more I study and practice mental golf the more I realize the value of tools like this. In its basic form, a mantra is a sentence or phrase that is repeated verbally or mentally to help focus the mind on an idea. This concept can easily be applied to your golf game and can in fact be quite helpful to your mental golf mindset in a number of ways. For one, it's a good way to develop the skill of being focused rather than having "scattered" thinking that is prone to distraction. Using a mantra can help to get you in the habit of consistently staying on track in productive mental golf thinking rather than frequently "switching gears" back and forth from productive, helpful thinking to distracting, unproductive thinking. Overall, using a mantra gives you some good practice in using a mental tool, which is a great way to get started with or expand on the use of mental golf practices.

I want to point out that the idea of using a mantra in your mental golf practice is something different than having swing thoughts. The concept of the mantra in this particular application os to help change a mental habit, like fear, and establish a better way of thinking, whereas swing thoughts are generally related to the physical mechanics of your swing. Also, when it comes to using a mantra for your mental golf, I'm not talking about "mindless" or rote repetition of a phrase, but thoughtful or "mindful" repetition with awareness and sincerity.

A couple of examples of this concept in practice will help it make more sense. One example is a mantra that my wife has used to help her game. As a beginning golfer, a challenge she was facing was a lot of tension, which led to a lot of problems with her swing. This tension was rooted in her over-concern for what people were thinking regarding her swing and her abilities. It would almost paralyze her on certain holes and in certain situations. To address the problem and help her focus on more helpful thoughts, she used the phrase from a popular quote, "what other people think of me is none of my business" as a mantra, repeating it to herself frequently throughout a round. Here again, it wasn't mindless or forced repetition but thoughtful repetition done with sincerity and focus. It proved to be very helpful in re-orienting her thoughts and diffusing her concerns and ultimately reducing the tension that wreaked havoc with her swing. Another example of an area where I know this mantra tool has been used with success is in helping to change the habit of hanging on to thoughts of poor shots and other mistakes and developing the habit of letting go and staying in the present. A mantra that has worked for other golfers in this situation is, "It's all about this shot and this moment," repeated in the mind over and over with increasing belief and conviction.

A mantra is another tool that I recommend adding to your mental golf "bag of tricks." It's something you can get started with right away. You have to be sure to stick with it though. Just like any of the mental golf tools, being persistent and consistent pays off. Here are some other areas where using a mantra can help get you on the road to making some changes in your mind and your game:

- changing the habit of frequent anger about your game
- changing the habit of ongoing self-doubt about your abilities
- changing the habit of using over-effort and trying too hard
- changing the habit of putting pressure on yourself
- changing the habit of regularly using "what if" thinking and dwelling on worst-case scenarios while playing

One more tip: When choosing a mantra to use, pick something that is succinct, has good flow, and makes good sense to you about the issue at hand. It may even be a popular quote or a catch phrase. Avoid using "not" phrases, such as "I am not angry. I am not angry..." as this actually puts more focus on the problem at hand rather than away from it.

This idea of a mantra can be put to use right away to change and strengthen your mental golf mindset. Try it out, and give it a chance to "sink in" and work (practice it in multiple rounds, not just one time). I welcome comments about your experience.

Here's to great golf!

Rick Semple
Positive Golfer and
Co-Founder
TheHeartofGolf.com
http://www.TheHeartofGolf.com

How Long Does It Take For Mental Golf Techniques to Work?

In my work with Positive Golf, I get a lot of questions about the hows and whys and the nuts and bolts of using positive mental techniques for golf improvement. It's great to receive these questions because it tells me that a person is taking an extra step to get insight and guidance into techniques that can help their game. We have started to include coverage of these questions in our Positive Golf newsletter in a periodic column titled "Positive Golf Q & A." When we started running this column, even more questions started pouring in! Occasionally, I will include some of these questions and answers in this blog because the topics are universal to so many players and so vital to success with the mental game. If you would like the benefit of seeing Positive Golf questions and answers more often, as well as other real-life insight, tips, and drills to promote positive golf improvement, then check out the details about our free Positive Golf Newsletter. I also invite you to submit a question by posting it on this blog or sending me an email through our website at TheHeartofGolf.com. In the meantime, here's a question from a golfer in Illinois who voices what a lot of other players have wondered about:

Q: Last summer, I started working on my mental game by trying visualization, but it didn't work. How long should it take for mental game techniques to make a difference in improving my game?

A. The short answer to this question is that it takes as long as it takes. It is going to be different for everyone because everyone's mindset, with all of its habits and tendencies, is different. Everyone's belief and acceptance of new ideas and techniques is also different, and this will also affect the speed and effectiveness of change. The good news is that it is possible for positive change in your physical game to begin with just a few rounds of using new mental game techniques. You may start to experience more consistency, better tempo, less frequent slicing of the ball, or better putting, for example, with continual game improvement as you continue to practice new mental techniques more consistently and effectively.

It may be the case, however, that improvement in your physical game is slow to occur or does not seem to happen at all as a result of changing your mental practices, leading you to think that the mental techniques don't work or that mental golf is "just not for you." A delay or total lack of results with mental techniques like visualization doesn't mean they don't work, but it does mean that something is interfering or getting in the way of their effectiveness. Some common things that get in the way of mental golf techniques "doing their job" and producing results include the following:

1. Inconsistency in using the techniques, i.e. trying them here and there, such as just when "the going gets tough," OR using one technique such as visualization in a positive way while at the same time using another technique such as self-talk in a negative way.

2. Incorrectly using the techniques, i.e. visualizing the results you do want to experience while also still mixing in visualizing the results you do not want to experience. (Even if you don't mean to do this or aren't doing it "on purpose," it still has an impact.)

3. Impatience at not experiencing better or faster results, thereby leading to mental tension, frustration, or even anger.

4. Lack of total belief or trust in the potential benefits of mental golf practices, thus sowing the seeds of doubt that detract from the effectiveness of such practices.

5. Doing too much at once, i.e. trying too hard to boost your mental game by changing or improving too many mental golf practices all at once which can dilute their effectiveness compared to improving them step-by-step one or two at a time.

Tuning in to your tendency to do one or more of these practices can help you nip some things in the bud and get you on a mental golf pathway that is more positive and productive in yielding the changes in your physical game that you have been hoping to see.

Here's to great golf!

Rick Semple
Positive Golfer and
Co-Founder
TheHeartofGolf.com