Positive Golf Improvement Project for 2008

Last January, I posted my Positive Golf Improvement Project for the year, and I am doing the same thing this January. While I practice using mental golf techniques and other Positive Golf ideas in all aspects of my game, blended with my physical approach, I have picked one area for particular focus as my Positive Golf Improvement Project for 2008. My wife, a beginning golfer, has picked on as well. Here they are:

- My project is to increase the repeatability of my swing by more consistently accessing the feeling of my positive golf swing motion.
- My wife's project is to develop a smooth, repeatable chip shot and consistently chip the ball within ten feet of the hole.

As part of our blended mental/physical positive approach to these projects, we will be incorporating the practice of our "primary positive mental habits" that we chose for particular focus this year (see posting from January 1, 2008). We will be sharing updates on our progress and the mental ideas and physical techniques we use along the way.

We encourage other golfers to pick a Positive Golf Improvement Project for the year. Here is a reprint of the article that we posted along with the announcement of our Improvement Projects last year. It gives some insight and tips that can help you with your golf improvement goals and efforts this year...

Positive Golf Tip - Pick One Thing to Improve

Any golfer with the desire to improve knows that there are dozens of aspects to the game. And there are hundreds, even thousands, more tips and ideas that can help to improve each of these areas. It is easy to feel overwhelmed, particularly if you are new to golf or just learning about a new concept like mental golf or the mental approach to the game. Feeling overwhelmed generally leads to negativity, which does not help your game. To help make your approach to golf improvement more positive, and ultimately more successful, it helps to pick one thing to improve and focus on that.

When I first tried out mental golf concepts, I started with curing my slice rather than trying to change my entire game all at once. I began by identifying and changing a couple of habitual negative thought patterns related to my slice, like I fear hitting out of bounds on this hole, or I can't seem to change this slice motion no matter how hard I try. Instead of the negative talk, I made a conscious effort to practice saying, feeling, and believing that I am learning to draw the ball, and I am enjoying that sweet draw feeling. By blending this simple mental golf techniqaue with my physical practice, I began to see positive changes in my swing and I did learn to more consistently draw the ball. I found the simple, focused approach to be really do-able so I could get comfortable with the new ideas and experience success rather than feel overloaded and burned out with trying to fix everything at once. As you think of the season ahead, pick one thing that you can improve by applying affirmations and other positive golf ideas along with your physical practice.

I'll keep you posted on the progress of our Positive Golf Improvement Projects for 2008 and welcome hearing about the progress of yours...

Here's to great golf in 2008!

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

Go the "Extra Degree" for Your Golf Improvement

Recently, I have been writing about ideas related to choosing and practicing positive habits to help your golf improvement. I am always on the lookout for great examples and resources that inspire me and fuel my desire and dedication to practice discipline and consistency, like the example of Mike Weir in my previous posting. I encourage others to keep their eyes and ears open for great examples of positive mental golf practices by players on the Tour and players in their own "backyard." (This goes beyond watching and listening for the latest swing tip - it's watching and listening to learn what successful players are thinking and feeling to keep them focused, disciplined, calm, and confident, which lays the groundwork for better, more consistent swings and all-around playing.) Great examples of Positive Golf thinking and playing and other resources that support this approach are all around us. By staying tuned-in and aware, each and every day we can get great mental tidbits that will help our game (and our life!).

A friend recently shared the following motivational resource with me, and I thought it had some great points that support the Positive Golf approach. It's all about the "extra degree" that makes a difference. It gave me a motivational charge for sticking with my positive habits and Positive Golf Improvement Project I have chosen to practice this year. Here are some ideas that lit a spark in me:

- At 211 degrees, water is hot. At 212 degrees, it boils. One extra degree makes all the difference.
- And the one extra degree of effort in business and in life separates the good from the great!
- The average margin of victory for the last 25 years in all major golf tournaments combined was less than three strokes.
- To get what we never had, we must do what we've never done.
- Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other. (Walter Elliot)

For more ideas in a super, really short video format, go to http://www.212movie.com/. I can guarantee you'll want to watch it a couple of times.

Here's to perseverance for Positive Habits and Positive Golf!

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

Positive Golf Tip - Practice Discipline and Consistency to Help Develop New Habits and Lasting Improvement

While watching the coverage of the Mercedes-Benz Championship over the weekend, I listened with particular interest to some remarks the commentators were making about Mike Weir on Saturday. They repeatedly pointed out that he is "incredibly disciplined" in his practice, his routine, and his fitness program. It is often Tiger's discipline that we hear more comments about, and it is Tiger who commonly comes to mind when there is talk of a disciplined approach to the game. But discipline is an essential aspect of the approach - and the success - of so many other tour players as well, including Mike Weir. This discipline isn't reserved only for the "upper eschelon" of players, however. It can be practiced by players of any level, including beginners who are starting at square one. If you want to make positive changes and improvements to your swing and your game, you too can not only practice discipline to help create change - you must practice it if you want the change to last!

By "discipline," I mean the focused, consistent practice of new ideas, new attitudes, new swing thoughts, and new swing techniques. It is the consistent practice of these things that leads to the establishment of new habits and permanent change. The discipline is what gets you to not only "just do it," but to keep on just doing it - day after day, week after week, month after month. This is what gets results. So, in choosing new mental and physical habits to develop in 2008 (see the previous post for what I chose), keep in mind the stick-to-itivenes that it takes to "habitualize" these new habits that will make a difference in your game, and stick to it! That's what works for Tiger, Annika, Mike Weir, and other disciplined players, and they are great examples and inspiration. They can do it, so can I, and so can you! We all have the potential for discipline and consistent, ongoing practice - we just need to call it up inside ourselves. Along those lines, here are a couple of great quotes from great people who accomplished great things:

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. - Thomas Edison

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing. - Abraham Lincoln

If you want some tools to help you with discpline and consistency, CLICK HERE for a great website with a bunch of articles and recordings that will help you stick-to-it for success, including the MP3 recording, "Persevere to Succeed."

Here's to your success!

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

Pick Your Positive Habits for Golf Improvement in 2008 ---

Positive mental habits are a fundamental aspect of enjoying more Positive Golf experiences. These positive habits go way beyond the practice of "thinking positively." They are more focused and specific, which helps them to be more powerful and effective in making your golf improvement a success. There is a wide array of these positive habits, ranging from reducing self-doubt and pressure on yourself to improving your focus and expectations. The most accomplished golfers practice many of these habits concurrently as a whole "mental package," not just one or two. That's the key to success, a "varied portfolio," if you will. At any one time, however, those more accomplished in mental golf habits may be giving particular attention and practice to one or two of these skills to strengthen and develop them even more. The Positive Golf Kudos I have posted in this blog throughout the year give examples of how some of the pros do this. On the other hand, those new to the deliberate practice of mental golf habits may also choose to give particular attention and practice to one or two of these skills at a time so they can strengthen their mindset in a stepwise fashion without feeling overwhelmed.

At TheHeartofGolf.com, my wife an I are continuing to develop and strengthen our "portfolios" of positive mental habits. While we have been aware of their value to Positive Golf experiences and have practiced some of them for several years, we are continuing in our "growth mode" to add new mental skills and strengthen the ones we have already started to build. To that end, we have each chosen one primary positive mental habit to give particular focus to this year (while continuing to practice the others). I have listed our choices below, and will provide updates related to developments in our practice and the related Positive Golf experiences that occur throughout the year.

Rick's Primary Positive Mental Habit for Practice in 2008:

Improve Golf Self-Image - Golf self-image is how you really view yourself, deep down, as a golfer. You might not be totally aware of how you view yourself, but it has a definite impact on your game nonetheless. It slips out in what seem like "subtle" ways, but believe me, it affects you. You might say or think things like, "I'm a lousy putter," or "my short game stinks," or "I"m an okay golfer," and that's what tends to "outpicture" for you. For me, I know I played on the golf team in college, won some championships, and had other accomplishments over the years, but deep down right now I don't have a consistently strong golf self-image. I'll catch myself thinking, "I'm not playing as well as I should," or "I'll never play as good as that guy," or "I'm not good enough to win that championship again," and that is what comes to pass. So, this year, I am going to practice developing and maintaining a positive, strong golf self-image (which will help improve other mental habits like self-doubt and putting pressure on myself). Maybe this mental golf habit sounds familiar to you too. I"ll be passing along tips and tools that help to improve this mental skill and lead to improvement in my game.

Christy's Primary Positive Mental Habit for Practice in 2008:

Improve Golf Self-Talk - Golf self-talk is that "inner dialogue" or "inner conversation" that goes on in your mind when you are playing and practicing. Sometimes, it is verbal too, when you say something out loud to yourself. When she started paying more attention to this mental skill, my wife was surprised to realize she had the habit of negative self-talk, with phrases frequently popping up in her mind like, "I'm not very coordinated," "I can't ever get the right tempo," or "I'll never fix this swing problem." Sometimes she would say these things out loud. Christy has realized that she is talking herself into negative outcomes with this kind of self-talk, and thereby limiting her improvement. Even as a motivational trainer that helps others, this is a deeply ingrained habit that she is working on with herself. This year, she has chosen to give particular attention and consistent practice to changing and improving this mental skill so it helps her rather than hinders her.

I encourage you to pick a mental habit for your golf improvement in 2008 as well. Our soon-to-be published Positive Golf Handbook can help you in choosing and practicing these habits for improvement. It's packed with pointers, checklists, and worksheets that you can use to practice positive mental skills on and off the course, and make changes that will transform your game. More details coming soon!

Here's to great golf in 2008!

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