Anyone can guess how many books have been devoted to the mental aspect of golf as we seek to build confidence in golf – but it is safe to say it numbers in the thousands.
You might have one on your desk or nightstand; there may even be one in the smallest room in the house. And we’ve all watched videos and reviewed articles in an attempt to find the secret to stronger mental play.
Often times we are encouraged to find a preferred state, to do a ‘thing’ or to embrace a process, where what you are doing is supposed to empower you to take control and mastery of what is considered an essential part of golf. .
This could be a finely honed pre-kick routine or a dot on your glove to watch in order to get into ‘the zone’.
But there may be another direction to look.
In our quest to shoot lower scores, it’s understandable that we seek answers and experiment with different strategies and techniques.
However, this is where it can get tricky, as Andy Morrison, the golf mind coach explains, because the mind is like a snow globe and if you shake it… well, it s. ‘shake.
Morrison was a county player, but, as he himself will admit, he threw the odd club as his thoughts won.
He stopped competing because “it seemed like the anxiety and restlessness came from competitive golf.”
This will lead him to study hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), to which he has devoted ten years of his life.
Then he discovered a totally different theory, defended, among others, by the philosopher Sydney Banks.
This is called the “inside-out” model of understanding. In other words, it is not possible for humans to change their state of mind through an outside technique. Imperious, yes, possible … not so sure.
“You’re never going to see things so clearly with more thought,” says Morrison.
“We’re all caught up in our stories and believe they’re true, but if thoughts come and go naturally, do we really need a technique to make them go away?” ”
This philosophy emphasizes the nature of thought, rather than focusing on the content of thought, a distinction Morrison is keen to make clear.
Fighting the untruths of golf
You’re on the shooting range before the monthly medal and you hit the ball beautifully, thinking, “It’s gonna be a really good day. “
Or, there’s the moment – maybe a more common occurrence – when you hit him really badly. Then it’s, “My God, this is going to be a dirty trick. “
“It’s not a truth,” Morrison said. “We’ve all had laps where we hit garbage on the lineup and played well, and vice versa.
“It’s pretty common for us to think of it this way. It’s that gentle jerk of the snow globe continuously, and believe the snow is real. The golf course is neutral but for our consideration on this.
Everyone has their own “problems” or seeks help for different reasons, but Morrison says it all comes down to the same thing – embracing a particular story and believing it to be true – and this is where we are. can we get lost.
Imagine that you started the round well, level by to six. Suddenly a coward and you are on the double bogey facing the green.
The voice in your head says, “It’s important that I don’t make seven here. So you change the pace, read the putt from all angles, and then… you miss!
“You bought into the story,” says Morrison. “In this case, that’s the story of importance, and it’s an innocent misunderstanding in action.
You look through a snowstorm. The more we invest in the history of our golf game – be it its importance, expectations, predictions, etc.
That’s all well and good, but what if we keep having these thoughts? After all, that’s what’s going on, isn’t it?
Think about the first tee, or when you are on the shooting range, hit it badly and convince yourself that you are off on a bad turn. The question is: how do we control our thoughts or prevent negative thoughts from entering our head?
The simple answer is that you don’t – or, rather, you can’t, and attempts to do so will simply turn out to be in vain. This, as Morrison says, will take you “further and further” from your authentic self.
However, when a player learns to become more aware of their thoughts and begins to understand that they come and go, it is often a game-changer and is far more powerful than any intervention strategy.
Morrison’s skill is to observe players, ask questions and point them in the right direction.
This accepting of thoughts for what they are and pursuing your business can seem simplistic – too good to be true, even.
But for a number of players, it really works, and it helps them find the place, or state, in which they play their best golf.
Michael Palmer and Rupert Kaminski, who ply their trade on the Sunshine Tour, are two great defenders.
“I no longer try to control my thoughts,” says Palmer, whose continued understanding of the nature of thinking has helped make him a “more objective golfer.”
He also has a strong run of results and only missed out on victory at the Sunshine Tour Invitational in September.
“I am more aware of what my thoughts represent. Andy also helped me understand ego, and I feel more cohesive, more realistic, and more free.
Ah yes, the ego thing – it comes up a lot. In fact, we probably all suffer from an ego issue from time to time – certainly on the course, that is. Once, while playing alongside Wilco Nienaber (currently the longest hitter on the European Tour), Palmer spent most of the lap staring at his powerful compatriot.
He missed the cut, he says, because he was too busy comparing himself to Nienaber. Not good.
The quest for authentic golf
Kaminski says previous attempts to deal with his thoughts were like “putting on a bandage.”
He, too, reveals how he learned to take the ego out of the equation more often. “A lot of golfers, and that was me, get caught up in their thoughts and you start to believe them,” he says.
“It’s just your ego trying to take control of things. Whatever scenarios you imagine in your head are not real, so once you realize it and look almost beyond that, that’s when you can start playing again. authentic golf.
Palmer offers another example of how the ego might rear its ugly head on the course, and we’ve certainly all been here.
He’s playing against someone who sprays him all over the place, but despite playing the best golf, the scorecard says differently.
“I wonder how this guy beats me. These stories continue in your head and your ego will have a hard time losing to someone who doesn’t hit the ball as well.
“I’m more aware now of when I’m buying my ego – it’s just thoughts. It helped me focus on what I needed.
Michael Palmer and Rupert Kaminski
(Image credit: Avenir)
Someone else who understands this better is Jack South, who speaks regularly with Morrison.
South recently shot 59 on the PGA EuroPro Tour to win the Motocaddy Masters title, along with a £ 59,000 bonus. How did he deal with the pressure to release this rare number? What strategies did he use to stay in the negativity stop zone?
None of this, as Morrison explains, is brought up in the conversation backwards.
“The source of energy behind the scenes (a source we are never disconnected from but can temporarily be blinded to) is a power that, every time a player taps into it, signals a surge of authenticity, a deep knowledge that whatever thoughts pop in they are fine.
Jack South recently shot a 59 on the EuroPro Tour and speaks regularly with Morrison
(Image credit: Avenir)
That, and a realization that in order to shoot low scores, they don’t need to access and stay in a preferred state of mind until they have completed their performance.
It’s not that interventions can’t be helpful, and Morrison accepts that if something works for you, you might want to stick with it.
But his view will always be that more “snow” usually won’t help. With the interventions, he also suspects that the placebo effect kicks in – that an intervention may seem effective when it is your belief in it that is actually having the effect.
Follow Morrison on Twitter …
It is @AMGolfMindCoach – and you might just pick up a few nuggets to guide you on a better path.
