You Probably Already Know Golf Mental

Imagery is the Key to Improving Your Golf.

 

I'm sure you are already aware that the best performers in golf use Mental Imagery extensively both on and off the course, before, during and after competitions. In fact I seriously doubt that a sports person will be able to compete at the highest levels without practicing some form of mental imagery to program performance of mind and body.

 

Mental imagery is used highly effectively across the board in life and not just sports. The business world leaders have been using visualisation or mental imagery to build huge empires for as far back as you care to go. Mental imagery, internal visualisation is also used highly effectively in the health care systems across the world and the power of it as a natural way to stimulate your own body healing is now completely beyond doubt even in Western Societies.

 

Different Kinds of Mental Imagery you can use for golf

While there are many forms of mental imagery used across a wide variety of applications let us just discuss a few you can use specifically to improve your golf and are widely accepted as some of the "staples" of sports Internal Mental Imagery for Peak Performance.

 

Emotional Control. We focus on controlling our internal imagery in order to control our emotions around the course. If you hit a shot poorly and then imagine you are going to lose the hole because of it, the internal images are controlling your mood, which is now poor as you imagine losing. However if you imagine letting the shot go - forgetting it – and think about  playing a great recovery shot which puts your opposition under pressure, causing them to make a mistake. Then you picture yourself wining the hole after all and as you do this you can understand how these internal images make you feel a lot better can't you? The images you make internally, knowingly or without realising, have a big effect on your mood. You probably already know how mood affects your golf and I'm sure there are times you can recall when you played a shot in anger or worried about a bad shot.

 

Perfect Result Imagery. Used extensively off the course visualising perfect performance. See yourself playing well both physically and emotionally in control. Staying in the present moment, calm and confident over each shot as your swing timing is perfect and you strike each ball beautifully out the middle of the club face. Imagine yourself winning and actually experience and feel what it's like to have already achieved your goal. Imagining perfect outcomes as already having been achieved and experiencing the feelings of already achieving your goal is massively powerful in programming the unconscious mind to achieve the desired outcome.

Set a goal to win the county championship and then you internally engineer the win as you see, hear and feel what it is like now that you have already won. How will it be on the day, at the awards presentation and basking in the glow of success afterward, reading about your triumph in the news paper?

 

Physical Bio Mechanics Imagery. The most powerful way to rewire yourself into a different physical move, or in other words, change your swing mechanics, is to extensively use mental imagery as part of your swing change program. Studies show that 50% visualisation & 50% physical practice is the ultimate combination, and by the way the same studies show that only doing visualisation is better than just doing physical practice alone! There is no longer any doubt that mental imagery combined with physical practice is the fastest and easiest way to achieving the new move.

If you are still trying to groove a new swing by muscle movement alone then you have been left in the dark ages by uninformed coaches and you should run a mile from them and get a new coach but don't take my word for it, speak to the best sportsmen and top coaches in any field.

 

In addition to visualising your new physical moves, practice in front of mirrors as this is another form of imagery which is Super Powerful for your mind if it can see the old move and the new move, learning is greatly accelerated. Imagine yourself making the new move, feel those moves in your body as you vividly picture (imagine, visualise, feel) yourself making them. Physically practice in front of mirrors. This combination of 50% visualisation and then 50% physical practice IN FRONT OF MIRRORS is very, very powerful learning. Portable swing mirrors are available for outdoor work and any coach worth their salt will have mirrors available at their practice facility.

 

Self Image "Engineering" Imagery. You cannot consistently outperform your self-image. If you have an image of yourself as a 10 handicap golfer but you would like to play off 5, you have virtually no chance. Your self-image of yourself as a 10 handicap golfer will not allow you to achieve your goal. You must first become the person you need to be in order to achieve the goal you desire. Become in your mind - vividly imagine - being the player you want to be. It is only when you have e deep unconscious belief that you are a 5 handicap golfer that you will become one.

Self Image Engineering is an absolute must if you are to achieve your goals. You will only achieve what your self-image allows you to. Your self-image is the controller of your long term performance and your internal imaging of yourself "already being" the person you want to become in order to achieve the goal you have set is an absolute MUST!

 

But then you may already know all these things and just need to rededicate yourself to the overall power by Mental Game of Golf and achieve your golfing dreams today.

 

Wishing you Blue Skies and 65’s.

 

Warm regards,

 

Mark