It’s kind of funny, because the Stack and Tilt Golf Swing was the BIG new way to swing a club and it became popular nearly overnight. Now the no backswing method to better golf has been presented by Golf Magazine.

I want to get your feedback on this golf swing method. Have you tried it? If so, did it help you? Do you think it’s a crock? Chime in below, as I want to find out from “average” golfers if this is the real deal or not.

Dr. Bob Rotella said, “Your physical game determines how “high” you can shoot, while your mental game determines how “low” you’ll shoot.” For example, Tiger Woods will never shoot 80 (unless you made him play standing on one leg and with only one hand…and even then he’d probably have a hard time), his physical game is too good. He just can’t make that many bogies in a row. His skills won’t allow it.

How low he goes is the result of his mental game. His ability to channel his mind, harness his inner resources and stay focused and committed to each shot is what determines how low he’ll shoot. Every player on tour competes in the world of mental toughness. It is the inner battle that determines the outcome of the 4 day grind.

How low you go depends on your inner game. As you get closer to your comfort zone many interesting things happen. Your inner thermostat gets triggered. It is these subconscious settings that pre-determine your outer game. Remember, your physical skills keep you from shooting too high, so when your score moves outside this comfort zone your thermostat kicks in and you do what it takes to bring your scores back in line.

The Invisible Wall

When you approach your personal best score this thermostat really becomes evident. For most players this setting is extremely sensitive. What is your personal comfort zone? Staying inside it is easy. Breaking out of it, or to put it another way, expanding it, is your goal.

How do we do this? By mental rehearsal. You need to develop a new, more powerful self-image as a golfer. You want to see, hear & feel what it is like to shoot your personal low score. Notice I said “what it IS like”, not “what it will be like.” This is THE critical distinction in all mental imagery and mental rehearsal processes: you must act as if it is already happening.

It is not some future wish. Your subconscious will absorb these mental rehearsals as reality and begin to draw into your game lower scores that more accurately reflect this “new” self-image. Just practice them daily for a mere few minutes and the payoffs will be evident in your game.

These mental movies have enormous impact on your performance if you play competitively. In my own experience I have hit my best shots when competing. Although my personal low score was reached during a casual round, I have had 3 Aces and 2 of them happened when competing. I saw this happening hundreds of times in my mental movies before it happened on the course. In other words I believed it before I saw it…

Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect – Practice Makes Permanent

By spending just a few minutes before falling asleep seeing yourself shoot really low scores you are creating new settings on your inner thermostat. New settings that will only kick in when you approach the edges of your new comfort zone. You are literally expanding your comfort zone and telling your thermostat not to kick on until you pass your old personal low score.

People tend to hit bad shots whenever they’re near their personal “low score” comfort zone. Like clockwork the negative self-talk and other non-resourceful thoughts begin to happen inside. Johnny Miller talks about comfort zones and how there are players on tour who just can’t take it really low even though they’re phenomenal players. Then there are certain players who have absolutely no fear of shooting ridiculously low scores.

And don’t assume that it’s the “best” players who shoot the lowest scores, as this isn’t necessarily true. After all the shortest hitter on the PGA Tour, Corey Pavin, shot the lowest 9 hole score in the history of the PGA tour in 2006. He went 9 under for 9 holes! So now you can’t use lack of length as an excuse to justify higher scores…I’ll admit, I’ve had this voice in my head at times as I’m a shortish hitter. Yet that voice has been exorcised thanks to Corey.

To go low, really low, your comfort zone must expand to include a belief that you are comfortable with going past your current low score. This belief is built by doing mental rehearsals. Simple, focused self-image exercises done in the comfort of your bed before sleep. It doesn’t get much easier than this…

If you’re looking for a mental program to “go low”, I strongly recommend Wade Pearse’s Mental Golf Program.

This article is inspired by a client I worked with in June. He was preparing to play in the Senior US Open qualifier in Connecticut. We worked together closely yet only over the phone. I assessed his playing style and needs and designed a program that suited his learning style.

The outcome for him was to be in the flow. Not a bad goal for all players. He didn’t like the word zone. I tend to agree with him and I use the word flow in place of zone in my work. He hadn’t competed at this level in 8 years so he knew what was ahead of him. It isn’t necessary to cover the processes we went through yet his experiences, and how you can have them as well, are what this article is all about.

He called after the qualifier and said this to me. “I was completely in the flow. I stood on the first tee and felt as calm as I do when I’m playing on my home course. I felt at home. The rough was brutal and the lies were severe. It seems the tougher the shot was the better I played. Unfortunately the easy shots got away from me! I didn’t commit to them as much as the challenging ones.”

“Yet a bogie didn’t phase me. I strolled to the next tee with the same feeling as after a birdie. One of the most striking things I remember was it felt like I was floating. I was lost in the moment and enjoying every second. I remember at one point having to ask my caddie what hole we were on. I was so absorbed in the process of playing I forgot what hole I was on! When my caddie said we’re on 17th I couldn’t believe we were almost finished. I was having so much fun playing.”

Are You at Home When You Play?

We did several multi sensory, experiential exercises that lead to this state of inner calm and stillness. Getting in the flow is a golf nirvana, so to speak, as all players who’ve experienced it can attest. In fact we’ve all been in the flow at times. Getting there more often is what we want more of, don’t we? Do you feel at home on the course? My client was ecstatic at feeling as relaxed as he was when playing a casual round alone on his local course. Even though he was in the cauldron of a Senior US Open qualifier and he hadn’t competed in over 8 years.

Your access to the place in you that allows you to play fearless and joy filled golf is really what all your efforts in golf are geared towards. Your score and your ability to play your very best comes from this. Making calm, committed swings regardless of the circumstances is what separates average players from great players. And you can be a great player at your level when you learn to step into the flow.

So how do you go about this? It begins with mental imagery.

Step 1) You want to practice recalling your best memories of when you played your very best and then step deeply into the feelings associated with it. Recall what you see, hear and feel. Everything that is going on around you. Relive the moment and extract any and every sensory resource you are capable of.

Step 2) Next you want to imagine a “future” time when you will be playing. Only now you will imagine yourself playing this future game as if it is happening right now. Fill yourself with the feelings and images of your best golf and project yourself into this future game. Yet feel as if you’re playing right now.

Step 3) In your imagination, play as many holes as your attention will allow. Feel each swing. See the ball flight. Hole putts and let your inner game feel as though you are playing at your very peak and in a state that is most comfortable for you. Do this at night before bed for a mere 5 minutes a night and your game will change. I assure you.

This is a seriously condensed example of an invloved mental imagery process yet you can begin right away. I have several sections of my book dedicated to the mastery of these inner exercises. Lower scores become inevitable when they are applied properly.

Use mental imagery regularly, on the bus, sitting in traffic, walking between shots on the course and of course at night before bed. Playing in the flow while you play will become a habit instead of an accident.

If you’re looking for a mental program to improve your golf game, I strongly recommend Wade Pearse’s Mental Golf Program.

As golfer’s we can all agree that controlling our thoughts while we play is THE greatest challenge in the game. Certainly there are swing elements and physical demands, yet your mind will be the main determinant in your scoring ability over the course of a full round of golf.

There is so much downtime in golf that our minds have excessive time to wander and fret and worry. Even in the moments when it’s time to make a shot our mind is racing around. So what do you do to alleviate this? Or more accurately, what can be done to direct the mind so you benefit from its tremendous power?

Fortunately there are many things that can be done. Yet not in the sense of adding more clutter to our thinking in the form of conscious thought. In other words, we don’t want more things to “think about” while we play, do we? No. What we want is to reduce the amount of thoughts we think and to allow an inner stillness, calm and clarity to replace our conscious mind clutter.

Too Many Tips Spoil The Broth

One of the major causes of mind clutter is the ever-increasing generation of new swing tips, fixes and cures. These seemingly helpful tools become more mind clutter that take you out of your “flow”. Flow should be your aim.

Playing the game too much from your left brain, filled with tips and swing keys, cuts off your connection with your own flow. You want to maintain and enhance your natural connection with your subconscious. It is your right brain that is the doorway to your subconscious and it is your imagination that is the key to that opens the door.

Your subconscious has every swing you’ve ever made. It has every nuance within every swing in your personal history all filed away for your use. It simply awaits your request!

But if you keep relying mainly on your conscious thinking or more left brained “concepts”, you aren’t communicating with your subconscious at all. You’re in fact telling the subconscious to remain buried and that what matters to you is what your conscious mind is telling/asking you to do.

The relationship between your subconscious and conscious mind is this: the conscious mind selects a target and the subconscious delivers the swing that will get the ball there. Yet for 99% of all golfers this natural relationship has been severed, either by not knowing it exists or because of excessive left brain, conscious mind golf habits.

I can not stress this enough. If you truly want to play high level golf and hit shots you know you are capable of, you must learn to tap and trust your unconscious mind. This is done by becoming increasingly connected to your target. What does this mean? Learn to build an intense awareness between the ball and your desired target. Here is how the process works:

• Your eyes assess the situation – you must learn to trust your eyes.
• You then feel your swing inside and sense how best to get the ball to your desired target.
• Visualize the ball flight, or the roll if it’s a putt, and see it land on your target. Be it the fairway or the fat of the green, the bottom of the cup, or wherever you have selected your target.
• Take dead aim
Thinking Isn’t the Answer – Stillness Is

The above process is the essence of what playing your best golf is all about. Getting in the flow and allowing your natural abilities to show up in your game. The heights of your skills don’t reside in your conscious mind! Claude Harmon, the older Harmon, talked a lot about target awareness and stressed its importance in being able to score well.

Do you think Lee Trevino thought about his swing as he played? Or is it more likely he tapped his imagination and “played shots” as he saw them in his mind’s eye? From reading his material I know it is the latter. A noted sports psychologist calls it – See, Feel, Do. Notice you don’t see the word “think” in there…

The depth of your abilities, memories of personal excellence and feelings of confidence, all rest peacefully within your subconscious. These inner resources are stimulated into action by using your conscious mind properly. I have a saying in my book that goes: use your mind as it is designed. This occurs when we understand the relationship between our conscious and subconscious mind.

The understanding of how all of this works might seem complex but the actual experience of it is not. It is the most natural way to play, which is why you perform better this way! Emptying your conscious mind clutter and playing in the flow can become a habit just like any other. It just takes the right understanding and a few simple exercises to make it all happen for you.

By learning to focus and commit to a definite target for EVERY shot, you are directing the conscious mind properly and this immediately calls your subconscious into action. It then does what it is designed to do: scan your enormous database of resources and produce the right swing for the demands of the shot.

Your conscious mind asks while your subconscious answers. Sounds like a great relationship, don’t you think? Develop this natural relationship between your conscious and subconscious mind and the useless mind clutter you play with will become a distant memory.

If you’re looking for a mental program to improve your golf game, I strongly recommend Wade Pearse’s Mental Golf Program.

What is mental toughness to you? Is it picturing Tiger Woods demolishing his opponents on Sunday of a tournament? There may be an overall mental toughness in golf yet there are many instances where you relate to this term differntly. It can be when a tournament or bet is on the line and you’re able to stay focused and grind out a win. That, of course, is mentally tough.

It might be there are numerous distractions in your group, which could cause you to lose focus but you control your attention and this is definitely a form of mental toughness. Perhaps you are a fast player, generally, and the group you’re in is painfully slow. Being able to maintain your inner state and commit to your game displays mental toughness as well.

There are many situiations in the game where mental toughness is an obvious asset. Take a look at Julie Inkster on the LPGA. Now there’s a lady who is mentally tough. I terms of age she is, by all typical measuring sticks, past her prime. Yet she has the tenacity of a pit bull. She is able to get the best of herself at the times when it matters most.

What areas of the game do you feel you could use more mental toughness? Think of one now. We all have some areas that can use some attention. I consider myself mentally tough in many areas yet there is one area I am currently working on improving: auditory distractions. Simply put, noises sure seem to cause my attention to wander. Steady noises are easy to deal with yet the sudden ones have caused a loss of focus for me.

Know Thyself

Just because I’m a coach of the inner game doesn’t mean I’ve mastered all areas. I am human and very honest in my self appraisal. I suggest you do the same. By identifying key areas where you tend to lose focus, or get lost in negative self talk, you can use mental imagery to design new behaviors. New attitudes which empower you instead of get making you feel defeated inside.

I define mental toughness as the inner resolve and commitment to doing your absolute best on each shot, regardless of what is happening around you or how well you’re playing. You might be leading in a match, bet or tournament and you stay in each shot and in the moment. Not getting too far ahead of yourself. Staying present and in your game and each shot.

One of my favourite stats (I keep personal stats on multiple areas of my game and teach players to do the same) is the bounce back. This means after you have a poor hole, like a bogie, you follow that up with a birdie. This is excellent mental toughness in my opinion. When you learn certain inner skills like managing your state this becomes effortless.

You need to look at situations when you play that cause poor performance. Make a mental note of this. Then the next time you play make a clear effort after a similar experience to make your very next shot the most important one all day. So if you just hit a ball O.B. and you have to re-tee, step up to your shot with a renewed focus and do your absolute best to birdie that ball. Hey, making a bogie on a hole that you blasted a ball O.B. on feels like a birdie, doesn’t it?

If you play match play at all you’ll know there are many times this will actually get you a halve on the hole or even win it if your opponent gets a little too relaxed after you hit a ball O.B.! In tournament play or even a $5 dollar bet, never give in until the last putt is in
on the last hole. You never know what can happen.

Stay Mentally Tough and Your Good Shots Will Come

I do one on one coaching on the golf course with players and as we make our way around the course we’ll talk about their game. Many players have the tendency to let the game get away from them when they aren’t hitting the ball well. Or when they aren’t scoring as they had hoped. To me this is a critical moment in a round of golf.

Let’s say you’re a 12 handicap and as of the 13 hole you’re already 12 over. Ok, you’re at your cap already. So mentally you surrender to the course and feel a bit beaten. You give up. This habit is toxic to your game. If you stay in your game, regardless of your score, you’ll build a killer instinct, which will appear in your game when you really need it. Like when you’re on pace to shoot your personal low score.

I was with a client recently and noticed him giving up. His physiology was changing and I could see his routine was speeding up. I said casually, “You never know when a hole in one will come. Hey, you might hole a 2nd shot on a par 4 or drain a forty foot birdie on the next hole.”

We continued and when finished the round I reminded him he went 2 under over the last 5 holes for an 83. He played the last 5 holes like a scratch golfer! Imagine when he learns to start his golf rounds this way…

It is a fact that you truly DO NOT know when your miracle shot will come or which round will be your personal best. I’m currently playing to a 4 handicap (gets a stroke worse at season’s end here in Canada) and the first time I ever broke par over 18 holes was when I was 3 over par for the first 5 holes. I was basically at my handicap already.

It would have been easy to say, “today isn’t my day. Gee, I’m 3 over already and only allowed one more bogie for the next 13 holes in order to play to my handicap.” I went 4 under for the rest of that day to shoot 71. My first sub-par round.

The point should be clear: stay in the game no matter what is happening. If you end up shooting well over your cap, so what. What is important is the habit you’re dveloping. Mental toughness is a habit that pays you over and over again and will win more matches and bets for you than almost any other mental discipline.

Make the simple effort of building this new habit into your game. Your overall satisfaction will rise and your scores will go down. Guaranteed.

If you’re looking for a mental program to improve your golf game, I strongly recommend Wade Pearse’s Mental Golf Program.

Note (from Mike): The picture you see is of my very good friend Dave Cushion who has won many club championships and has a fantastic site over at Better Golf Right Now!

How do you go about your matches or tournaments? What is your mindset? Do you play with a sense of goodwill or do you get caught in the ego desire to “crush” your opponent(s)? This isn’t saying that winning isn’t important, it’s just a comment on how best to play in the true spirit of the game.

I find that many players, in their desire to win, actually focus their mind on the wrong things that take them out of their game and their play suffers from this. In the west we’ve been conditioned to focus only on being 1st. After all, if you don’t win you’re just
the first loser. This is the western mantra, like it or not. Sad, really.

I recall David Duval finishing 2nd in the Masters one year behind Tiger woods. He was being interviewed and a reporter commented on “how bad you must feel for losing.”

David, in a response filled with amusement and amazement said, “Where did the idea come from that finishing 2nd is losing?! Of course I wanted to win but why should I feel bad for finishing in 2nd in a major championship?” His point is spot on, in my opinion. The compulsion to only care about the big “W” is killing many players’ chances at performing to their potential.

Winning “Isn’t” Everything

Being so centered around getting the victory at all costs and feeling bad when this doesn’t happen is a recipe for actually becoming the loser everyone dreads being. Think about it. If you feel poorly every time you don’t win a bet with your buddies, a match or a PGA event, you better give up the game of golf real soon and spare yourself a future filled with inner torment and grief.

The game is about you challenging yourself and playing a golf course. The true competition is yourself! If you tap your potential and learn how to channel all of your skills, both mind and body, into your game, then you’ll experience victory every time you tee it up.

The camaraderie is another important part of golf. Congratulating your opponent/friend when they win is equally important as winning itself. Jack Nicklaus prided himself on being a gracious “loser” (I use that term loosely of course) and making damn sure he left his bruised ego out of things after a match/tournament.

Winning is a state of mind, not just something that happens when you come in 1st. When you’re mind is prepared properly, you respect the game and your playing partners/opponents, you won’t need to concern yourself so much about winning. You’ve already won. Enjoy the fullness of the game. This really relaxes the mind and then personal victory is inevitable. When you make this approach your overall mental habit, you will get those actual “wins” far more often.

If you’re looking for a mental program to improve your golf game, I strongly recommend Wade Pearse’s Mental Golf Program.

Your score can only improve by increasing your skills and having an understanding of just how to properly prepare and push yourself on every shot you take. You should be asking yourself: “What do I expect from this shot? What is a reasonable result?”

Reasonable Goals To Better Your Score

The key to becoming a better golfer and lowering your score is to totally avoid taking too many putts. Regardless of how well you blast the ball from your tee shot and landing it on the green within regulation, taking an unacceptable number of strokes to get the ball into the hole is a wasted opportunity. There is no excuse for this.

The Initial Goal

Do not confuse goals with expectations. An expectation is an action that is reasonable and one that should happen every time you decide on the outcome. A goal, on the other hand, is something in which you are reaching high for, but may take a little time to get there. Once reached, the goal can then become an expectation through repetition.

The initial goal you should have in golf is to send the ball into the hole within 36 putts or fewer, on an 18 hole course. This means that you must hit two putts or less on every green.

This goal obviously becomes easier to achieve the closer you can hit the ball to the green. But for those times when it lands 30 to 50 feet away from the hole, you’ve got yourself a major feat to accomplish. It’s going to take extreme focus to successfully make long putts.

Make Every Putt Count

By accepting the challenge to play every golf game with the goal of 36 or fewer putts, you’ve taken a big step towards improving yourself and your game skills. However, do not let this challenge get in the way of your confidence.

When facing a long putt, you may have the tendency to get lazy and lose confidence in knowing that you can make the shot. This may cause you to swing at the ball in a halfhearted manner and quit your goal before even trying.

Too Much Confidence Can Hurt

Even if the shot appears to be too easy, the same negative outcome can happen. You may have been very successful in getting the ball close to the hole, but feel overly confident. You may then attack the ball with too much aggressiveness. Instead of staying focused, your overconfidence and lack of concentration may cause an easy 2′ foot putt to completely miss the hole.

So, stay focused, stay confident and see your game improve.

For more tips for the new golfer check out the golf blog for beginner golfers, Sensible Golf Tips

Golf is simple. That’s right, you heard me correctly. Golf is simple. The current approach to instruction is largely responsible for the belief that it’s difficult. Before I continue permit me a moment of diversion to explain something that will support the point of this article.

I have been requested to co-write a golf book that is sure to ruffle some feathers in the golf world…maybe even create some anger. The author was a top 100 PGA instructor and taught alongside the likes of Claude Harmon (the original Harmon that made his brothers famous and the only club pro ever to win the Masters), Harvey Pennick and other greats of the game.

I tell you this to provide insight into why golf IS an easy game. Their approach to the game is far removed from traditional instruction. These are legends in the world of golf and they are firm believers in simplicity. They repeat that the game is simple. No need to over complicate it. Yet over-complication is great for an industry that owes its’ existence to the prevailing myth that golf is difficult to learn.

Hey, I said this book will ruffle some feathers but I have no resistance to this. The author of this book, which I’m co-writing, is the only teacher in history, other than his friend Harvey Pennick, to produce 2 players who became 1st Team All-Americans. One of his students is an undefeated Ryder Cup member who just went 4 – 0 in the President’s Cup. I mention his credentials so you know this golf coach is at the top of the crop when it comes to understanding the golf swing and what it takes to win at the highest levels.

Beliefs are Addictive

I am really only repeating his words: golf is simple. It’s all about beliefs (and attitude). First we need to understand that beliefs are like drugs. They are extremely addictive. Take a look at any religious or political argument in life and you’ll see a fine example of how people act when under the influence of this mind altering addiction. Just try and take someone’s belief away from them in almost any area of life and you’ll meet some serious resistance!

As well, notice the are countless methodologies for teaching golf and each has its own bias on what is truly important in the swing/game. This only leads to more confusion, frustration and a lack of focus for those of us looking to improve our games. Over-complication.

Follow me here…If a player “believes” golf is fun and easy, even though they might not even know how to shoot good scores yet, and another player has been taught that golf is difficult and takes a lot of work, who do you think will improve the quickest? Without any coercion to affect your response I will bet that most of you would say the first player will get more from the game and learn quicker. We’ve all heard that beliefs are very powerful, right? So why don’t we use them properly and to our advantage?

Mainly because we do not truly understand how they’re shaped and that they can be changed. Once you have some evidence that supports a belief, that belief becomes more solid to you. To the point where your mind is now “conditioned” to find more evidence that supports the belief. Beliefs are like missiles: they are very focused on their target => evidence.

One of the 43 separate sections in my mental game course is dedicated to beliefs and how to change them to support your outcomes. Beliefs are dynamic, not static. They are not solid and unchangeable, as they might seem to you. And one more thing: you are not your beliefs…. I’ll let you ponder that one on your own time.

Design New Beliefs

Let’s say I’m a 16 handicapper. I hit a bad shot and feel some frustration inside and say to myself, “What an idiot. You can’t play this game worth crap. Lesson after lesson and I STILL hit the ball like a beginner. I can’t learn this stupid game.” Ok, let’s take a brief look at the belief installation process…

I like to call this a Scaffold of Belief. It is built from the ground up with the belief itself resting atop the scaffold. It looks like this:

Belief
XXX
Evidence
XXXXX
Conclusion
XXXXXXX
Evaluation
XXXXXXXXX
Perception
XXXXXXXXXXXX

Let’s look closer at the example above:

Perception – I hit a bad shot.
Evaluation – what an idiot.
Conclusion – I can’t play this game worth crap.
Evidence – lesson after lesson and I still hit the ball like a beginner.
Belief – I can’t learn this stupid game

Ouch. A very disempowering belief, wouldn’t you agree?

Process complete. You now have a “solid” belief that will guide your decisions and therefor your results. Ultimately your experience on the golf course will be directly affected by this.

Now what if you had the key to creating new and empowering beliefs that would transform your game from the inside out? How much faster will you learn? How low could you really go with beliefs that are designed to support your goals? Beliefs are fluid, not solid.

I offer you a direct insight into the structure of beliefs and the tools to change them. Leaving you free to truly explore your potential and tap your own inner talents. My friend I spoke of at the beginning of this article likes to say “Let your inner artist out to play.” Beautifully put. I’ll show you how to make this a reality.

Note: This article may not be reproduced, altered, or used in any way without the express written consent of Wade Pearse. It is shared openly here on the behalf of Mike Pedersen for the sole benefit of his visitors.

If you want to get your mental game dialed up, I strongly recommend Wade Pearse’s Mental Golf Program.

It’s been my experience that the majority of golfers look at the rules of golf as being something that works against them. And that they cost them more strokes than they save them. I disagree with this assertion and so should you.

A rule is a rule. A set of guidelines that provide a framework to play an equitable game within. Fairness is the intent, not punishment. If you look at ALL of your rounds of golf (ok, this isn’t possible but for the sake of consversation) you’d find an equal number of instances where the rules, if in fact you knew them, actually helped you.

First off, you must know the rules if you want to play the game. If you know them they will help you just as much as they cost you. I recall hitting a ball way left toward the O.B. It was definitely heading O.B. yet hit the O.B. stake head on and kicked the ball back in play. Not only back in play but it also landed on a cart path. Hmm…I’m not required to stand on a cart path. So I took a relief, dropped my ball and was left with a perfect lie.

You can easily be like Sergio Garcia and focus on how the golfing gods are against you and that you, and just you, get all the bad bounces. This is your choice, of course. But ask yourself if this empowers you or dismpowers you? You get loads of good bounces and good breaks. You just need to pay attention to them more.

The rules will help you especially if you look at things this way. I am serious. Just by stating to yourself “the rules of golf are designed to support me in shooting the best score I am capable of”, you are putting yourself in a truly positive frame of mind. One based in a positive expectancy. Not “expectations”, expectancy. There’s big difference.

Look at Rules as Your Ally

By looking at rules in this way you will make an effort to read them and really get an understanding of them. You will find that there are rules that can save your bacon in a tournament if you know them. Just like in Phoenix years ago when Tiger enlisted the fans to help him move a huge boulder out of the way of his iron shot. It was a moveable obstruction so he moved it. Nowhere did the rules say only “he” could move the obstruction.

Now I want you to notice the conversation that is going on in your head right now. How do you feel about what Tiger did? What are you saying to yourself? This is an insight into your attitude around rules. Have an attitude that every rule is there for your benefit. Will a rule cost you strokes once in a while? Of course. But it isn’t the “rule” that cost you the stroke, it was your shot.

So no matter what occurs during a round of golf treat it with a curious, almost excited state of mind. You might say to yourself after hitting O.B., “Ok, how cool will it be when I get a bogie on this hole even after hitting O.B.?” I teach players to keep the exact same perspective on a birdie or a quad. After a bad hole where a rule seemed to cost a stroke my players know it had nothing to do with the rules.

They immediately gather their attention and double their focus. Unlike the majority of players who turn an already bad hole into a nightmare and let the round get away from them.

Think about it. What feels better then taking a 5 on a hole where you were O.B. off the tee? And then calmly making a birdie on the very next hole… You’re even par for the two holes. This is the attitude to have. The bounce back stat is one of the most telling stats you can monitor on your game in my opinion. True mental toughness.

Have the attitude that rules are your friend and that ANY result from a ruling will work in your favor. This way no matter what happens your mind and emotions remain relaxed and centered on the shot at hand. You’ll be amazed at how things seem to go in your favor when you take this approach.

If you’re looking for a resource to improve the mental part of your game, I encourage you to take a look at Wade Pearse’s Mental Golf Program today!

Focus In Between Shots

One of the barriers to focusing in golf is the long times between shots. This can make it difficult to stay focused on what needs to be done. It’s quite easy to play a four-hour round. But when it comes right down to it, out of that four hours, you are only spending a few minutes actually swinging the club (for some of us it may be more than a few minutes). The rest of the time you spend walking/riding from one place to another on the course and waiting for others to play.

Forget The Last Shot

Another thing that makes it difficult to focus on what needs to be done is to “fight the past”. A big contributor to distracting you for the shot you are taking now is remembering the way you played poorly in a previous game.

It’s important to focus on the game you are playing now, not the one you played on the same course last week. You’ll greatly increase your chances of repeating mistakes if you can’t forget that lousy shot! The memories can create anxiety, fear, anger, all of which are destructive in a golf game. It is essential to concentrate and focus on the shot you are faced with now.

Focus In The NOW

Still another problem is worrying about the shot that lies ahead of you. This can be a hole that has given others problems in the past, or even yourself. How many golfers, when faced with a water hazard, sweat a little more, feel their heart rate go up a little bit, start thinking about how that ball is sure to go into the water?

This is an obvious cause for loss of focus. Instead of worrying about how poorly you are probably going to play that hole, focus on the fundamentals, focus on your swing, focus on playing that hazard as if it were not there.

Let Go Of Control

The first step in controlling your focus is to understand what you are trying to control. Stop for a minute and try not to think of anything. Picture a black, empty wall and focus on it. What you end up with are short, fragmented thoughts that aren’t really going anywhere.

These are difficult to focus on. This now allows you to focus on the shot in front of you and to concentrate on what’s important to making that shot.

By being able to control this stream of thoughts, you gain a real advantage in your ability to play focused, and therefore, better golf.

This is another of many tips for the new golfer that can be found on the golf blog for beginner golfers, Sensible Golf Tips.