| Nearly every golfer who hasn't got his or her | | | | that you can't make the shot. The doubts placed |
| head buried in the proverbial bunker sand, usually | | | | in your mind come from your left-brain! |
| from fear of messing up, will have heard how | | | | 4. Too much emphasis on pure technique |
| important the mental game is. Come on now, | | | | Ah, technique! Your left-brain just loves technique |
| every top pro has spent countless hours and | | | | and the technicalities of: the swing, or the chip, or |
| dollars developing their mental game to become | | | | the putt. Remember our left-brain loves logic and |
| winners and we all know so should we; so why | | | | lists, do this, then this, then this. Sounds like a |
| don't we? Here I will share with you the 5 | | | | lesson in swinging a golf club, yes? Your left-brain |
| reasons why the normal golfer never develops a | | | | just loves all those swing thoughts too. |
| strong mental game; and hence never becomes a | | | | The problem with this is your mind is so cluttered |
| winner! | | | | with technique, and the problems of obtaining the |
| Pay close attention! | | | | perfect swing or the killer putt, that you cannot |
| 1. Your brain is in two parts | | | | possibly have a strong mental game. Why? Read |
| Duh, of course, we can see this from medical | | | | on. |
| pictures so what? The individual hemispheres of | | | | 5. Your right-brain isn't being allowed to do its job |
| the brain do basically two different jobs; the | | | | Think about it a moment. I said in #1 that the |
| left-hemisphere (known as left-brain) controls logic, | | | | right-brain deals with spatial issues and visualisation. |
| talk, numbers, and loves lists, the right-hemisphere | | | | In fact, right-brain is an expert in these things but |
| (known as right-brain) deals with spatial issues, | | | | the problem is left-brain always wants to be in |
| imagination, visualisation, new concepts, and has | | | | control. This control by left-brain prevents you |
| no concept of time. | | | | playing your best golf because the left-brain is |
| This is the first thing we need to know to | | | | rubbish at spatial problems; and golf is a spatial |
| develop our mental game! | | | | game! Left-brain actually knows it is rubbish at golf |
| 2. We are conditioned by language | | | | which is why it constantly makes you doubt |
| Virtually from the day we are born, and some | | | | yourself; by doubting yourself you maintain a high |
| research suggests even prior to this, we are | | | | level of self-talk which stops you solving the |
| conditioned by language. In fact, there is actually a | | | | spatial problems of placing the golf ball where you |
| gene that children have up to about 10 years of | | | | want it. |
| age that makes learning language easy. We need | | | | The fact is, once you have the basics of |
| language to exist in the modern world so we can | | | | technique, to develop your mental game you |
| communicate. Crikey, we even have our own | | | | need to gain control over your left-brain and learn |
| 'voice in the head' that talks to us all day long | | | | to activate your right-brain when you play a shot. |
| (known as self-talk, another duh!) | | | | This is why most pro golfers use a pre-shot |
| Self-talk is an essential part of survival but very | | | | routine before every single shot; it helps them |
| bad for our mental game! | | | | activate right-brain mode. |
| 3. The left-brain dominates the right-brain | | | | There you have it, 5 reasons why you don't |
| The left-brain is very dominant and tends to | | | | develop your mental game. The reality is you are |
| subdue the right-brain. This dominance is | | | | stopping yourself, or more accurately, your |
| developed during our education from an early age. | | | | left-brain is stopping you. Most golfers would |
| This is evidenced in schools by the emphasis | | | | agree that lessons from a good golf pro will |
| placed on logic subjects such as mathematics, | | | | improve their technique. Similarly, it should be |
| physics, etc. and the rather too low importance | | | | obvious that only with expert help can you hope |
| given to art subjects such as drawing and music. | | | | to gain the mental discipline you need for a strong |
| This left-brain dominance is experienced on the | | | | golf mental game. Start taking some mental game |
| golf course every time your self-talk tells you | | | | coaching now! |