| Here are some of the major reasons you do not | | | | and make that one putt. |
| want your conscious mind to make your golf | | | | Steve Davis, one of the best ever Snooker |
| swing for you, or in other words, you engaging | | | | players and also now well known in Pool said; "You |
| your conscious mind to swing your golf club and | | | | have to play like it doesn't matter when it |
| send the ball to a target. Your conscious mind | | | | matters the most." |
| deals with analysis and consequences and is not | | | | Next I raise the wooden plank to 10ft. Now think |
| ideally suited to making large full body, free | | | | about how you would walk over it. Now raise it to |
| flowing and perfectly coordinated human | | | | 30ft. If you fall from there then you are going to |
| movement. | | | | get hurt and all of a sudden your conscious brain |
| Your conscious mind is going to naturally want to | | | | is thinking of consequences and causing you |
| analyse: | | | | anxiety, tension and doubt. You will not walk as |
| · What went wrong with my swing? | | | | confidently over that plank as you did when it |
| · What can go wrong with this shot? | | | | was on the floor and you walked it without |
| · What have I done wrong before? | | | | thinking about it. In other words you walked it |
| · What's wrong with my swing? | | | | unconsciously. |
| · I must try to hit the ball straighter! | | | | What if the plank is raised to 100ft? Would you |
| · What are the consequences of making | | | | walk it knowing that if you fall you are probably |
| a mistake here? | | | | going to die? |
| · Will I lose the hole, blow my scorecard | | | | Yet technically and from your ability to perform |
| and lose the match? | | | | point of view, nothing has changed. If you can |
| · What will other people think of me? | | | | skip confidently across it on the ground then you |
| And that's just a small list of things your analytical | | | | can do the same if it was a thousand foot high. |
| mind may throw at you! What can you add from | | | | The difference is the perceived danger of a |
| your own experience? Reading this list it doesn't | | | | negative outcome. |
| take a rocket scientist too long to realise that one | | | | In golf terms: You are 45ft away from the hole |
| simply cannot make free flowing, fluid and | | | | on the 18th green. If you 3putt, you lose the |
| CONFIDENT golf swings if we are trying to | | | | match and there are 200 people packed around |
| manipulate our body consciously while suffering | | | | the green watching you. You start to worry and |
| the anxiety of possible negative results. | | | | suddenly you are thinking more about just trying |
| The same part of your mind that controls | | | | to get it close. You are thinking about possible |
| countless body functions every second of the | | | | negative outcomes rather than confidently |
| day is the part of you mind that you want | | | | skipping over the plank. |
| controlling your golf swing because that part of | | | | Now I am not saying your analysis of danger in |
| your mind has the greatest ability, by far, to get | | | | the "plank high in sky" analogy is wrong. It isn't. |
| your body to move fluidly and rhythmically to | | | | That is a good protection system because it |
| give you the result you want. This is your | | | | stops you from doing something that could have |
| unconscious mind. (Also referred to quite often as | | | | very serious consequences. |
| the sub-conscious). | | | | In golf term it doesn't work though and all it does |
| Here is an analogy that I like which helps explain | | | | is restrict and inhibit performance. It is your |
| the difference between conscious and unconscious | | | | analysis and fear of an outcome that causes |
| performance and the problems that your | | | | tension and anxiety in golf and ironically it is that |
| conscious mind will cause in its attempt to protect | | | | tension and anxiety which is likely to be the major |
| you from harm. In golfing terms "harm" would be | | | | cause of you getting the bad result. |
| any shot result that you fear, like slicing it out of | | | | So how do you get rid of these anxieties? Well |
| bounds or duffing a chip or pitch shot into the | | | | working on your swing technique will help if it's |
| pond/bunker, shanking etc. You get the idea. | | | | poor because better swings mean better |
| Imagine this. | | | | outcomes which help to boost the confidence. |
| I put a wooden board on the ground. It is 50ft | | | | However a word of warning, if you are trying to |
| long and a generous width of 2ft. I ask you to | | | | boost confidence through performance then that's |
| walk along the plank one end to the other. You do | | | | backwards but that's another article. |
| this without concern as there are no real | | | | Mental game training is your answer. Through |
| consequences and the width is very generous. | | | | mental training you can get yourself to perform |
| I now raise the plank 2ft off the ground. Chances | | | | more in the present, without concern for |
| are you will still walk along it without any real | | | | outcomes, where you are just following a trusted |
| concern as the consequences of falling off are | | | | process. Mental game techniques also boost |
| really quite acceptable. In golf terms we could say | | | | confidence which is necessary to perform at your |
| you are on the 18th green and your ball is 45ft | | | | best and as I just said confidence has to come |
| from the hole and you have a 6 shot lead. There | | | | before performance. |
| is no concern about the outcome so you just | | | | No matter what your swing is like you will always |
| putt and chances are you will hole it in 2 or less | | | | perform better in "trust and let it go" mode |
| because you are relaxed and unconcerned. You | | | | (unconscious performance) than you will |
| don't care if you miss the first putt and that's the | | | | consciously worrying and trying to control your |
| best way to play, believe it or not. You are not | | | | swing and steer the ball. |
| concerned about the outcome and just go ahead | | | | |