| I recently found someone’s list of the top ten | | | | changing your swing mechanics out on the course. |
| mental mistakes golfers make and how to | | | | Just learn from the shot and move on as |
| correct them instantly. As I disagree with much | | | | described in my response to the dwelling on your |
| of the “how to correct them instantly” | | | | mistakes and bad shots. |
| advice, I’ve included his first 10 mental | | | | Number 8: Comparing yourself to some other |
| mistakes below with my suggestions as to how | | | | golfer |
| address them with NLP and Golf Hypnosis. | | | | You can learn a lot in golf from watching a good |
| Number 1: Letting your internal dialogue run wild | | | | player at his or her best, but the real challenge of |
| Get a good hypnotist to install a post-hypnotic | | | | golf is you playing against the course. It really |
| suggestion that you go into a trance as you step | | | | doesn’t matter how well or badly your playing |
| into each shot or use self-hypnosis to achieve the | | | | partners or opponents are playing. If you play to |
| same result. Whichever way, you’re allowing | | | | the best of your ability and lose, then well done |
| your unconscious mind to get on with playing the | | | | you and well done them. That’s one of the |
| shot to the best of your technical ability while | | | | many special things I love about golf. |
| keeping your chattering conscious mind out of the | | | | If it still bothers you then install the post-hypnotic |
| action. That seems to work for Tiger Woods. | | | | suggestion that you’ll treat every shot as if |
| Number 2: Tightening up on your difficult shots | | | | it’s the last one you’ll ever play |
| Learn to use hypnosis or an NLP anchoring | | | | There’d be no reason to dwell on your past |
| technique to relax before planning any shot. Then | | | | shots and there wouldn’t be any in the |
| control the inevitable internal dialogue with a | | | | future, so you might as well make the most of |
| post-hypnotic suggestion, as in number 1 above. | | | | the one you’re playing now. |
| Number 3: Worrying about the Yips | | | | Number 9: Thinking about what could go wrong |
| This is basically a mental tightening up on a | | | | In your mind this is interpreted in a similar way to |
| specific difficult shot, so I‘d handle it the same | | | | telling yourself what NOT to do. Your unconscious |
| as Number 2. | | | | mind will have to think about the thing that could |
| Number 4: Telling yourself what NOT to do | | | | go wrong happening and it will do your best to |
| Don’t go in the bunker, trees, water, etc! | | | | make it happen. If you want to evaluate what |
| Your unconscious mind doesn’t know how to | | | | could go wrong, that’s fine, before you make |
| not do something. If I ask you to think of a blue | | | | up your mind what you do want to happen. Then |
| elephant, you unconsciously have to imagine one | | | | you can use your post-hypnotic suggestion or |
| – you probably just did! If you want to give | | | | self-hypnosis to switch off your unconscious mind |
| yourself or anyone else a suggestion, phrase it | | | | and let your unconscious programming get on |
| using positive progressive language. That’s | | | | with hitting your desired shot. |
| what a good hypnotist will help you with. | | | | Number 10: Worrying about other people watching |
| Number 5: Dwell on your mistakes and bad shots | | | | you |
| The key thing is to learn from your mistakes, bad | | | | If you’re using hypnosis and NLP to manage |
| luck and plain bad shots before releasing them to | | | | your state and concentration during the round, |
| the past where they can trouble you no more. | | | | you will be consciously unaware and untroubled by |
| Once again, you can make sure you do this with | | | | the actions of others. Even if they are thinking |
| the help of post-hypnotic suggestions from a | | | | bad or critical thoughts about you, those thoughts |
| good hypnotist or use self-hypnosis. You may | | | | are in their heads and not yours. Once you go |
| recall from my earlier post about how Tiger | | | | into your playing trance you will be blissfully |
| handles this despite, or maybe with the help of, | | | | unaware of your conscious self-talk. |
| his temper tantrums when he has a bad or | | | | So what are my overall conclusions? |
| unlucky shot. Once you release a bad shot like | | | | Now, it won’t surprise you to hear that my |
| this, you’re free to hit the next one to the | | | | suggestions all revolve around the use of a good |
| best of your ability and as if you had never hit | | | | hypnotist helping you with appropriate |
| the bad one. | | | | post-hypnotic suggestions tied to a number of |
| Number 6: ”Trying” to consciously control | | | | carefully chosen golf psychology techniques. |
| your swing mechanics | | | | Without the hypnosis and post-hypnotic |
| Do you remember how hard it was to tie your | | | | suggestions, you will probably forget to |
| shoe laces the first time and how it’s just an | | | | remember to execute the techniques on every |
| automatic process? To see what I mean, write | | | | shot. |
| down the step by step instructions for how you | | | | You'll also notice I’m avoiding naming the |
| tie your shoelaces and then give them to | | | | “someone” who published the original list |
| someone else and ask them to follow them to | | | | and hidden his responses. I know that if you really |
| the letter. Even if they succeed, it’ll take | | | | want to read them, you can probably find them |
| them much longer than just using the unconscious | | | | on the web, but I don’t want them on my |
| program. Now imagine consciously following those | | | | website. |
| instructions in the time it takes to swing a golf | | | | One of the reasons that I failed to benefit from |
| club. | | | | the Inner Game of Golf and the many other |
| The only effective way to swing a golf club is to | | | | books, DVDs and CDs I purchased over my |
| switch off your conscious mind and all its thoughts | | | | earlier the years is that none of them installed |
| about swing mechanics and trust your | | | | any way of remembering not to forget to do |
| unconscious mind – you’ve already | | | | their techniques when I needed them. The |
| programmed it to repeat the best shot | | | | nearest anyone has ever got to achieving that |
| you’ve ever hit. And the way to make sure | | | | has been Dr Karl Morris with his Circle Game, but |
| you do that is, as before, to get a good hypnotist | | | | that worked very intermittently for me. |
| to install an appropriate post-hypnotic or use | | | | It would be an improvement if I had a caddy |
| self-hypnosis. | | | | every time I played and the caddy had a checklist |
| Number 7: Criticising your shot and looking for | | | | of all the golf psychology instructions I had to |
| flaws in your swing | | | | remember. Even then, I would still need something |
| Even using hypnosis, you’ll occasionally mishit | | | | like hypnosis to manage the interference from |
| a shot or be unlucky. However, that’s no | | | | my conscious mind while I hit the shots. |
| cause for criticism and certainly no reason for | | | | |