Did you know that the Mind set and attitude you bring to your game determines not only your enjoyment of the game, but ultimately, your level of proficiency too? Jack Niklaus is famous for saying, “mental preparation is the single most critical element of peak performance” In fact experts agree that anything up to 95% of success in golf is mental! Unfortunately, many people are unaware that they can improve their game just by changing the way they think, so they never actually reach their true potential.
So how do you go about developing a solid mental game, and why do you need it? Well given that your mental game is responsible for up to 95% of your results, if your performance is inconsistent, then your results will be too, it’s as simple as that. This doesn’t mean that you need to spend hours at the driving range, thinking positive thoughts as that´s not how it works (although practise on the driving range and working with your Golf Prof is still important) but you do need to learn specific mental techniques that will allow you to work smarter on your game not harder.
That´s where I come in, as an Advanced Hypnotherapist, Motivation Coach and Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguisitic Programming with over 27 years of coaching experience at Training Seminars, Private Sessions and Telephone Coaching, I can help you: -
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Increase your focus and mental toughness
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Enable you to have inner confidence from the changing room to the last putt at the final hole
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Measurably lower your handicap and
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Learn to use your mind to totally transform your game
Hypnotherapy and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP for short) are two of the most powerful approaches to changing negative habits, as well as enhancing mental performance. Simply put, NLP works by re-programming your mind, rather like installing upgraded software in your home computer. Think of it as a way to try out something different, to do things a new way, perhaps to step inside Tiger Woods to really see, hear and feel what it’s like to be a champion taking a shot. In NLP this is called modelling, you mentally visualise and rehearse each individual part of your game using a true master as your model, until it becomes part of YOUR mental programming. You could also think of it as brain washing - we are going to wash away all your old bad habits and behaviours and replace them with new better habits and behaviours. In NLP we work with the fact that if one person has learnt how to do something, then anyone can learn it.
Hypnotherapy and NLP are not the only tools in a Mental Mastery toolkit. Sports Coaches the world over have for many years, used visualisation techniques to help teach new routines and skills. You may have seen this demonstrated in a BBC Science programme recently with a difficult Olympic Gymnastics double bar routine. Amazingly, by repeatedly visualising a routine (or anything else for that matter) it is programmed into your neural pathways, so when you come to the physical performance, it is not a new routine or skill as it has already been mentally achieved. You may not know it, but your brain does not differentiate between an imagined and a real event, it just carries out the programme you have installed. When you are able to just relax and let it flow, YOUR game really will improve beyond your dreams.
That is not all, by mentally focusing on Breathing exercises, you will reduce swing flaws and manage stress and tension, both on and off the golf course. Relaxation techniques will help you manage tee-off nerves and general anxiety so that you are cool and confident from the changing rooms to the last tee and the last putt. Time Line techniques will allow you to jump into the future to experience first hand, your goals and dreams. Perhaps you will have the winners trophy in your hands, feel the wonderful sense of achievement, and hear your friends congratulating you on your best ever round of golf, how wonderful would that be!
Still not convinced? Well did you know that the way you talk to yourself, has a huge impact on your emotional state? Our self talk, the things we say to ourselves without thinking, are important because they directly affect both our conscious and sub-conscious mind. We listen to everything we say to ourselves, and interestingly our sub-conscious mind does not recognise negatives. For example, if you were to think “I don’t want to hit the bunker again”, your sub-conscious mind first focuses on the word “bunker” and, missing out the word “don’t” your sentence now becomes “I want to hit the bunker again”! To make matters even worse, your sub-conscious mind now thinks this is your goal, and helps you to achieve it by repeating the previous programmed behaviour. For example, you step up to the tee and your mind is full of fear, your muscles tense up, you probably stop breathing, and you end up trying so hard that it all goes horribly wrong yet again! infact, in the process you may also have aggrivated a back complaint or your golfers elbow. Sound familiar?
Take a minute now to think about the things you say to yourself, on reflection are they positive or negative? Could the bunkers of your own mind be sub-consciously undermining your own game?
This is just one example, but if the answer yes, then you could significantly benefit from working on your mental approach to the game. If your still not sure, then click onto my download page and print off a copy of the Mental Game Self Assessment. You can also download a free copy of the ebook The Mental Game of Golf Tips by Wade Pearce.
You may only need a few hours of coaching and continue to practice the techniques at home and on the course to make a serious difference, but you really can learn how to use the power of YOUR MIND to play more confidently, enjoyably and consistently, to lower both your scores and your handicap.
Together WE can Change YOUR Game!
I offer Private Sports Performance Coaching sessions at the clinic in Altea la Vieja and Telephone Coaching for those who are too far to travel to the clinic. If you have a group (minimum 4 people) who are interested in coaching sessions at your location, I would be happy to travel to you, please contact me to discuss arrangements. I am also available for talks on the Mental Game of Golf.
If you would like to learn more, I recommend you purchase the full ebook Every Golfers Guide to the Development of their Inner Game by Wade Pearce by clicking here Your game will improve for a lifetime and it comes with a 100%, no questions asked, money back guarantee. Your satisfaction is the author Wade Pearce´s primary concern. You will shoot consistently lower scores and eliminate game killing holes. Not only that, but when you purchase the full mental game programme, you will also receive Lifetime Updates to the book. Wade continues to test and apply the best strategies in the mental game and add´s new sections to the book, which he will send to you. There are also 8 audio coaching session that compliment the material in the course.
