The Second Golfer

On April 28, 2020, in "i"Blog"it", by JB

PEACE OF MIND and THE SECOND GOLFER . .Okay, we have all done it; hit a less than satisfying shot only to drop another ball and hit it perfect.  Most commonly done while putting.  Miss the first putt then pull it back and drain the next one. I have played golf with thousands of people […]

PEACE OF MIND and THE SECOND GOLFER

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.Okay, we have all done it; hit a less than satisfying shot only to drop another ball and hit it perfect.  Most commonly done while putting.  Miss the first putt then pull it back and drain the next one.

I have played golf with thousands of people and have observed this phenomenon over and over again.  I have watched golfers try so hard to hit a good shot, only to be disappointed with the result, then drop a second ball and hit the shot the way they intended, with ease and calmness, only to be more disappointed.  They will ask me, “Why”?  They say, “If I could only play like that second golfer I could beat anyone”.

What I observe is that each golfer who “tries” so hard the first time, with poor results, then relaxes and makes their true swing.  This swing is free of tension and free of the effort to control the result.  The second golfer no longer fears the result, this golfer is not trying to hit the ball perfect, not trying to do everything perfect to achieve the result but instead, the second golfer is “free” to swing.  Not expecting a result but observing what happens.

I believe that golf should be played with the “second golfer” mind.  I know that, from my own experiences. When I “try” to control the result by doing everything perfect, I fail to perform.  Because of this, I am more frustrated causing me to lose confidence in my swing.  I have learned and want to teach you all, a more enjoyable way to play golf.  I have changed my mentality over shots so that I spend time preparing for a result.  I do this by analyzing the lie of the ball, the conditions of the shot and the playing yardage.  The playing yardage is not what is on the sprinkler head or the GPS device but what the conditions warrant.  Is the shot uphill?  Is the wind helping or hurting?  Is the flag front, back or middle?  After feeding my analytical mind with this information I choose a club and let the performance mind take over.  This is accomplished by getting into my routine and believing that I have made the right choice, allowing me to perform the best swing I can, at that time, without expectations toward the result.  What I have found, with this state of mind, is that the good shots come more frequently and I am continually surprised by the outcome.  Also, I am not so frustrated because I was not focused on trying to hit the ball perfect, therefore when the shot is off, it does not bother me as much.  The bad shot is just part of the game and where I am at that point in time.   I can let it go and get ready for the next shot more easily.

The joy of hitting a good shot, when not “trying” to, far out weighs the disappointment that comes from trying to hit it perfect and not doing so.  By changing from the analytical golf swing to the performance golf swing, I have found that my confidence stays high and I can deal with the misses more easily.

If you can keep your confidence up and frustration down you will find golf far more enjoyable.

One thing is for certain, confidence is contagious while frustration increases tension and tension is a toxin to the golf swing.

Good Golfing and learn to golf your way!

JB

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What The Mind Sees… The Mind Does

On March 31, 2011, in "i"Blog"it", "Rx" Fundamentals, by JB

  “DON’T HIT IT IN THE POND ON THE LEFT”!  “DON’T HIT IT IN THAT BUNKER ON THE RIGHT”!  These are very familiar thoughts during the course of a round.  I have thought them; you have thought them; everybody that plays has thought something similar at some point on the course.  The problem with these […]


 

“DON’T HIT IT IN THE POND ON THE LEFT”!  “DON’T HIT IT IN THAT BUNKER ON THE RIGHT”!  These are very familiar thoughts during the course of a round.  I have thought them; you have thought them; everybody that plays has thought something similar at some point on the course.  The problem with these thoughts, as innocent as they seem, they even seem encouraging when thinking them, is that the mind does not recognize the “DON’T” part of the thought.  Even though you are trying to encourage a good shot the attention is directed to the hazard whether it be water, sand, trees, out of bounds or what have you.  The focus of the mind is the hazard not that you don’t want to hit it there, just the fact that the focus is there.  The mind then executes the thought, absent the “DON’T”, so in translation the driving thought of the swing you perform becomes, “HIT IT IN THE POND ON THE LEFT”!  And that is what happens over and over again.

What is necessary is a mindset that does not recognize the hazards but puts the focus on the truly desired result.  A thought similar to, “I want that ball in the middle of the fairway, I don’t care how it gets there”!  A thought like this allows the performance mind to create and perform a swing that will produce the result.  Now sometimes the ball will end up where you want with a shot that is not considered “good”, this is the hard part.  When you achieve the result you desire, the way it happens needs not to matter.  If you allow yourself to concern yourself with “how” it happened more than you concern yourself on the result, the mind will loose focus on the results you desired and focus more on the technique you “think” you should have used to create a “better” shot.

When you are trying to break 100, 90, 80 even 70 results are what are going to take you to the next level.  There is an old saying that goes similar to this, we are not drawing pictures on the scorecard, just writing down numbers.  No one cares how you shoot a score that is lower then usual, they just wish they could have done the same.   I promise there are very few times one is happy with the way they played, regardless of the score and when one is, it does not last long.  This holds true at every level, when you break 100 you are going to want to break 90, when you shoot even par you going to say, “I could have easily been under par”.  This is evident in most interviews after a tour event, many tour players say. “They left some out there,” they could have gone lower.  We are all in the same boat!

On the golf course, and in life, results are first scripted in the mind.  If you can learn to see what you want to happen in the mind first, the desired result follows.  I ask you to change your mind to see or at least think that what you want to happen will.

Learn to experience the power of the mind!

There is no real reason that you can’t play better golf!  If you want to, than you will! We will start providing videos and products, here at LGL that will give you the tools to get as good as you want.  Keep visiting and participate in upcoming surveys.

Good Golfing,

JB

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The Mind of A Golfer

On September 1, 2010, in "i"Blog"it", by JB

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE MIND IN GOLF? Truly we are seeing the power of the mind unfold in front of us.  It does not matter what your capabilities are or at what level you play golf, the mind is going to control the outcome!  Before I get to the point I want to make I […]

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE MIND IN GOLF?


Truly we are seeing the power of the mind unfold in front of us.  It does not matter what your capabilities are or at what level you play golf, the mind is going to control the outcome!  Before I get to the point I want to make I have some questions for you.  Do you have a favorite club in your bag that you “love” to hit?  One that almost every time you pull it out of the bag you hit it well, you look for a reason to hit it?  You say to yourself, “I know this is probably the wrong club to use but I can just ease up a little and get the job done,” and you do?   Do you try everything in your power not to hit the ball into the watery grave left or over the picked fence that defines the out of bounds right, inadvertently doing so?  Have you spent the whole round hitting the ball left to right only to hit a draw when the “trouble” is left? WHY do you do that?  Why can you hit a draw when the trouble is left?  Why can you do anything you want with the “favorite” club, whenever you want?  The answer my friends is in the “Power of the Mind”!

Golf, as has been said for ions, is a game played between the ears. The problem is that most do not want to commit to the power of the mind or admit that they are weak in the mind. The golfing mind that is.  The game is simple . . . hit a ball with a stick, a ball that is not moving, may I add, to a target and eventually into a hole that is almost three times larger than the ball.  Many of you have played other sports, control businesses, done things that in life are tougher than hitting a ball off of a tee or rolling a ball on the ground into a hole. Heck, you have even hit the ball into the hole from off the tee or even from the fairway or just off the green, only to say, “That was easy”.  Why, on some days is golf easy?

“Golf is easy”!  There you go, I said it.  And golf is hard!  Point Blank!  Harder than any other sport you athletes have played before.  Hard because you cannot get mad and do better; easy because you stop thinking and play.  Hard because there is too much time to think, to doubt; easy because you stop thinking.  Hard because the ball is just sitting there waiting to be hit; easy because the ball is just sitting there waiting to be hit.  Hard because you “try” not to mess up; easy because you do not think you will mess up.  Golf is a battle between you and your mind.  A battle between trying to be perfect and being good enough.  A battle between what you know you can do and what you are afraid you might do.  Hard because you have to deal with what happens and not with what you wanted to happen.  Easy because of the shots you pull off when you did not think you would, but knew you could.  That is why you play the game.  That is why you come back.

As I was saying before, we are seeing the power of the mind unfold before us in the golfing life of one Eldrick Tont Woods, “Tiger”.  This man is, in his sport, the equivalent of Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer to name a few. Tiger is an icon in his sport, the best of the best at what he does, “Invincible” in his own mind.

The greats of their time, in their sport, believed they were invincible and so did their competition.  I believe Tiger thought that, believed it in every aspect of his life whether it was golf, business or other.  He was trained to be “Tiger” and no one could beat him at anything he did.  Well, the rest of his competition had fallen into the same belief, as did the foes of the before mentioned greats.  All believed that they would win, would get it done, would not fail as did the competition.  So, the minds of the competition of Tiger and the others, created a doubt that they could overcome the greatness of the icons they were competing against.  They began to put unnecessary pressure on themselves and fell to the way side.  The competition could not reach the same level of controlled confidence in the mind, that the best of the best possessed and they lost the mental battle.

My thought is, in the mind of Tiger, he felt that he could do whatever he wanted, when he wanted and get the result he wanted.  This led him down the road he has currently found himself on.  He found out that he is not invincible in one aspect of his life which led to him to being vulnerable in his own mind.  Weak in his own mind, a strong mind so carefully orchestrated and built.  He still possesses the physical skills to play golf as he did before, he just does not believe he is invincible any longer nor do his competitors.  His vulnerability in life led to his losses in business and now on the golf course.  Sure it is easy to say he is going through tough times and it is true, but I am here to teach you how to control your mind to get the results you want.  I believe that Tigers mental game is not a by product of the media but a by product of his realization that he cannot do whatever he wants.  He learned that in life and business and the rest of the golfing world is seeing the results of a fragile mind, a doubtful mind, a mind that is lacking in confidence.  Which has subsequently created a surge in confidence in the minds of his competitors, a confidence that was lacking, until now!  Now they see the vulnerability and have a peaceful mental confidence which allows them to believe, in their own mind, they can win.

I bring this topic to you because for years I believed that the tour players would step their game up and challenge Tiger, they did not.  Not because of a lack of effort but because they did not believe they could do what was needed.  They believed they had to play perfect to have any chance at all, they put pressure on themselves, on their own psyche.  The best know they only have to play their game to win, everybody else thinks they have to play above and beyond to win.  Now the mind of Tiger believes it is beatable and so does the competition.  Tiger was trained to be “Tiger,” second to none, never chasing.  He was never trained to come from behind.  He was trained to be out in front, never looking back, seeing the objective with nothing in the way.  He now has to learn to be something he was never trained to be, second best.  Now when he looks at his goal it is littered with obstacles.    He is part of the pack not the leader anymore.  He, in his own mind, is no longer Tiger Woods.  His mind sees it and his competition believes it.  Tiger must now learn how to do something he has never been trained to do, not be Tiger Woods.

Once the mind looses focus or focuses on things that are not pertinent to the task at hand, the results are not what is desired.  You must first believe you are going to do what it is you want to do, so what you see happening, happens.  In golf  and in “others”.

I want to bring to the table a debate I found myself in the other day that I could not comprehend.  I would like your opinions regarding this thought.  It was brought to my attention that Tiger is not loosing because of any other reason than business.  The comment was that Tiger is loosing on purpose!  He is “throwing” tournaments so when he comes back, it will be more dramatic, which will in turn allow him to get more sponsors then he ever had before.  Tiger is taking a dive!

What do you think?

Believe it in your mind and. . .

“Golf Your Way“!

JB

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“WHICH SHAFT”

On July 25, 2010, in "i"Blog"it", by JB

STEEL VERSUS GRAPHITE There is some debate about which shafts are best; the traditional steel shafts or graphite shafts.  In the early days of the steel shafts, which came out during the Bobby Jones era; these steel shafts were performance shafts giving the players more control of their shots versus what they had in the […]

STEEL VERSUS GRAPHITE



There is some debate about which shafts are best; the traditional steel shafts or graphite shafts.  In the early days of the steel shafts, which came out during the Bobby Jones era; these steel shafts were performance shafts giving the players more control of their shots versus what they had in the hickory shafts.  In the early days of the graphite shaft, the belief was that graphite shafts were used by old men and ladies because of how much lighter the clubs were.

Technology and the way the companies study the effect their clubs have on the ball, has tremendously narrowed the gap between the differences of the two shafts.   I still believe that if you are an older person or you are buying a set of clubs that may be your last  set, as they are quite expensive, graphite is the way to go.  If there is any conditions with your hands, then graphite will limit the amount of vibration that reaches your hands, which may in time cause aches and pain from mis-hits.  If you want to reach that level of play that most do not, and you practice, steel shafts will be the best shaft.  Steel shafts can be made as light as graphite these days but you will lose some of the playing characteristics of the shaft that allows you to perform better.  I believe the biggest advantage of steel over graphite is known as torque; this is what happens to the shaft when the ball hits the clubface slightly off of center, the impact of the golf ball on the toe or heel of the club creates a twisting motion in the shaft. causing the clubface to point off line when the ball is released.  Steel shafts are more suited for less twisting, resulting is straighter shots.  The steel shafts also give you more feedback in your hands for the feel of your shots.

There are many different graphite and steel shafts out there so take the time to investigate what you want from your game and then find the shaft that will help you get there.  There is one thing to remember; make sure you get the right “flex” by getting your swingspeed tested or getting your clubs fit by a PGA Golf Professional in you area.

Karty K-  I hope this helps you.  If you, or anyone reading, would like more information on this subject let me know and I will post more.

Good Golfing,

JB

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