Ultimate Golf Blog

Any professional who has played golf, or any other sport for that matter, has probably experienced “The Zone.”  The Zone is that time period where you don’t seem to think and your body just works perfectly.

Professionals also know that the Zone is fleeting.  It’s a mystery as to why and when it will show up, and you never know how long it will last.  To answer these questions you first have to know, what is happening in your mind and body when you’re in the Zone.

Let’s start with the mind first.  Athletes will tell you they don’t think when they’re in the Zone.  Actually they don’t think consciously.  They’re body gets movement instructions from the subconscious and in the Zone this happens without interruption from the conscious.  So mentally, the Zone is the absence of the conscious.

Why does your body move so perfectly in the Zone?   When the body is working perfectly it’s because it is in perfect balance…perfect dynamic balance.  Dynamic balance means, that the muscles of the body are all engaged, and they are working evenly with their opposing muscles.  When it comes to trying to capture what is happening in the body, athletes try to capture a feel.  Here’s the paradox: when the muscles are working evenly they all feel the same.  Since there is no feel that stands out, there is no feel to capture.  So, basically, there is an absence of specific feel in the Zone.

So, how do you find the Zone?  Take away all feel and conscious thought? But how?.. Right?

Just another quick question for you to think about: If the Zone is the absence of conscious thought, can you consciously think your way into the Zone?  I ask this because mental gurus around the world are trying to teach their golfers do it.

Personally, I don’t think, given the parameters of the Zone, that it’s even possible. Getting there is a process, not a way of thinking.

And the question remains: How, if you can’t get there consciously, do you find the Zone?

Comments?

Popularity: 1%

I have created a video which explains the reasons why the golf swing is no longer difficult to learn. No more tips, tricks or techniques, just a simple process that golfers can start using in as little as 30 minutes. The result is the fastest way to discover your best golf game and play golf well consistently… Even under the stress of competition.

Click this video to learn the hidden keys to play your best golf consistently for the rest of your life.

Hidden keys for Consistent Golf-Tracy Reed on Vimeo.

(Not bad for someone who stuttered as a kid…don’t you think?)

And of course, I’d like to hear your feedback.

Hit’m well,

Tracy

Popularity: 3%

I guess I left you hanging there, telling you that the target is in the future and future thoughts screw up the subconscious instructions for movement of your body… Right?

I wanted someone to ask the question… But alas, I guess I’m just that much farther ahead of the curve, I don’t know…

So, in golf, the object is to get the ball to go to the target… How in hell can that happen if you’re not suppose to think about the target (because it is a future thought) !!!

I hear you. But I didn’t say, don’t think about the target, I said don’t think about future thoughts…

Your own mind put the two together and probably along the way blew a fuse. I know I would have!

Figure it out yet?

How about now?

No? It’s ok. Here’s the answer: Bring the target to the present!

Now steam is really coming out your ears! Especially if you have been teaching golfers to focus on the target!

Instead of thinking about the target, think like the subconscious would think…

The question? How do I have to hit the ball to make it go to the target?

That’s a present thought!

Making any sense yet?

Popularity: 3%

If you’re following this blog, I’m getting into the zone where golfers fear to tread…

But in my life, I’ve made the greatest discoveries by taking that next step when I wasn’t sure what would happen…

We’re working on playing golf from the subconscious mind and improving THAT process. The response is to a comment on the post below.

Here’s the catch: Your goal isn’t to just hit the ball…

Your goal is to “see” the image the subconscious is trying to see.

When you see the image, you’ll hit the ball.

It sounds backwards, but that’s how it always works. That’s also how I know that the ball on the ground is the present and the target is in the future…

The subconscious MUST stay in the present because that’s where it must be to keep the body alive.
And the subconscious controls movement through the use of images.

SO… Any image that the subconscious uses to control a movement is positively in the present!

If the target were the present image, that’s what you would see, but that is the goal of the shot and doesn’t come into play for the subconscious until AFTER the ball is hit.

You see, there’s an argument as to whether the target is present or future. I base my findings on the pictures the subconscious uses to control movement (which again, HAVE to be in the present).

Those on the other side of the argument use a demonstration of throwing a ball to a farget, which makes the target the present… And for that case it is, because the ball is in your hand and the subconscious can FEEL it, making it part of the feedback the subconscious can use to gauge the movement needed to propel it toward the target. The target is the present because the distance and the arc of the throw between the hand and the target is what the subconscious has to picture.

But when you hit a golf ball, the golf ball is NOT connected to the body; the GOLF CLUB is, so the feedback the subconscious uses to make the swing can only be gauged by getting feedback from the weight and movement of the golf club towards it’s target… the golf ball.

As a side note, Biomechanically, the golf swing IS a throw, but in this case we are throwing the club, NOT the ball, which is why Fred Shoemaker’s method of throwing golf clubs in his book “Extraordinary Golf” gets results.

What decides the target for the subconscious is based on the goal of the movement the subconscious has to control combined with the live feedback from the object being moved. The subconscious uses the feedback from the object the body is controlling to adjust that movement toward the goal.

In golf, the target is an additional step away from the goal of striking the ball, so unfortunately, the target of the shot is in the future.

And this is why focusing on the target during the golf swing has caused so much anguish for so many golfers for so many years. The damage is caused when the golfer finds that focusing on the target isn’t working…

AND HE HAS NOWHERE ELSE TO TURN. Imagine that feeling of loss… I know because I was there (yup, I used to focus on the target and wonder  WTF when the shot didn’t work), and it took ONLY 20 years or so to figure out the answer that DOES work.

Sorry, just a little bit of pent-up frustration venting there…

Popularity: 4%

In case you didn’t see the comments further down, Rich guessed the answer.

In answer to the questions I asked in the 2 lower posts: Why Does The Subconscious Mind Still Fail and The Perfect Golf Swing Has Been Found!…

The reason Golf Swing Control gets such fast results is because the process ties the golf swing to the Auto-Balance system. The Auto-Balance system is one of those higher priority “life or death” tasks the subconscious gives a higher degree of focus.

By tying the golf swing to the need to stay in balance, the swing immediately gets moved up in priority and immediately gets more focus than before.

Now, I add another concept with Bio-Visual Focus. That is focusing on what the subconscious is focusing on during the shot.

The way I get the conscious to help out (instead of interrupting) is that I involve the conscious in the process.

1) Hit balls with your eyes closed until you “see” (consciously) what the subconscious is looking for during the swing - when you do… provided you are moving in balance, you’ll hit the ball well.

2)Take the picture the subconscious is making, “tweak” it in the conscious to create a more vivid picture and to better achieve the desired results.

3) Drop the picture back into the subconscious… Except now, since it took part in the process, the conscious is sitting by quietly watching to make sure you see the right picture!

The results are ridiculously uncanny accuracy and relaxed distance with no interruption from the conscious. If you make a mistake, you can recall the swing and you can tell where you made the mistake so you can fix it right there. That way you don’t continue making the same mistake, which would lead to doubt and a serious feeling of loss… (you’ve probably been there.)

The visualization works well for two reasons.

1) It is the same picture the subconscious uses to make the golf swing…

2) It is tied to balance feedback so that the picture is being checked and further “tweaked” by comparison to live feedback from the body.

In other words, the subconscious mind cannot disregard this picture as “made up” because it agrees with the feedback the subconscious uses to check and correct its movement.

There is no argument in the mind about the picture and the conscious is watching the process to see how it turns out. There is no doubt because both minds know that this is the shot process and they are both working together toward the same goal.

Sound Complicated? It’s a helluva lot easier than trying to fix or remember your golf swing…

And it doesn’t involve pouring your guts out to a golf psychologist… Unless you just can’t help but talk yourself out of your game… In which case, I know a real good one I’m currently communicating with that I’m rather sure can help you.

If you know your conscious mind needs help before you can work on the subconscious, let me know and I’ll put you on to someone that can help… Seriously, I will!

Popularity: 4%