So, Where is the Information about the Mental Game?
I had a question from a golfer who was looking only for the answers to his questions about the mental game of golf in Golf Swing Control. It’s a great question because although my course teaches golfers a sound mental game, I don’t address the mental game directly in my instruction course and you may wonder why.
First of all, my question for you… Can the mental game be separate from the physical game?
You may think that controlling bad thoughts is the mental game, and if that was all that the mental game involved, it could be covered directly as a separate part of the course, but the mental game is an integral part of every action and intention we have in golf on or off of the golf course.
I’d like to repeat that statement because it is very important…
The mental game is an integral part of every action and intention we have in golf on or off of the golf course.
So when golfers ask me the question, Where’s the part about the mental game in my instruction course?, I’m often perplexed because the mental and physical games of golf cannot be separated if you want to improve either one.
OK, If you’re a little confused, I can understand, so let me give you a few examples.
Let’s start with the setup routine that took me over ten years to develop…
It took that long because the routine not only gets your body ready for the swing, it also gets your mind ready for the shot. When you are looking downrange and rocking back and forth from foot to foot to feel your balance, your mind is looking at a picture of the bottoms of your feet while you are feeling to make sure the weight is in the right place on each foot. The feel creates the picture and the picture tells you when your body is set correctly.
If you look at the description of every routine in the course, I add what you should feel so you know you are correct. Feeling for these checkpoints automatically causes the brain to create a picture of the area you are feeling. Each of these pictures that you create can be joined together throughout the process to create a mental swing map.
The swing map can only be created by using physical balance feedback from the body and combining it with the mental visualization in the brain. Later that swing map will be used to reverse the process and check to make sure that what you are feeling is correct. Again, the mind and body are working together.
If you try to use visualization alone for either of these routines, the results would not happen because physical movement does not happen without mental controls to guide it. Those controls are the bio-feedback you feel in various parts of the body. That’s why I say Golf Swing Control is the link between the mind and body in golf. It’s actually the link for every physical action you make.
But there is so much more to the mental game. For example, What is the most crucial part of the golf swing? It’s impact because the only reason we swing the club is to move the golf ball on a desired path for a desired distance. But do you think much about impact?
You should think about impact because that is where a golf shot happens. Everything else is just part of the formula to make impact happen accurately. So, the setup, the backswing, the transition and follow through must all relate to your intentions at impact if you wish to consistently make accurate golf shots.
For the majority of golfers, this matrix of events and how they lead to correct impact happens in the subconscious without too much additional thought… But that mental process is still part of the mental game and it can be improved.
Did you know you can shape shots simply by thinking about the intended clubpath? Is it purely mental? No, because the picture you create has to instruct the body to adjust itself to create the new clubpath… Mental and physical working together.
But what question do most golfers ask me about the mental game? OK, but what about my thoughts? How do I control my thoughts so they don’t screw up my game?
If you ask yourself this question, don’t feel like the lone ranger. Books have been written about it and courses have been created for this problem. Golf psychologists make a very good living from the golf professionals that come to them all the time with this one question, but there is a flaw in this question that makes the problem unsolveable if it goes unaddressed.
This area where I am about to go is a place few dare to adventure for a few reasons, some of which are related to making a real good ongoing income. This is where many golf psychologists turn their back to me, because rather than address the question of how to handle bad thoughts, I get rid of the idea that they are a problem, because they aren’t the problem unless you make them a problem.
Blasphemy? Many who make their living addressing this problem would say so, but it depends on your goals…
You see, for Tiger Woods, thoughts are not a problem. Unless Tiger makes a mental miscalculation, thoughts never mess up his game because thoughts never enter his mind when he is swinging a golf club… at least not the evil conscious thoughts that so many golfers are trying to get out of their heads.
How, you ask? The answer goes to the real question of what the mind SHOULD be doing during the golf swing. if you guessed and said it shouldn’t be doing anything (as many psychologists will tell you) you have created an impossible goal to achieve because you can’t turn the mind off. It works even while you sleep.
So if you can’t turn the mind off, and you don’t want to be interrupted by thoughts that distract your mind from the golf shot, what do you do?
Tell me, how does your mind think while you are sleeping? It dreams, doesn’t it? Why doesn’t it think consciously? Because that is work for the mind, and asleep, your mind needs to relax too. You dream because that is how your mind prefers to think. The same goes on the golf course.
Visualization is that same thought process as dreaming accept that it is controlled by conscious intentions. The reason many golfers have issues with visualization is that their conscious gets in the way. (the distracting thoughts are conscious thoughts) But every bit of information that is processed in the mind is processed visually. It is taken in either consciously or subconsciously, but it is always converted to a subconscios visual thought before it is dealt with by the brain. If you wish to communicate what is in your mind, you must convert the visual thought back to a conscious thought to communicate it to others… Unless you are an artist. The subconscious is where creative art comes from. It is art because the artist is expressing the subconscious thoughts without converting them back to conscious thoughts… But I digress.
What I’ve been babbling this whole time is that the mind prefers to think visually. When you can see your intention as a visual picture, the mind will hold on to it and keep conscious thoughts from invading. It’s only when there is a void or the “nothingness” Sports Psychologists try to get their atheletes to achieve that thoughts are able to creep in and distract the athlete… Another paradox found in golf.
Let me try to tie this all together.
- The body’s movement is guided by visual pictures held in the subconscious.
- The mind prefers to think visually.
- Using balance bio-feedback from the body promotes visualization.
- The brain likes and will hold on to clear visual images in the mind.
- The clearer the images, the more accurate the body movement…
Can you separate the mind and the body? No. Are conscious thoughts really a distraction? Only if your mind isn’t well occupied (using visual thoughts).
Here’s the paradox. The golfer who asks the question, “where is the information about the mental game?” asks because he has inaccurate thoughts (mental game) about what the mental game really is.
There is one area concerning the mental game that I cover exclusively as the mental game for advanced golfers. I can’t do it over the phone or in an office because it involves the golfers ability to understand and feel balance. Once I know a golfer properly understands and can feel balance, I can get them to focus without distraction as intently as Tiger does on tour. .. But it can’t be taught without involving the physical golf swing.
The results this mental instruction creates at this level are astounding, but if I try to show a golfer this information too soon, it can destroy their whole game. Either way, this focus cannot happen in the mind alone. It has to come from the mind working in unison with the body.
Where’s the Mental Game? In everything we do.
I’d really like your thoughts on this. Let me know if I lost you or if it makes sense.
Hit’m well,
Tracy
PS: To see how to improve your golf game in just days and not lose the improvement, CLICK HERE
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In writing these articles on the mental game, Tracy has set himself an almost impossible task in that the experience base of the target audience is so great. The salient point here is “experience” and therefore I thought it might serve some useful purpose if I offered up some of my own findings after following Tracy’s instruction for over 2 years.
Initially I did not find some of the instruction easy to adopt (or, more likely, did not want to give up some of my beliefs) since I was a classic “hitter” of the golf ball and been reasonably successful with this approach. However, I lacked consistency under pressure and I needed help.
Right off the bat I experimented with Tracy’s ideas on shaping the ball by focusing on pressure points under the feet and even though my technique would have probably had Tracy raising his hands in despair, I was amazed at the results. From then on I decided to follow the instruction to the letter and now, fast forwarding two years, I want to give you some insight on what the mental game can yield.
Some of you may think that what Tracy is saying in the above article is surreal but in reality he his being conservative – he is actually holding back for good reason since if he had told me things at the start of the course that I have since found I would have thought he was a crackpot. Since I don’t make my living as a golf instructor I don’t have to worry about such things so here goes:
From initially picturing the bottoms of my feet (best done with your eyes closed) whilst swinging a weighted club in slow motion I have been through a series of developments whereby I now have a more panoramic view of the complete swing – balance points in the feet combined with the position of the club head without having to “force” the issue. The first real weird thing that accompanied this development was that my actual vision was occasionally affected during the swing in that I had no particular focus on any one thing (i.e. the ball), but a more “wide angled” impression. Initially I thought that I was losing concentration and tried to prevent this from happening. Through practice however, I found that when I let this just run its course the results were often spectacular.
Another weird outcome was that, on occasion, I felt I had as much time to monitor/adjust my actual swing as I had when I swung in slow motion. I know when considering the time taken to complete the downswing, this does not make any rational sense. I can only assume that on those occasions where the feel (balance feedback) is completely aligned with the visual pictures, “subjective” time can appear significantly different from “clock” time.
I would like to think that I can get myself into these states at will but, unfortunately, I only get glimpses of these things from time to time. However as I continue to work on the Golf Swing Control instruction these experiences are becoming more frequent and produce unbelievable golf shots.
I could go on, but hopefully, this gives you some idea that the mental side of golf, like balance feedback, also gives you pointers when you are right on the money. Whilst these pointers may manifest themselves differently for you, the point is that they are there to be discovered. We are simply fortunate that having come across Tracy’s instruction we have the opportunity to do so.
Tracy
DVD’s are first class - have a great New Year
Cheers
Mike
Mike,
Wow, thanks for that description of your discoveries. You are right on the money, but as you said, if I said it, golfers would think I’m nuts. The key to making this happen more often is to trust that it will and welcome it when it does. I have also found that the key to the best pictures start with your interpretation of the intended shot into a picture of impact and working backward from there.
Many golfers also tell me they become more aware of their use of visualization in everyday life once they start using it in golf. Using it for everyday tasks only improves your ability to visualize better on the golf course. Using the mind in conjunction with the body in this way also improves self confidence in other areas.
Golf and life… Like mind and body, work together.
Happy New Year,
Tracy
Mike, what you describe sounds really cool. I’m a bit envious of what you have achieved. I’ve been working with GSC for over a year now, and still have not been able to picture the bottom of my feet, not in pictures. I feel where the weight is, but no pictures. I can visualize where I want the ball to go, etc. I can visualize what the path of the clubhead is that I want to take before swinging sometimes, but somehow I can’t really picture myself swinging, except when I’m standing in front of a mirror, which I do frequently. I definitely don’t get any real time feedback. I’m not sure where my vision is during the downswing, cause I know I never see the ball come off the clubface. Only one time did that occur. Oddly enough it was before I heard of GSC. I was having a terrible case of vertigo. So much so I had to take a cart cause I couldn’t walk without feeling like I was going to fall over. I used the club a a cane that day. It was safe to say, I wasn’t trusting my balance feedback that day. In fact, I knew I wouldn’t fall over, because I felt strong, It just felt like I was going to. The odd thing was that day I distinctly remembered seeing the ball come off the clubface, like never before or since. I shot a decent round.
Tracy, does everyone have the ability to visualize themself like you describe? Does anxiety or or factors cause one not to be able to tap into this. I’ve tried doing other searches, trying to figure out how to tap into this stuff. Mostly what I’ve come up with is hypnosis, and RMT, both of which seem to be used by golfers. I’ve tried those approaches as well. Still no picture or movies of myself, or any kind of ability to feel time slowing as described has occurred for me. Though the method of breathing slow and deep from the belly helps me hit better shots and I have incorporated it into my pre-shot routine.
Also, out of curiosity, what happens to Tiger’s focus when he stops his swing mid stream? If he is so focused, how does something like a noise or bird flying over distract him? Of course I know he is focused. Also how does he stop within inches of the ball?
Thanks. Very interesting stuff, even if just hearing about it.
Jim, some thoughts about creating pictures and the like:
1. Over December I had a complete layoff from golf and, yesterday, I went straight into playing 18 holes without any warm up. Initially I was not visualising well and then I noticed that my internal chatter was in overdrive, verbally going through a GSC checklist for each shot. After the round I reflected on this and recalled other rounds where my performance was much better – when things are going well the internal chatter is minimal and the pictures predominate. It is my opinion that when golfers who play well say they were thinking of nothing, actually have the internal auditory channel turned off.
2. Regarding subjective time I have noticed that I have more apparent time in my swing after I have honed the same sequence of moves and pictures over a number of weeks. When I first got Tracy’s DVDs, I was keen to add some additional stuff into my swing and, paradoxically, when I did this I seemed to have less time in my swing than normal. The additional stuff will make me a better golfer, but I am aware that this will take time to bed in and, once it does, I feel confident that the apparent time available in my swing will again increase.
Unfortunately, I have run out of time to continue this note but, in addition, there is also a relationship between subjective discoveries and practise (was this one of the reasons why Hogan practised so much?) and staying in the present (immersed in the task to be performed). With the latter I still find this very challenging, but I am now aware that besides the obvious time element there is also a spatial factor, the need to stay centred as maybe a martial artist would put it.
Hope this is of some help.
Regards
Mike
Jim,
The key to visualization is in using feel to create the pictures. Reading your post, it occurs to me that you may still be keeping feel and visualization separate. That is why practicing with a mirror can actually work against you. Because instead of building feel feedback, you are building outside visual feedback, a picture of your self from an outside perspective. The visual picture you get using feel feedback becomes more of a picture looking at yourself from the inside out.
Have you practiced walking and pinpointing the feel of the weight feedback felt on the bottoms of your feet? Do it blindfolded or in the dark. Trying to hard to see the pictures can block them out. Instead you have to merely accept that they are there, relax at let them appear. It’s more like daydreaming than looking for something. The key is asking your mind to feel in detail the pictures you are looking for.
For example, I have been able to start running again for the first time in over 5 years. It’s a good sign that my back is slowly improving. I would not be able to do it without the ability to use the combination of feel feedback and visualization. In order to prevent injury when I run, every foot strike has to be near perfect. So as I run, I feel for the exact position that I feel the begining of the strike and as I roll across my foot, I use my intended picture to control where the weight moves. If I push off from the outside of my left foot, in short time, I will feel a sharp pain in my back on the left side. So instead, I feel and control the left foot to make sure I push off of the ball of that foot. If I loose concentration, my back reminds me and I can get back to m pictures.
Over time, this has built the muscles that control my left foot strike so that I have to work less to keep that foot under control, but I still picture the foot strikes because now it takes my mind off of my breathing and the distance. Before I know it, I’ve run a few miles and I feel great.
You can use this technique with even simple tasks. Put something on a table, close your eyes and take a step to the side. Try to pick up the item from the table while your eyes are still closed. You should see a picture in your mind of that item on the table adjusted for your new position relevant to the item. Exercises like these should eventually help you to visualize better. Your mind already does it, now you just have to tap into it.
Hi Tracy
just read your piece on the mental game, thankyou. I think I get where you are coming from more now, and I had a good mental thing going today whilst practising my swing.
I was trying to get the transition working, which I have had on occasions but seemed to have lost recently, and I found that picturing the stomach turn into the left leg was really working well. I have spent a lot of time physically trying to move my stomach muscles into the front leg, but this was more like imagining they were moving - and hey presto they were - the difference was that the process was so much more subtle than any way I have tried to do it before, like I was directing the motion with my mind not my muscles. As a result, whereas my swing often feels like it sort of falls in a heap, today it was quite the reverse, with good clubhead speed seeming to come from nowhere.
Quite an eye-opener, and hopefully what you are describing. I just hope I can find it again tomorrow. Incidentally I often find I swing better in the evening, could there be any reason you can think of for this ?
Best regards
Tim
ps I’ve been spelling your name with an ‘e’ - sorry about that - funny thing is that all the while I thought it was a peculiar spelling but kept doing it :-)
Hi Mike & Tracy,
Thanks for your replies. I will work on what you both said. I think Mike might be right in that my auditory channel is still on, and that I need to turn it down.
I also may be pressing to hard to see the pictures. I’ll try treating it more like daydreaming. When I workout, I do many of the exercises with my eyes closed. It has helped me identify what muscles are working, but I think I’m identifying them still more in words than pictures. I’m still having a hard time imagining what I see looking from the inside out, but I’ll work on that thought, rather than trying to see myself from an outside perspective.
Thanks again,
– Jim
Tim,
You have captured the real difficulty with visualization. If you try visualization too hard, it won’t happen. If you move according to how it’s described, but don’t really picture it clearly, it won’t happen. But if you create a picture in your mind of what you believe is being described and just run the picture as you make the movement, it surprises you.
Movement visualization is somewhere between the conscious and unconscious minds and it is a delicate balance at first. Too much of either one and it doesn’t quite work. The more you practice it, the more you trust it and it becomes easier. I guess the key is trust. Remember that your mind already does this on it’s own and it’s not used to intervention by the conscious so it takes practice to get the right mix.
It sounds like you’re makin progress. Good work.
Regards,
Tracy
What a great conversation.
Jim, Mike, Tim, thank you so much for your posts and sharing your experiences.
This is getting to the heart of what keeps us back from greatness.
Some of you may not know this, but I’ve got a background in Hypnosis, NLP and performance coaching.
What that means is I spent a lot of money and about a dozen years so far exploring the mysteries of how the mind works (or doesn’t work, depending on what day of the week I’m in)
During my training, we learned early on something that is hard for Tracy to believe could be possible because he’s such a visual person, (and we’ve had this conversation before) but it may help some of you who are struggling with the whole “visualization” thing.
Truth is, about a third of the population don’t “visualize” things in pictures.
At least, not in pictures the way most of us think of them.
When people say “think in pictures” we sometimes feel that if we’re not making crystal clear, technicolor movies in our mind, that we’re somehow doing it wrong.
The fact is some people translate their mental experiences through sound, or even feelings. And this is normal and natural.
There was a pro football player who was having a hypnosis session.
The hypnotist asked him to visualize himself rising out of his body to look at things from a different point of view, but the football player couldn’t do it.
After a while, the hypnotist said, ok, I want you to “feel” like you’re floating out of your body, and instantly it worked. The football player was a “kinesthetic” or feel person.
He couldn’t make a picture to save his life, but he could “feel” when he was floating above his body. And he could do it well enough to make millions as a professional athlete.
When I work with clients, I often hear them say “I can’t visualize”.
So I ask them: “Close your eyes and tell me, what color is your car?”
They say “blue”
My next question is: “How do you know?”
hmmm.
Some people say “I see the color in my mind” others say “I just… know”.
Do you NEED to have to have a crystal clear, well lit picture of your car with the exact shade of blue glowing in your mind in order to be successful in life?
No, you just need to know, somehow, that it’s blue.
If you put shoes on, then close your eyes, can you feel the shoes on your feet?
If you can, then you have the ability to feel your feet. Stand up and close your eyes, shift your weight forward until you feel pressure under the toes of your foot.
Got it?
Ok, whatever you just did inside yourself to KNOW that the weight is at the front of your feet - is the skill you need to play scratch golf!
It doesn’t matter if you don’t see a clear “picture” in your mind.
What matters is that you use whatever internal representations that are natural for you - to slowly and carefully build an accurate “map” in your mind of a balanced, natural golf swing.
Tracy has spelled it all out - start with the feet and move along the checkpoints from there, making the feel of each one clearer with practice.
Whatever your style of “visualization” is in your own mind (auditory, visual, or kinesthetic), just practice tuning in to where your weight is as you go through your swing.
Eventually you’ll get a Picture, or a Sound, or a Feeling inside that tells you when you’re in balance throughout your swing. You may see pictures of the bottoms of your feet like Tracy, or you may not.
The more you practice, the “clearer” your personal picture/feeling/thought will be for you.
Just like there are some skills you can now do effortlessly that once took a lot
of focus, (like walking upright, driving a car, using a computer) your golf swing “map” will get clearer and clearer as you practice.
Especially if you follow Tracy’s advice and practice your swing slowly, paying attention to the details and adjusting your body to get the feel of a good swing.
The internal pictures/sounds/feelings of your natural swing will get clearer if you pay attention.
I remember after watching me swing, Tracy would ask me “Where was your pressure in your feet?”
At first it was frustrating because I couldn’t tell. But he said “Close your eyes and ask yourself”
I felt stupid the first time, but I asked myself: “Self, where was the weight on my feet?”
And sure enough, I got an answer from my body. (spooky)
The more I practiced, the clearer the answers came.
But they didn’t come in “pictures” like they do for Tracy, I could “just tell” when I was in balance. It was combination of pictures and body feeling.
But it was enough.
Whatever you’re doing that allows you to know the color of your car is good enough to get you making a perfect swing.
The secret is to use what you brain does naturally to improve your swing and not fight it.
The journey is not to become a person with crystal clear pictures, but to practice your swing carefully and slowly, in the correct positions - getting a feel for the checkpoints along the swing - until, like Mike, you end up with your own version of a swing movie in your mind.
(And as Tracy has told me a thousand times, this is not “muscle memory” - because this internal swing map/movie is always accurate once you have it).
It doesn’t matter if your movie is black and white, or even if it’s a radio show and you’re the announcer, keep paying attention to the details and you’ll get the breakthrough.
I hope this was useful. Let me know if you have more questions and I’ll do my best to shed some light.
Keep swinging,
Kory
Kory, I think you are half right and Tracy is right on the money, even though he may not have studied NLP. Many years ago I became familiar with NLP through a year long “Masters” workshop (not continuous) run by Bandler (one of the founders of NLP). As you probably aware, one of the many cornerstones of NLP is modelling excellence using “VAK” analysis. Whilst we may have a preferred conscious modality, modelling clearly elicits that we all use visual, auditory and kinaesthetic modalities (consciously and subconsciously) and the evidence is demonstrated through non verbal signs like eye scan patterns and breathing locations ( i.e. in the chest or deep in the stomach). I remember Bandler once recalling a task he was set to model a famous golfer – Bandler noticing that this particular golfer did not have a consistent per shot routine but rather waggled the club a different number of times before each shot. When Bandler first asked the golfer what he was doing he got the typical response like “I am getting comfortable”. If you have met Bandler, you know this would not satisfy him and he pushed for a more detailed observation. The way Bandler recalls it (and you have to allow for poetic licence), the golfer suddenly “stiffened” as he realised what he was doing - “I keep looking at the target whilst waggling the club until I zoom in the target right next to me (in my mind’s eye) so that I am sure I can’t miss and then I initiate the swing”! If you believe the “pitch”, up to that point the famous golfer did not realised he was visualising!
Putting this in context, we all visualise, period. All that we have to do is educate ourselves to realise this. Put in another context and using an “internet” analogy, auditory is like dial-up and visual is like broadband. But we can all visualise, so use it. When Tracy said visualisation is from the “inside out”, in NLP speak it means that we have to be “associated” with the image, in order to marry the feelings with the visualisation.
For a lot of golfers, this will sound (auditory!) like a lot of mumbo jumbo- and to a certain degree it is. Hogan said in “The Five Fundamentals …” that his golf really turned around when he realised he did not have to be perfect but only had to perform a simple number of fundamentals adequately. This is true – you can win the monthly medal, the Club Championship or whatever by following the fundamentals of Golf Swing Control adequately, but if you’re up against an opponent who can do this whilst visualising better than you, you will have your work cut out. Best not to take the chance and learn how to visualise!
Regards
Mike
Mike,
Thanks very much for your post.
I agree with you 100% that we all visualize. Everything you described is true in my experience as well.
The intention of my post, and it seems I’ve missed the mark in some respects, was to help golfers who DON’T see clear pictures to not feel discouraged.
I’ve worked with too many people who struggle with the fact that they don’t see clear pictures in their head and they give up. When all they needed to do was pay attention to what they ARE doing, then build on that.
Your example is perfect - Bandler led that golfer to the truth that he WAS visualizing by asking him questions and suddenly, the golfer had the A-HA moment that he really was seeing pictures.
What Tracy and I are wrestling with (and the product we are working on) is how to give golfers a step-by-step process to experience the breakthrough that Bandler gave that golfer — that we ARE in fact visualizing, even though we don’t consciously realize it.
My intention in my post was to provide golfers with a starting point (using what they already do naturally, which may not seem “visual” to them), knowing that if they accept and practice it, they will develop better visualization as a result of that practice.
You helped make it clearer with your post. I agree that the end result is better visualization. Even if you’re starting out primarily as a kinesthetic or auditory person.
If I were to boil my thoughts on the subject down to one idea, it’s this:
Using the term “visualization” simply doesn’t work for everybody.
If you say “visualize your shot” a large portion of the population are going to try, find that they can’t make a crystal clear picture, then give up in frustration.
And most golf instruction does not address this issue.
Instead what we want to do is create instruction includes this information and allows everyone the same chance at success.
So Mike, I owe you one for forcing me to go back to the “thinking board” and re-consider my approach here.
Thanks for that, and I’d appreciate further feedback from you as we move ahead developing this program.
Kory
Dear Kory
I really appreciate your comments. As you are probably aware by now I think Tracy has something very special to offer the golfing community (he has done wonders for my golf), but I am very reluctant to mention things which may be considered by many to be outlandish. You will be aware of associated images and time-lines - where we picture images, submodalities and so on. The most important aspect I have found about visualisation concerning the golf swing is geometrical accuracy. I remember a demonstration given by a martial artist who indicated where his mind was during combat. He got a volunteer to first focus (visualise) the top of his head and he gently pushed him on the shoulder – the volunteer fell backwards. He then got the same volunteer to change his focus to his core (“one point”) and the same effort of push had no affect on the volunteer. If I ask someone to visualise their own face, most people will see an image in front of them. Tracy has it spot on when he says for the golf swing it is from the “inside out” – try visualising your face exactly where it is. Bringing this back to Golf Swing Control, you need to visualise the bottoms of your feet, for example, exactly where they are in space, orientation etc. This will lead to visual balance as well as dynamic balance.
When I try something new my visual balance gets out of whack and my rhythm goes walk-about. I will give you a definite example. After viewing the DVD’s for the first time I tried pointing the butt of the club at the back of the ball during the downswing. What happens to me is that when I incorporate new material it creates such a strong image in my head that it dominates over the rest of the swing and a visual imbalance results. My rhythm comes for my core and any images, particularly close to my hands makes me swing like a plank. Although in the short term this is somewhat embarrassing, I am now quite familiar with the process. Eventually, when everything beds-in I have a core vision and a peripheral vision – just like my actual vision, and this is when I swing at my best.
Again, if this all sounds like mumbo jumbo I want all golfers to know that if you simply perform the fundamentals of Golf Swing Control adequately your golf will improve by leaps and bounds – precise visualisation will allow you to compete with the best.
Regards
Mike
Mike,
Once again, thanks. Your descriptions give clarity to this gray area where few wish to go. (I meant to say that… The mental game is never crystal clear.) The fact is, from day to day, even my ability to visualize changes a little. Sometimes I can see things super clear, and on others, I may lean a little harder on the feel side. If things on the course aren’t up to par, even I go back to the fundementals and I always find my way back to the game I know.
Experimentation with new or different techniques can hurt in the short run because there is an internal “training curve” that must take place. By that I mean that you have to learn the new technique and implant it in the swing map already in your mind. Until it is clearly integrated into the swing map, you have to add conscious interrupts in your routines to check to make sure it is there and that what you are doing is correct inside the mind and outside physically.
While you are integrating something new, you must constantly make small adjustments until you finally “own” the movement both mentally and physically. You make those adjustments using balance feedback as a check, which is why balance feedback is the cornerstone of both the physical and mental golf swing in Golf Swing Control.
Much of what happens learning the golf swing requires patience. This process of adding movement both physically and mentally at the same time is something that cannot be rushed or manufactured. Once you “own” the process, you can apply it to any activity you perform. The stumbling block many golfers hit when they first start with the course is that they try to bypass the process and implement the technique.
Without adding technique both physically and mentally, and without constant adjustment using balance feedback, a golfer would still be stuck in the rut they get into with classic instruction that is not backed up mentally and therefore cannot be “owned” by the golfer… Which means that the technique will eventually be lost or cause other changes to hurt the swing.
With Golf Swing Control, the goal is to, as Tiger says, “To own your swing.” To do that you need to practice the routines, which teach the process of how to integrate the swing permenantly. Once you own the process, the swing is not far behind.
Hope this “clears” things up!
Hit’m well,
Tracy
Kory,
I appreciate your comments. It is helpful to know that not everyone has clear pictures (though possibly we can all improve them). It helps, in that it reduces the frustration level some, when they are not there. Frustration leads to stress, and well …thats no good for golf.
When my alarm went off this morning, I was dreaming (not golf related) and noticed that my audio was loud and clear, but my video was kind of foggy. I’ve tried all the exercise Tracy has described. What I need is an upgrade to HD quality. Actually I’d be happier with alot less than that.
Regards,
– Jim
Mike,
Great insights, and I love the example of the martial arts demonstration. I’ve experienced that in a different context, and it works.
I agree that Tracy has something special and unique. In fact, I’m convinced he’s created the greatest golf teaching system ever invented (but don’t tell him that. He’s hard enough to deal with already :)
It’s such a personal journey building this internal mental movie of our swing (or any skill, really) that it’s challenging to try and help others develop it. But I know there’s a way to do it. I’ll keep plugging away, and I’ll send you what I’ve got when the time comes.
Your final words are right on: Just stick with the fundamentals that Tracy teaches, and allow yourself to go through the awkward stage until it becomes natural.
Jim:
I’m happy to hear my words were helpful in some way. Frustration and impatience are the enemies of a great game. I’ve struggled with the battle of inconsistency my whole life (not just in golf) - great one day, lousy the next.
It’s only recently that I’ve seen a steady, consistent improvement. What’s worked is to just allow myself a lot of terrible shots, and put all my attention on what I did to make the good ones.
You’re clearly on the right track (by increasing your awareness of what’s happening in your head) - good luck with your journey to HD.
Kory
Tracy,
You are spot on. It would do everyone some good if they read and re-read what you have just outlined. When you get the basics of GSC into your swing map it fills you with so much “power” that you think you can do anything. When I see something new I first try it out by hitting some golf balls to see if it has merit (for me). If I like it, and it is a “small” change, I sometimes think I can implement it in “real time”. Of course I can’t, and this type of overconfidence is something I will have to keep tabs on. By the way, I have found that where you point the butt of the club at the ball is yet another way of shaping the shot – I am now spoiled for choice!
Kory,
I look forward to receiving your views. I am also working on something at the moment with visualisation and the transition, but it is too fragile for now to air in public. When the time comes I hope that we can swap notes.
Jim,
I also find the hand pressure that you mention very helpful. As we get older (and I certainly fall into that category) and our flexibility is less than what it was, it is very easy for the left arm to breakdown at the top of the swing. By applying such pressure, the left arm will maintain its loading and will help keep symmetry in the swing.
Regards
Mike
Sir …I have read each word very carefully. I found it WONDERFUL and amazing. Lots of things went over my head. Difficult to grasp. Please do me a favour by telling me in layman s language as how to controll your internal chatting after hitting a bad shot and specially when you are not palying well and loosing money. Thanks. Warm regards….Kali.
Kali,
After hitting a bad shot, there is nothing you can do to change the shot. It is in the past. Thinking, worrying, or getting angry about it will only make your next shot worse by taking your mind away from the focus you need to make the next shot.
For most golfers, the issue is the thoughts that occur WHILE they are trying to strike the golf ball. There should be no conscious thought, only visual thought. But that visual thought is worthless without some kind of internal bio-feedback to support it.
If your internal bio-feedback agrees with the visual pictures you create to make the swing needed for the golf shot, you will succeed.
Sounds complicated, but your body already performs this same task every time it moves. Golf requires more attention from your mind than most of the body movements you make now.
That is why I spent 21 years of research to create Golf Swing Control. The purpose of the instruction course is not to teach a golf swing, but rather teach you how to make your golf swing work in both your mind and body because the mind and body have to work together to make great golf happen. The funny thing is that I am simply making golfers aware of a process they already use and showing them how to apply it to golf.
This has been needed for years, but nobody has gone into enough depth to discover it.
Now that I have discovered it, I also realize that what I teach has to be taught in degrees. Golf Swing Control teaches all but the highest level of focus and golfers from beginner to professional benefit when they learn it. But the highest degree of focus can be dangerous. So dangerous that if you are not ready for it, your golf game could be ruined by it, which is why it is not in the course.
To teach the highest level of focus, I must make sure the golfer is ready, and few are. Then I can teach it, but only in person. So far on the PGA Tour, only Tiger Woods and Ben Hogan have reached the level of focus I speak of. It is the reason Tiger has been virtually unbeatable since leaving Carnoustie in 2007. Now Tiger’s only obstacle and his greatest weapon are the same… His mind.
Tracy,
Sounds like what you are saying is that the mind is always working, so you need to make sure it works for you and not against you. To do this you must picture the parts of your golf swing that you can feel. You must picture where the weight is on the bottoms of the feet…..because if you picture what you can not feel there is no feedback system. The picture makes the body feel, but the feel makes you believe the picture is right, the confidence allows you to have a more vivid picture, which occupies the mind and controls it specific to the task at the time. Please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong but I feel pretty good about this.
Matt
Hi Mike & Tracy
reading the answer of Kory on 15 january 2008 to Mike concerning how to give golfers a step-by-step process I remembered the step-by-step-process to experience a brakethrough that Robert Dilts (www.nlpu.com) instructed in the mid 1980’s and was called “the new behavior generator”.
Terry, once again you amaze me with your insight on the mental side of golf. As a former pro motorcycle racer I was always taught to visualize the race in your head while on the starting line, good jump off the gate, clean thru the first turn, doing all the obstacles cleanly, mentally ride the track in your head which plants a positive visual picture you relate to, so I know from previous experience this does work. As I implement more of your program into my golf game I understand more and more how this will make me or anyone a far better golfer, your program is spot on, thank you!
Hi
I find all this very interesting,since I first read Tim Gallwey.I picked up a used copy of The Inner Game Of Tennis some 5 years ago and found that it had a profound effect on the way I learn.
I always believed that you could learn anything if you fed the mind with an action either through pictures or seeing a visual of a motor action.
Tim Gallwey made me trust this process and I only recently took up golf.I play very little only once a month but I already have a 25.6 handicap.His golf book which I recently acquired really opened my eyes more,and the awareness part of learning is something I learning to tap in more.Just what is being discussed here makes me feel like I’m not crazy because practically all of my playing partners despite my encouragement don’t want to accept mystical thinking.
Too many try to conceptualize golf instruction.I found with tennis I really grabbed the idea of visual feedback to check my form,but with golf feel is becoming more dominant.I believe this is to do with the apparent stillness and lack of movement compared with tennis where the body makes it’s own corrections without you getting in the way.
Golf can be intefered with by the conscious mind because there is plenty of time to think and stand there before hitting the ball.The trick is obviously to make the golf swing athletic like other sporting endeavours,and the obstacles created by the golfing industry as a whole pedal the idea that great golf is not attainable without knowing the swing inside out,playing 7 hours a day,and having Taylor Made clubs in your bag.
I congratulate you guys here for realising we all have something more superior than golf itself,the body which has a silent intelligence which far more knowledgeable than the whole of the Golf Digest Top 50 coaches.