Limitless Golf: The Power of Beliefs
Are you familiar with the expression that “golf is ninety percent mental?” If the adage is accurate, why does traditional golf instruction only emphasize swing mechanics?
Despite quantum advances in equipment technology and millions of YouTube videos on proper technique, the “average” golfer struggles to break ninety. Since forty years ago, this trend hasn’t really changed.
One explanation is the (unconscious) notion that concentrating on errors will eventually result in long-term improvement. In reality, this approach merely serves to reinforce the notion that a student isn’t capable of progressing past a certain level. A vicious circle exists here.
The tendency to dwell on errors is automatic for the majority of once-weekly golfers. Dr. Karl Morris, who is known as Europe’s Leading Mind Coach, compares the mind to a highway. The more frequently you take a certain route, the simpler it is to choose it on your own. This holds true for our mental road map as well, as it becomes a habit.
In order to minimize conscious thought and prevent change, our nervous system serves two basic purposes. To continue doing what we’ve always done is simpler.
Finding a straightforward solution to the never-ending cycle of fixing one swing flaw only to have another one replace it is necessary. Your true potential, which lies beyond conscious thought, must be unlocked in order to achieve the ultimate goal.
Have you ever made an impeccable shot? Can you remember what you were contemplating? Most likely, for those 1.5 seconds, you were able to forget about swing mechanics and simply hit the ball.
Here are three steps to help you break the ingrained behavior of reinforcing swing flaws.
Step One: Awareness
You must become conscious of the automatic propensity to identify technique flaws, and this is crucial. Assuming you have solid fundamentals,your ability to quickly “forget” a poor shot is the first key to improvement.
Step Two: Interrupt The Pattern
Create a technique for quickly halting the recalling error pattern. It goes without saying that this is easier said than done. The trick is to find something easy that doesn’t require conscious thought. Move your body in a different way as one strategy.
Step Three: Lock-In Your Best Shots
Do something to reinforce the feeling whenever you make a good shot. You had the option of holding your finish position or spinning the club. Do you remember the infamous Tiger fist pump? In order to quickly recall the feeling in the future, it should be locked into your nervous system.
This brief discussion of conventional instruction is intended to provide some straightforward guidelines for moving past swing mechanics. The idea that flawless execution produces flawless results will be discussed next week.