Dr Karl Morris
www.golf-brain.com
It seems almost a lifetime ago now that golfers talked about the mental side of the game in secretive, hushed tones and very brave was the poor soul who admitted his weaknesses to the degree that he had been to see a ‘shrink’ about his game.
The world is so different now in so much as there is hardly an article written about a player winning a tournament without some mention of the assistance given by their ‘mind coach’.
It will be wonderful to be in Munich at the Golf Europe trade fair when the latest and most exciting new developments in terms of technology and coaching will be on show.
However, perhaps the most exciting developments have been over the past few years in terms of the understanding of the role of the brain in terms of peak performance.
I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share with you some of the tools and techniques that I have worked on with some of the world’s best players such as Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley, David Howell and Graeme McDowell. Tools that are designed to complement technical coaching as opposed to confronting it.
You would have to be pretty close-minded to ignore the fact that most top players are working systematically in three key areas TECHNIQUE, BODY and MIND.
Unfortunately for your customers, the club golfer who is constantly scouring the golf magazines for the ‘secret’ be it the 5 fundamentals, the 7 Laws, the X Factor or the Y Factor, it is highly unlikely that they will ever be able to physically achieve the positions or body motion of a Tiger Woods or an Ernie Els because of the limited time available and, if we are honest, the physical shape that they are in.
The really exciting part I feel is that every single player out there can begin to improve ‘THE MIND FACTOR’. We all have the capability to change our habitual thought processes and patterns that get in the way of our golfing success and enjoyment.
Considering the number of people I see with my work in golf, it is mind blowing to come across so many golfers who are hovering emotionally out on the course anywhere from between slightly angry to almost suicidal.
One thing is absolutely certain with this game - and that applies from Tiger Woods down - is that your golf swing will let you down in some way, at some point, in every round that you play and when it does, you will be asked a question internally:
‘How should I respond here?’
Unfortunately, for most of you, the way that you respond will keep you stuck at the same handicap or level of tournament play and the same level of enjoyment. If your habitual response is to get grumpy, question your technique, your ability or your general suitability to belong to the human race, then working with the mental side of the game could give you an early release from this particular prison of misery and set you on the road to find out just how good you could be at this game. Golf is NOT 90% mental it is BOTH mental and physical and by working with mental game tools you cannot guarantee success, but I feel that you can massively improve your chances. However, if you don’t look at the mental aspects of the game, could it be that you will get to the end of your golfing career and look back with regret at the opportunity missed to find out just how capable you COULD have been?
I don’t think he was much of a golfer but Einstein pretty much hit the nail on the golfing head when he said that the definition of insanity was to keep doing the SAME things over and over again expecting a DIFFERENT result.
I marvel at the capacity people have to keep doing EXACTLY the same things over and over again, hoping and anticipating a different result. The same things might be the way they practice, the way they jump from coach to coach or the equipment that they just cannot stop buying.
The absolute bottom line in golf (and life) is this, if what you are currently doing is not working, DO SOMETHING else. Then, and here is the tricky bit for most people, NOTICE if what you are doing is working and if it does then DO MORE of it.
I am fortunate to work with some of the best players in the world and one of the questions I always ask them is to tell me about the best golf that they have ever played. As I listen closely, I am picking up the ingredients of what they were doing when they were at their best. When I relate back to them some of those ingredients be it their attitude or the way they had been practicing or the way they behaved in between shots, I will often say ‘do you still do that?’ and as the quizzical look spreads on their face ‘No, I didn’t think that was important!’ is often the answer.
Very often we keep doing what doesn’t work (because others are doing it) and we stop doing what does work because we didn’t think it was important!
Just ponder this question long and hard ‘what was I doing when I was at my very best?’ before the round, during the round, in between shots and after you had finished. It could just be that if you look closely enough, you could find your own recipe for success right in front of your own nose.
Here are some specific ‘tools’ to apply to your own game.
Begin to compile what I call the: 3 Shot Diary
After each round of golf go back over the day and look for and decide upon the 3 best shots of that day. Write out in DETAIL the process that you went through, the feelings of the shot, the shape. Put as much information down as possible as you VIVIDLY relive your moments of excellence.
This will not only strengthen the memory it will also provide you with a PATTERN of what you do when you are at your best.
When you are playing well get your swing on video. We tend to only look at our swings on video when we are playing badly. To sit and review good swings is a great exercise in ‘wiring in’ the required movements.
Ben Hogan said that his game went to another level when he started to write down in practice the swing thoughts and feelings that worked for him. Follow the great man’s lead again by sending your brain in the direction of what you do well instead of what you don’t want.
The mental game needs to be broken down into a Practical and Applicable set of tools to give each golfer a chance to uncover their own recipe.
I look forward to sharing some of those recipes for success at the Golf Europe Tradefair in Munich.
Dr Karl Morris
www.golf-brain.com
Dr. Karl Morris is one of Europe’s leading sports psychologists, delivering cutting edge methods of peak performance and goal achievement to a range of clients across sports and business. He has worked with players such as Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley, Graeme McDowell, Alison Nicholas and Trish Johnson. Karl holds a PhD in sports psychology. He is a qualified master trainer of NLP and a qualified PGA professional. He will hold a seminar and demo programme at the Golf Europe tradeshow taking place in Munich, Germany from October 7th – 9th, 2007. Further details on date and time will be announced shortly on www.golf-europe.com.
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