How Does Hypnosis or NLP Work? Can Hypnotic Training or NLP Improve My Game? You BET!

Imagine you wanted to lose some weight, just for a minute even if you are the fit and healthy size you would really like to be now, because I don’t know you so you really, for all I know, could be couldn’t you?

Now imagine that you had tried many times to give up those fatty calorie packed food by using sheer will power alone, employing your conscious mind to “No, I am going to resist!” and yet, sooner or later, resistance crumbles and in goes the double choc chip muffin!

Now imagine a world where you are the fit and healthy person you really want to be. See yourself in your minds eye and feel what it feels like to be the way you want to be. Hear what people are saying about you, revel in the compliments and feel how confident you are. Knowing this now what would it be like if you had done this without sheer, useless temporary gut-wrenching willpower, but instead it had been easy, natural.

You know those days on the golf course where you are really fighting with yourself and your swing mechanics. When you are consciously “TRYING!” as hard as you can, like the gut wrenching willpower to resist bad food, you employ it now to try and force yourself to swing a certain way that you hope – PRAY – will keep the ball straight. Yet alas it does not work.

You see, you know, you cannot force anything for long before it all breaks down. Like taking a rubber band and forcing it apart with two fingers. You can do it but it takes effort and eventually the force cannot sustain the pressure and it gives in.

Now imagine you are playing the kind of golf you believe you are capable of, deep down,

 when you are really hitting it well and golf seems easy, effortless and you play with a smooth rhythm and calmness, confidence.

And imagine too, that playing this golf does not take effort or force. It just seems to come from a quiet inner calm where the instructions on how to move your body so that the clubface meets the ball perfectly and sends the ball to the target all happens on it’s own. Like how you tie your shoe laces without conscious thought. You just – do it without thinking.

Now you can let force go. You can remember to forget willpower and just allow thoughts of natural ability and inner programming to take over and as you do this more and more you will find yourself, magically, playing the golf of your dreams and getting utmost pleasure from your game. You are happy and fulfilled, proud of your performances and your friends are not sure where you got these new found skills of calmness, confidence and great ball striking from?

You see, this is what NLP and Hypnosis can deliver for you. But you really don’t need to take my word for it after all I am not trying to sell you a program I invented, just tell you about technologies that really exist and do work. If you want proof then you can just look toward Tiger Woods who has trained extensively in various forms of hypnosis.

If that’s not enough then just look toward virtually every top athlete and you will find that they are being trained using technologies like NLP and Hypnosis. Does it work? You bet.

It is becoming more and more common now for mid and even high handicap golfers to get down to single figure golf by using mind power interventions such as NLP for Golf and Hypnotic techniques for golfers.

Find out more about NLP training for golf and the Mental Game of Golf by visiting us at http://www.golfmindshop.com

Remember, if hypnosis is good enough for Tiger, it’s good enough to Improve Your Game now too.

Warm regards and wishing you blue skies and 65′s,

Mark.

Green Reading – The Art And Science Of Getting Your Ball To Roll In The Hole

You can apply some science to your green reading which will help you to make better decisions but I believe that this should be done in a fairly passive mode. That is, put the information that you are faced with on the green into your mind in a systematic approach, called a putting pre-shot routine. Observe the steps to feed the necessary information to your brain and then… GET OUT OF THE WAY. Stop analysing. Stop thinking. If you let your instincts run the show and you allow the art through to do its work of sending the ball to the target, at the correct pace, you will begin to tread the road to great putting.

Pre-shot Putting Routine, feeding information to your instincts.

1. Pay attention and be observant when you are walking up to the green. Take in the lay of the land and get a feel of how the green lays in its surroundings. How does the land slope generally? Is there water near or around the green? Greens will very often have subtle breaks toward water even if they are not obviously apparent.
2. When reading the ball to target line you should read it from both sides and also stand side on to the putt line (from the low side) and get an idea of it travelling across to the hole. Here you are allowing you brain to get a “feel” of how the green lays from 3 different sides which gives your instinct great information. How many times have you looked at a putt from the other side after you’ve missed it and realised you never saw the slope? If you read from three areas you will pick up far more of the subtle variances in the green. Again let me emphasis that this is not so much for you to use and analyse but rather it is information you are just gently allowing in so your instincts can use it. With that in mind don’t stare hard at anything. Try to simply observe gently by running your eyes over the areas where your brain can gather its own information about the upcoming putt.
3. Watch your playing partners putts carefully even if they are not travelling on the same line as yours they are still giving you some feedback around the hole in that last critical 2ft at the hole. Naturally if the putt is on your line then pay special attention to it but observe etiquette and rules so you don’t infringe either when trying to watch the other persons putt.
4. The line that you imagine the putt taking and the break on the line is only as good as the pace. Change the pace of the putt and you change how much it breaks. Always commit to the line AND pace. This is also where the art comes in because I don’t believe that you should be trying to make pace. I believe you imagine what you want, allow the instincts to give you a pace that takes the ball into the hole with reasonable roll rate and then allow it to happen. Look at the target and then let the putt go. Don’t delay and “think” about it.
   The perfect pace is one that takes the ball 12 to 18 inches past the hole if it misses. In fact scientifically it has been shown that 17” is the best pace for holing the greatest amount of putts, but I am happy with the pace anytime I am between 12 and 18 inches past. So imagine your putts rolling at that speed into the hole and then trust your instincts to reproduce that pace for you.
5. Weather conditions play a part especially if the greens are wet either with dew or rain. In addition the wind will have a real effect on the ball and remember it is a combination between wind velocity and speed of green as to how much the break or pace will be affected. The slicker the greens, the more the wind can “push” the ball. Not only can wind affect the line but also speed if you are putting with the wind or against it.
6. Pick precise targets to putt to. If you can see it then putt to a blade of grass as your target. Putt to a slight disfiguration at the back of the cup if you cannot make out a blade of grass. The rule is pick the smallest possible target you can without straining to see it.
7. Always have two or three practice putts next to the ball and stand in the same orientation as the putt stance required. This mimics your desired putt for real and gives your brain a chance to “Feel and Figure” what it needs to do to get the ball into the hole. Also, make sure that you are fully focussed on your target while making these practice putts.

Remember that putting is in my opinion more an art than a science but you can apply some necessary science in an artful way. What do I mean? Follow a pre-shot routine religiously and give your brain all the info it needs by following the steps I have described, but then get out of the way. Don’t over analyse. Go with your first impression and let your gut instincts guide you. They can make better sense of the science and apply it for you. When you have done everything just focus on your target and let the putt go thinking just of your target.

When you are set to go have one last look at the target and then putt. Don’t wait. Try to putt within 2 seconds of your last look at the target.

Finally let me say that great putting comes from instinctive trust and learning but it is not necessarily an overnight change. Sticking to instinctive putting for a period of 6 months will bring great rewards but do it for a week or two and you are wasting your time. Instinctive putting will get stronger with time as your brain builds a bigger and bigger database of information about how to putt so be patient if you are new to the game. The more time you spend practicing and experimenting with instinctive putting the faster your progress will be.

If this article has been of interest to you, you can find out more on the Mental Game of Golf and how it can dramatically improve Your game by applying Easy techniques. Go to my website at http://www.golfmindshop.com

Wishing You FIR’s, GIR’s and Blue skies,

Mark.

PS – Get your FREE copy of probably the most comprehensive ebook on Golf Grip you will ever read. Click on here to access yours now.  http://www.golfmindshop.com/gripsignup.html

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Mark Wright is a Master Coach and Sport Psychologist. He can be contacted via his website where you can get free advice on your golf swing or mental game just for the asking.

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