Best Relaxation Technique?

When things are tight.....(even in a little ole club championship-etc)

I have a tendency to get quick in transition....(plus lift head-etc)

Any suggestions on how to alleviate these crunch-time tendencies

or even to lower heart rate?

Really slow exaggerated swings on the range or a slow walk around the clubhouse ( not so slow you look like you're lost )

That or a have a conversation with someone about something completely non golf related.

i read in a good book to close your eyes, and imagine your walking down stairs...count them in your head...at the bottom of the stairs is a door...open it...make sure you hear the sounds in your head...and when you open the door you hear the ocean...and you visualize the beach...hearing the waves crashing on the sand...feeling your toes in the sand...the warm sun coming over you...and take 10 deep breaths...counting down as you do it...


guaranteed you'll feel much more calm. the whole time you're doing this, think of every single possible detail...the wood grain of the door, the brass handle, the salty breeze on your face, the faint caw'ing of seagulls...etc

Well heart rate wont make you tense, it can make you jittery. I remember watching the PGA once and some of the pro's wore heart rate monitors during shots, and you see it spike.

If your having tension issues, there are a few things. One, your grip is to tight to were your creating to much tension in the arms. Two, your thinking of way to many things and now your body has no clue what to do first, creating tension.

Really, tension is eased comming from peace of mind. Its something you can learn. There are many ways to eleviate this. You can create a tick that allows you to be calm. Like you take a deep breath right before you walk up to the ball. This tick is related to a calm state before. Lets say your very calm after you eat dinner, then just take a deep breath there. Then when you take a deep breath later on its related to that event. Or you can think of something that calms you, just a memory. Or like above you can do the count down, meditation style calming. Though i find that taxing, if your constantly in tension and require that for every shot.

For me, i split my preshot routine into segments. First is data collection (yardage, lie, wind), Second is deciding were i want my ball to end up, third is pick a shot i know i can hit and i am comfortable with hitting that gives me the best chance at this, fourth is pick the club that matches that shot. Once i got that done, i stand behind the ball and visualize the shot, i'll look at the ball and watch it travel in the air to were i want it to go. Usually i hold my club out infront of me to get my intermediate point were i will take aim. Then i just walk up, take my stance, waggle, and let it rip. But what i did was, by breaking up everything into segments once i made up my mind, i let go of all that tension if i was constantly doubting that decision. I know my data is sound, no worrying about that. I know the shot shape i want, this will take away the hazards, no worrying about that. Visualize the shot, this is were i gain confidence, feeling comfortable with my decision process. If i don't like it, i put this as my turn back point, were i might re-evaluate my club choice and shot process. Once i line up to the ball, its all gone except for just making it happen.

I never really take a practice swing since, it adds in the problem, what if i make a bad practice swing. What if i chunk a practice swing, now i am probably more likely to mess something up.

This might sound alot, but data collection can happen while i walk to the ball and others hit, as well as deciding the best type of shot i want to hit. So really, its pretty fast. Usually i don't second guess myself. If the shot doesn't work out, i just move on, and add it up to experience to use next time.

It's really a combination of heart rate and blood pressure that cause tension and anxiety.  Heart rate will increase as you perform and activity but doesn't result in stress or tension on it's own.  On my long runs, my heart rate is elevated but I'm very relaxed.  When I'm attempting to hit a golf shot over water not only is my heart rate elevated but my blood pressure as well and I feel tension.

The "Matt Every".

I agree, but make sure you bring some beer with you, cotton-mouth can throw you off too.

Yoga.

No, obviously not during the round. They'll laugh at you doing downward dog.

But try yoga once a week. It teaches your to breathe and to move slowly - two things most affected under pressure. When things get tight, we speed up, including the actual swing. You have to slow down, first and foremost, by breathing slower and deeper. In & out thru the nose. Walk slower. Clear the mind, forget swing thoughts, think target only.

The shot process should concentrate on getting the right distance, gauging wind, picturing the shot and pulling the trigger. Trust your swing.

Off the course: I started reading about Buddhism a few years back, and my on course demeanor become much more calm. I used to get a pretty hot head!. That's one start. It doesn't have to be religion, there are plenty of self-help, mental management books available. Both golf targeted or otherwise. I've gotten a lot of help reading Bob Rotella's books. Raymond Floyd has a good one call The Elements of Scoring . And a friend of mine recommended With Winning in Mind by Lanny Basham. Aldo, like zipazoid mentioned, yoga is a great tool.

On the course: I try to be slow. Not play slow, but slow down. I take slow practice swings (50%). I don't think of too many things while on the course. My main thought is hitting this shot, so a lot of timing is spent concentrating on that. During the present shot or while getting to the next. I'm checking out the landing area on a tee shot, I'm determing the yardage of my lay-up/approach shot, or I'm reading my putt. In the downtime I'll usually be thinking of everything that went right with a particular shot. Focusing on positive aspects of how my shots have been. If I'm not thinking about the round, I'll just go to whatever song is stuck in my head. Just keeping things positive, and relaxed.

Just reading this made me feel relaxed. This will be fun to actually use.

I've reread the posts.....

what I'm trying to find out is THE BEST WAY to help out my

transition problems when things get a bit tight....I do ok wi/general

nerves (for an olde farte) but its my transition mainly.

Again, any suggestions?????

Thanks in advance

Unfortunately, THE BEST WAY can vary from player to player, so I'm not sure if there's a "universal truth" or sure-fire method.  IME, when I'm getting too quick with my transition, I've found that by taking a couple of practice swings where I consciously pause at the top of my backswing tends to put me back on track.

Yeah, i fully agree with mvmac. Relax the jaw and face muscles by opening your mouth. And i also believe that thinking about your 'swing' or your desired result will not help you during those moments of tension. So, what to do with the mind besides thinking ?  A challenging question. I follow, as best i can, the golf philosophy of Percy Boomer, who advocates putting your mental attentions on 'feeling the clubhead' as it moves in a great radius about your body,  To feel it and not think about it takes lots of time and effort and is best learned as a youth.   That very truth, however, and unfortunately,  deprives most of us of 'golf happiness'.

Zen the art of being in the moment but not being attached to it.

^This.  Studying Zen Buddhism has done wonders for my mental game.

The Perfect story to show how zen works with golf.

After winning several archery contests, the young and rather boastful champion challenged a Zen master who was renowned for his skill as an archer. The young man demonstrated remarkable technical proficiency when he hit a distant bull's eye on his first try, and then split that arrow with his second shot. "There," he said to the old man, "see if you can match that!" Undisturbed, the master did not draw his bow, but rather motioned for the young archer to follow him up the mountain. Curious about the old fellow's intentions, the champion followed him high into the mountain until they reached a deep chasm spanned by a rather flimsy and shaky log. Calmly stepping out onto the middle of the unsteady and certainly perilous bridge, the old master picked a far away tree as a target, drew his bow, and fired a clean, direct hit. "Now it is your turn," he said as he gracefully stepped back onto the safe ground. Staring with terror into the seemingly bottomless and beckoning abyss, the young man could not force himself to step out onto the log, no less shoot at a target. "You have much skill with your bow," the master said, sensing his challenger's predicament, "but you have little skill with the mind that lets loose the shot."

I was taught to take several slow deep breaths while lining up to the ball and then exhale as completely as possible.  I start the backswing at the end of the expiration.  It calms me down and seem to make a slower backswing.  I do it a lot with chips and short pitches which cause me the most anxiety.  -  Nevin