Swing tip to quiet the mind.

[lynchjo]

Sometimes too many swing thoughts can paralyze us to the point we can barely start the swing.

We all have hit the ball long and straight on occasion...the trouble is, how do we bottle that feeling?

The secret...the subconscious!

Our self talk programs our subconscious to do great things, and sometimes not so great things.

If you tell yourself "I always hit it in the lake"...guess what? You will hit in the lake! Your subconscious is just doing what it is told.

Think of your subconscious as a vast computer, the most powerful computer on the planet with billions upon billions of neural connections.
What you program this vast computer is what you get out.

Here is powerful tip that works in a spooky way:

When my swing goes off kilter it is usually because I rush the first move in my downswing and I don't hit the ball solid.

My key thought during my swing is "smoothe and solid". Smoothe for a nice swing tempo and solid for a powerful strike.

You will have to find out what key thought works for you as we are all wired differently.

Find out what your swing faults and counter them with some powerful self talk and program that super computer of your to some great golf!

Hit 'em long and Straight.

--John

[Ringer]

Interesting read.

I tend to just teach my students to focus on finishing the golf swing. Focusing the mind on something other than golf really.

[larlev]

Interesting read.

Good point...I have recently started doing just this, it seems if I finish well my shot results are usually good.

Usually my bad shots are from a lack of shoulder turn...either I get tired or lazy on my swing

[andre112]

i think about my hands going back and forward
and relax

[Finn07]

I try not to think about anything as hard as it sounds, i pick out that tiny target down the fairway and as soon as I look back at the ball I am pulling the trigger. Doesnt always work that way, but that is what I try to do.

[DirtCheap]

In My Bag:

That helps too.. Me.. I'm more of a capt. and Coke sort of guy.. (assuming nothing with umbrellas is being served. )

[Avid Golfer]

Sometimes too many swing thoughts can paralyze us to the point we can barely start the swing.

To quote Steve Elkington

(who has been playing pretty decently this week): Most golfers are in turmoil over what mechanical things to think about as they prepare to hit a shot. Head down, left arm straight, and so on. It seems the modern pre-shot prescription to break this mental gridlock goes something like this: You get behind the ball, take a few deep breaths, visualize a good shot, and walk in with a positive frame of mind. But I've never in my life seen a great player use this procedure, and it doesn't seem to solve the basic question of aim. A great player prepares to hit this way: He finds his target; selects his shot and picks a club to accomplish it; gets the club out and gets his grip established; then walks into address, always in motion. It's a dance step. And what is the accomplished player thinking about as he prepares to hit? His one and only focus is the target: a side of the fairway, a specific part of the green, the flagstick, the bridge on the fifth hole, or the hillock on the fourteenth. Not deep breaths, not positive thinking; his visual and mental concentration on the target blocks out all else and begins the instant he chooses what to aim for. Having mastered the grip and his aim, his mind is free to think of golf's real goal, the target -- which frees his body to make good golf swings. page 35 Five Fundamentals

[g-funk13]

Nice Quote, Avid. Recently, I have been trying to get more aggressive in my mind chatter: "Solid Shot", "make this putt", etc. I also tell myself "this is exactly the right shot" over and over once I have chosen a club, target, and swing. It helps to be thinking something specific and positive leading up to execution.

[Trevor07Silvy]

Thanks for that quote Avid.

[r7 425]

Thanks for the tip...I try not to ever think about what will happen worse---heres an interesting read about Tiger Woods and his thoughts about trouble

http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/...613877,00.html