Subliminal Golf Audios

[FortAsel]

Is it any good? I read that a bunch of tour pro's use that so they can preform better, and that Tiger himself uses this since he was 13 yrs old.

What do you think about it? Pros and Cons...

[Sherpat]

I haven't heard of this product. Is it subliminal, or is it advertised as a "sleep learning" tool?

If it's subliminal (that is, the person is awake and unwittingly views a message hidden inside a more overt presentation), then just in the past 2-3 years neurological researchers have found that there is an effect. But this, so far, has only been shown for visual images. And it's not learning, it's just the brain's ability to unconsciously discern a hidden picture inside another.

If it's SLEEP learning ("hypnopaedia"), that's a different story. That idea has been around a long time, but it's never been shown to be effective at all. In fact, around 1990 or thereabouts the National Institute of Mental Health did a large study testing the effectiveness of audio tapes marketted for the purpose of sleep learning, and found there was no effect at all on the subjects. It appears that there has to already be some higher order functioning in the brain going on in order for assimilation to occur aurally. Like, for instance, being awake.

I'd save my money for lessons instead, if I were you.

[FortAsel]

I mean that, for instance, people who want to stop smoking, use a similar type of audio to overcome they're nicotine adictiveness. Does it work for golf too?

I doubt that it does, but to know something is better than not knowing right?

[Sherpat]

Er, yes. It is indeed better to know than not know. A better general tenet would be tough to find.

But again, so far all attempts to show that learning while you sleep have failed. Decisively. The behavior modification tapes that have shown results have been the ones you listen to while you're relaxing. Not sleeping. So if they're claiming you can pop a set of earphones in at night and learn before you wake, IMO they're bogus. If they claim it's just a motivational tape that will help you if you're relaxed and concentrating, that's more believable.

(People who are motivated enough to quit smoking - one of the more difficult tasks on the planet other than hitting a 1-iron with spin onto an island green - may credit sleep learning tapes. But it's more likely that they were just so damned determined that they were going to succeed anyway. As I say, all credible, peer reviewed, published tests on the subject have shown that SLEEP learning does not occur.)