Lazarus

This thread asks some good questions about what then mental game really is. Nerves over the ball to me seems just part of the actual technique/routine of playing of the shot. If I've had a good warm up and just hit 5 solid 3 woods then stepping up to the first tee is not really a particular mental challenge. We clear our minds of all unhelpful thoughts, maybe keep the one that helps us most and swing away. I sometimes struggle with a short game shot if conditions are unusual or its a tricky one. If you flub one or two it feels like a 'mental' issue (bounceback!) but for me it's just essentially just doubts over the technique I'm about to use (lack of warm up or practice is usually the cause). If the mental game is anything distinct I see it as the ability to remove from your mindset the external circumstances of your round and crucially how well you played the last few shots. These are the things that inhibit your usual technique and shot playing if you let them.

I got a hard copy a couple of weeks ago and am enjoying the insights. Its amazing how the common sense isn't that common or how we don't look for it. Very interested in the shot mapping idea and will get up and running with this in the next few weeks so my decision making becomes next to second nature. My buddies aren't used to doing much more than looking for the fairway marker before playing (often into more trouble) so I need to make sure I can get full value. I think it's one of those books you need to go back to ensure you're being effective. Great guidelines for practice. I'm thinking that using game golf might be a good match for this approach.

Unless I have a bad lie, big head wind or protecting a lead with money against my pals I'll go for it. I probably get in big trouble 2/10 times from there.

To play a lot more outside, and to get to single figures.

I've been working on something similar this week to get my weight forward. For me "slide the hips" feels instinctively like a little hip bump and driving the left knee forward. That seems to be getting me better contact, weight transfer and finishing position.