Golf Mental Game | Golf Tips | Golf Tuition | Golf Yips Cure

Hi Folks

It is always exciting to visit a new golf course as each course presents different challenges and opportunities to test one’s playing skills. It is even more exciting to visit untried courses in other countries than your own because a golf course takes advantage of local conditions. These conditions, and hence the characterisitics of the course, can vary so much from one country to another (or even from one region of the same country to another) it can be amazing how this requires a flexible approach to your game play.  The more experience you gain with different courses the greater your skills become and the more confident you feel.

Of course, planning a golf holiday or trip is made all the easier using the internet and the various savings to be found when one is looking for a ‘Discount Golf‘ holiday. Whether your golf trip is for playing or simply to follow your favourite golf professional such as Justin Rose on one of the many ‘Golf Tournaments‘ it can be a great time-saver to take advantage of good internet resources.

So, if you really want to increase your golfing skills get yourself to a different course on a regular basis and push your technique to the limit and beyond!

Cheers

Les

Hi Folks

I have just returned from an interesting session helping a lady golfer with the issue of  ‘putting myself under pressure’ and it is definitely something most of us do – often unnecessarily!

The source of this type of self-induced pressure can be quite obvious or incredibly obscure. The relatively simple to fix “I want to win so bad I get stressed” scenario is very common amongst golfers (and other sports people). The golfer can be so fixated on winning, or beating a particualr opponent, that they pump themselves full of adrenalin and create mental inhibitors by repeating negative thoughts with their inner voice (you know the one – the enemy within). Of course, a body pumped up on adrenalin loses the ability to co-ordinate and so your technique goes to pot. Couple that with all the negative chatter telling you you’ll never win or never beat the other player and you have created a ‘double whammy’ of impending failure.

Of course there are other popular causes for self-induced pressure but the more interesting are the obscure causes. Take for example a lady I helped some months ago (not the one from today) who when practicing looked really good but was so afraid to go out and play a round she broke into tears just thinking about it -  even wanting to play a round with her husband! Her level of self-induced pressure was very intense indeed. What had made this obviously technically competent player so terrified of actually playing the game for real that she wept at the thought of it? Answer – a single negative comment made by a respected friend over 20 years ago! That is worth repeating, one comment from 20 years ago. Seems incredible but in fact you would be amazed at how many people have this particular ‘confidence’ issue. The cause here seems obscure, and it is, but in fact it is very prevalent. When someone we respect or love makes what to them is probably a joke or a throw away comment it can stick like super-glue to the walls of our subconscious and adversely affect the rest of our life. These ‘writings on our walls’ induce self-pressure and stop us doing what we know we can.

Of course, with my EFT procedures these issues are easily dealt with. In the case of this lady a 1.5 hour very tearful session resolved all of the issue and she went out and played a round with her husband and later told me it was the happiest time they had had together in years! Lovely!

So, do you put yourself under pressure unnecessarily or without a logical reason? Does it affect your game? Well consider this, you may put yourself under pressure but nobody else really cares so why bother! Chill out and win more games!

Cheers

Les

Hi Folks

Great news! I’ve just setup a gift shop on CafePress where it is now possible to buy Golf Shirts, T-Shirts, Hoodies and other gifts with the distinctive ‘Right Mind Golf’ logo and neat slogans.
You can take a peek at these unique gifts at the:

RM Golf Gift Shop

Cheers

Les

Hi Folks

In an earlier post I told how I had helped Paul to cure a severe slice. I spoke to him the other day and asked if he was still playing well. He was very enthusiastic as he told me how much his game, and his confidence on the course, had improved.

Not wanting to miss an opportunity, I asked him if he would give me something for this blog that might encourage others and this is what he wrote for me…

“Having been a high handicap golfer for a number of years, I found my biggest problem was consistency in terms of swing and result. Spending just a brief time with Les taught me the importance of not only understanding the need for a routine but also how to implement it for every shot. I immediately saw a marked improvement in my game and even now go through my ‘tapping’ routine before each shot. I can honestly say Les helped improve my game immediately and whether high, medium or low handicapper I would have no hesitation in recommending his services to you.” Paul Ellis

Now isn’t that great! It makes my work so much fun when I see how well my clients improve.

Thanks for letting me share this with you.

Cheers

Les

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Hi Folks

Once you have swung your golf club: whether it is your golf driver, pitching wedge, or one of your other golf clubs, to send the ball hurtling down the fairway the golf ball becomes an object in flight and is subject to the laws of aerodynamics. One of the most influential components of how and in what direction your ball flies as it heads down the fairway is the wind. Let’s take a brief look at how the wind influences the golf ball in flight…

An object in flight, be it an aeroplane, a bird, a stone, or in our case a golf ball, is subject to several different forces acting upon it. The problem with a golf ball is that once it has left your club face it has no steering ability; except perhaps for what you have done to it during your golf swing. Let us ignore other factors such as ball spin and ball design and concentrate solely on how the wind affects the flight of the ball.

1. Wind direction in relation to the ball

Assuming there is some wind blowing, a ball moving directly into the wind can usually maintain its direction. The wind is acting on the front of the object symmetrically so the direction of travel will not change significantly. The same is true if the wind is directly behind the ball. The difference between these two is that a ball heading into wind will eventually slow down (due to wind resistance and drag) whereas a ball with the wind behind it may accelerate for a time and then slow down due to other forces (such as drag).

When the wind is at any angle to the direction of travel of the golf ball it will tend to push the ball off course – the direction will change! How much the ball is blown off course will depend on the angle at which the wind is striking the ball. Starting from the front, i.e. ball heading directly into the wind, as the angle between the ball direction and the wind direction increases to the side, the ball will be pushed further off course in the opposite direction to the wind. If the wind is coming from the right, the ball will be pushed left. The maximum deflection of the ball can be expected when the wind is directly from the side of the direction of travel of the ball, i.e. the angle is 90 degrees. Therefore, a ball heading North being hit by a wind from the East (moving to the west) will be pushed towards the North West (or to the left as you look from the back of the ball).

This also applies when the wind is behind the ball. However, since the ball and wind are both going in the same direction you can expect the change in direction to be less.

2. Wind speed and ball speed

Of course the direction of the wind in relation to the direction of travel of the ball is one factor to consider; the other factor is the speed or strength of the wind. It makes sense that the stronger the wind is the faster it is travelling and therefore the greater its affect will be on the ball. Push something harder and it moves further! If the wind is hitting the ball from any angle from the front you can expect the ball to both be pushed off course and to slow down. However, these two things are slightly opposite. For any given wind speed or force, if the wind is more from the front the direction changes less than if the wind is more from the side BUT the ball will slow down more with the frontal wind than it will with the side wind. A similar principal applies when the wind comes from behind the golf ball.

3. The distance the ball needs to travel

The third factor to consider is how far the ball needs to travel. The longer time the ball is in the air the greater the influence of the wind acting on it. Under the same wind conditions of direction and strength, if you are making a 100 yard pitch shot the correction required will be less than if you are making a 200 yard driver shot.

4. What does this mean when I play?

These aerodynamic forces need to be taken into account whenever you play a golf shot and adjustments need to be made to compensate for how the wind will affect the flight of the ball. Disregarding the intentional use of spin, which is somewhat more advanced, or the spin induced by the design of the golf ball, if you want to place the ball reasonably accurately feel the wind. Judge the wind direction, angle, and strength in relation to a line from your position to your target and adjust your play accordingly. In general if the wind in coming towards you, i.e. you are hitting into wind, then the ball needs to go towards the wind direction because it will be pushed away from the wind direction in flight. If the wind is from behind your position you need your ball to go to the same side as the wind. For example, if the wind is from behind and the right, the ball needs to go to the right as well.

With this basic knowledge of how the wind affects your golf ball in flight you should be better equipped to start making the correct adjustments when you play. Practice combined with knowledge will produce better results.

Cheers

Les

If you found this interesting, or you have some thoughts to share, leave a comment!

Hi Folks

I had a visit yesterday from a client of mine who I helped a few months ago. ‘Paul’ was having trouble with slicing the ball, especially with certain irons. This problem had developed into a mental issue and I did a one-hour session with him at the driving range at Antequera Golf. During this session we not only cured his slice issue but also a couple of other issues: distractions and ‘feelings of being the worst player in his group of friends’.

Well, it was great to talk to him yesterday and I asked how he was playing. His face lit up as he told me he was playing better golf since our session than ever before and that he was using the mental techniques I had taught him every game. He also said his playing buddies now considered him the best player in the group. He said he very rarely played unintentional curved shots now and that his confidence was really high when he played. He also said he was enjoying his golf much more now and was ‘very relaxed’ whilst playing.

I was really pleased for him, and for myself of course! That sort of feedback makes my work feel really worthwhile. Its great to help people!

Cheers

Les

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Hi Folks
You may not yet have heard the name Nathan Hudson in golfing circles but I am sure it is only a matter of time since we are about to witness the rise of a new young golfing talent. Nathan is just starting out on his pro career and unlike the majority of pro golfers (and non-pro golfers alike) he is NOT making the mistake of ignoring one of the most important aspects of his future golfing success – his mental game!
Many pros spend years trying to get that first major under their belt which will catapult them into the big league
Cheers

Les
www.rightmindgolf.com
“If you think it will, it will! Even when you don’t want it to!”

Hi Folks

I wanted to share with you the great afternoon I had recently (Wed 2/12/09) at Baviera Golf with the very talented young pro, Nathan Hudson (visit www.backnathan.com to learn more about Nathan). Nathan is at the start of his professional career and I am very pleased and proud to be his ‘official’ mental game coach. Nathan and his promoter, Chris Broderick, are avoiding the mistake made by many pro golfers, even seasoned ones, as well as most club players and that is to ignore the importance of mental coaching.

Fortunately, both Chris and Nathan are enlightened enough to know that by developing Nathan’s mental game along with his technical skills and competition development right from the start of his pro career, Nathan will have the edge over the other players that he will meet. He will be both technically superior and, possibly more importantly, mentally superior to his competitors; and I intend to help him win through the trials ahead.
During our session at Baviera Golf we worked on a few key issues that were immediately apparent and paved the way for developing some winning strategies that Nathan will incorporate into his game. We worked on key issues such as: developing a pre-shot routine, visualisation, dealing with distractions, and having confidence in oneself. These are crucial things that only a right-mind coach can really deal with properly.

What a pleasure it is for me to work with such a talented and mature young professional, way to go Nathan!

Cheers

Les
www.rightmindgolf.com
“If you think it will, it will! Even when you don’t want it to!”

Hi Folks

News update. I’ve added a couple of articles to my website (www.rightmindgolf.com) for your amusement: ‘Russian Roulette Golf’ and ‘Brain dead golf – you must be mental!’. The first will be published in Streetwise magazine, thanks Andrew, and I believe the second in LifeTimes magazine both on the Costa del Sol. I hope you enjoy them. More soon.

Cheers

Les
www.rightmindgolf.com
“If you think it will, it will! Even when you don’t want it to!”

Hi Folks

Just want to say a big thank you to the first five fans of RMG: Nathan, Roger, Paul, David, and Hayley. Thanks for looking in and supporting me.

Cheers

Les
www.rightmindgolf.com
“If you think it will, it will! Even when you don’t want it to!”