Table of Contents€¦ · many sports. Ian Woosnam used some of these strategies prior to winning the Masters years ago. Lee Janzen, who had completely slipped from view, experienced

Table of Contents

1. - Preface2. - Introduction3. - The First Tee4. - Four Stages of Learning5. - Imagineering A Better Game6. - Distinctions7. - Time to Imagine8. - Attention Please9. - Finding Your Game10. - Golfing Styles11. - Follow the Evidence12. - Beliefs13. - It's All About Focus14. - Distractions15. - Looking into the Mirror16. - Anger Management17. - Acting “As If”18. - Having Goals19. - Secondary Gain20. - Flow21. - Anchors Away22. - Pre Shot Routine23. - Post Shot Routine24. - Between Shot Routine25. - Home on the Range26. - Stretch Yourself27. - Visualizations28. - Avoiding Loss or Playing to Win?29. - Nerves30. - Performance Anxiety31. - Slump Killer32. - Peak State Triggers33. - Coaching Session34. - The Zone35. - Game On

Every Golfer's Guide to the Development and Mastery of their Inner Game___________________________________________________________by Wade Pearse Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008


36. - Mindset of a Champion37. - Personal Performance Tracker38. - Summary39. - Personal Performance Printouts



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Preface

Every Golfer’s Guide to the Development of their Inner Game is written with every golfer in mind. From PGA pro to rank amateurs. It provides tools for building a solid foundation for your mental game AND provides numerous advanced strategies to move your inner game from development all the way to mastery.

The first part of the book provides the larger view, showing the fundamental mindset you need to integrate the material effectively. Much like looking through binoculars, them zooming in on things as we go. Eventually you'll trade the binoculars in for a magnifying glass and we'll get a little closer to things. Finally, a microscope will provide us with the most accurate view of the inner game strategies that create your peak performance states.

Those of you who make your living from the game as a teaching pro or as a professional on tour will find this material incredibly powerful and directly transferable to your game and those of your students.

These techniques work. In fact aspects of what you'll be learning have been used to great success on many tours and in many sports. Ian Woosnam used some of these strategies prior to winning the Masters years ago. Lee Janzen, who had completely slipped from view, experienced the true power of these strategies when he used them leading up to his win over Payne Stewart for his 2nd US Open. Tiger uses them religiously.

After Andre Agassi had virtually disappeared from the game of tennis 12 years ago, he began applying the techniques you're about to learn. He was so far out of the world rankings when he entered the US Open tournament he was an unseeded player. What did he do? Nothing much, he merely became the only player in the history of the US Open tournament to win as an



unseeded player.

The strategies in this book work. Period. Yet only if you work them. Do you think Tiger developed his mindset by accident??

This book is meant to be experienced, not just read. I can go on a vacation to Paris and try to give you a sense of it by returning with dozens of photos and countless stories, but no matter how convincing this is it is never the same as you actually travelling to Paris yourself. Hey, if this is all we needed in order to feel like we’ve been on a vacation then we wouldn’t need to go! It sure would save a lot of money.

Act on the information. Reading this book like just another magazine will help a bit yet its true power exists in the application of the knowledge it contains.

Regardless of your level of skill read the book from front to back. In the first part of the book I provide insight into why these tools work. This will build valuable belief.

Consider the first part of the book like you would a pre-shot routine: an essential component in making a good swing. A pre-shot routine puts you in the best place to make a good swing. Reading this book from front to back puts you in the appropriate place to digest this material and fully benefit from the techniques I'll be showing you.

Once you have read it through to the end feel free to pick and choose any area that attracts your attention. They will easily stand on their own at that point.

It is designed to allow you to use each section independently and integrate its contents individually once you have a core



understanding of the entire book first.

**********************************

The purpose of this book is to provide you with specific techniques and inner processes that will allow you to play your very best golf. It will become natural and effortless to step into a well designed pre-shot routine and swing from a place of confidence and clarity. Not the hurried, unfocused stabs at the ball many of us experience.

When we appreciate the simplicity of the game, integrate a few highly effective cutting edge mental game strategies, and practice basic golf fundamentals, we will be playing the best possible golf we can play with our given skill level.



Introduction

This book is the culmination of years of personal study and application of inner processes that apply to the game of golf. I draw from many sources for inspiration and techniques to make changes in the mental game. Eastern philosophies, sports psychology, psychology, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and any other area that could be applied into the golf game.

What mattered to me was one thing only. Did the strategies I was testing over the years work or not. If they didn't produce measurable changes in my game or my clients' games I tossed them aside. Theories do not interest me. Arcane concepts like "think positive" and "its all about your attitude" are not what this book is about. While they may make you feel better momentarily they don't directly translate into lower scores. Do you know what I mean?

Can you remember a time when you were playing golf and things felt great, yet one bad hole and bam! There goes your swing! Why does this happen? My desire to play as well as I could put me on the journey inward. I knew I couldn't hit it like many great players but I could think as well and even better than them.

And so can you. This is the true power of what you will be doing here. Thinking well on the golf course and playing from your best possible state places you an equal footing with anyone you play. In fact I would suggest you will have a competitive edge that others don't even know they lack!

The inner game is the game, in my opinion. Not having a



good inner game is a thought I can barely comprehend! When you are finished applying the tools in this book you will share this perspective.

Whatever stage your game is at right now is that way because you have habituated it that way. You are going to learn exactly how to habituate what you want and play at your highest possible level.

I literally transformed my game by using the strategies in this book. No gimmicks, no hype. My handicap is verifiable through the RCGA in Canada. And as you know by now my handicap went from a 26 to a 3. I did at one point get down to a 2.4 yet for all intents and purposes I play between a 3 and 4 throughout the year.

This was achieved on 50 rounds per year. Less then one round a week! Actually it was more difficult for me than many of you who live in sunnier climates. In Canada our golf season is a lot shorter than most places. I golf for about 10 months of the year which means I play with gloves and a sweater for several months!

Every Golfer's Guide to the Development and Mastery of their Inner game is an owner’s manual for the mind of golf.

Not just the high handicapper who obviously has the most room for improvement. It's easier for a 28 handicap to drop 15 strokes from his game than it is for a 2 handicap to become a scratch player.



In the same way that when the starting gun fires at a marathon we can improve our running time during the first 1 mile with relative ease. Yet try shaving anything off the last 200 yards of a 26 mile race when it feels like you're towing a train!

Lowering your scores and playing at your peak through developing your inner game is not a gimmick or a “swing fix”. The changes you make are lasting and evolving.

There are countless highly effective golf swing coaches in the world for you to work on your physical game with. I encourage this since your results will explode when you accompany this material with proper golf instruction.

My intent for writing this book is to be your one-on-one coach, educate you on how to properly apply these strategies, and guide you, step by step, toward playing the best golf you can possibly play.

The journey inward provides you with limitless opportunity for not only improving your golf game but the exploration of your own potential as a human being.

Here are some questions I'll answer and show you how to experience:

What would it feel like to shoot my personal best and play at that level as a habit?

What does it mean to play in the zone?

How can I be completely relaxed standing on



the first tee?

What do I need to do to save my best golf for important tournaments?

How do I keep a clear focus when the pressure is greatest?

How can I deal with my anger on the course?

My putter has gone ice cold and I'm missing cuts. If I don't deal with this now, I might seriously have to consider leaving the tour and getting a job as a teaching pro. What can I do!?

There are dozens of scenarios that will receive attention in the coming chapters. It's my commitment to you to transfer the skills in this book into your game and be your coach along the way.

So let's begin your inward journey from development to mastery and prepare your mind to release its power.

Time to tee it up!



The First Tee

Golf is a game where we yell fore,take a six and write down five.

______________________________

In the beginning was the word, and the word was fore! This most certainly is the word of choice at the local municipal golf courses and many private courses too. Yet we mature as players and as our game progresses more colourful 4 letter words permeate the fairways of these hallowed grounds.

Ahhh, such a wonderful game indeed. One we love to hate and hate to love. It brings so much frustration and anger to so many and yet lures each of us into a dream of a golfing promise land. Longing for that one pure shot. That one perfect putt. That one decent round to justify the mind numbing frustration we trade for it.

There's the rub. Golf is a mirror and it reflects back to us exactly what we habitually think and feel about ourselves and our game. This reflection can change from game to game yet it is still you that is being reflected.

To make real changes in your game a new mindset is required. A mindset that embraces every possible perspective you can notice about the game. This mindset must be inclusive, not exclusive. Meaning it allows you to see things in many ways, not just one.

In psychological terms it is known as Requisite Variety. Requisite variety states that whoever has the most flexibility of perception and communication determines the outcome of any given situation.



What does this mean to your game? Patience my dear friend it's only the first chapter! When you can perceive multiple frames of reference in your game and each shot then your mind is free to choose how to respond not simply react robotically.

So how do we develop this mental skill? Is it really possible to play with the ease of an Ernie Els? ( rumor has it that Ernie's so relaxed and casual that sheep count him when they're trying to sleep... )

The answer is simple: Through repetition of specific mental techniques. By rehearsing various scenarios in your game before you play. The approach to the development of the inner game that I promote is big on internal preparation. There's a saying that goes, "opportunity favours the prepared mind". I agree and you will too.

You will have the opportunity to view and experience your game in many ways. Not merely one habituated pattern you might be accustomed to. The game has so many nuances within it that are impossible to notice when your mind runs the same old programs.

It's like you're playing a tape recording of the same song over and over and over again. How boring is that? How can we expect to play to our peak if all we do is run the same old internal patterns and see things the same way we did last round, and the round before that?

Are you serious about developing your inner game ? Do you want to learn how to build a rock solid inner game that stands up to any and everything the game throws at you?



It all begins with understanding some basic fundamentals of the mind and how it operates, then aligning ourselves with its power. The key is to work with the natural tendencies of the mind, not against them. Makes sense, right!?

Seriously. How long would you spend trying to push a river? What's that? You wouldn't even try? Well then why are you using your mind against itself when you play golf? The mind is like a river. It flows in one direction so you had best learn how to swim with the current. If you insist on going against the current, feel free. But resistance is futile....

Your brain is hardwired into certain patterns. You have habituated these patterns over time to the point where you don't even have to think about them anymore. Aha! Key number one has already appeared and we're only on page 3.

What? You don't see the key?

The fact that the mind loves habits and runs in grooves is an asset to your game, not a liability. A long as you know how to run your brain. You are going to learn to benefit from the mind's natural tendencies and put your absolute best game on auto-pilot. Sound good?

So when people talk about habits as being “bad” they're out to lunch! Habits are extremely powerful allies to your inner game. Why resist nature, right? Use it. Nothing is inherently good or bad. It's our interpretation of things andthe meaning we apply to them that determine their effect on us.



While most people attempt to “fight” with themselves and “wrestle” their inner demons into submission you will calmly adjust yourself with the powerful forces of the mind and work with, instead of against them.

There is one basic belief I want you to consider using. It literally changed the way I perceived the game. Everything I did as I taught myself how to swing revolved around this principle. It is a principle which will shape your inner game.

Now of course I wouldn't suggest you actually accept this belief... No, I wouldn't do that... :-) Of course I would! In fact my entire approach to inner game development and mastery has this belief at its core.

What is the belief? Do you really want me to tell you? Are you sure I can't just continue the book without telling you? Curiousity is a powerful thing...

“Golf is a movement toward a target”

The mind is a target focused mechanism. When it is fixated on a target it will do what it deems necessary to reach it. No matter the cost. As we'll see this has good and bad consequences to your game. “Bad” only if you continue to try and push the river. “Good” if you join forces with nature, build a sterdy raft and ride the rapids!

Everything you'll do with your mental game will be built around this mindset. Eventually you will embrace this as a mindset that guides your inner game toward mastery.

It will be the compass for your mind. So if you ever feel



lost while you're learning this material or while you're out playing golf, just reach for this compass and everything within and around you will align itself to this belief. You will be back on target!

If you've seen my signature file in my emails and internet correspondence you've seen this statement. “Keeping you on target!” Now you know where it comes from. It is not just a cute or catchy slogan. It goes to the heart of what my philosophy of the game is. I encourage you to try it on for size.

It has transformative powers. Right now you might think this is overstating things but this will change! Along with your scores...

Golf is a movement toward a target

Ok, now let's get a handle on the 4 stages of learning in the next section.



The Four Stages of Learning

The mind is like a parachute, it works better when it’s open.

___________________________ There are four fundamental stages of learning. Many people get stuck in certain stages yet because they're unaware of these four stages of development they don't even know that they might be stuck. This section isn't isolated to only golf so the conversation is a little wider. As mentioned in the intro we begin with the overview and the building of the best state of mind to benefit from this book. Once you appreciate that there are certain natural responses to any learning, you won't get caught in any one stage for too long. By understanding this you can cut yourself some slack while acquiring these new mental game skills. It will help you “stay the course”. Stage I - Unconscious Incompetence This is the first phase of learning. This is where we don't even know that we don't know something. We are unaware that we lack knowledge. Needless to say, this is the least empowered place one can be! This is the stage that people who didn't buy this book are at! Of course I'm not suggesting this is the only book on this subject with serious value. Yet if someone is a golfer and hasn't been exposed to the benefits of the mental side of golf, and passes it



by, then they don't even know that they don't know! Whenever we're unconscious of something's existence, or its affect on us, this means we don't know that we don't know. Many of us lead very ignorant lives, yet we cruise through life seemingly unaffected by our ignorance. This is the stage where the saying "ignorance is bliss" speaks from. The well worn cliché which states "What you don't know can't hurt you" is absolute lunacy. What we don't know can kill us! Take influenza. Hmm, maybe if I don't know about it while it sweeps through my town I'll be ok....yeah, that's a good strategy! And maybe if we don't know we have have a deadly disease it won't hurt us...yup, that makes sense. When it comes to your golf game this couldn't be more true. It is what you don't know that's killing your scores. This is why developing your inner game is so important. Stage II - Conscious Incompetence In stage II conscious learning actually begins. We are aware that there is something we don't know. We admit we know that we don't know. Every “how to” book ever bought was purchased because of the influence of this stage. Golf magazines filled with swing tips are consumed daily by a ravenous golfing public eager to satisfy the hunger Stage II creates. Golf training aids, videos, playing lessons with the pros and the Golf Channel have their existence thanks to Stage II. And of course I pay homage to this stage as it is also why you bought this book!



Some interesting things occur at this stage. In fact this particular stage is where most everyone gets stuck. Although it's really only the first phase of actual learning, far too many people just can't seem to find a way to move to the next stage. There are many reasons for this. People can experience frustration when learning something new and having to constantly confront their lack of skill or knowledge. As you read this recall a time when you were learning some new swing tip for the first time. Do it now. Maybe it was something you read and were trying on the course. Perhaps it was an actual lesson and you were working on it during and after the lesson. Make sure you have a memory of one of these learning moments before reading on.... Ok, notice what you were thinking and feeling. Were there any uncomfortable sensations? You probably felt some frustration. Certain things just didn’t feel right. Maybe the new grip felt odd. As you practiced you followed the instructions and gave it your best. Yet as the days passed you just couldn’t seem to make it work, whatever it was. It became increasingly difficult to commit to the new technique because you weren’t seeing results soon enough and consistently enough. Does this sound familiar? Welcome to the experience of Conscious Incompetence. No one enjoys this state for extended periods of time. Some people have a very low learning threshold which promotes a desire to give up too soon. Others have a high tolerance for the internal tension caused by Stage II. You have heard the term “instant gratification” before. Those with a low tolerance for internal discomfort are the group that seek instant gratification.



While satisfying short term desires might provide temporary stimulation, it rarely encourages long term commitment to new learning. Mental toughness is not in this group's vocabulary. Those who can live with the internal challenges of acquiring new skills are willing to delay gratification for the long term benefits that properly applied knowledge brings. This is you. Our early education system has within it a predisposition toward making us feel inadequate and frustrated at knowing that we don't know. We are taught things in school and then tested on them and when we don't do well we are made aware of it! This only confirms what we were already aware of - that we know we don't know! No-one enjoys that state for an extended period of time. It removes our innate desire to learn new things. I want you to really get this point. This will have massive impact on your game and any learning you do in the future. If you associate too much discomfort, frustration or pain with the process of learning (whatever the learning may be), you will either consciously or unconsciously move away from that learning. Let's look at some early childhood experiences in school. Maybe you were in a class or taking a course that you weren't too switched on about. One you didn't much care about. You are unlikely to tap your full potential in that state of mind. Sure enough you fail or merely do just enough to pass. I can speak from personal experience as this is how I treated many of my classes in my early education. Since I wasn't truly engaged in the process of learning I seriously limited myself fromexperiencing what I was capable of.



More often than not people will use less of their personal resources if they are learning something they're not interested in, or are reminded how poor thay are at it. Now follow me on this....you as well as every person has these experiences. You get feelings that make you think less of yourself or at the very least make you feel uncomfortable. In any given moment we will naturally do what it takes to survive. Psychologically, emotionally or physically. Therefore, whatever we experience as pain is perceived as a potential threat to our psychological and/or emotional survival. We will move away from this pain. We will lose our innate desire for learning new things. Just think of the impact this has on your life! If this goes unchecked, which is exactly what happens to the bulk of the human race, you will end up avoiding learning new things altogether. Ouch. You will unconsciously associate the frustration, discomfort and pain of previous learning to any future learning. And there is no way you want to be reminded of being ineffective or stupid! This is truly one of the more sad, yet completely avoidable, experiences we can have in our journey to becoming an effective and thriving person. It is critical we understand that it is natural to feel discomfort during the early stages of learning. This is how we learn. Don't get stuck in the feelings that accompany knowing that you don't know! To put it in a more positive way, make sure you focus on the joy of learning something new and the satisfaction



you'll have once you've learned it and have acquired new skills. Understand it is only temporary and know that Stage III is just around the corner! Stage III - Conscious Competence Now you arrive at the stage where you know that you know something. The learning is becoming installed. Knowing that you know something builds confidence. Yet let's not get caught in this stage either as is often the case when we acquire a bit of knowledge. A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. Many of us become puffed up with a false sense of self-worth simply because we know something others don't. It is clear our society values knowing versus not knowing. For many obvious reasons. You know how to swing the club. How to make a smooth putting stroke. How to see with your mind's eye and visualize success. This is where you'll be after applying the tools in this book. This is where the fun begins as you'll begin to experience the benefits of your efforts. Your game will improve along with your satisfaction. Stage III is where we experience the conscious recognition of what we're learning. This is where you get the "aha!" realization. It is so important that we get to this point in our learning. It is here that we get that rush that accompanies learning something new. We feel that sense of bliss that comes from really understanding something important to us. Yet it is easy to get stuck here and believe we've "arrived". While certainly our confidence has justifiably increased, our egos need to remain in check. Just because we know that we



know doesn't mean we have attained wisdom. Mastery is found in the final stage of learning. The stage very few people ever reach. Stage IV - Unconscious Competence This is the stage of mastery. You don't have to be conscious of what you know. You just "know it". You don't even have to think about it. You don't need to be conscious of your knowledge. You have developed to the stage where you can simply experience the benefits of having made your way through the three previous stages of learning. You have earned access to the ultimate state. This is where the zone lives. Peak performance, playing with ease, cruising on auto-pilot. These all live here. Playing in the moment and the state of flow. Yet most people will never make it to Stage IV. They just have not wired into their nervous system an acceptance of the discomfort that Stage II, conscious incompetence, causes. And those who do learn how to adapt to it sometimes can’t get past Stage III, conscious competence, and let go of the grip their conscious mind has on their knowledge and their game. It is important to relax our mind and allow this natural learning process to take place. Following is a saying I made up years ago that that sums things up for moving from Stage III to IV;

Life is like sand in a tightly held fist. The harder you hold on the more you lose...

Golf is much like this. Have you noticed? There is power in letting go. It frees enormous amounts of energy that is being expended while struggling to hold on to our



conscious knowledge. Being attached to and identifying ourselves with our conscious mind is the ultimate learning trap. A real game killer! To reach the state of "flow" we must learn to let go... ********************************************************************* A man was strolling along a high cliff casually taking in what views he could still see as darkness set in. A little too casual in his attention and not being able to see in the enveloping darkness he slips on the edge of the cliff and falls. Quickly and in panic he reaches out his hand to clutch at anything he could grab! Fortunately his hand met an outstretched branch and he hung on for dear life. Petrified, he hung there and began to pray. 'Please god, help me. What should I do?" To which he would hear a soft reply, "trust me and let go." What!? Let go? I'm hanging from a branch 100's of feet from the ground! The night moved on and his hand grew tired even as he changed hands to rest each one. Desperation was setting in as his prayers only led to the same response, "trust me and let go". It was becoming clear he could no longer hold on and he began to accept the likelihood of dying. One more time he prayed and received the same reply as always, "trust me and let go." He was too exhausted and mentally fatigued to continue so with resignation and an acceptance of his fate he let go of his grip. Thud! Huh? He fell only 3 feet and landed on a ledge that stuck out from the cliff below him! Had he listened to his self directed prayers and just trusted and let go, he would have avoided all that needless suffering and fear.



Learning to let go is a difficult thing for most people. Take some time to explore your thoughts and feelings around letting go. When you can do this your golf game will move to a magical level and allow you to fully enjoy each moment. Without question there exists a fundamental fear of the unknown. Most people prefer the "devil they know versus the devil they don't". Even if the one they know is causing their misery. Many people will refuse to embrace the fullness of who they are. Yet this is the key to playing in the zone and to entering Stage IV. Make the effort! From a competitive standpoint one could also say it is fortunate for you and I that most golfers will never reach Stage IV. Their lack of mental discipline places them at a disadvantage that they aren't even aware of! The benefits of making your way to Stage IV are vast. This is where true inner power lives. It's the world of effortlessness. When you watch a world class musician play a piano it seems so graceful and easy. The unconscious has all the training and years of practice integrated and makes the fingers gracefully dance across the keyboard while the conscious mind merely directs the attention. Can you imagine trying to consciously place each finger on the right note while you're reading a piece of music! Not a chance. Their learning and practice has become unconscious. Watch your favourite golfer swing the club. A thing of beauty isn't it? The rhythm, tempo and balance all in harmony. This is one of the gains you'll receive by using the material in



this book. A little story to close this section. A centipede was strolling along the road when a toad hops gleefully beside him. The toad stares in amazement at the centipede with all his legs. "Gee, I only have 4 legs. So easy it is for me. I hop around. Hop, hop, hop." The centipede simply smiles. The toad, needing to satisfy his curiosity, asks him, "how ever do you walk with so many legs? How many legs do you have?" The centipede replies' "I'm a centipede, I have 100 legs." The frog continues his query, "Wow that is so many legs! That must be so hard to manage each one and make them work together just so you can walk. However do you do it!?" To this the centipede began to think and really pay attention to the act of walking. "Maybe the frog was right. After all it is a lot of legs," he thought. The centipede began to stumble and promptly fell into the ditch.... When you reach the stage of mastery and your unconscious has integrated what you have learned, the burden of conscious thought is removed. You can just enjoy the experience. If you attempt to unravel a high level process such as this what you're doing is bringing the “experience” of your knowledge down a stage. Back to the stage of conscious competence once again. What was once a completely effortless and natural process becomes undone! Like the centipede you feel like it must be re-learned. This is a critical point that we'll return to in various ways



throughout this book. Many pros have moved gracefully through these stages and arrive at a stage of personal mastery. (I didn't say they mastered the game, no one has). Then they want to "learn how to play better" or to "take their game to the next level". Just ask Ian Baker Finch, or Greg Norman or a list of other great players. They reach a place in the game like winning a major championship and for some reason believe that the game that got them there isn't good enough and requires some changes! Ok, sure there are benefits in looking down the road aways and seeing that some refinements could assist them in playing at a high level for longer. Yet more often than not they take their unconscious competence and unravel it. Now they've unwittingly returned to the stage of conscious incompetence, the "I know that I don't know" stage. This is the conscious mind stage where swing mechanics and consciously applied learning takes place. Greg Norman admitted he did exactly this in order to win some majors. He felt he needed to make changes to his game to take his game to another level. Well he did take his game to another level. Unfortunately it was 3 levels below where he was! At this point you are aware that there are many things you don't know about the mental game. So you're consciously incompetent. This means you can now truly learn! As you use the strategies and numerous exercises in this book keep your mind on the target. Stage IV. You will know when you're there. I assure you! And of course I will guide you all the way. I'll keep you from losing sight of the long term goal and I



won't allow you to get stuck in Stage III where virtually every golfer remains. Open your mind and prepare for a new mindset from which to play your game from. Remember, the mind is like a parachute, it works better when it's open! Keep it that way...



Attention Please!

Where is your attention right now. It's on the words on this page along with whatever you're thinking at this moment. It could be on what you had for dinner! Hmm, I hope it's starting to gather itself back in this book!

Now whatever you do “don't think of a pink elephant!”

Where did your attention go? To a pink elephant! There is a very important principle of the mind at work here. When you fully get this your ability to focus and maintain your attention in your game will improve immensely.

The unconscious mind only receives commands. It doesn't screen thoughts before acting on them. It is the conscious mind's job to screen. The unconscious mind can not, not do something. It even sounds silly saying it!

The unconscious mind accepts information that is given to it. So in order for you to “not” think of something your unconscious provides your conscious mind with an image of what not to think about. It must first focus on what it is you don't want before it can truly know what not to think about! So the first thing your conscious mind gets is a picture of a pink elephant. Kind of a catch 22, isn't it.

To experience peak performance in your game, or any area of life, it is critical you eliminate "don't do this" kind of language. Learn to think and speak with a focus on "what to do", instead of "what not to do". The following example illustrates this point perfectly.



Several years ago, in a world series baseball game, the pitcher was standing on the mound. It was game 7, bottom of the ninth inning. The tying runner was on base with the hitter being the potential go ahead run and therefore the end of the game. Series over.

He was the closer and was doing well having pitched almost 3 flawless innings, maintaining his teams 1 run lead.

He had thrown a couple loose pitches moments ago. Nothing disastrous, but enough to perhaps get himself thinking a bit. Well, with everything that was at stake and the tension and pressure very high on the whole team and the fans, the manager decides it's time to stroll out to the pitchers mound and settle his pitcher down.

Not a bad idea. It can allow time to calm his emotions and slow his heart rate in case he's too pumped up.

The manager leans towards him and says "You're throwing well. We're doing good. One more out and it's done. Oh, and whatever you do, don't throw high and outside on him." Then gives him a reassuring smile, a pat on the back and walks back to the dugout.

I’ll bet you know how this story ends….

The pitcher settles into his routine. He coils back, and to his own bewilderment, promptly throws the ball high and outside, only to watch in horror as the batter hammers the ball out of the park. They lose the game and the world series. A collective gasp from the fans vacuums whatever excitement was hovering in the air. It was all over but the



crying.

Knowing what you know now, can you see the monumental error the manager made? However good intentioned he was it was a brain dead move to give any instruction that contained a negative command in it.

The pitcher is quite clearly in an extremely heightened state. The whole world is watching and everything is riding on him. As well, it's part of his role as a good team player to listen to the manager.

Unfortunately the unconscious doesn't know how to not do something. It instantly soaked in the manager's suggestion as a direct command and he threw a perfect pitch high and outside!

This is why so many people have difficulty stopping smoking, stopping chewing their nails, stopping drinking or any other desire that involves "not doing something".

You'll often here people shout at themselves within with words like "don't forget to take out the garbage". Or "don't have a cigarette, don't have a cigarette, DON'T HAVE A CIGARETTE!" as they slide one out of the pack, put it in their mouth and light it up.

Be clear, this is not a condemnation of a smokers' lack of will. They are merely experiencing the effects a negative command. These commands are linked to the positive sensations of smoking. So what is the likelihood of quitting any time soon?



A man on a weight loss plan repeats constantly to himself "don't open that fridge, don't eat any chocolate", as he stands in the kitchen struggling with a desire for food. In order to not open the fridge the mind is forced to see the fridge door open. Now this is all happening unconsciously remember.

And he imagines the creamy texture and rich taste of chocolate while instructing himself "don't eat any chocolate".

It is the inevitable result of the conscious command and the unconscious response in conflict because of how the unconscious operates. Not because he has no control of himself or because he's weak willed.

A more useful way to get an outcome is to state the goal in positive, action orientated ways. “I choose to eat healthy. I feel great being a non-smoker and having lots of breath left walking up my stairs! It's an incredible feeling of accomplishment to kick such a strong habit. By choosing to experience this moment without a cigarette I feel a surge of confidence grow inside that makes me even more committed to living smoke free.”

Can you hear the difference? So I won't be saying things like "Don't hit this tee shot to the left. That's OB. Just avoid the left side." I'll say things like, "Aim down the right, there's lots of room there. Make a good swing". Big difference in how your mind processes the command.

Your internal dialogue must be centered around positive



commands that instruct the unconscious to provide responses that you want, not that you don't want.

When you are considering employing a mind coach or purchasing any form of coaching, do yourself a favour and identify their language patterns. What I mean is to notice if they place your attention on what to avoid or what to do. Anyone can tell us what not to do. You certainly don’t need to pay a coach $100’s of dollars to do it.

This book is specific in its exercises and moves your inner game from development toward mastery in a natural way. You are using the mind as it is designed to work. Life is based on principles and inner laws that, when applied, make our actions effortless. We experience our peak when our inner game is aligned with our outer game.

An internal harmony precedes a sound outer game. Your outer game reflects your inner game. If your attention is scattered or is focused on what you don’t want, then your shots become scattered and head in the direction of your misguided attention. Is this making sense to you?

A sloppy minded player, no matter how gifted he/she is, can never hope to compete with someone who is calm, centered, clear, and focused on exactly what they want. You give me the choice between the gifted player with a so-so inner game and a player who has chiselled her awareness and refined her inner game yet has a less than glamorous swing and I’ll take the latter every time.

When you rehearse shots, internally experience victories,



see and feel yourself making miraculous shots under pressure, you are installing positive sensory images into your unconscious that are accepted as real. Continuing this process you will be filling your inner vault of personal resources with an expanded self perception as a great player. I don’t care what level your game is at. It will improve.

Your decisions around practice will shift in order to become aligned with your evolving self image. All this will be quite natural. Then your swings will feel more rhythmic and your experience of flow will rise. The power of your focus will allow you to completely commit to your shot when the pressure is greatest. Your unconscious will have countless images from your consciously designed “memories” to draw from. Your experience of the game becomes transformed.

Distinctions are the difference that make the difference. Understand that your unconscious mind accepts everything as if it is a direct command. Practice placing your attention on what you want!

When faced with a particular shot, notice your target. Become convinced that golf is a movement toward a target. It is a target oreinted game. This is the key perspective, in my view. Once you appreciate this your attention will naturally align itself with this belief.

Your focus increases when you develop the mental habit of saying, “ok, what is my target?”. The target can be a spot in the fairway on a lay up shot. It can be an area near or on the green for your approach shot. It can be the right edge of the cup on a putt.



Whatever it is make certain it is a specific target. The difficulty of the shot becomes irrelevant to your unconscious and this is the desired objective! Your mind will become so fixated on a target that all other extraneous junk is completely filtered out of your awareness.

You see, when you become swing conscious or get stuck in fear based thinking, where does your attention go? To the trouble you face. To the danger areas. To O.B. and fairway bunkers and other hazards. Why? Because your attention forms a command to your unconscious of what you believe is relevant information in any given moment.

Wherever your attention is determines what your mind will look for and seek to produce for you. It is working perfectly when you hit it O.B. and blast it into a hazard. Even if you don't feel you consciously gave it that command. Whatever is the most dominant internal representation in any given moment is what determines your results.

The conscious mind sorts through “perceptions”. The thoughts and details of our perceptions. The unconscious mind gives us the experience of these thoughts and feelings. It sorts through “states” and provides you with what it feels is the most relevant state in the moment.

So how does the unconscious know which state to provide us an experience of? Glad you asked...It does so through anchors. When you think and feel anything in life, and see pictures in your mind of what you're thinking, and hear your self-talk, you are sending direct sensory



“evidence” of what you believe is most relevant to you. So your unconscious, doing what it is designed to do, simply responds to this input and searches through your memories to find the state that most appropriately matches your conscious mind “perceptions”.

Much like a computer does when we click to open a program. It seeks through the hard drive (unconscious mind) to bring to your screen (conscious mind) the program you were looking for. So if we want to experience different results in our game what do you think would be the best way to achieve this? To use our conscious mind in the manner it is designed: to guide our attention toward what we want! To become target conscious. Then your unconscious will do what it is designed to do: bring into your conscious reality a direct experience of what it is you want!

So whatever you are thinking while standing over your shot is received as a direct command to your unconscious and it simply responds as best as possible to fulfill your request!

Read those 2 paragraphs a dozen times. Seriously. They contain what every exercise in this book is geared toward achieveing. It is the essence of what every mental game coach, sports psychologist and peak performance consultant is trying to help you do!

The more you practice mental imagery and build a growing self image and the more you integrate a well rehearsed pre-shot routine with a clear visualization component in it, the more you will begin to get what you want. Not what you don't want.



Exercise:

1. Commit to placing your attention on your target. This presupposes you have a target. So you must first have a good planning aspect to your pre-shot routine. The moments just before it.

2. When you approach your ball you should already be gathering your attention and focusing on what you are faced with.

3. Assess your lie, distance and target area.

4. Choose your target and burn an image of it into your mind. Take some time here and stare at your ball for a second or two then move your eyes toward the target and see the ball travel through the air and land on your target.

5. Use self talk that encourages your unconscious to produce what you want. We all have our own way of talking to ourselves so use what feels right to you.

I go into more detail about these areas in the pre, post, and between shot routine sections of the book.

These exercises are simple yet extremely potent so continue developing your mental muscle. All of the coming exercises are designed to compliment and integrate with each other.

Keep up the great progress!



It's All About Focus

I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot... when you think about the consequences you always think of a negative result.

Michael Jordan

Have you ever bought a new pair of shoes, that you hadn't seen anyone wearing before, only to buy them and then see at least one person wearing them every time you went out !?

Have you ever became interested in a certain car when in the market for a new one, yet never noticed it on the street before? You decide to buy the car and then on almost every street corner you see the darn thing?

What you focus on you get more of...

Ever walk off the first hole after a series of confidence crushing bad shots saying, "that's the kind of day it's going to be..." and sure enough hole after hole becomes a perfect replica of your first hole?

Have you stepped onto the tee box of a hole that doesn't fit your eye, one you play quite poorly on a regular basis, thinking of where you hit it last time? And what happens 9 out of 10 times? Exactly. You play the hole like crap.




Have you felt anger after a bad shot, hit another one just as bad and felt that surge again? Without knowing it you are providing the brain with a nice chemical addiction that it will do its best to have again and again! If this is how we choose (and it IS a choice) to experience our shots, then the mind will gladly attract more situations and poor shots that will allow you to feed your addiction.


This is a fundamental inner game law. Understand and apply this and you will be fast tracking your journey toward inner game mastery.

We want to engage our senses in the process of playing. Not the details, the process. Immerse your senses into each shot and each moment of your game. Simply act. No thoughts of results. Feel free to entertain thoughts of winning and other resourceful feelings yet while putting or anything else place your complete attention there.

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Peak Performance Principle

What you focus on you get more of.

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Now what if you were to apply this principle toward everything you want in your game? How would you play if you walked off the first hole after butchering it and say "wow, what a relief, I've already got my worst hole out of the way. Now I don't have to be concerned about having it ruin round!" "My best holes are in front of me."

A completely different mindset wouldn't you agree?Jack Nicklaus used this exact approach after beginning a



round with a double bogie. He'd say to himself, "good, my worst has already happened, now there's nothing but birdies and pars." How impressive is that? Talk about a winning mindset. He shifted his focus toward making birdies and pars and away from any thoughts of the double bogie start.

It doesn't matter what your skill level is. The principle is the same. If you play as an 18 handicap then a good hole is one where you take a bogie. So if you imagined you were Nicklaus you would have to shoot a triple bogie on a hole to equal him carding a double. See?

Now since you understand that what you focus on you get more of, you decide to smile and say, "glad that's out of the way already. Nothing but bogies and a few pars from here on!"

As a tour player your mindset is even more important to your life since feeding your family and building your career is at stake. Most of us will never have that be our life yet these strategies are without question equally valuable to us and our joy.

Focus on what you want, not what you don't want. Place your attention in the direction of what will bring you the most pleasure and permit you to play your best.

While you're standing on the green awaiting your turn to putt, visualize your putt going in the hole. Do this again on the next hole. And again on the next. You are a putting machine!



Seriously. I do this when I'm playing well. More correctly, when I do this, I play well!

As you walk to each shot see good shots in your mind. Regardless of the last shot. Imagine hitting to your chosen target. Do this on every shot. This is the beginning of learning how to enter your zone. The foundation of peak performance. Learning how to guide your attention and focus is fundamental to the development of your potential.

When you stand on the tee place your attention and focus on what you want. To place your thoughts on what you don't want actually increases the likelihood of having that exact thing happen.

Like saying, “Don't hit it in the water”. Hmm, I wonder where that shot is going...

What you focus on you get more of...so focus on what you want!



Home On The Range

Most golfers are conditioned, all be it unconsciously, to have some anxiety on the tee box. Especially the first tee. (Of course this never happens to you...)

Like many of the states you access during a round, they're "Pavlovian". The experiment known as Pavlov’s dog is one of the classic experiments and gave us theunderstanding of conditioned response.

(For the readers who know this rudimentary study, allow me two paragraphs to familiarize others who haven't been exposed to it. It's important we're all clear on it before we continue).

Pavlov took a dog and put him on a leash and placed food just beyond the reach of the dog. As the dog’s desire for the food increased, it would salivate. The dog's desire would continue to grow yet Pavlov wouldn't satisfy the desire and the food remained beyond its reach. So as the dog would display the most obvious signs of intense desire for the food, salivating, Pavlov would ring a bell. He continued this process numerous times.

Eventually Pavlov was able to trigger the hunger response in the dog and make it salivate simply by ringing the bell. It was not necessary to show the dog any food. The bell was all the stimulus needed to trigger the response. The dog’s hunger response became associated with the ringing bell.



This research established the concept of conditioned response. It is a foundation of the brain's learning process. Once something has been habituated enough times it becomes hardwired in our brains. This eliminates the need to relearn something each time we are exposed to it.

In terms of our golf games this is a doorway to incredible personal power when applied properly. Yet it is also why people make the same mistakes time after time and why we habitually get angry after poor shots.

I expand on "anchors" in this book. An anchor is really just a one word label for the Pavlovian process. An anchor, explained in simple terms, is this: any stimulus that is present while you are in a peak state becomes linked to that state.

Examples of this dynamic and a more thorough application of anchors are revealed in the Anchors Away section of the book.

While it's not important to have a scientific understanding of the processes I'll be teaching you in this book, it will be essential for you to appreciate the influence anchors have on your game and your performance.

These conditioned responses, or anchors, when unchecked or corrected, cause some of the following symptoms, as well as many others, as you play golf:



muscles become tense (large muscles slow down under stress [shoulders don't fully turn], while small muscles quicken [arms and hands move faster] resulting in poor swing mechanics)

changes in breathing pattern - accelerated or erratic breathing increases oxygen to the brain, tensing muscles and instructs your system to be in emergency mode

heart rate increase

loss of focus, scattered attention

unwanted acceleration to your pre-shot routine

same bad swing on a certain hole

consistent anger

These are a few of the areas adversely affected. Needless to say, these symptoms don't help you play your best. Now imagine having a balanced, focused, relaxed and confident state being your conditioned response to stepping up to the first tee and every tee after that? Do you think your ability to play at a higher level will be improved?

This is how you're going to learn to take your driving range swing to the course.

On the driving range you've conditioned yourself to experience a positive psychophysiology. This has many advantages to the quality of your experience. Some of which are as follows:



body feels and remains loose

you have a positive expectancy, therefore you swing with more confidence

your focus is clearly on what you need to be doing in order to make better swings

your physiology reflects your feelings of inner balance assisting in your posture

you develop a rhythm

focus is markedly improved

you experience the joy of learning and improving

the sense of flow (we'll talk more about Flow later)

There are two exercises you can do to transfer your driving range swing to the golf course. Each has several steps.

*Note: If you don't have a pre-shot routine then now's the time to design one. And even if you do have one you like, quickly read the pre-shot routine section and see if adding certain components into yours improves your play. (See the Pre-shot Routine section then return here.)

If you are new to the game, or are a high handicapper, and your desire is simply to increase your joy by making better swings on the course and the highest levels of peak performance are not what you're after, then there's no need to have a fully integrated pre-shot routine. Just continue with the steps of this exercise.



Yet I would still recommend you at least use a scaled down version of a pre-shot routine as it will gather your attention and help you focus on each shot. No matter what, make sure you visualize before each shot.

Exercise One:

While at the driving range get a couple buckets of balls and begin warming up. Once you feel you're loose and swinging well, I want you to practice the application of your pre-shot routine before every shot you hit. Go through every step of your routine. Then make your swing.

When you hit a good solid shot that comes off as you planned, and only when it does, I want you to follow this breathing sequence. Inhale for a count of 4 - hold your breath for a count of 5 - then exhale slowly for a count of 6 or more.

Repeat the above 2 steps every time you go to the range. Make this a part of your personal peak performance training program.

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What you're doing with the above process is linking the unique breathing pattern with your experience of a solid golf shot. The two become linked and form a neural pathway that your subconscious mind files away for future use.

How will it have access to it? Like this: You're at the golf course and it's your turn to hit your tee shot, or any shot for that matter. You take a breath in the manner you have just learned prior to beginning your pre-shot routine. Then follow your pre-shot routine and make your swing. That's it.



Remember this formula - it's easy as 4-5-6 - this is the breathing routine from above as well as many other areas in the book. This is done for a reason. You will habituate using this breathing pattern. It's an easy thought to use at the start of your pre-shot routine. After a while you will find you can shorten the duration of each part of the breathing process and the benefits will still be there. This way your conscious mind won't pay attention to doing it. You will habituate it, which is the goal.

Most golfers use a swing thought while they play. These thoughts are generally focused on some aspect of the swing, hence the name swing thought. I have developed “inner state” thoughts, or triggers. By saying “it's as easy as 4-5-6” it begins my breathing in that exact manner and links this process to my entire pre-shot routine.

So what has happened because of this? ALL of your positive swing feelings that you have at the range and that became linked to the 4-5-6 breathing pattern are now being triggered at the start of your pre-shot routine.

This is a powerful, yet simple and effortless method to encourage personal excellence on the course. At this point we are merely developing the skill of transferring your relaxed and confident range swings to the course. As we continue you will be triggering your most potent, confident, balanced and focused states you can create while playing.

If you want to play consistently good golf then be consistent with this process. The payoff is huge and will be yours quicker than you might imagine.



Exercise Two: (This exercise is to be done at home)

�1) Sit comfortably or lay in bed, close your eyes, take your special breath (4-5-6). Get fully relaxed and still.

�2) For a handful of seconds, imagine seeing yourself standing on the tee piping your driver with both distance and accuracy. (it's important that you see yourself just like you would if you were watching someone else tee off. Like you are watching a movie of yourself.)

�3) Take a position behind yourself on the tee box, looking down the fairway as you see yourself launching drives into the heart of the fairway. Notice the tempo and rhythm of your swing. Repeat this at least 4 times making certain you begin with your special breath.

�4) Now I want you to step into the movie and imagine that you are actually on the tee box. In the first person, standing inside your body, just as if you were there ready to tee it up. Looking down the fairway at your desired target. Holding the club in your hands. Feeling the grip. The solid ground under your feet. Looking at the scenery through your own eyes.

�5) While standing behind your ball, looking down the fairway or at your target, take your prescribed breath. Do it exactly as you practiced it at the range. Now begin your pre-shot routine, settle in and take your swing.

�6) While standing on the tee box after you've hit the ball well in your mind's eye, immediately take your special breath. Exactly as rehearsed. The bond between this breath and your peak performance state will be enhanced.



Commit to these two exercises and you're going to play your best golf sooner than later. Guaranteed. This certainty I have is due to my experience working with others. Using just these two simple strategies you're learning now I've watched players lower their scores by 20 to 50% in less than 10 rounds. People who were 10 handicaps played to a 5 handicap after only 10 rounds of golf. Think about that. Real, lasting, effective and legitimate change.

With no lessons or improvements in their swing they were able to tap the fullness of their natural abilities and cut their handicap in half!

I'm not talking about someone shooting the odd good round and returning to their old scores. The changes became imprinted into their golfing self image and assisted them in transforming their whole game. It became normal to shoot these scores. Without a constant struggle to maintain the new level. It became natural.

This is the power of these strategies. As opposed to just positive thinking, which is definitely better than nothing, these processes work into the subconscious and merge with your innate potential and directly influence your self image as a player. Once you begin to shoot lower scores, which is inevitable, you will look back at the way you used to play with astonishment! You won't be able to perceive yourself as a player that once shot those scores or performed poorly under pressure. This cements your change into place at the new level.

If you play golf for a living or are a low handicapper you already know how essential a pre-shot routine is. Each and every player should develop a consistent pre-shot



routine into their game. You want to employ whatever strategies that will improve your overall state of mind when making a swing.

The practice range is a great place to tinker with your pre-shot routine and design one that really allows you to feel centered and confident about hitting a shot. Yet once you are on the course it is time to play golf. It isn't time to work on your swing! That is what the range is for.

The key problem with most players is they take their golf lessons and range thoughts to the course while they are supposed to be playing. We perform our best when we are enjoying ourselves and playing. Maintain a target awareness and treat golf like a game. Isn't this what it is?

Our thoughts and feelings and visualizations should be centered around this target awareness. It becomes your inner game compass and pulls your attention away from thinking about your swing. When you become target focused and focus on your pre, post, and between shot routines, then there is no room for mechanical thinking. You simply play the game as it is meant to be played.

How many times do you hear anyone say, “Hey, ya wanna go for a round of golf-swing?” No-one says that, of course. It sounds ridiculous! Why in the world would we go to the course and play that way? It kills your performance AND joy. It makes you excessively conscious minded. The exact opposite of what peak performance is all about.

Everything in this book is about increasing satisfaction and shooting the most absurdly low rounds you can



imagine. And this is only achieved when we get out of our own way! We get in our own way by attempting to play golf in our conscious mind.

By following the exercises in this book and building new and empowering beliefs about your capabilities you will calmly step into your own peak states. The zone. And play with the enthusiasm of a child who was just given a new bike. Yet with the mental maturity of an adult who has a finely tuned and highly focused inner game.

Let's keep going....



NervesThere are countless players in golf who have literally burned out and left the game well before they needed to. They had talent and ability to play for years to come, yet their internal relationship to the game had deteriorated due to incessant stress and self induced pressure. Notice I said self induced.

There is no pressure inherent in the game itself. We must create it internally. Ask Jack Nicklaus. He always said he would much rather be putting with everything on the line than watching someone else do it. He said it is far more nerve wracking watching than actually doing it. He felt less pressure being the one doing it than watching it.

Pressure is self induced. We must operate our minds in a specific way to produce the internal stress responses that get our nerves bouncing. It can begin with our internal dialogue in a certain tone of voice that leads to unconsciously flashing pictures of possible scenarios that induce stress. Then we might get a rush of butterflies in our stomach while our eyes dart around quicker than normal.

There are specific sequences everyone goes through to create any state, including stress and pressure. Some people do not feel any stress at all when it seemingly should be the greatest. Imagine that.

Since we design our internal environment through our habituated thoughts and feelings (pictures, sounds and feelings) it is imperative that we consciously design constructive, effective and fundamentally supportive states. Being confident and relaxed in any situation can



be learned. Just watch a surgeon who has a person lying on the operating table hemorrhaging profusely with the heart monitor beginning to flat line as he calmly assesses the situation and acts with cool precision.

Stress and pressure are self induced. Here are several causes of nervousness in the game;

• Your desire to win – when you have a chance to win all of your years of habituated images around winning and losing generate a nervous response. All your thoughts of what it means to win or lose and how each of these will affect you causes internal representations that either help or hurt your performance

• Fear of failure – previous memories of loss and failure reside beneath your awareness and influence your behaviour when your are under pressure.

• What others might think – This could be related to the fear of failure yet it deserves its own category. Our desire to belong and be accepted is fundamental to all people. Our sense of belonging can be threatened if we lose. And even if we win. Winning brings with it its own set of issues. Many people don't address this when planning their goals in the game.

• Anchors – every experience we've ever had is stored within our unconscious vault. We have specific experiences that have created memories of ineffectiveness, or of being under pressure and not dealing with it very well.

If you are about to hit a shot, and as you look at the flag you recall a flash of a feeling of failure, then your unconscious will immediately look for any state that is



“similar” to that and add to it. Try making a nice fluid, confident swing now!

States are like magnets and our “in the moment thoughts and feelings” are like metal filings that gravitate to our core state. If we are standing over a shot and we, even for the briefest of moments, flash an image of a negative result into our mind, then a corresponding internal state will be made available to you by your unconscious mind.

In simple terms your internal magnet (core state) attracts any thoughts and feelings (metal filings) to it and magnetizes them. It doesn't matter if our thoughts and feelings of failure, or losing, or of hitting a poor shot, are brief. Their corresponding state is pre-magnetized with them. Now all the power of your core state is available for you to experience in the moment.

(This is one of the major reasons golf is such a challenging game. It is always about us. If you pursue this game for any length of time you come to the realization that golf IS an inner game. You can run but you can't hide. Your primary self image as a player dictates your overall experience of the game and how you will perform when everything is on the line.)

Our internal representations cause our nerves to dance and our bodies to produce stress responses.

It doesn't matter if this occurs in your golf game, or asking for a raise from your boss, asking someone out for a date or while making a business presentation. Your experience is created by your habituated internal representations which in turn generate your behaviours which create your



results. Your inner game is the game!

How can you design a confident and resourceful inner game? How can you begin to habituate calm, centered, relaxed and focused states when the potential pressures are greatest? Excellent questions, which will be answered.

The promise of peak performance coaching is to have your own personal zone(s) available to you and make it automatic. To make it unconscious. You're goal with the many exercises in this book is to become unconsciously competent. You don't even need to know that you know. You just act.

Along the way to personal mastery over your states there will be times when you become nervous on the golf course. Whether it's performance anxiety, how you'll look in front of your friends/colleagues, the pressure of a competitive match/tournament. With consistent application of the tools you're learning these occurrences will be minimal, yet when you do experience nerves there are several things you can do.

# 1 - Monitor your breathing when you sense nervousness. How fast are you breathing? Likely very quick and short breaths. Long slow breaths are essential when seeking to relax.

The interesting thing about the term "breathe" is that most everyone assumes this refers only to inhaling. Allowing our breath to remain in our lungs for a few moments AND focusing on how we exhale is equally important.



In many forms of yoga breath is an essential aspect of experiencing deep meditative states. So without question properly controlled breathing can induce inner calm.

Yet rather than simply asking you to take deep breaths to calm your nerves I want you to apply the following breathing procedure that is part of many exercises in this book. It warrants repetition.

# 2 - It's as easy as 4, 5, 6

Inhale over a count of 4

Hold for a count of 4 or 5

Exhale over a count of 6

This process moves you deeper into relaxation quicker than merely taking deep breaths. When we need to access a calm state a.s.a.p. we require a method that is in excess of what we need.

What I mean is this. Say you're scheduled to run in a 100 yard race. Practicing on a 110 yard track is a superior method. It stretches you and makes you run through the finish line not just to it.

Take a golf swing for example. How well do you play if you hit "at" the ball instead of through it? This applies to most every objective we may have. You want to move through and beyond.

If you are very nervous, then taking a few breaths isn’t



going to do much good. Yet taking breaths in the manner described above quickly lowers your heart rate, calms your mind AND improves your focus. I prefer to use it during the planning stage of my pre-shot routine.

After some practice you will be able to stroll around your putt, assessing your read and the break, all the while breathing with the 4 - inhale, 5 - hold, 6 - exhale pattern.

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# 3 - Another great idea is to hold a golf ball in your hands while awaiting your next shot or putt. Simply squeeze it firmly. Hold it for a few seconds then release your hold on it and just notice the sensations in your hands. Do this a few times and you’ll be amazed at the increased sensitivity in your hands. This improves feel which is what tends to leave first when we're nervous. Nerves tend to affect the small muscles first.

In a full swing the big muscles slow down and we don’t make a full turn while the smaller muscles in our hands and arms whip back and through completely disconnected from the movement of the rest of our body.

In putting this is where the yips come from. The tiny muscles in our hands and wrists jerk uncontrollably when we’re nervous. This, perhaps more than any other reason, causes players to leave the game of professional golf. Nervousness during putting shows the most. Our feel is destroyed. Our sense of distance is distorted and even the ability to hold the putter face square through impact on a 4 foot putt becomes a challenge.

With the above drill of squeezing the golf ball, holding and releasing it, we return feel to our hands and relax the



small muscles. You will find these two exercises serve you well in pressure situations where you are nervous.

Telling ourselves we shouldn’t be nervous or repeating “I’m not nervous, I’m not nervous” is denial of your current reality. This approach to peak performance and inner game mastery involves a serious self assessment and an honest self appraisal.

Accepting what is is a prerequisite for excelling at your inner game. Walking around in denial and trying to pretend everything is fine when it clearly is not is a recipe for disaster, in my view. Once we admit where we’re at emotionally and psychologically we are in a position to make a change toward what we want.

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The most pervasive exercise one can do involves a similar procedure. This is done at home. Lay in bed and do the 4,5,6 breathing process and get completely relaxed.

Once settled follow these steps:

Squeeze your toes and hold for several seconds. Then release.

Clench your calves, hold and release after a few seconds

Do the same with your thighs.

Repeat this process throughout your entire body

Once complete tense your entire body, hold for a few seconds then release. Repeat this last step 2 more times.



This process is excellent for providing you with feedbackaround tension and relaxation, stress and comfort. It directly

helps in developing awareness of what it feels like to be completely relaxed and at ease and the contrast with tension.

This exercise is wonderful. Not only is it incredibly relaxing, it creates a perfect physical state for your mental imagery exercises. Your body and mind are one so when you deeply relax your body your mind follows suit.

Make sure you take some time to enjoy this state. By the way, if you are a person who has a challenge falling to sleep occasionally, you will love this exercise. Falling asleep is effortless when we learn how to deeply relax our body.

Every process you're doing feeds into each other. By doing them all you will find nerves, emotional balance, anger, anxiety and many other areas, all improve on their own accord. You will simply notice one day that you are integrating so many of these powerful processes that your overall state of mind has changed for the better. Each of us has a different time frame for this eureka moment yet it will come!



Game On**************************Playing your best golf and performing at your peak is a learned skill. While there is admittedly a lot to learn and apply, the power of your inner game can be integrated and utilized in a fraction of the time it takes to learn the golf swing. In fact, the entire contents of this book can be assimilated, applied and experienced in your golf game within weeks. Not years. Of course this doesn't mean it will mastered in this time yet it can definitely be used and gained from in little time.

You have at your disposal the most advanced resources on the inner game of golf and without ANY previous knowledge or exposure to it you can immediately use and benefit from it. No steep learning curve in spite of its' powerful nature!

Unlike the golf swing where some people have a decided advantage in hitting the ball well, a player who might not be as physically gifted can excel at the inner game and even perform at a level above the player with the so called "gift" or natural physical talent.

So what do I mean when I say “game on”? What does it mean to you? I look at it as a competitive statement.



Game on is a state of mind. A zone you step into on the first tee. It is a great competitive anchor. Ben Hogan used something similar on the first tee to trigger himself into “game mode”.

In fact these few words would be all that would come from his lips until shaking hands on the last green! He'd toss his cigarette down and say, “let's play golf” and begin his routine. This would be an auditory anchor that would immediately snap him into his optimal playing state.

As you practice applying your inner game skills to your game, find a way that works for you on the first tee. Create a good anchor for yourself. Especially in competition. You will put yourself at a huge advantage by consciously entering your resource state before you tee off.

Most players in competition are just hoping they play well and are hitting their tee shot on the first hole like any other. Or so they tell themselves. Yet a competitive match is different than a casual round. To try and pretend it isn't is simply denial, in my view.

Too many players attempt to convince themselves, and this may be due to mental coaching, that it's “just another round of golf.” They try and treat it like any other day.

Nonsense! How can you expect to reach your potential by diluting the very energy that can bring you to it!?



By saying “it's just another round”, with the hopes that this will somehow make it less stressful and keep you more relaxed, you are actually giving away the incredible power that competition can give you! Do you not feel an excited energy when you are about to compete? Maybe even a bit nervous?

In the efforts to reduce and minimize the effects that nerves have on our performance most every mental game coach recommends treating competition like any other round with your friends. It's easy to understand why, yet this is a costly error, in my view.

Throughout the book I speak of the absolute importance of distinctions. Here is a critical distinction to be aware of. The energy that your mind/body produces in competitive situations is almost primal. It goes back to the dawn of time when this feeling equaled survival, or not!

This energy generated incredible inner power to handle our environment and rise to the demands of the moment. Every human being can relate to this kind of energy. It rests in our collective unconscious. A sort of competitive archetype.

Imagine having a way to tap this incredible resource instead of diluting it with statements like, “Oh, it's just another round. Just relax and do your best.” This energy is waiting to be harnessed and channeled into improved performance.

"Game on" means fully embracing ALL of your inner power and channeling it toward a specific goal. In this



case to play phenomenal golf! So when Ben Hogan says, “Let's play golf”, he isn't treating it like just another round. He is known for his intensity and focus. The iceman.

The reason most coaches suggest to find ways to reduce nerves is because they don't know what you're about to know. Certainly nerves that aren't channeled will have a negative effect on your performance. So when it is recommended to find ways to minimize their influence it does make sense. Unfortunately this is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Would you rather dissipate this energy, simply for the sake of stopping nerves and to keep yourself from choking under pressure, or would you want to learn how to harness this energy and use it to increase your ability to focus?

Nerves will occur. Invite them I say! What you're learning is a form of mental game Tai chi. You are using the added leverage that your nerves provide. Yet instead of pushing the river you will move in the direction of this energy.

This, my fellow golfer, is building the raft and enjoying the ride on the rapids.

Or you could simply get swept up by the current of emotions and nerves until eventually you find a calm patch somewhere downstream...ahh, but why wait. Let's make use of your nerves and they will help your game.



Exercise:

1. Notice your nerves – make a casual note that you are experiencing some nervousness. I am not saying you have to be nervous. Please don't make that assumption. If you're not then you're not. Great. But if you do find you are then simply make a note of it in an almost clinical way.

Just give an honest comment to yourself if you do notice a sense of nervousness. Deepak Chopra calls this the act of witnessing. Simply becoming aware of it with no judgement as to what it means.

2. Inhale deeply – apply the breathing pattern exercise detailed in the Home on the Range section. Inhale for 4 counts – hold for 5 counts – then exhale for at least 6 counts. Longer is good if you can.

Make a point of breathing directly into your diaphragm first, then filling your lungs. When you exhale reverse this process. Empty your lungs first then completely empty your diaphragm.

3. Focus your attention - while you are following this breathing pattern place your attention into your breath and follow it into your diaphragm.

Keep it there during the holding count. Then follow your breath as you exhale. At the very end of your exhaling count give one last squeeze of your stomach muscles and thrust the last gasp of air from your lungs and your attention along with it.

4. Channel your mind – throughout your breathing, use directed self talk as follows: “All of this energy I feel gives me power and it allows me to play my very best golf.”

I direct this energy toward my goal of_______. You fill in the blank. This can be an iron shot, a drive or



important putt. It could be a goal you have for the round you're about to play. Whatever it is state your it to yourself in this manner.

5. Visualize – see and feel yourself performing at your best. Watch a preview of your own success. Feel this energy convert itself into a performance enhancing power. Complete a few full, rhythmic and balanced swings in your mind's eye and spend a few moments, in your mind's eye, standing over a putt and smoothly rolling it into the hole.

Now that you have completed the inner game portion of the exercise before your round, it's time to simply let it all go. Continue your standard pre-game routine. Stretch, hit balls, chip and putt.

If at any stage of your round you feel your body produce this energy simply begin your breath exercise. It becomes the anchor for your resource state. This is the power and elegance of this approach. You need not consciously concern yourself with complicated thoughts or any form of distraction.

Simply breathe as you've practiced then step into your pre-shot routine. Your unconscious is becoming wired to produce peak performance states for you. It is habituating being in the zone. All you have to do is continue your practice each night while lying in the comfort of your bed and use the "before" and "during round" exercises I have provided.

It is very important to spend some of your mental imagery exercise time recalling times when you have performed above average. Reliving moments where you were playing at your peak. You want to link these sensations, - the sights, sounds and feelings – to the energy that



nerves provide you.

So step into a time when you felt nervous then recall a time when you hit the perfect shot or holed a key putt. Feel this nervous energy as it assisted you in hitting that shot and sinking that putt! Take your time. This is THE key in optimal performance.

We'll do much more of this in the Anchors Away section.For now apply the above exercises and techniques. Keep it up. We'll link what you're practicing here with other exercises. Mainly the Circle of Excellence. It incorporates many of the keys I have developed over the years and deals with a host of performance killing issues. It resolves and virtually eliminates many of these issues all at once. Integrating nerves into your game as an asset and improving your focus become byproducts of applying the Circle of Excellence exercise.

For now take your time and practice what's in this section. It's all about application. This is not a book on theory. The tools for changing your game and your performance are laid out on these pages. I urge you to act on them! The full mental game program includes over 40 sections (260 more pages)on topics like Anger management - Peak State Anchors - Developing a Champions Mindset - Creating a Winners Outlook - Designing a Perfect Pre-hot Routine for You - Using a Between Shot Routine - Finding your Game - Knowing YOUR Playing Style - One-on-One Caoching session where I guide you as a client - Performance Tracking Sheets to monitor your progress - The Powerhouse Goal Setting Process and much more... You also receive 8 one on one mental game audio coaching sessions! => Mental Imagery, The Zone, Slump Killer, Mental Preparation and others.To order CLICK HERE. All for the investment of less than one round of golf!



http://www.golf-mental-game-coach.com/mental-game-ebook.html

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Table of Contents€¦ · many sports. Ian Woosnam used some of these strategies prior to winning the Masters years ago. Lee Janzen, who had completely slipped from view, experienced