I was talking with my brother today about the amazing degree of control which the team members on both side of the Ryder cup displayed in abundance throughout this unique battle of sportsmanship.  Whether or not you are even interested in golf, you would have found the last few hours totally exhilarating to watch.

As my brother questioned, how did those golfers maintain their focus, steel their nerves and raise their games to such a peak under the pressure of this most revered competition in golf?  So many of the team members were complete rookies to this competition, but they didn’t play like it.

The USA team went into that last round of the Ryder Cup with a fair amount of catching up to do, and put on a wonderful display of both golf and mental strength.  They deserved to win.  The European’s deserved to win too and they did finally manage to win the cup by just one point.  Talk about exciting!

One of the things which I love about golf is that in most games everyone is a winner.  In the majority of golf games you are playing the golf course and not the other golfers.  That’s what the handicap system enables you to do.  A golfer tries to lower their handicap as they compete against the course. 

But there are also added games within the game of golf; different championships and tournaments which set one player against another or one team against another, and this adds a totally different dimension to the game of golf.  The Ryder cup is the ultimate example of this.  One team plays against not just the course, but against the other team whilst at the same time representing their country in front of a large and excitable audience.

The audience certainly adds their input.  They shout and scream, take photographs and generally do a lot of different things which would be distracting to an unfocused mind.  You simply cannot block everything out, but you can learn to use things to your own advantage. 

My brother mentioned a specific incident when he was playing rugby.  They had three seconds to go and his team would win if he managed to make a penalty kick.  Analyzing the situation it was anything but an easy kick; in fact it would be more accurate to say that the odds were stacked very heavily against making that particular kick count in the way they wished. 

Just as he was lining it up a supporter of the opposite team said loudly “I’ve seen those kicks missed before”.  He used that in his mind to fire himself up and be even more determined to keep that ball on target.  He did exactly that, and took great pleasure in replying “not this time”.  It’s not what happens around you, it’s how you use those details in your own mind which makes the difference between winning and losing.  This is true of any sport, not just in golf or rugby.

Going back to those rookies in the Ryder Cup, they were only rookies to this particular tournament.  They had earned their places upon their teams through proving their technical ability and mental strength in many other tournaments prior to this event.  To watch the 21 year old Fowler make four back to back birdies down the stretch to halve his game on 18 nobody would have believed he was a rookie. 

Everyone was sitting on the edges of their seats as they watched McDowell split the fairway on 16, when the Ryder cup was resting upon his game. He then proceeded to hit a perfect approach and incite the crowds to support him (they needed little encouragement) as he stalked up to the green.  Here’s a perfect example of using the crowd to strengthen your mind in another different way.  And, as you know he sank that putt.  He clearly basked in the limelight, and made it work for him.

The rest I’m sure you know.  Despite Mahan’s best efforts against McDowell the European’s managed to clock up 14 1/2 points and get their hands back upon that beautiful cup. I would like to have been there at Celtic Manor to see those celebrations!

I couldn’t help but observe that these days golfers take the time to learn mental toughness at an early age.  Professionals know the primary importance of one’s mindset if you want to win.  You simply cannot win on technique alone. 

Roseanna Leaton, avid golfer and specialist in golf hypnosis mp3s and author of the golferwithin golf mind training system.

P.S.  Discover how to develop your creative mind and putt with confidence.  Grab a free putting mind mp3 from my website now.

About the Author

Grab a free hypnosis mp3 from http://www.RoseannaLeaton.com and check out her hypnosis mp3 downloads to help you to have a strong golf mind.

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Tiger always wears a red shirt of the final day of a tournament. That is part of his preparation and his winning mind-set.  It’s his good luck charm.  In every sport you will come across a famous person who has a similar habit of wearing a particular “something” whenever they are facing a situation which matters to them.  That something may be a pair of socks, a cap, necklace or pair of panties; it can in fact be anything at all.

It is not the actual item which matters; it is what it means to you.  It is your emotional attachment to that item which creates the lucky charm as opposed to the physical properties of the item itself.  Lucky charms are not embedded in logical thought; rather they hold emotional connotations. 

Inevitably the greater the intensity of your emotional attachment the more likely it is that your lucky charm will work for you.  This statement may not make any logical sense to you.  But it does make emotional sense. 

Why so?  It has been proven over time that your own imagination shapes your reality.  Your own beliefs and expectations will pave the way for the outcome which you expect.  The stronger your belief the more likely it is that your expectations will come to fruition.  Logically speaking, Tigers red shirt can not in itself help him to win.  But emotionally, that shirt can make him feel like an invincible champion.  And if you feel like a champion you will act like one.

It’s not only sports people who have lucky charms.  In every walk of life you will come across individuals who have all sorts of lucky charms which they would not like to live without.  Lucky charms are in fact a fantastic invention; they can make you feel however you want to feel, just by them being there for you. The emotional connections which you create between you and your lucky charm may seem invisible and even ridiculous to others, but they are very real to you.

There is no down-side to having a lucky charm; but there is a major benefit to be gained.  Whatever your charm is, it is associated in your mind with an instinctive emotional reaction.  This means that you automatically feel something (without having to try to do so) whenever you wear that shirt, or particular tie, or whatever it is. 

In my case, when I play golf, I have a very special club head cover.  Brandy is a little brown dog and he sits on my three wood.  He originally graced my driver, before they became so big!  I’d take him off the driver and sit him down on the tee box with his nose facing down the middle of the fairway.  The emotional associations which are immediately triggered in me are those essentials in my pre-shot routine – clear focus, calmness, relaxed breathing and a vivid picture of where I want the ball to go. 

Now, if you are a golfer you will certainly appreciate the benefit of a lucky charm which instinctively and instantaneously places you in the right mental state to make an optimal tee shot.  And what’s the downside?  Some people may wonder what on earth I am doing with my club head cover, or think that I’m a bit weird!  But most people simply comment that they’d like to have a Brandy too!

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in golf hypnosis mp3s and author of the GolferWithin mind training system.

P.S.  Discover how easily you can focus your mind with hypnosis.  Grab a free hypnosis mp3 from my website now.

About the Author

Grab a free hypnosis mp3 from http://www.RoseannaLeaton.com, and keep your focus with golf hypnosis and golf mind training.

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Golf confidence is learned in many different ways.  Golf is a very visual game in more ways than many of us realize.  I was reminded of this fact yesterday when I played with a lady who had left her clubs at home in her rush to get to the course.  Borrowed set of clubs in hand, off we set to tee number one. 

She pulled out a 5 wood (all that was required on this particular hole) and proceeded to hit one of the sweetest shots possible, landing on a perfectly flat lie (not easy on this course) leaving an exact 150 yards to the middle of the green. Very nice indeed! As the game progressed it became obvious to us all that this 5 wood was quickly becoming a real favorite.  She really bonded with this club.

By the time we finished the first nine she disappeared into the pro shop and had ordered a 5 wood and a 3 (why not?) in this particular make.  Now here is a good golfer with a nice positive attitude who knows immediately what she wants!  I like her style.

I was immediately reminded of the fact that an almost identical thing had happened to me a few months earlier, although sadly I did not take such immediate action.  I was playing in Carolina and had not taken my clubs and hence borrowed a set, which I immediately bonded with; I have to say that this does not usually happen for me.  Upon returning home I just could not hit my own driver and woods as sweetly as I had those other clubs. (Darn!)

I kept looking down at the club as it sat facing the ball and it simply didn’t look good to me; it didn’t look “right”.  I knew in my own mind that it was in my own mind, if you see what I mean.  But the fact remains that if your club does not look right to you, your golf confidence doesn’t feel right either!  And any golfer knows that confidence is KING. 

Without confidence that ball zips off cross country as it takes on a mind of its own and visits trees, bunkers, lakes and goodness only knows what else.  Those golf balls do what they are told and if you do not apply a firm and focused mind set they will undoubtedly reflect this omission.

I am a self confessed golf addict as are the gals I was playing with.  A great conversation ensued about the look of a club and how it affected each of us.  We progressed to discussing swings and swing thoughts and swing styles.  We all agreed that everyone has to find their own perfect swing.  There is no perfect swing for all and everyone. 

Between the three of us, one has a baseball swing with a start and a finish added later, one has a “too-wide” stance and “too-flat” swing plane (me), and the other has what one would probably say is the more accepted norm.  But they all work…for the person who uses them.  They wouldn’t necessarily work for someone else, but that doesn’t matter; so long as your swing works for you, that’s all that is important. 

And your swing will work for you when you have golf confidence.  In golf, confidence is KING.

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in golf hypnosis mp3s and author of the GolferWithin golf mind training system.

P.S.  Would you like to have golf confidence?  Grab yourself a free hypnosis mp3 from my website.

About the Author

Grab a free hypnosis mp3 from http://www.RoseannaLeaton.com and learngolf mind training with GolferWithin golf hypnosis mp3s.

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If you are a golfer and love the game as much as I do, just being on the course will bring a smile to your face. For me, whether I play golf well or not, I enjoy my golf.  In fact, just getting ready to leave the house, and drive up to the golf club is enough to make me feel a total sense of release.  I feel like an eagle soaring high in the sky where nothing can touch it; golf to me is associated with freedom and yet also a sense of “groundedness” at the same time.

Golf is my relaxation, my release, my reward, a time when I completely shut out the rest of my life (without trying to do so) and each moment brings an alternating sense of peacefulness, excitement, adrenalin, enjoyment, mental focus, satisfaction and fun.  The feelings which I experience when playing golf are powerful and positive.  It is also a game where you meet kindred spirits and there is so much added pleasure in sharing your passion for this truly magnificent game called golf.

There are days when you go out onto the course, stand on that first tee and choose your target and then watch as your ball travels there like a magnetized beam of dazzling light.  Oh wow! What a feeling that is!  And then there are other days when you stand on the tee, pick your target and the golf ball shoots off into the trees, defying the laws of physics; and then the feeling is different.  You have the challenge of an interesting lie in the rough, or behind a tree, and a demanding shot to look forward to. 

That round white ball sits there demanding that you focus clearly and use your imagination to create a unique golf shot; that’s an amazing feeling too.  Golf keeps your attention; it has the ability to play you like a puppet on a string, if you allow it to do so.  You can either rise up to the challenge or give in to it.  Some people hate the game; they say that “golf is a good walk spoiled”, in which case they should not play it. 

In reality, we all especially love the days when everything in your game comes together; the tee shots fly down the centre of the fairway, every putt stays on course, the sun shines but it’s not too hot, your playing partners are great fun, and so on.  But that really shouldn’t mean that you cannot enjoy those other days when it doesn’t feel so easy.  The key lies in focusing upon the aspects of your golf which you do enjoy no matter what the end result might eventually be.

And so, what are ten things which are guaranteed to make a golfer smile?

1)            A beautiful golf course which is kept in peak condition.

2)          A great day weather wise – not too hot and certainly not cold and wet, with perhaps a gentle breeze.

3)            The sight of your first tee shot flying down the middle of the fairway and staying true to your target.

4)            The sound of a long putt “clunking” into the middle of the cup.

5)            Making a decent chip in (or even better, a hole in one)

6)            Making a great recovery shot.

7)            Sitting in the 19th with a drink, talking avidly about the previous 18 holes.

8)            Going to watch the Masters, the Ryder Cup or the Open.

9)            Gaining a greater level of mastery in your game.

10)          The feeling of being in the zone.

It is actually very difficult to pick just ten things which make a golfer smile, for me at least.  There’s not much about golf which doesn’t make me smile!

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in hypnotherapy downloads for success and happiness, including the GolferWithin golf mind training system. 

P.S. You can play golf well, hit your drives straight down the middle of the fairway and become a great putter with the help of golf hypnosis.  Grab yourself a free hypnosis mp3 from my website.

About the Author

Grab a free hypnosis mp3 from http://www.RoseannaLeaton.com, and keep your focus with golf hypnosis and golf mind training. With a degree in psychology and qualifications in hypnotherapy, NLP and sports psychology Roseanna Leaton is one of the leading golf psychologists.

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Are you like me in checking the weather forecast every day, in an attempt to work out whether you are going to be able to get out onto the golf course or not?  I managed to play four times last week which was just fantastic, after almost two solid weeks of rain.  I just checked the forecast for this week and it looks like the rain is returning. Blast!

Although I am a self disclosed golf addict, I do these days draw the line at playing in torrential rain, hailstorms, extreme winds or upon seriously muddy fairways.  I used to play in all conditions, so long as the course was open, but have come to realize that this type of discomfort does, for me, outweigh the enjoyment.

I play golf for fun.  A lot of people lose sight of this ultimate aim however in their single minded quest to master this game.  Golf is an undeniably tricky game and often your mental focus gets conned into a state of inappropriate tunnel vision. 

For example, how many times have you played with someone who mutters away about every shot they have played, providing you with a running commentary of what happened (or not) with their back swing, their head, the way the ball bounced, whether they hit it square, topped it, hit it fat, or whatever else? 

Now, I’m a great believer that you do indeed need to understand what happened in your application of club onto ball and to be able to interpret the balls flight; without this insight, you would not be able to improve.  But it really is not necessary to provide this journalistic commentary to your playing partners, especially whilst they are trying to play their own shot!  In this case, silence really is golden.

But this sort of thing does happen to some golf addicts.  You try so hard and become so focused that all you think about is your score, which involves constant analysis of each and every shot.  This however, is not likely to work to your advantage.  Instead it acts to tie your mental focus up in knots. 

The picture becomes blurred.  If you are thinking about your last shot, and calculating your score at the same time, you simply cannot be fully focused upon the shot which you are about to play.  Your thought energy is fractured and therefore wasted upon unnecessary detail.

In golf, you need to train your mind to focus in a very specific way so as to conserve your mental and emotional energy.  Immediately prior to every shot, think clearly about the task in hand, choose your shot and your club, visualize the shot, and get on with it, following your own consistently used pre-shot routine.  Immediately after the ball has landed and it has come to a halt, it is important to follow a consistent post-shot routine; if it was a good shot, enjoy it – give yourself a mental pat on the back.  If it was a less than perfect shot, rub the image from your mind and imagine a great shot instead. 

In this way you have good clear mental focus prior to taking the shot, and your post-shot routine is designed to train your golf mind to create great shots in the future, instead of building an expectation of hitting bad ones.  Your emotional energy is not wasted in beating yourself up or in damaging your playing partners’ ear drums or sabotaging their focus and concentration.  As an added bonus you also get back to enjoying your day out on the golf course, walking between shots in a state of emotional balance and relaxed calmness.

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in hypnosis downloads and author of the GolferWithin golf mind training system.

About the Author

With a degree in psychology and qualifications in hypnotherapy and NLP, Roseanna Leaton is one of the leading practitioners of self-improvement. You can get a free hypnosis mp3 from http://www.RoseannaLeaton.com and learngolf mind training with GolferWithin golf hypnosis.

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