“Golf’s only Problem”
Dennis M Clark.
Every bad golf shot is caused by exactly the same problem. It is a basic fundamental and yet it is the least dealt with issue in teaching.
"The clubface is in the incorrect position at impact"
This is the simple truth of golf. It is an indisputable fact.
It sounds so simple, and while we all acknowledge it, we actually do little about correcting it and therefore suffer at its hands continuously.
We TRY many different things to correct it. Get ourselves in all sorts of different positions to try to make it right, but with no real lasting effect.
The problem is that clubface on ball is given very little importance in developing the swing. It is considered an effect; if I do steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, the clubface should return to the correct position. But the fact is it more often than not doesn’t.
If we applied common sense we find that this is singularly the most important issue in the playing of the shot and deserves the highest priority. While all these other steps may help, that fact is there is only one thing that guarantees getting the clubface on the ball correctly at impact and that is….Getting the clubface on the ball correctly at impact.
It’s as simple as that.Whatever we practice we become good at.
If we practice going through steps 1-8 hoping the clubface is correct, all we become good at is going through steps 1-8 ‘HOPING’ the clubface is correct. And when we’re hoping for a result there is no way we can develop any confidence and so our game is driven by doubt and fear. And why hope for a result when you can do something constructive about achieving it.
By giving clubface on ball high priority and making it a cause in the development of the swing rather than an effect we can begin to deal with the real issue of controlling the golf shot. If we make the main focus of our practice, clubface on ball correctly we become good at clubface on ball correctly.
It is actually easier than you may first think. All it requires is awareness and focus of club face. It is a technique, and can be learned just like any other part of the golf swing. The only difference is that this is a technical factor that directly relates to control of the ball.
Positions 1-8 are important and they need to be acknowledged, but in order of priority.You would be surprised how when clubface on ball correctly takes place, how many of positions 1-8 happen reasonable well as effects. But even if they didn’t you would have created a good shot anyway.
Unfortunately the way we view the swing at the moment is like this: Step1 + step 2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 = X factor, or Clubface on ball correctly. Now let’s prioritise slightly differently. What we want is X. In fact the only reason we’re doing 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 & 8, is to achieve X. Now if X is the most important thing, and what we want, why not start there? We can, and in doing so we’ve fast tracked the journey, and we only have one swing thought instead of 8.
It’s a common held belief that you can’t get to clubface correctly on ball without going through steps 1-8. That is only an idea, not necessarily a fact. An idea held simply because that’s the way we’ve been educated to believe by people who are trapped in this limiting belief. And so we choose to allow these limiting beliefs to limit us also.
An irony is that if we we’re playing tennis, common sense would prevail and we would give the highest priority to the racket face on ball correctly, realising this solely controls the direction of the shot. We would do this at the expense our getting our body into the correct position or anything else. So why can’t we do it in golf? But when it comes to golf, sadly, common sense often doesn’t prevail. I am in no way underselling the importance of good technique, but if it continually doesn’t produce the result you desire, is it really good technique?
While the analysts only comment on the positions and movements in the tournament players swings, you can guarantee the players themselves are very aware of clubface on ball, for it is this that allows them to create the shots they want.
Let’s summarise it. When you write, you simply control an instrument (the pen) to create an effect. The effect is created at the working surface which is the contact between the pen nib and the paper. A golf shot is simply an effect and it is created by controlling the instrument (club) at the working surface which is clubface on ball. Without this one factor, everything else, to coin a phrase, is just hit and hope.
A final point to ponder: Taking up our address position, the clubface is sitting squarely behind the ball. By this mere fact we have actually created perfection before we’ve even started the swing. If our full attention to detail was on simply returning the clubface at impact, to it’s original starting position, the results would be quite outstanding.
Not to mention simple.
Copyright Dennis M Clark 2009
Monday, February 8, 2010
Why you don't play good golf 2
WHY YOU DON’T PLAY GOOD GOLF 2
Dennis M Clark
“Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done”.
To play good golf it is important to first understand why you continue to not do so. Otherwise you will most probably be inclined to keep making the same mistakes.
If what you’ve been doing isn’t working it’s reasonable to think you must be working incorrectly, and to continue doing so would be unwise.
While BAD GOLF may be normal, it is not at all natural. To say that bad golf is natural would be to say that the human system is geared to fail. IT IS NOT. It is naturally geared to succeed, so in fact bad golf is very unnatural.
So if GOD GOLF is natural, why don’t you play it more often?
Simply because you don’t use your natural resources and abilities. Generally because they have been trained out of you.
You are so busy trying to fit into the idea of a perfect swing you misuse the limitless potential you possess.
It’s sitting there, waiting to be discovered and used, why not learn to make the most of it?
But what about technique I hear you say? Surely you must have some form of technique in your swing.
That’s correct, so let’s look at true technique and where it comes from.
Nature is technical, it is technically sound, and it’s going to work whether you like it or not.
So you now have a choice whether to work with it, or work against it.
If you work with it you are in flow with yourself and can use your resources correctly and effectively. When you choose to do otherwise, which is what happens most often with the majority of golfers, you create resistance to natural flow. Things cannot operate as they were design to because you are in conflict with yourself and this sets up a never win situation.
This is why your swing usually feels not quite right and uncomfortable, and regardless of how much practice you do, never gives you a sustainable quality result.
And when it doesn’t work you add another unnatural component and create even more conflict.
Hence your swing always seems broken and you are in a constant state of trying to fix it.
The irony is that every time you try and fix it, you carry the initial problem with you and just add to it.
WHY KEEP TRYING TO FIX PROBLEMS WHEN YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO ELIMINATE THEM?
When you learned to ride a bike, what you did was acknowledge and tap into a natural resource, BALANCE.
You accepted it and worked with it. Sure there was the wobbles while we were trying to do it properly, but when we realised balance and stopped trying, it worked perfectly. And when it did that, IT NEVER NEEDED FIXING.
This was the same with learning to swim, ski, drive a car, play a musical instrument, to name but a few.
Sure there was refinement, but never continual fixing.
WHY?
You were no longer in conflict, no longer in a state of non resistance, and it became easy.
So why should golf be different from anything else?
Correct technique in golf is important, and if built on natural foundations will be rewarding and sustainable, like riding a bike.
If built on an unnatural base it lacks initial structure and will continually fail and always need fixing.
You would be quite surprised just how powerful you naturally are.
LEARN HOW TO USE, NOT ABUSE, YOUR POTENTIAL.
“When you get rid of everything you are not, what is left is what you are, and that is enough”.
Copyright Dennis M Clark 2009
Dennis M Clark
“Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done”.
To play good golf it is important to first understand why you continue to not do so. Otherwise you will most probably be inclined to keep making the same mistakes.
If what you’ve been doing isn’t working it’s reasonable to think you must be working incorrectly, and to continue doing so would be unwise.
While BAD GOLF may be normal, it is not at all natural. To say that bad golf is natural would be to say that the human system is geared to fail. IT IS NOT. It is naturally geared to succeed, so in fact bad golf is very unnatural.
So if GOD GOLF is natural, why don’t you play it more often?
Simply because you don’t use your natural resources and abilities. Generally because they have been trained out of you.
You are so busy trying to fit into the idea of a perfect swing you misuse the limitless potential you possess.
It’s sitting there, waiting to be discovered and used, why not learn to make the most of it?
But what about technique I hear you say? Surely you must have some form of technique in your swing.
That’s correct, so let’s look at true technique and where it comes from.
Nature is technical, it is technically sound, and it’s going to work whether you like it or not.
So you now have a choice whether to work with it, or work against it.
If you work with it you are in flow with yourself and can use your resources correctly and effectively. When you choose to do otherwise, which is what happens most often with the majority of golfers, you create resistance to natural flow. Things cannot operate as they were design to because you are in conflict with yourself and this sets up a never win situation.
This is why your swing usually feels not quite right and uncomfortable, and regardless of how much practice you do, never gives you a sustainable quality result.
And when it doesn’t work you add another unnatural component and create even more conflict.
Hence your swing always seems broken and you are in a constant state of trying to fix it.
The irony is that every time you try and fix it, you carry the initial problem with you and just add to it.
WHY KEEP TRYING TO FIX PROBLEMS WHEN YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO ELIMINATE THEM?
When you learned to ride a bike, what you did was acknowledge and tap into a natural resource, BALANCE.
You accepted it and worked with it. Sure there was the wobbles while we were trying to do it properly, but when we realised balance and stopped trying, it worked perfectly. And when it did that, IT NEVER NEEDED FIXING.
This was the same with learning to swim, ski, drive a car, play a musical instrument, to name but a few.
Sure there was refinement, but never continual fixing.
WHY?
You were no longer in conflict, no longer in a state of non resistance, and it became easy.
So why should golf be different from anything else?
Correct technique in golf is important, and if built on natural foundations will be rewarding and sustainable, like riding a bike.
If built on an unnatural base it lacks initial structure and will continually fail and always need fixing.
You would be quite surprised just how powerful you naturally are.
LEARN HOW TO USE, NOT ABUSE, YOUR POTENTIAL.
“When you get rid of everything you are not, what is left is what you are, and that is enough”.
Copyright Dennis M Clark 2009
Why you don't play good golf
WHY YOU DON’T PLAY GOOD GOLF.
Dennis M Clark.
Since man first swung a golf club at a ball, or maybe even before that, anybody with any knowledge of the game at all, no matter how limited, has been telling us what we need to improve our game. While some of the information has been worthwhile, the majority has limited merit. The fact that so few golfers have reached anywhere near their goals is testament to this. If all the advice we’ve received has failed to produce worthy results there is obviously something missing, and that something is often very basic.
Most golfers would rightfully believe that they are better than the results they are currently producing. They know they have more talent but they continually fail to access that talent no matter what they try.
THIS IS ANY GOLFER’S BIGGEST PROBLEM, ALWAYS HAS BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE.
This is the first in a series of articles to help us discover what it actually is that prevents us from playing good golf. Until we discover this and work to eliminate these blockages, the chances of any significant progress are but an unachievable dream.
Real growth can only occur when you have removed the restrictions preventing it. Any growth that occurs with restrictions still in place can only lead to malformation creating greater problems.
FIXING THE CAUSE, NOT THE EFFECT.
A while ago my doctor told me I had high blood pressure and should really do something about it.
There were two possible options. Change the diet and add some reasonable exercise, or take pills for the rest of my life. He recommended, and I chose, the first. In this case the first was the only option to really eliminate the problem. The second was never going to fix the problem. It would keep it at bay, hopefully, as long as continued to take the pills, but it would always be hanging over me with the possibility of a nasty return.
The first option dealt with treating the cause, the second with treating the effect. If you only treat the effect there is little chance of any sustainable progress. One of the main reasons we don’t play good golf is that we never deal with the real issues. Most of the work is done during lessons or on the practice range is based on trying to correct the effect, and while there may be an improvement, it is not usually sustainable.
The reason for this is that you can’t fix the effect because the cause is always present and it’s not going anywhere. The best you can hope for is some temporary relief, but you will always be looking over your shoulder waiting for the problem to reappear. And sure enough it always does.
This is why there is no real sustainable progress.Where a big problem occurs is that even though we are working on the effect we believe we are correcting the cause. A simple example of this may be: A golfer is slicing the ball badly, especially with their driver. They receive advice that the clubface is open and they must turn their right hand, or arm, over in order to square the clubface and straighten their shots. But try as they may there is no real lasting improvement. Now nobody I know intentionally makes a bad swing, so why is it so difficult to correct for most golfers.
The reason is that while the open clubface is producing the slice, it is not the cause, only the effect. The cause is probably that the grip is too tight, not allowing the arms and hands to rotate (which is a natural movement), and the harder one tries to force them to work the more tight they get and the less chance they have. While this tightness is probably the cause, it may not be the driving force behind the cause. With tightness of grip comes less release of clubhead, reducing clubhead speed, thus reducing distance. So the golfer thinks they have to hit the ball harder to achieve this missing distance, and trying to hit harder nearly always means tightening. Only once the golfer gains the correct knowledge and understanding, are they are able to implement a new plan, in this instance softening the grip, eliminating the initial cause, and with this the effect becomes a non issue.
Be certain that what you are looking to correct is the initial cause. If not you will end up adding to the problem, making a solution more difficult to find. This is a major reason why you don’t play good golf.
Copyright Dennis M Clark 2009
Dennis M Clark.
Since man first swung a golf club at a ball, or maybe even before that, anybody with any knowledge of the game at all, no matter how limited, has been telling us what we need to improve our game. While some of the information has been worthwhile, the majority has limited merit. The fact that so few golfers have reached anywhere near their goals is testament to this. If all the advice we’ve received has failed to produce worthy results there is obviously something missing, and that something is often very basic.
Most golfers would rightfully believe that they are better than the results they are currently producing. They know they have more talent but they continually fail to access that talent no matter what they try.
THIS IS ANY GOLFER’S BIGGEST PROBLEM, ALWAYS HAS BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE.
This is the first in a series of articles to help us discover what it actually is that prevents us from playing good golf. Until we discover this and work to eliminate these blockages, the chances of any significant progress are but an unachievable dream.
Real growth can only occur when you have removed the restrictions preventing it. Any growth that occurs with restrictions still in place can only lead to malformation creating greater problems.
FIXING THE CAUSE, NOT THE EFFECT.
A while ago my doctor told me I had high blood pressure and should really do something about it.
There were two possible options. Change the diet and add some reasonable exercise, or take pills for the rest of my life. He recommended, and I chose, the first. In this case the first was the only option to really eliminate the problem. The second was never going to fix the problem. It would keep it at bay, hopefully, as long as continued to take the pills, but it would always be hanging over me with the possibility of a nasty return.
The first option dealt with treating the cause, the second with treating the effect. If you only treat the effect there is little chance of any sustainable progress. One of the main reasons we don’t play good golf is that we never deal with the real issues. Most of the work is done during lessons or on the practice range is based on trying to correct the effect, and while there may be an improvement, it is not usually sustainable.
The reason for this is that you can’t fix the effect because the cause is always present and it’s not going anywhere. The best you can hope for is some temporary relief, but you will always be looking over your shoulder waiting for the problem to reappear. And sure enough it always does.
This is why there is no real sustainable progress.Where a big problem occurs is that even though we are working on the effect we believe we are correcting the cause. A simple example of this may be: A golfer is slicing the ball badly, especially with their driver. They receive advice that the clubface is open and they must turn their right hand, or arm, over in order to square the clubface and straighten their shots. But try as they may there is no real lasting improvement. Now nobody I know intentionally makes a bad swing, so why is it so difficult to correct for most golfers.
The reason is that while the open clubface is producing the slice, it is not the cause, only the effect. The cause is probably that the grip is too tight, not allowing the arms and hands to rotate (which is a natural movement), and the harder one tries to force them to work the more tight they get and the less chance they have. While this tightness is probably the cause, it may not be the driving force behind the cause. With tightness of grip comes less release of clubhead, reducing clubhead speed, thus reducing distance. So the golfer thinks they have to hit the ball harder to achieve this missing distance, and trying to hit harder nearly always means tightening. Only once the golfer gains the correct knowledge and understanding, are they are able to implement a new plan, in this instance softening the grip, eliminating the initial cause, and with this the effect becomes a non issue.
Be certain that what you are looking to correct is the initial cause. If not you will end up adding to the problem, making a solution more difficult to find. This is a major reason why you don’t play good golf.
Copyright Dennis M Clark 2009
The In Zone
THE IN ZONE
By Dennis M Clark
There would be few golfers who haven’t witnessed Tiger Woods on the rampage in some tournament.
Tiger in the zone is an impressive and inspiring sight to any red blooded golfer, and when he gets in the zone he is virtually unstoppable. It’s like he’s in a different dimension.
That ZONE. What we wouldn’t give to be there ourselves.
Really?
The truth is, every time we play golf we’re in a zone. It’s just that most times it’s the wrong one.
There’s a saying that goes, “Remember, wherever you go, there you are.” Now this is usually said in a light hearted manner, but if you think about it, it holds the answer to our ZONE issue.
At every moment of our life we are somewhere doing something, and that is our zone at that particular time. It is continually changing but it is always our current zone.
Every time we stand over a golf ball and are preparing to play a shot we are in a zone, and so the issues now become, why isn’t this zone working as we would like, and how do we change it?
The reason it isn’t working as it should is that most times we are not realising the moment, or not playing in the now, as is commonly said. We are caught between thinking about what we have learned, and should be doing, and worrying about the result of the shot. In this situation we have been focusing on both the past and the future, neither of which we can control at the moment of playing the shot. Therefore we have not been fully committed to the moment at hand, which is the zone.
To be able to create a better zone we must practice it.
The secret lies in the awareness of ourselves during the swing. By being totally aware of ourselves and what we are actually doing during our swing, allows us to totally experience the zone of our swing.
When we are practicing we must not just try to do something, but be totally aware of what is happening at every moment during that swing. By doing this we are achieving many things. We are becoming familiar with ourselves and our swings, a necessity in order to develop trust in ourselves, few club golfers possess. We are also learning to experience the zone in a full and positive manner rather than it being one of fear we try to avoid.
All too often we see practice as a means to an end. While it is this, it is necessary to realise that it is also an end in itself, for it is where we are right now, and that is the zone at the moment which we must train to be in.
So just like Tiger, we are in a zone right now. And what is empowering is that the choice of zone is up to us.
Don't fix your problems
Don’t fix your problems
By Dennis M Clark
Golfers are forever trying to fix something in their swing in order to eliminate bad golf shots.
Now that sounds quite reasonable, for the elimination of the bad shot would move us into a vastly different realm of golf.
But this in itself creates a greater problem, for here we have two conflicting points, the problem and the fix. While we are acknowledging we have a problem we need to fix, we are still holding on to it and it’s never going to go away. So we’ve actually defeated the exercise before we’ve even started.
We add to this the fix, which is a totally different concept and the conflict has now escalated.
We now add the petrol to the fire by adding the TRYING. What we are doing here is trying to impose one concept onto another which is diametrically opposed, and expecting the correct answer to somehow appear.
Trying itself suggests there is a battle afoot, for Trying usually consists of a half hearted effort with no real expectation of success rather than full commitment.
When this battle is lost, which it invariably is, we set up a new one as we TRY to impose another fix on the problem, and so it goes on. Unfortunately there is usually a little residue from every fix added to the initial problem, maybe not physically, but definitely mentally, and so the next fix becomes even a greater battle.
It’s like we have a sheet of paper and the problem is written on it, and every time we try a fix we add more writing. Then when that fix doesn’t work we cross that out and add more writing, and again and again and again until the piece of paper is full of scribbled words and crossing outs. Then we turn it over and keep it going. This is what is going on in the mind as we try to fix our golfing problems. The clutter becomes more and more, and with this ever increasing clutter we move further away from resolving our initial problem. In fact we keep adding to it, making it more confusing.
What we really need is a clean sheet of paper of paper to which we add the few words that are truly needed and which are legible and thus operable.
Why would you want to spend your whole golfing life trying to fix something when by dropping that cluttered piece of paper and picking up a new blank piece the problem no longer exists?
The fact of the matter is, you cannot fix anything in the golf swing. What actually happens is, you do something different. Now if you carry any of the old problem with you when you do that something different, it is contaminated with the old problem and you won’t see the real value of it.
A common sense approach would tell us that if your old swing is continually failing to give you what you want, why would you want to hold on to it anyway? It will only continue to cause problems.
If you had a car, that no matter how much you fixed it, it wouldn’t function properly, you could either keep pouring money into a big hole or get a knew car.
Don’t fix, dump it and do something constructive.
Copyright Dennis M Clark 2009
By Dennis M Clark
Golfers are forever trying to fix something in their swing in order to eliminate bad golf shots.
Now that sounds quite reasonable, for the elimination of the bad shot would move us into a vastly different realm of golf.
But this in itself creates a greater problem, for here we have two conflicting points, the problem and the fix. While we are acknowledging we have a problem we need to fix, we are still holding on to it and it’s never going to go away. So we’ve actually defeated the exercise before we’ve even started.
We add to this the fix, which is a totally different concept and the conflict has now escalated.
We now add the petrol to the fire by adding the TRYING. What we are doing here is trying to impose one concept onto another which is diametrically opposed, and expecting the correct answer to somehow appear.
Trying itself suggests there is a battle afoot, for Trying usually consists of a half hearted effort with no real expectation of success rather than full commitment.
When this battle is lost, which it invariably is, we set up a new one as we TRY to impose another fix on the problem, and so it goes on. Unfortunately there is usually a little residue from every fix added to the initial problem, maybe not physically, but definitely mentally, and so the next fix becomes even a greater battle.
It’s like we have a sheet of paper and the problem is written on it, and every time we try a fix we add more writing. Then when that fix doesn’t work we cross that out and add more writing, and again and again and again until the piece of paper is full of scribbled words and crossing outs. Then we turn it over and keep it going. This is what is going on in the mind as we try to fix our golfing problems. The clutter becomes more and more, and with this ever increasing clutter we move further away from resolving our initial problem. In fact we keep adding to it, making it more confusing.
What we really need is a clean sheet of paper of paper to which we add the few words that are truly needed and which are legible and thus operable.
Why would you want to spend your whole golfing life trying to fix something when by dropping that cluttered piece of paper and picking up a new blank piece the problem no longer exists?
The fact of the matter is, you cannot fix anything in the golf swing. What actually happens is, you do something different. Now if you carry any of the old problem with you when you do that something different, it is contaminated with the old problem and you won’t see the real value of it.
A common sense approach would tell us that if your old swing is continually failing to give you what you want, why would you want to hold on to it anyway? It will only continue to cause problems.
If you had a car, that no matter how much you fixed it, it wouldn’t function properly, you could either keep pouring money into a big hole or get a knew car.
Don’t fix, dump it and do something constructive.
Copyright Dennis M Clark 2009
The Truth about Good Golf
The Truth about Good Golf
By Dennis M Clark
“Why is there such a big gap between my intentions and my achievements?”
This is the main question every golfer should be asking themselves, which should be closely followed by. “Why has all the time, effort and money I’ve invested failed to reduce that gap significantly?”
Not only should you be asking these questions, you should be looking to find some serious answers. I mean, it’s not that you’re even settling for second best, if you’re honest you’re floundering around barely surviving and becoming more frustrated.
There are only three logical answers to these questions.
1. You have reached your potential and there’s no more room for improvement.
2. You are gaining the incorrect knowledge to allow progress.
3. You are practicing incorrectly.
Of these the first is very rarely true and so reason confirms that it must be one, or both, of the latter two.
So before you start looking for what will make an improvement you would be better to first consider, “What is it that continually prevents your improvement?”
It should be quite apparent that you keep making the same mistake over and over again.
Every time you try something new, which is about every week, you think you’re singing a different song. The truth is, you’re singing the same old song, and you’ve just changed the words slightly. Hence little if any real difference is made.
All golfers are continually in search of THE SECRET, and so I would like to share golf’s greatest secret with you in the hope this will end that fruitless search.
“There are no secrets, just truths that remain hidden until we’re ready to hear them”.
In your search you gather vast amounts of information but benefit little. Why? Because the information doesn’t hold the answers, the truth does. That is the magic that the very good golfers seem to have. But don’t worry it’s available to all.
First let’s define the difference between information and truth.
The information you receive about the golf swing and how to play the game will change as new techniques evolve. What was correct 20 years ago was not relevant 10 years ago, and what was relevant then seems incorrect now. But this is what we become obsessed with in our search for improvement. While I’m not criticizing any technique, and I’m not against technical improvements, the problem is that because of their continuous change and because of the many different techniques, they are transient.
Truth is constant. It always has been and always will be. Anything less is just ideas which aren’t necessarily correct and can change on a whim.
There are a few things in the golf swing which are constant and no matter what technique you choose they remain the same, have since the beginning of the game, and always will.
These are the Truths of the swing and are of most value. It is the understanding, awareness, and correct application of these Truths that allows you to achieve greater heights in your game. What’s more they are so very simple, have always been right in front of you, and can be developed successfully with some focused application.
No matter how much you practice, the technique you’re working on will never have full value without understanding of the Truths of golf. You believe that if you work hard enough on a certain piece of technique it will somehow make the magical difference to your game. The fact is it hasn’t so far and you’ve tried many different theories, so reason would suggest it never will and that therefore you’re on the wrong path.
You spend a lot of time and energy trying to fix problems, but when the Truths are realized the problems dissolve and are no longer an issue. An added bonus is that you no longer have to carry the excessive amount of baggage you have been, and so it becomes a more freeing experience.
You would be amazed at how little theory you need to actually need to carry, for as you develop these Truths your natural potential begins to manifest itself as many of the positions and movements you were working so hard, and often fruitlessly, to achieve occur with seemingly no effort.
Of course this doesn’t mean you will play perfect golf all the time, being human has its limits, but you will no longer be fighting yourself and the game, and you will develop much more control, achievement, and pleasure.
If you’re serious it’s time to take a look in a different direction. Seek that which will make the real difference
“The Truth shall set you free.”
Copyright Dennis M Clark 2007
Mastering the Mind Game
Mastering the Mind Game
by Dennis M Clark
Most people will acknowledge that golf is very much a mind game but very few will use it correctly or to anywhere near its full potential.
How much of the game is mental? Just about everything. The fact that we’re thinking about it proves that. How do we decide what club to use, what shot to play, or what to do in our swing? We are using the mind.
While we may think that golf is a physical game, we don’t make a move without there first being a mental message sent to the various parts of the body and these are influenced by what’s in our mind. We’ve heard how we practice to create muscle memory but the memory is in the head, so in fact we are training the muscles to respond to a thought. We are training the mind.
The mind is the most powerful tool we have in learning to play golf successfully.
It can be the most destructive force limiting us to a life of golfing mediocrity, or it can be the most constructive possession allowing us to remove the limitations preventing us from playing the game we are capable of.
Most golfers know they are not playing to their potential and yet they refuse acknowledge and train the one area that can make the greatest difference, the use of their mind.
To most golfers the thought of the mind game can seem too frightening and theoretical, as if it’s mystical or you need a PhD to use it. It’s not theoretical, it’s very practical and the average person is using it everyday in other areas of their life.
Once we learn to apply this to golf and refine it we remove a great deal of the unnecessary clutter and confusion from our game. This lighter load allows us to achieve greater things.
While all of the segments below warrant a chapter of their own to explain them in more depth, they give a brief outline on how important correct use of the mind is and some practical ways it can be used to greater benefit.
This is not just for the successful golfer, it is applicable to and achievable by everyone and is the fastest way to improve your game.
Successful Practical mind training
Using Reason
One of the main reasons for golfers lack of success is their failure to apply reason to their approach to the game. They chase unreasonable goals or chase reasonable goals in an unreasonable manner.
Very few face golf front on, confront the real issues and deal with them in a reasonable and thorough manner, getting them out of the way once and for all. We are usually trying to slip past it side on looking for the easy route and some magical piece of information that will offer us a soft option. This of course is totally unreasonable.
By applying reason we can see the game for what it really is and formulate a successful plan which when put into operation will provide a worthwhile outcome.
Discriminating and Prioritising
Nearly every golfer carries excess mental baggage and instead of shedding what is of no value they continue to amass even more. Even if they do discover something of value it is seriously tainted by all the useless gatherings they continue to carry.
Using reason we gain the ability of discrimination in our decision making allowing us to focus on only what is necessary and useful, thus reducing needless distractions and enabling streamlining and fast tracking in progress.
This also allows for prioritizing in training, working in order of most value. This to saves time and effort and quickens the rate of progress.
Developing Awareness
While most golfers have an idea of what they are working on, very few have much idea of awareness. Awareness is the beginning of all growth and it is how we ultimately relate to our swing. Until this is developed to a reasonable level it is extremely difficult for one to fully understand the errors they may be making, the correction needed and to be able to differentiate between the two.
With most golfers, their swings are like a whole series free floating dots that they hope will somehow all fall into place, which they don’t very often and when they do it’s more by good luck rather than good management. Awareness helps you connect all the dots and then get them working as one controllable unit.
It is only by developing this awareness that we are able to gain a basis for repetition in your swing which is the consistency golfers crave.
This lack of awareness would probably be the number one cause of lack of progress in most golfers.
Training your Potential
As we gain awareness this awakens the ability to tap into and develop our natural potential. This is the beginning of an ownership of ability to perform a function to a higher level on a more consistent basis, the thing that eludes most golfers. Ownership is the main point here.
Most people are unaware of the natural talents they possess and more often than not these are ignored and even trained out of us as we try to learn golf.
There are many talents lying within awaiting acknowledgement and development. It is these talents that allow us to make a swing based on true knowledge rather than just information. With knowledge we know, with information we hope.
These inner talents, rather than just swing technique, is what differentiates the great golfers from the rest.
Staying in the Present
While we are playing golf in the present, the only time we have available, most golfers thoughts are either in the past or the future and this is where a multitude of errors occur.
With our minds being elsewhere we are either recalling and reliving bad experiences from the past, or pre-empting hopeful or unwanted results in the future. Both of these are destructive and create negative influences and distractions on the event at hand.
This then leads to an uncommitted thought process followed by an uncommitted action.
The fact is there are no problems in the present, only a situation to be dealt with. By learning to remain focused there it enables us to formulate the necessary plan for the event at hand and perform the function without negative distractions.
Overcoming Doubt and Fear
Doubt and fear are two of the most destructive elements in golf no matter how good your technique is. Golf is a game of confidence, but it is difficult to establish confidence while doubt and fear are present. These elements are present because of lack of trust in ones self to perform the task at hand.
All bad golf shots occur because of one of two things, a bad plan or a bad execution of the plan. Both of these are cause by a bad mind process.
Through true understanding, development of awareness, and the ability to stay focused on the present we gain the ability to take control of a situation thus reducing doubt and fear and increasing trust and confidence.
Turning Liabilities into Assets
Usually we see our mistakes as problems that need fixing and so set out to find a cure for them.
The trouble here is that by doing so we give them power and it is a constant battle to overcome them. The more we fight them the more we empower them.
If, instead of fighting them or just hoping they would somehow magically go away, we took the time to understand them, working with them rather against them, they would no longer be a problem and would not hold power over us.
An example of this is working with an uncontrollable slice. By learning to understand it and refining it, we could turn it into a controllable fade. So instead of being a liability to our game that has power over us we have created an asset that we have power over.
This way you don’t need to cure problems, you dissolve them.
Above are a few of the ways we can make vast improvements in our game without the need to spend countless hours on the range forcing your body into positions it doesn’t want to go.
Without an improved mind game things are never really going to change. We move in a certain direction because of the way we think. If we want to change the direction we must first change the way we view things.
A computer’s hardware will not function correctly if the software is faulty.
Copyright Dennis M Clark 2007
by Dennis M Clark
Most people will acknowledge that golf is very much a mind game but very few will use it correctly or to anywhere near its full potential.
How much of the game is mental? Just about everything. The fact that we’re thinking about it proves that. How do we decide what club to use, what shot to play, or what to do in our swing? We are using the mind.
While we may think that golf is a physical game, we don’t make a move without there first being a mental message sent to the various parts of the body and these are influenced by what’s in our mind. We’ve heard how we practice to create muscle memory but the memory is in the head, so in fact we are training the muscles to respond to a thought. We are training the mind.
The mind is the most powerful tool we have in learning to play golf successfully.
It can be the most destructive force limiting us to a life of golfing mediocrity, or it can be the most constructive possession allowing us to remove the limitations preventing us from playing the game we are capable of.
Most golfers know they are not playing to their potential and yet they refuse acknowledge and train the one area that can make the greatest difference, the use of their mind.
To most golfers the thought of the mind game can seem too frightening and theoretical, as if it’s mystical or you need a PhD to use it. It’s not theoretical, it’s very practical and the average person is using it everyday in other areas of their life.
Once we learn to apply this to golf and refine it we remove a great deal of the unnecessary clutter and confusion from our game. This lighter load allows us to achieve greater things.
While all of the segments below warrant a chapter of their own to explain them in more depth, they give a brief outline on how important correct use of the mind is and some practical ways it can be used to greater benefit.
This is not just for the successful golfer, it is applicable to and achievable by everyone and is the fastest way to improve your game.
Successful Practical mind training
Using Reason
One of the main reasons for golfers lack of success is their failure to apply reason to their approach to the game. They chase unreasonable goals or chase reasonable goals in an unreasonable manner.
Very few face golf front on, confront the real issues and deal with them in a reasonable and thorough manner, getting them out of the way once and for all. We are usually trying to slip past it side on looking for the easy route and some magical piece of information that will offer us a soft option. This of course is totally unreasonable.
By applying reason we can see the game for what it really is and formulate a successful plan which when put into operation will provide a worthwhile outcome.
Discriminating and Prioritising
Nearly every golfer carries excess mental baggage and instead of shedding what is of no value they continue to amass even more. Even if they do discover something of value it is seriously tainted by all the useless gatherings they continue to carry.
Using reason we gain the ability of discrimination in our decision making allowing us to focus on only what is necessary and useful, thus reducing needless distractions and enabling streamlining and fast tracking in progress.
This also allows for prioritizing in training, working in order of most value. This to saves time and effort and quickens the rate of progress.
Developing Awareness
While most golfers have an idea of what they are working on, very few have much idea of awareness. Awareness is the beginning of all growth and it is how we ultimately relate to our swing. Until this is developed to a reasonable level it is extremely difficult for one to fully understand the errors they may be making, the correction needed and to be able to differentiate between the two.
With most golfers, their swings are like a whole series free floating dots that they hope will somehow all fall into place, which they don’t very often and when they do it’s more by good luck rather than good management. Awareness helps you connect all the dots and then get them working as one controllable unit.
It is only by developing this awareness that we are able to gain a basis for repetition in your swing which is the consistency golfers crave.
This lack of awareness would probably be the number one cause of lack of progress in most golfers.
Training your Potential
As we gain awareness this awakens the ability to tap into and develop our natural potential. This is the beginning of an ownership of ability to perform a function to a higher level on a more consistent basis, the thing that eludes most golfers. Ownership is the main point here.
Most people are unaware of the natural talents they possess and more often than not these are ignored and even trained out of us as we try to learn golf.
There are many talents lying within awaiting acknowledgement and development. It is these talents that allow us to make a swing based on true knowledge rather than just information. With knowledge we know, with information we hope.
These inner talents, rather than just swing technique, is what differentiates the great golfers from the rest.
Staying in the Present
While we are playing golf in the present, the only time we have available, most golfers thoughts are either in the past or the future and this is where a multitude of errors occur.
With our minds being elsewhere we are either recalling and reliving bad experiences from the past, or pre-empting hopeful or unwanted results in the future. Both of these are destructive and create negative influences and distractions on the event at hand.
This then leads to an uncommitted thought process followed by an uncommitted action.
The fact is there are no problems in the present, only a situation to be dealt with. By learning to remain focused there it enables us to formulate the necessary plan for the event at hand and perform the function without negative distractions.
Overcoming Doubt and Fear
Doubt and fear are two of the most destructive elements in golf no matter how good your technique is. Golf is a game of confidence, but it is difficult to establish confidence while doubt and fear are present. These elements are present because of lack of trust in ones self to perform the task at hand.
All bad golf shots occur because of one of two things, a bad plan or a bad execution of the plan. Both of these are cause by a bad mind process.
Through true understanding, development of awareness, and the ability to stay focused on the present we gain the ability to take control of a situation thus reducing doubt and fear and increasing trust and confidence.
Turning Liabilities into Assets
Usually we see our mistakes as problems that need fixing and so set out to find a cure for them.
The trouble here is that by doing so we give them power and it is a constant battle to overcome them. The more we fight them the more we empower them.
If, instead of fighting them or just hoping they would somehow magically go away, we took the time to understand them, working with them rather against them, they would no longer be a problem and would not hold power over us.
An example of this is working with an uncontrollable slice. By learning to understand it and refining it, we could turn it into a controllable fade. So instead of being a liability to our game that has power over us we have created an asset that we have power over.
This way you don’t need to cure problems, you dissolve them.
Above are a few of the ways we can make vast improvements in our game without the need to spend countless hours on the range forcing your body into positions it doesn’t want to go.
Without an improved mind game things are never really going to change. We move in a certain direction because of the way we think. If we want to change the direction we must first change the way we view things.
A computer’s hardware will not function correctly if the software is faulty.
Copyright Dennis M Clark 2007
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