I would like to take this opportunity to share a very important but often neglected segment of the game of golf. I find the following ideas and techniques useful in my personal play and have employed them in the teaching of my students. Theses techniques are called VISUALIZATION!

THINK! Use your mind; use your imagination and VISUALIZE! Golf! The ultimate mind game. The other half of your golf game. The often neglected part of your game. This too should be taught to beginners as well as veteran students. The game that takes place six inches between the ears. What goes on in the mind is what happens during the game. There comes a time when you have to Stop thinking and let things happen.

Be the ball. Stop trying too hard, monitor your nerves, and reassure yourself that you’re playing great. Know what your good at and what your not. Have a shot that you can play every time. Don’t go for the perfect shot every time. Don’t try to get cute with it --just put it in the spot where you will have a chance to make the next shot. The secret is not hitting every shot perfect. The secret is getting the most out of the shots you don’t hit perfect. The greatest golfers have the best imaginations. They imagine themselves playing great golf all the time They imagine the shots they intend to play.

They call it Visualization. I close my eyes and see the shot. I look at the ball and see the type of shot I have in mind. I see it fly and I see it land. It’s a way of seeing the results before you  do it. I visualize the end results. See yourself succeed. You need to screen your mental pictures and make them work for you. See yourself when you were able to overcome what seemed like impossible shots. Those times when you punched a low shot under a limbs, when you curved the ball one way or the other around obstacles.

Pat yourself on the back for succeeding. You just have to believe in yourself and have the attitude that you can do it. You have to stand on the first tee and think I can win. This is just your first shot of the day, not your last.