BY CLINT HITCHCOCK

Golf is an easy game: Everyone should and can learn to play. If you can stay away from the technical aspects of the game, and learn to trust yourself and your ability, golf is somewhat simplified.

Trying to think of keeping your left elbow in, right elbow tucked, take the clubhead past the right knee… right knee flexed, wrist cocks when the shaft is parallel, keep turning till your chin is under your left shoulder… shaft pointing at target, start down slow, shift weight to your left foot, tuck right elbow into hip… delay the uncocking of your wrists, keep your head down, release the club, flat left wrist… etc., are all thoughts that should not be part of the golf swing. Can you perform the simple act of walking while thinking of firing each individual muscle or each process that it takes to raise and lower your foot to the ground? This is absurd. Your conscious mind is not capable of performing these complex actions. Your subconscious mind is the motivator for your responsive body movements. Overload the conscious, and you induce doubt! And doubt, my friends, is the enemy of your golf game.

Sometimes, when all our doubts, fears and insecurities wrap ourselves up, we always come up with the idea of “I wish I was somebody else.” More often than not, we think and believe that someone or rather, most people are better than us when, in reality, the fact is most people are more scared than us.

You spot a totally eye-catching girl sitting by herself at a party, casually sipping on a glass of Asti Spumanti. You think to yourself, “she looks so perfectly calm and confident.” But if you could read thru her transparent mind, you would see a bunch of clouds of thoughts and you might just be amazed that she’s thinking “are people talking about why I am seated here alone? … Why don’t guys find me attractive? … I don’t like my ankles, they look too skinny… I wish I was as intelligent as my best friend.” We look at a young business entrepreneur and say, “Wooh… what else could he ask for?” He stares at himself at the mirror and murmurs to himself, “I hate my big eyes… I wonder why my friends won’t talk to me… I hope mom and dad would still work things out.”

Isn’t it funny? We look at other people, envy them for looking so outrageously perfect and wish we could trade places with them, while they look at us and think the same thing. We are insecure of other people who themselves are insecure of us. We suffer from low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence and lose hope in self improvement because we are enveloped in quiet desperation. Sometimes, you notice that you have an irritating habit like biting off your finger nails, having a foul mouth, and you, of all people, are the last to know.

I have a friend who never gets tired of talking. And in most conversations, she is the only one who seems to be interested in the things she has to say. So all of our other friends tend to avoid the circles whenever she’s around, and she doesn’t notice how badly she has become socially handicapped — gradually affecting the people in her environment.

One key to self improvement is to LISTEN and TALK to a trusted friend. A golfing buddy who you find comfort in opening up with even the most gentle topics you want to discuss. Ask questions like, “do you think I am ill-mannered?”, “Do I always sound so argumentative?”, “Do I talk too loud?”, “Does my breath smell?”, “Do I ever bore you when we’re together?” In this way, the other person will obviously know that you are interested in the process of self improvement. Lend her your ears for comments and criticisms, and don’t give her answers like, “Don’t exaggerate! That’s just the way I am!” Open up your mind and heart as well. And in return, you may want to help your friend with constructive criticism that will also help him or her improve themselves.

One of Whitney Houston’s songs says “Learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.” True enough. In order to love others, you must love yourself too. Remember, you cannot give what you do not have.

Before telling other people some ways on how to improve themselves, let them see that you yourself are a representation and a product of self improvement. Self improvement makes us better people, we then inspire other people, and then the rest of the world will follow.

Stop thinking of yourself as a second-rate being. Forget the repetitive thought of “If only I was richer… if only I was thinner” and so on. Accepting your true self is the first step to self improvement. We need to stop comparing ourselves to others only to find out at the end that we’ve got 10 more reasons to envy them.

We all have our insecurities. Nobody is perfect. We always wish we had better things, better features, better body parts, etc. But life need not to be perfect for people to be happy about themselves. Self improvement and loving yourself is not a matter of shouting to the whole world that you are perfect and you are the best. It’s the virtue of acceptance and contentment. When we begin to improve ourselves, we then begin to feel contented and happy.

Clint Hitchcock is from Deer Park, TX. Check out his site, Simplegolfogy.com, for more information on how to play better golf without golf lessons.

BY STEPHEN LADD

Believe it or not, the simple act of a deep breath — when done properly — instantly releases tension from your body and allows you to achieve the fluid and effortless golf swing of the top tour players.

Most golfers know that there is a calming benefit to breathing deeply, and many attempt to do so during stressful situations on the course.

The problem is that almost nobody knows how to take a deep breath.

Most people have learned to breathe in a shallow and ineffective way, and can gain significant benefits from practicing what is called diaphragmatic breathing.

First, a quick test to find out your current situation:

1. While standing, place your right hand on your chest and your left hand on your stomach.
2. Next take a deep breath and notice which direction each of your hands move.

It is most common to find that your right hand (the one on your chest) moves upwards, while your left hand (on your stomach) moves inwards towards your spine,

If this happened to you, it means that you are actually taking a shallow “chest breath,” and only using one-third of your potential breathing capacity. This can actually increase tension and stress in your body, especially in the small muscles of the neck and shoulders.

The solution: diaphragmatic breathing.

It’s actually quite easy.

Once again, place your right hand on your chest and your left hand on your stomach.

Now this time as you inhale, keep your right (chest) hand still, and allow the air to fill up and expand in your stomach (left hand moving away from the spine).

It is sometimes helpful to imagine your stomach as a balloon, and as you inhale the air inflates the balloon. Only after the “abdomen balloon” is filled do you allow the chest to expand and fill with air.

Hint: Watch small children, as they have not yet “unlearned” this natural breathing process and can be excellent role models for you.

As you exhale simply allow all tension to release from your body and mind.

Although it may take a small bit of conscious effort in the beginning to re-learn this breathing pattern, it is well worth it to have this simple tool at your disposal to instantly alleviate stress and create more freedom in your golf swing.

Stephen Ladd is a Golf Performance Coach, pioneering breakthrough energy psychology techniques, and the creator of Tap In Golf™. Visit his site for free reports, newsletters and products to catapult your game to a new level today!

BY CLINT HITCHCOCK

Finding something that you are good at can help realize that small step towards improvement. Diligence is the key to know that it is worth it.

It is important that you identify your coping strategies. One way to do this is by recording the stressful event, your reaction, and how you cope in a stress journal. With this information, you can work to change unhealthy coping strategies into healthy ones — those that help you focus on the positive and what you can change or control in your life.

The professional golfer knows that most of the game is played between their ears. I would say that almost everything that can be known about the swing has been figured out. How much further can technology take us? The real advances are being made from within the mind of these guys.

Most of them hit the golf ball as far as the next. There are a multitude of swings out on tour. You have Jim Furyk’s loop, John Daly’s try to see your clubhead out of your left eye, or someone like Tiger Woods whose swing looks perfect. Each of them have won numerous tournaments, but why don’t they win every week? Like us, they have bad rounds. When their confidence is down for some reason, concentration suffers so they don’t perform perfectly.

The professional golfer has days of self-doubt, low self esteem, or maybe some outside agent is affecting their overall mental disposition. They practice the same golf swing day in and day out, but each time they tee it up, a different result. They understand that they need a mental approach to their golf game, as well as the physical.

So do you.

Clint Hitchcock is from Deer Park, TX. Check out his blog.

BY JEFF O’BRIEN

Have you seemed to hit that plateau in your golf where you just can’t seem to break out to that next level?

Well perhaps I can help or at least give you some thoughts and ideas on how to break through that next barrier in your golf game.

First of all you have to take an honest inventory of your game.

Strengths, weaknesses and everything in between. Essentially, if you don’t know where your golf game is at… how are you going to know what or how to improve?

Keep this in mind as we move forward.

Probably the biggest reason that most golfers who have been playing a while and have a decent concept of swing mechanics hit a flat line in their improvement curve is because instead of being pragmatic and functional with their swing; they continue in search of the Holy Grail (the perfect golf swing) constantly being in a state of tweaking and adjusting and not focusing.

In other words, instead of working toward good solid consistency, they are still trying to get more distance out of their swing. And instead of recognizing and taking on the weaknesses in their game with persistent practice, they tend to only practice what parts of their game they already excel at; or when they do make a perfunctory pass at improving their weaknesses, they lose focus without immediate improvement and go back to what they were doing… which by the way is digging that rut.

First of all one of the most common faults that is readily visible with high to mid handicap golfers is the lack of what is known as a pre-shot routine. As you work to improve your game, work to gain consistency in what you do just prior to executing your golf shot. And I don’t mean just go through the same meaningless pre-shot routine — not at all — there is some definite purpose to the pre-shot routine indeed.

Keep in mind that everyone’s pre-shot routine will vary slightly, but let’s look at what we want to ultimately accomplish.

First you should stand a couple feet behind your ball and pick out your long distance target working your eyes back toward the ball visualizing this line toward the target. As you work your eyes down the line back toward the ball you’ll want to end up with a short intermediate target just out in front of your ball; one that you’ll easily be able to pick up at address. Run this line through your eyes and your mind a couple of times to be comfortable with your decision.

Now address the ball with your feet close together and the ball centered in your stance. Position your clubface directly at and square to your short intermediate target. The one that you absolutely know is directly on the line to your distant target that you just lined up.

Reposition your feet equally both ways until you have a solid yet comfortable stance. Make sure that your clubface is still square to your short target and that your feet, hips, and shoulders are (and remain) perpendicular to the square clubface and your target line. It’s very important at this point that you don’t let the visual flow of the golf course and the surroundings trick your mind into making other adjustments. Learn to trust your line. When you do, you’ll learn to relax over the golf shot. This is key.

Load up one last mental picture of your target and your intended ball flight. (NOTE: Turn only your head to pick out your target — don’t turn your shoulders or hips once you have set your line.)

Work on a waggle — the laws of physics tell us it is a lot easier to put an object in motion that is already in motion than it is for one that is at a dead stop. Hence, the importance of your waggle… some golfers use a slight forward press to initiate their swing, some use a slight rock to and fro with the feet… whatever feels comfortable for you is fine (nothing extreme mind you).

A slight waggle… a breath… and pull the trigger… each and every time… get into a rhythm.

Think about sending your golf ball down your target line… not hitting the ball AT the target. You know your line is correct just think about sending the ball down that line… let your swing and the club do the rest for you.

Jeff O’Brien is a youth and beginning golfer instructor with a real insight on getting your golf swing and game off to a good start by establishing a solid foundation. Visit his website, Golf-Ology, for more of Jeff’s golf tips and online golf lessons.

BY JAMES VINCENT

Keep your eye firmly on the ball for every shot and watch your handicap drop like a stone.

Mystery writers know they must grab the reader’s attention right off and hold it until the very end. You must do the same with the ball – keep your attention focused on it through the entire shot, until the natural movement of body and shoulders pulls your head away.

You think you already do, right? Try this little exercise:

Drop six balls in the rough very close to the edge of a bunker, within one shot of the green. Chip the ball over the bunker and on to the green without watching the flight or run of the ball. Look at the ball, make your shot and do not lift your head to watch it. The first few shots will be easy, the next few almost impossible.

It’s actually quite funny how difficult it is for a golfer to keep their eye on the ball.

Your attention comes in two flavors – spontaneous and voluntary. Spontaneous attention is the kind of attention given without thought, very effortlessly. For example, when boarding a bus or subway you will pay attention long enough to put coins or card in the slot. You do this without thinking, probably even talking at the same time.

The second type is voluntary attention. You willfully focus on something and give it all of your mental concentration. This is hard to do for more than a few seconds. But it is this kind of concentration you must give to the ball during your shot.

The way to do this is to first decide what kind of shot you are going to make – distance, wind, club type and so on. But once decided move directly to the ball, give it your full attention – that is, eyes on the ball – and make your shot. Do not take your eyes, and hence your concentration, off the ball until the movement of your body naturally pulls your head away.

Don’t believe it? Try this little experiment. The next time you’re at a vending machine take a quarter out of your pocket. Stand right in front of the machine, quarter in hand, ready to put it in the coin slot. Close your eyes. Now put the quarter in the slot directly, on the first try, the same as you would do with your eyes open. You can’t do it. You come close, sure. But you hit to the side of the slot, or just above it, but not exactly dead center right into the slot.

Your mind controls your actions based on what is directly in your field of vision.

Now try it again. This time leave your eyes open until the coin is about two inches away from the slot — almost in. Close them at the last second. You still can’t do it.

Apply this to the golf ball. What happens if you take your eyes off the ball just a fraction of a second early? The club is still a few inches away. How much of a difference in your shot will a quarter of an inch make when the club hits the ball? A huge difference. Very huge difference. But you know you can’t control your hands and arms precisely without looking directly at what you are doing. So keep looking.

It takes practice, for sure, but now that you know you should keep your eye on the ball, and exactly how to do that, practicing it becomes much easier.

Combine this simple tip of keeping your eye on the ball with a halfway decent swing and your handicap will fall to scratch in no time.

James Vincent runs the Online Golf School. Visit the site to improve your game, get great golf tips, golf lessons and complete lessons on the science of every golf shot, the psychology of the game and your opponent and match play from world champions.

BY KELLY HOWELL

You’ve worked and worked on that slice but nothing seems to change. Or, when the game is close you freeze on the putting green and the ball seems to take on a life of its own. Or, you often get distracted and forget to follow through when you tee off.

Have you thought of trying meditation to improve your game? Why not?

Meditation helps you relax, become centered and grounded and, in this state of deep relaxation you can visualize a perfect game. Studies have shown that visualization that engages all of your senses is a powerful agent to improve your game. Visualizing a perfect stance, addressing the ball, the perfect swing that has you hitting the “sweet spot” every time, perfect follow through, etc., results in a vastly improved game. Research is able to support this theory.

So, just how do you start meditation? We’ve all heard about the benefits of meditation, but it sounds so hard! Well, it really can be as simple as setting aside a special place and time every day and getting to know yourself better. All you have to do is relax, breath deeply and let go of your everyday worries.

One of the problems with learning to meditate is you can feel a little silly just sitting there. Most beginners report that as soon as they decide to sit down and meditate, all of a sudden they start thinking of a thousand better things they can do instead — even the laundry!

There are a variety of technological breakthroughs that can help you get started meditating and enhance your meditation experience. Brain Sync is one resource you can utilize to assist you with developing your own successful meditation techniques.

In the meantime, here’s a quick checklist to get you started:

Meditation Technique 1: Mood

Set aside an area in your room that is your own special place. Decorate it with rich pillows, throw rugs, incense, candles — whatever suggests peace of mind.

Meditation Technique 2: Compose Yourself

You can sit or lie down, as long as your spine is straight. This allows the natural channels of energy in your body to open up and flow freely.

Meditation Technique 3: Breathe

Slow, deep, regular breathing that starts from the nostrils and ends up deep in your diaphragm — hold the breath — then let it out slowly. Imagine your lungs are being moved by a slow gentle wave, going in and out, over and over.

Meditation Technique 4: Relax

Begin by slowly, intentionally relaxing all your muscles, starting at your feet and ending with your neck, head and face.

Meditation Technique 5: Visualize

Create an inner oasis in your mind, a beautiful place you want to return to again and again. You can imagine a healing sanctuary, a mystical temple, or a sanctuary in nature with waterfalls and hot springs. Add elements to your inner space to help you relax and feel nurtured. When you feel completely relaxed, imagine what you want most to happen in your life, whether it’s coming out of exams with flying colors or having the relationship you dream of, visualization is a powerful method to bring your dreams to reality.

Meditation Technique 6: Feel Emotions

Infuse your visualizations with emotion. Use your imagination to trigger positive emotions — such as love, recognition, success. Feel the visualization as if it is actually happening.

Meditation Technique 7: Time

Choose a time when you won’t be disturbed. Zen monks meditate for exactly 25 minutes a day.

Meditation Technique 8: Repetition

The more regular you can be, meditating 25 minutes a day, the easier it gets. Choosing the same time and place helps the automatic meditation response, and within a week you’ll start having deeper meditations.

You don’t have to spend years sitting on a mountaintop or beneath a Bodhi tree to realize the benefits of meditation. New technologies such as Brain Sync can help you achieve your goals.

Kelly Howell is the preeminent authority on brain wave technology and meditation. Her CDs and free podcasts are available at Brain Sync.

BY ALEX FIR

You must have heard about golfers choking in pressure situations? What exactly is choking?

It is hitting a bad shot after you allow anger, anxiety, doubt or fear to enter your mind. Whatever you are thinking of or whatever you say to yourself just before hitting a shot becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Your brain will guide your muscles and your golf club to strange-looking swings, if you allow it. If you are distracted by negative thoughts, you won’t swing the club the way you normally could because your muscles will become tense and almost non-functional.

However, you must understand that being a little nervous in the stomach area is normal for all great players. Being nervous, having shaky hands or a pounding heart is a good sign, because it means you are eager to compete.

But, you must separate your brain from your body. Your body can be nervous, but your mind must remain calm. This is possible if you follow these guidelines:

1. Focus on the target, not on what bad things can happen. Imagine that you are on the course with your friends and you have a bet as to who can hit the fairway or green.

2. Take a few deep breaths. Relax your neck, arms, shoulders, and hands so that you are not tense in any way. Pay attention to your jaw and teeth. Do not clench or grind your teeth because this will lead to tension everywhere else in your body.

3. Do not worry about the results of the shot before you hit it. Just concentrate on making a smooth swing, just as you would on the driving range with nobody else around.

4. As a final point, if you miss a putt or another shot even though your thoughts were filled with good intentions, just accept it as part of the game and do not dwell on it. Do not beat yourself up. Enjoy the game and try and forget about the shots you missed.

Alex Fir shares a wealth of golf information on his website Free Golf Tips.

BY BILL MAITLAND

Do you look forward to your next game of golf during the working week with great anticipation, counting the days until golf day?

At the same time do you think of the shots your will play and think how great these will be on the day?

Then on the day, while travelling to the course, do doubts come into your mind about hitting good shots, straight shots, crisp chip shots around the green?

I suggest you get to the course early enough to allow you to hit some chip shots without lifting your head but remain looking at the place where the ball was. This is a good drill to make you keep watching the ball until it is time to look up. If you lift your head on the first or second shot, you will lift your head all day. If you keep it down, you will do so all day.

Then hit some middle iron shots followed by several drives until you hit two or three on line and with good contact.

Then go to the putting green where you try to get some feel for the day.

Now for the important exercise. Go somewhere quiet and visualise your game of golf. Meditate. See yourself hitting a great drive, some wonderful iron shots and great play around the greens. Take about 10 minutes to do this.

You will find you will be more positive, more confident and your game will have improved on the day.

Bill Maitland is a thinking, inventive golf guru. He thought out and developed simple techniques and tips which enabled him to lower his handicap from 25 to 18, then from 18 to 15, and finally from 15 to 12. He is a passionate golfer, and delights in helping others with their game through his website, Online Golfers Handbook.

BY WILLIE HILL

If there was one thing that you could do with your golf game that would make a huge difference on your score, what would that be?

It is the ability to be in the HERE AND NOW. Let me explain. The great shot is already done and it went smack down the middle of the fairway. The slice that took your golf ball into the next fairway and the four that followed are in the past. What matters now is how you react to these shots. Do you add fuel to the fire and make it burn BIGGER then it is, because that is what you’re doing when you start carrying on about how that shot was played. The proverb “Don’t cry over spilled milk” is very applicable here. The shot is done. Easier said then done.

So how do I get to the HERE AND NOW?

• Grab blocks of 4-8 minutes and just sit quietly and look at the golf ball. The object of this exercise is to quiet your mind. Look at the ball and when your mind starts to wander to other things, exhale and refocus on the ball. Do no more then the 8 minutes. When you start to get good at refocusing and letting go of things that are really not important at this moment in time, your score will come down without you really doing anything extra to your golf game.

• You will know you’re getting better when your recovery time gets smaller and shorter. So you’re not putting a lot of fuel on to that fire. You won’t be able to get rid of this completely; just be happy that by the end of the 4 step (from where you took the shot) away from the slice into the next fairway, you have forgotten about it.

• Another way of working through this is using the ARIA & ALIA technique. A is for acknowledge the error, R is for releasing the error (for this I lick my middle finger and flick it away from me, externalizing the error and letting it go), I is for imprinting a visual image of the correct action required and A is for asking yourself to do that the next time.

• The ALIA comes into play when you pull off one of those shots that you never knew you had. A is for acknowledge the great shot, L is for love yourself or pat yourself on the back for doing a great shot. I is for imprinting that shot, replaying that great shot in your head, and the A is asking yourself to do it again the next time. If you can, get your hands on Jeffrey Hodges’ Sportsmind book (p. 33-35).

Another way of learning to let go is EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). The Ideal Soulutions website will be a good resource for getting more info on this topic.

What I am doing for you here is generating options for you. We are unique in the way we process information. So what works for the top pro golfers may not be the one for you. Put all of the above to the test; if it works use it, if it doesn’t, let it go.

Willie Hill is a Sportsmind accredited coach, sports hypnotist, strength and conditioning coach, and certified personal trainer. Check out his website, Golfaux.

BY TERRY VERMEYLEN

Two years ago I was determined to drastically improve my game. I succeeded with stellar results and began to shoot in the 80s. I was happier than Paris Hilton in a Chippendale’s steamy dressing room. I attribute my improvement to proper goal setting and using the best golf training aids.

Golf training aid number one – group instruction.

Without a doubt my golf instructor was especially instrumental in helping me improve my game. I was awed and quite envious watching how effortlessly he hit a golf ball. Key lessons were keep your head still on your iron take away, keep it still on your down swing and don’t be afraid to come down on the ball. Hit the ball first! Take out a divot! All my unnecessary Shakira-like gyrations before hitting the ball were causing me to shank so badly, I terrified countless woodland creatures. Now I swing smoothly and with authority.

Golf training aid number two – don’t overthink.

Being out on the golf course is supposed to be a time for outdoor splendour not frustration. Revel in the manicured grass, tree lined fairways, water and all the sights, sounds and smells of a gorgeous summer day. And don’t overthink. As described in the book Overachievement, overthinking gets us in serious trouble. Some of the world’s greatest athletes performed amazing feats without thinking! It’s called being in the zone. In golf the same applies. After learning two key areas where you need to improve in your golf swing, go out and practise. On the golf course focus on those two key areas just prior to hitting and enjoy yourself on the golf course. Just let it happen. Eventually you fall into a rhythm. Just let it happen. Don’t overthink.

Golf training aid number three – don’t over imagine.

We all imagine our next round of golf and depending how well we played the last time, our imagination can be a source of unhappiness and frustration, long before we tee up the golf ball. In the book, Stumbling on Happiness by Harvard Professor Daniel Gilbert, our imagination is directly linked to our happiness. Prior tee off, we imagine topping the golf ball. We imagine ourselves slicing the ball in the woods. We imagine what our friends, co-workers and former prison mates will think of us. All these images create a tremendously negative aura around us even before our golf game. Now imagine yourself striking the ball with confidence. Imagine yourself in a rhythm. Imagine how much fun you will have. Imagination is our most powerful mind tool. Start imagining yourself being optimistic and confident in your golf game.

In summary:

• Golf training aid and goal one – group instruction.
• Golf training aid and goal two – don’t overthink.
• Golf training aid and goal three – don’t over imagine.

Terry Vermeylen is one of those rare people that is passionately driven to help others unlock their own barriers toward fulfillment, meaning and purpose. He is the founder of My Life Changes, an Internet value identification and goal setting enterprise.