Introduction
Today, I’d like to introduce you to Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriot, authors of “Every Shot Must Have a Purpose” and Be A Player”. They also founded the Vision54 programme. The principle of this is that if you have birdied every hole on your home course at some point in time then why not all at the same time? What do you need to do to make this happen? Annika Sorenstam (10 majors and 70 LGPA wins) rose to the challenge. She explored every part of her game (technique, fitness, mental strength, etc) and achieved 59! Only 25 players (male or female) have achieved this feat.
Be a Player
This book goes into detail as to how you might achieve your best ever golf and the barriers that prevent you.
It’s not about conventional golf mechanics but explores a multitude of areas beginning with balance, tempo and tension.
Balance and Tempo
How balanced is your golf swing? Why do you lose your balance? Be more aware and find a tempo where you don’t lose your balance. If swinging at 100% causes you to lose your balance, try 70-80%.
Tension
Are you aware of becoming tenser in certain situations? What could you do to reduce this tension? Breathing exercises for example.
Being more aware of your grip pressure. How tight is it on a 1-10 scale when you play your best golf and how tight is it when you feel tension rise?
Pia and Lynn also cover the so called “Think Box” , “Play Box” and Memory Box.
Think Box
What is your pre-shot routine? Do you just step up and hit the ball, maybe a token practice swing too?
Watch the pros and learn! They all follow their own a pre-shot routine or mantra. This starts a few paces behind the ball where they evaluate the shot by asking a series of questions. Once they are quite clear that they have the right club and a mental picture of the shot they wish to play, only then do they step over a so called “threshold” into the play box.
Play Box
A practice swing is a full dress rehearsal of the shot they have in mind.
They then step up to the ball and “totally commit” to the shot in question. As soon as the shot has been hit, the player gives themselves feedback as to how committed they actually were and what, if anything, distracted them from that commitment.
Memory Box
Now this is an area where golfers could make a lot of headway. Did you know we are 3 x more likely to remember a bad shot than a good one! So how you process your post shot review is crucial. If you really liked the shot, file it away in your memory banks for future reference. If it was just ok, then accept the outcome as “good enough”. If however, it was a stinker, rather than beat yourself up with language like “you idiot” step back, be objective and try to be aware of what led to the poor shot and learn from it. Make a mental note to work on this specific thing on the range next time. This approach is useful whereas the opposite is useless and worst than that can leave scar tissue for the next time you face a similar shot.
Summary
I hope you found this approach to evaluating your golf game helpful. I’ll share some more from “Be a Golfer” in my next blog.
If you’d like to discuss any of the techniques above, feel free to contact me.
tony@thegolfswingcompany.com 07764 895 045
www.thegolfswingcompany.com Facebook: @TheGolfSwingCompany