Posts Tagged world golf championships
Mental Golf is Key to Golf Improvement From Paul Casey at Houston
Posted by in golf on June 11th, 2009
I’ve been watching Paul Casey’s golf improvement this year starting with his consistent golf performance in Abu Dhabi when he was talking optimistically about getting into the top 20 in the world. Now, with his second-place finish at the World Golf Championships at Dove Mountain and his consummate performance at the Shell Houston Open last weekend, he’s at number six on the world rankings. With his golf mind working this well, he’s surely one of the favourites to win this week at Augusta.
He played there after being told what a tough course it was going to be. He mentioned the great greens, the way that lots of run off areas were shaved down low and the high swirling winds. What a perfect set up in the run in to the Masters.
Casey was clearly focussed and in the zone, as he explained at the press conference, “I kept my head down, to be honest, and didn’t pay too much attention to what was going on. I just thought it was incredibly difficult out there, so why burden myself with knowing too much.” He went on to say, “It wasn’t until the last green I looked up when I was in the bunker and knew I had to get up and down to beat J.B. Otherwise a play off.” He went on to beat long-hitting J.B. Holmes in the playoff.
Now this isn’t the same Paul Casey who went into a dramatic slump back in 2005. The new Casey has rebuilt himself to a new level with the help of sports Psychologist, Dr Don Greene, as well as coach, Peter Kostis. Back then, Casey was losing his way mentally and that was impacting his golf physically as well. Now he’s about as far from a slump as can be imagined.
So, who exactly is Don Greene? Well he’s no ordinary golf psychologist. He started out as a champion diver and Green Beret before earning his doctorate in sports psychology. For the last 25 years he’s been working with people under pressure ranging from police SWAT officers, through professional golfers, Grand Prix drivers, Olympic athletes and for the last 15 years he’s been specialising in the performing arts with musicians, singers and actors – and Paul Casey.
Andrew Fogg, the Golf Hypnotist, is an enthusiastic golfer, hypnotherapist and NLP Master Practitioner. He is a golf psychologist and author of a soon to be published book “The Secrets of Hypnotic Golf” and a series of golf hypnosis MP3 programmes.
Visit his website http://www.golf-hypnotist.com for information on getting the most success, pleasure and enjoyment from your golf.
Sign up there for the free Golf Hypnotist ezine for your free 25-minute “Your Own Virtual Caddy” golf hypnosis MP3.
Article Source: Mental Golf is Key to Golf Improvement From Paul Casey at Houston
Better Golf is Unconscious Golf – Bob Rotella Advises Mike Weir
Posted by in golf on June 8th, 2009
Now I’m really looking forward to some unconscious golf at Doral over the weekend, but I’m not sure what sort of spectacle it’s going to be with players like Mike Weir allegedly “going unconscious” – doesn’t sound like a lot of action there.
To be fair, the article I’ve just read from Lorne Rubenstein at Globe and Mail talks about the advice that Bob Rotella is giving Mike Weir in preparation for this weekend’s World Golf Championships. And any advice from Bob is usually good advice. You can read Lorne’s article at “Trying to ‘go unconscious’ on the course”
I talk a lot in my golf hypnosis work about the difference between the conscious and the unconscious mind in my work and I truly believe that better golf is played in the unconscious mind – by being in the zone, as it’s more commonly called.
There’s an important separation in the mind between planning a shot, a conscious process, and executing it. Have you noticed how when you hit a really good shot, you tend to think,” Wow, what happened there? What did I just do right?” The odd thing is that it usually happens when you didn’t have a thought, at least a conscious one, in your head. You certainly can’t remember what special move you made to get that result. You rarely get those special shots when you’re consciously thinking about all those things the pro told you to remember at your last lessen.
I know I’m always talking about being your own virtual caddy, but that idea also fits in well with this idea of unconscious golf. Just watch Tiger Woods consciously discussing his shot with his caddy and then seeming to glaze over as he unconsciously executes the shot. He’s getting the benefit of their collective experience in planning the shot and then trusting his unconscious swing memory to hit the shot. If you haven’t already, you can get your free download of my “Your Own Virtual Caddy” article and Golf Hypnosis mp3 by subscribing to my free Golf Hypnotist ezine. You’ll find a sign up box on the right of every page of my website.
It works in reverse too. I personally use one of the Explanar Golf Training & Fitness Systems to groove my swing and I often take myself into self hypnosis before practicing on it. That way, all the feelings and muscle actions elicited by the Explanar are going straight into my unconscious muscle memory without any interference from my critical factor – my conscious mind.
Andrew Fogg, the Golf Hypnotist, is an enthusiastic golfer, hypnotherapist and NLP Master Practitioner. He is a golf psychologist and author of a soon to be published book “The Secrets of Hypnotic Golf” and a series of golf hypnosis MP3 programmes.
Visit his website http://www.golf-hypnotist.com for information on getting the most success, pleasure and enjoyment from your golf.
Sign up there for the free Golf Hypnotist ezine for your free 25-minute “Your Own Virtual Caddy” golf hypnosis MP3.
Article Source: Better Golf is Unconscious Golf – Bob Rotella Advises Mike Weir
