Golf has never been an considered a physical sport
of exertion; however, the fluidity of the perfect golf swing is addictive to
both professional and amateur and drives one to take the game to the next level.
The interesting part is: The competition is primarily ‘You’.
Producing that perfect golf swing requires a complex
coordination of muscles in the human body, ranging from the scapular muscle in
the shoulder all the way to the gluteus muscle behind the quadriceps. This
means the perfect golf swing is achieved by practice and repetition, (similar
to improving your math… or maybe a dance step), imprinting on the mind what one
hopes to achieve by sending the electrical impulses to the required muscles.
Unfortunately this is not an exact science as it takes time for the brain to
reinforce this coordinated movement; as a result one occasionally has a bad
shot, when the brain defocuses and triggers the wrong combination of muscles. Harnessing
the brain to enable the execution of a pre planned strategic shot requires
training and focus beyond what the brain is normally called upon to do.
This aspect of golf has always fascinated me, where
the sport is really a harnessing of one’s mind and the calmer mind is the
better one to play with. Every person who has played the game reasonably well
is aware of this. Unfortunately one does not really perform many mental exercises
to prepare for a round, even ones as simple as running through the entire round
in the mind before play. Over the years, the link between the game of golf and
the ‘mental side’ has only gotten stronger, so that now even amateur golfers
looking to improve their game are encouraged to harness the power of the mind.
In recent times Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)
has become popular, especially in the area of self help and development. NLP
utilizes the power of positive thought to encourage and bring about a positive
change in behavior of an individual. This process operates at the subconscious
level of the human brain and the changes made can be subtle. Yet the effect it has
on ones outlook and even performance is dramatic.
Can there be a marriage of these two ideas? As a single
digit handicapper, is it possible for mental training and technique to take
ones game to the next level? Even for the average golfer, can a little more
concentration over a putt, or a more positive outlook on a certain shot lead to
more consistency, thereby positively impacting one’s game? As discussed the
golf swing is a coordinated movement of a number of moving parts, with the
control center in the brain. Anything that can enhance this brain control will
certainly impact the attitude and physical output of the golfer in his game.
There are golfing comments, ‘not to think too much
over a shot’ and ‘take ones head out of the game’ but the key to this is mental
detachment is not systematically taught. Good mental training can benefit the
golfer as he strives to take his game to the ‘next level’. I believe NLP could be
one such idea to achieve this… Could there be any other? Golf is not about
hitting that 300 yard drive once; it’s training your mind to hit that 280 yard
drive 18 times in a row, right down the middle.
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