Sport psychology golf...

Using rituals and the present.

When delving deeper into the theme, sport psychology golf, using rituals and the present are very important.

Rituals: The preshot-routine, waggling and stuff.

The tour pros exemplify these rituals and they are so precise. I personally call it my fifteen second movie where I am the leading actor, sound man, camera man, director, editor etc.

I start behind the ball looking down the barrel of the shot towards my target. My main task is to fall into my mindless golf state and my playing partners normally know to behave at this point.

While standing there I will try to recreate my true gravity state and summon power from my energy dam. Once this, what I can only describe as a smooth syrup, has activated my 'Chi', I know I am ready to approach my ball.

(True gravity is explained fully on the 'inner game of golf' section)

When I address the ball, I focus more on my target than the mechanics of the swing itself. I will peer over the trees, water, bunker etc that I am trying to carry.

I project these images to my inner self without using words and trust my body to make the best effort to carry this out. During this short period I will still feel the syrup filling my energy dam and when my body feels ready to swing I just let it go.

In the past I always had a swing thought or two during my take-away but have learned that these are more often hindering than helpful.

When my ball is successfully underway and I am watching the flight or roll, I will savour the warm syrupy feeling that centres around my 'Chi'.

I can actually taste it and for me it is the taste of success. I am becoming quite an expert at recreating this taste/feeling. In doing so I actually have my body feeling successful before the shot.

And guess what?

A body that feels success can only recreate success. When I go through this ritual, I often achieve fantastic results but more importantly, experience a joyful and peaceful state during play.

Sometimes it doesn't turn out as I expected but that just adds to the experience.

Staying in the present: This is in itself not so difficult or is it? This is where sport psychology golf borrows from and gives to life itself.

I once had a deep fear of injections, especially those given intravenously, and when my doctor phoned me to tell me that I would have to come for a blood test I was immediately very uncomfortable about it.

I made the appointment and had to wait four anxious days for this visit. I spent that time thinking only about the ugly needle and talked to everyone about it, even strangers on buses and trains.

I could go into cold sweats and experienced nausia at least twice a day. On the day of my appointment my head was spinning and I was experiencing levels of cowardice that I refuse to discuss.

However the day finally arrived and I somehow found myself in the surgery and heard the assistant tell me to go through.

I was sitting nervously when the nurse approached me with a thimble like object, placed it over my thumb, I heard a click and she said, "Thanks Mr. MacDuff, we will send you the results in a few days."

Well I'll be damned, after the sense of relief started to dwindle, I began to experience a sense of regret. I had wasted four days worrying about something that turned out not to happen.

This then stayed with me for a long time and eventually encouraged me to think about using sport psychology golf where I would to learn to stay in the present when similar circumstances arose on the course.

I have now achieved my goal and I do this by reminding myself about the previous incident. I also catch myself worrying about personal finances etc and then realise that they are only real in past or future terms.

Therein lies the trick to staying in the present when playing golf. Sport psychology in golf teaches us to forget the past and future outcomes and play in the present.

We have little control over both. We certainly can't change the past or predict the future. We can however focus on the here and now and enjoy it for what it is.

The Present! And when you find yourself in it there is no better present(gift) that you can give yourself.

That's why we call it "THE PRESENT".

Thanks

S.MacD.

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