See the shot!

Hello Adam,

I have been playing Golf now for 18 months and have recently been cut from 19.8 to 16.7 after a great score on a medal day at my home course. During that week I carded two Nett 61's and two Nett 63's on four different courses. I then went to my first golf lesson which i'd previously booked a few weeks before and my grip was adjusted slightly and the extension on my follow through.

 

 

 

I have not been able to get anywhere close to my handicap standard in four attempts since in strokeplay or stableford competitions. This is because i am now panicking at the tee due to the now inconsistancy of my shots. I used to hit a driver 240-260yds with a slide fade and usually end up in the area i was aiming for.Now after the lesson i can hit on average 280-300yds on a good hit but it can be straight or go way left but with a hook.

Can you give me any tips as to what i can do to get my confidence back as its really starting to affect my golf off the tee and on the fairways.

Thanks Gary Bickerstaff

 

 

 

 

Hi Gary

I was playing with a touring pro last week who was prepping for the British Open qualifiers. He had recently been working with a new coach with a great reputation but had been finding the changes tough to integrate. His confidence had hit rock bottom and he was really struggling to see and feel shots. When I asked him how he would like to see shots he said – “Like I used to!!” - I asked “Like you used to or like you WANT to now?”

Up until now, your body has naturally learned – very well judging by your scores - to hold and swing the club a certain way. It’s taken you 18 months to become confident about seeing a consistent fade. You have now had a lesson that is challenging your body to learn more – to go beyond it’s established comfort zone. Now, if I understand your question, you want to know how to confidently see and hit the new shape straight away without waiting another 18 months to get there!


Firstly, any changes like these are going to feel and look weird for a while – how long though will depend on you.


Your confidence relies on

  1. Having a clear picture of the shot

  2. Feeling certain that it will happen

At present it sounds like you simply haven’t integrated the physical changes in order to then be able to tick boxes a) and b).

Fortunately there are ways to speed up change so you shouldn’t be waiting 18 months for your confidence to return! Here are my suggestions:

  1. Acknowledge to yourself how well you have learned up until now

  2. Commit to 100% to integrating these changes to make your grip, swing and therefore shots, consistent. If you don’t commit 100%, you will find yourself holding on to your old style, and then not committing 100% to shots

  3. The time to integrate these changes is in between rounds on the practice ground or range – NOT during a round, and certainly not in competition as you will be tempted to fudge it to score, making visualising your standard shot even harder!

  4. To integrate the changes in practice:

  1.  

    1. Stand behind the ball before you play EACH shot.

      1. Choose a precise target for each shot. See yourself play the shot with your new grip and swing. Don’t try and force a picture of the shot shape if it’s not there.

      2. Then in your mind, step into the picture so you feel your new grip and swing for yourself.

    2. Step up to the ball, keeping the target in the corner of your eye. Focus only on the PROCESS of your new grip and swing as you play your shot to the target – ie let the ball fly however it wants to fly

    3. Notice the shape of the ball flight

    4. Repeat for 20 balls until you see a shape of shot appearing. As a shape starts to appear, repeat the process for another 20 balls, adding in this shot shape to the picture

The more you run through this process, the faster the changes will embed themselves and the sooner you will be confidently seeing shots clearer than ever. To help further, read my articles on visualising shots and driving confidence and let me know your progress!

Adam

 


 Adam has been an inspirational coach and trainer for over 13 years and loves bringing out the best in people. He has a long track record of helping clients to achieve quick, yet long lasting, results in golf, life and business.

Adam took up golf at age 14 and by 16 he played to a good 6 handicap. As his expectations improved, so did his fears and frustrations, leading to his fascination with the power of the mind. He started with a degree in Business and Psychology, but got frustrated with the apparent lack of practical "tools" to create change. Soon after university he became a Master Practitioner and Trainer of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), Master Practitioner of Time Line Therapy and Master Hypnotherapist. He passion for the human spirit also led him to become a long term student of Hawaiian Huna and Tai Chi.

He started his career as a trainer and coach in the world of business, helping realise the potential of managers and directors. Loving guiding others to follow their path, he started running NLP certification training in Brighton and coaching private clients to create major life breakthroughs.

At the back of his mind though was his own path and his old love - golf. Adam has since focused single mindedly on coaching golfers to break through their self imposed barriers and truly love their game - and their results. He works with keen amateurs and touring professionals to help them get the very most from their game. His years of experience developing the field has given him an unparalleled ability to diagnose and transform every aspect of the game easily and with a lot of fun!

His guiding principle behind all of his work is to remove any internal battles, resolve any fears and frustrations, and to create the inner belief and congruence it takes to single mindedly commit to every shot.

To reach out to clients who are unable to see Adam personally, in October 2009 Adam released his first complete audio coaching programme, including many of his precision coaching tools - The Single Minded Golf Academy.

Please feel free to ask Adam any questions on how to develop aspects of your own game - you will find his answers generous and genuinely inspiring. You will also find Adam offering daily pearls of guidance on Twitter (AdamSMG).

 

 


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