A poor approach shot, choosing the wrong club, or even misjudging the wind can leave you facing a tricky up and down to save par. Recovering quickly from a mistake and making par with a chip and putt more often than not can save many shots over the course of a round for the amateur golfer.
But it’s very easy to make that up and down much harder for yourself by allowing negative thoughts to ruin your chances of recovery from the mistake that put you in that position in the first place.
However you can banish negative thoughts using two simple steps: identifying them and then challenging them.
Negative thoughts follow common patterns, such as over generalising, when you exaggerate facts “I’m terrible at up and downs” or discounting the positive and failing to give yourself credit for positive results “I’ve got up and down before but it was just luck”. If you can spot yourself having similar negative thoughts, you have begun identifying them.
You can then begin challenging them by asking yourself how true, valid or rational they are. For example, when you identify the thought “I’m terrible at up and downs” challenge it by asking yourself what evidence you have for this thought, and begin countering it with positive thoughts such as “I’ve got up and down many times before” or “I’ve practiced my pitching, I know what to do”. Of course, if those thoughts are true, valid and rational then get out and practice that area of your game!
Start keeping a note of what negative thoughts you identify, how you challenged them, and the outcome. It will require practice, but by using this two step process you’ll soon have only positive thoughts as you relish the challenge of recovering, getting up and down and saving that par.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
My article in this month in Today's Golfer
How can your personal life affect your golf?
Kieran Harris explains the impact of home life on your game
EAGLE: NEW RELATIONSHIP
A WHOLE WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES
Finding a new love and starting out in a relationship is a wonderful time, the world seems to be full of possibilities, lady luck is on your side, and you feel like you can take on anything. Feeling confident and content in yourself automatically gives you a positive mindset that can quickly be transferred to other area’s of your live, especially your golf game. Use those positive feelings of anything being possible and endless luck to eliminate worries of slicing out of bounds, or missing that tiny putt. Let those feelings (or memories) of how you felt in the early days of love to focus your mind on the good aspects and potential of your golf game and the wonderful opportunities for great shots around the corner the golf course has to offer! In love anything is possible, and you feel unbeatable, so let that feeling transfer into your golf game.
Pro example: Greg Norman - The 'shark' announced his engagement to tennis legend Chris Evert in September 2007 and discovered a new zest for life and golf. Norman's new wife encouraged him to enter tournaments and the two time Open winner finished T3at Royal Brikdale in 2008. He played four majors that year (three were seniors) and had top 10s in all of them. Sadly, the couple separated at the end of 2009!
BOGEY: END OF A RELATIONSHIP
MOVE ON AND RE-FOCUS
Of course it’s not always love and romance, and we’ve all been through dark days when relationships have taken a turn for the worse, and all we want to do is crawl into bed and forget about the cruel world outside. Even though you try, you can’t seem to get your mind to think about anything other than the gaping wound in your chest even when you manage to drag yourself down to the golf course. But not being focused makes it impossible to plan and not planning can ruin your routine, and without a routine your game becomes erratic and inconsistent. Even the best golfers know that at times there are more important things in life than a white ball and a metal club, but being able to switch on and off high levels of focus is ingrained in high level players. Use a pre shot routine to trigger high levels of concentration and focus on the job at hand, and eliminate distractions.
Pro example: Sergio Garcia - the Spaniard's relationship with Greg Norman's daughter Morgan-Leigh came to an end in March 2009. Garcia was number two in the world at the time but has not won a title since and has slipped to 15. Sergio revealed "It definitely didn't help my game, because I felt my head wasn't where it needed to be. I really didn't feel much like playing golf at that time."
BIRDIE: HAVING A CHILD
PUTTING THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE
As life changing events go bringing home a baby is right up there, the sense of responsibility, happiness, love and possibly even anxiety can be a daunting prospect. Along with the emotional pressure such responsibility places upon new parents the physical demands can often be extreme, but one thing is for sure and that is many things such as the worries and frustrations outside of family life begin to take on much less importance as that little bundle of joy becomes the centre of your world, and in other words your perspective on these things changes drastically. We all know how frustrating golf can be and how annoying it is to make a mistake and mess up a promising round, but keeping it in perspective, taking one shot at a time, and seeing any mistake as a change to learn and recover is a much better reaction than throwing your clubs and getting angry.
Pro example: Phil Mickleson - There are numerous examples of golfers upping their games after the birth of a child, but 'lefty' is one that stands out. Mickleson had long been acknowledged as the best player never to win a major, but that all changed when he won the 2004 Masters - a year after wife Amy gave birth to Evan. He's since added the US Open in 2005 and another green jacket in 2006.
DOUBLE BOGEY: LOSING YOUR JOB
IT'S WHAT YOU CAN AFFECT THAT MATTERS
The days of a job for life have long gone, and now it’s not uncommon for many of us to have two or three career changes in our working lives, but still loosing your job can be a painful and harrowing experience. We can experience many emotions including anger, embarrassment, blame, helplessness, loneliness and many more as we try to start over. Friends and family often try to help with phrases like ‘pick yourself up’ or ‘what doesn’t kill you’ and many others, but these are often very hard to use practically. In golf it’s very easy to remember that pulled tee shot last time you played a certain hole or the balls you’ve lost in a green side pond and playing partners often use the same phrases, but by focusing only on the things we can effect we can eliminate negative thoughts and emotions. As with bouncing back from loosing your job, it’s what you do next that counts, so focus on the here and now, and only on the things you can affect positively and forget the pain and hurt of what’s gone before, you can’t change that now.
Pro example: David Duval - He may not have entirely lost his job, but losing your tour card, as he did in 2009, is as close as it gets in golf. The former number one will be surviving on sponsor's invites so the pressure to perform in every one of the limited opportunities he gets will be heightened further. It looks like he may raise his game accordingly and has already recorded a runner-up finish in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
So I was asked to comment on Tiger Woods (from a negative standpoint I might add!)...
"There is no doubt that whatever happens next in the career of Tiger Woods, he will still be regarded as the greatest golfer of this generation, that is in no doubt. But what is in doubt is the aura of invincibility that has enveloped everything Tiger has done in golf for more than a decade. His singled minded focus, determination and mental strength have always been phenomenal as he has blazed a trail which has left rivals seemingly only playing for second.
An aura of invincibility is not unique to Tiger, with many examples of sporting greats appearing unbeatable in the past. Opponents would be defeated mentally, even before the competition had started and this reverence would only heighten the powers of the superstar and build the aura further. The aura increases further not only by the results or shots taken, but also by the demeanour, personality and actions in and out of the sporting arena all of which are deliberately managed.
People have long searched for a chink in Tiger’s armour, and inevitably the day came when the famous red shirt and a final round lead was not enough to secure victory, leading to a deserved win by Y.E. Yang at the PGA Championship, a one off perhaps?
But as further chinks appear (or resurface), and with recent transgressions coming to light, the aura of invincibility may begin to slip as people see Tiger has more to focus on in his life than just golf, and realise that he is after all just a human, who makes mistakes and has things that go wrong like the rest of us. Unfortunately for Tiger this means that like animals with a scent of blood, his opponents on the golf course will be desperate for a shot at the wounded champ, and will be lining up to take him on, and whilst some battles he may win, the days of one man dominating golf may well be over."
What do I really think... I still love Tiger!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Save that card from being ruined!
Stand back and give your self some room
You’ve been looking forward to your round for ages, in fact it’s the only thing that’s got you through the working week, and having started with a nice gentle par at the first, you’ve followed it up with a sensational birdie at the second. With the world seeming a much happier place you head to the third, a gentle hole ready for the taking. As thoughts of eagles and birdies rush through your head you pull the big dog from your bag, and prepare to unleash a bomb. Striking the ball it looks good as it leaves the club before violently deviating from it’s intended course and heads past the out of bounds markers like a weapon of mass golf round destruction. A promising start ruined in one shot, you hack your way to the 18th with thoughts of what could have been, another card ruined.
But it doesn’t have to be like this, one bad hole or shot doesn’t have to ruin your day, if you know how to recover like a pro by following some simple steps.
Give yourself a break
We all make mistakes, it’s part of being a human, and it’s certainly part of golf. But making a mistake is not a sin, in fact the only sin, is not learning from your mistake, and doing it again!
The majority of us do not strike the ball as consistently as the professionals, which means that the distance and direction we hit the ball will also not be as consistent. We can’t all hit our 7-iron to the same yardage every time, and the variety in distance and direction could be the difference between finding the green, and finding the water in front of the green. Keep this in mind when playing your shots, and give yourself some margin for error, so when things do go wrong, you have given yourself the best chance of missing serious trouble.
Easy does it Tiger
The only thing you can do after a mistake is recover, and to recover you need to let go of the mistake quickly, forgive yourself and learn from it, something top professionals learn quickly.
Looking back at the 2nd shot of Tiger Woods on the 16th hole at Augusta in the Masters of 2005, one of the best recovery shots in modern history, he had actually made a mistake with his tee shot and his ball was laying in the semi rough leaving him a perilous chip onto the green. In fact the commentator at the time described it as being “one of the toughest pitches to be playing at Augusta”. Tiger prowled the green focusing only on the next shot, plotting his way out of the situation he was in. The rest (and the mistake) as they say, is history; make sure the mistake you’ve made remains history and focus only on the recovery.
Redemption is a reward
By firstly accepting that you are not perfect and will make mistakes, you will be on the first step to reducing the impact. Give yourself a break, and try to be more like another golfing great, Walter Hagen, who was known for making plenty of mistakes, but his secret was the way he recovered from them. He even gave himself an allotted amount of mistakes per round that he chalked off as he went. Secondly, be positive and committed to your shot, but ensure you factor in that if the shot goes wrong, what the outcome could be, give yourself some margin for error in the shots you play.
Look back at any great round you’ve played, and at some point you will find a great recovery, which not only helped save a round, but also spurred you on to greater achievements, make sure you see it as part of the great game of golf, and enjoy the challenge and chance to recover is style.
You’ve been looking forward to your round for ages, in fact it’s the only thing that’s got you through the working week, and having started with a nice gentle par at the first, you’ve followed it up with a sensational birdie at the second. With the world seeming a much happier place you head to the third, a gentle hole ready for the taking. As thoughts of eagles and birdies rush through your head you pull the big dog from your bag, and prepare to unleash a bomb. Striking the ball it looks good as it leaves the club before violently deviating from it’s intended course and heads past the out of bounds markers like a weapon of mass golf round destruction. A promising start ruined in one shot, you hack your way to the 18th with thoughts of what could have been, another card ruined.
But it doesn’t have to be like this, one bad hole or shot doesn’t have to ruin your day, if you know how to recover like a pro by following some simple steps.
Give yourself a break
We all make mistakes, it’s part of being a human, and it’s certainly part of golf. But making a mistake is not a sin, in fact the only sin, is not learning from your mistake, and doing it again!
The majority of us do not strike the ball as consistently as the professionals, which means that the distance and direction we hit the ball will also not be as consistent. We can’t all hit our 7-iron to the same yardage every time, and the variety in distance and direction could be the difference between finding the green, and finding the water in front of the green. Keep this in mind when playing your shots, and give yourself some margin for error, so when things do go wrong, you have given yourself the best chance of missing serious trouble.
Easy does it Tiger
The only thing you can do after a mistake is recover, and to recover you need to let go of the mistake quickly, forgive yourself and learn from it, something top professionals learn quickly.
Looking back at the 2nd shot of Tiger Woods on the 16th hole at Augusta in the Masters of 2005, one of the best recovery shots in modern history, he had actually made a mistake with his tee shot and his ball was laying in the semi rough leaving him a perilous chip onto the green. In fact the commentator at the time described it as being “one of the toughest pitches to be playing at Augusta”. Tiger prowled the green focusing only on the next shot, plotting his way out of the situation he was in. The rest (and the mistake) as they say, is history; make sure the mistake you’ve made remains history and focus only on the recovery.
Redemption is a reward
By firstly accepting that you are not perfect and will make mistakes, you will be on the first step to reducing the impact. Give yourself a break, and try to be more like another golfing great, Walter Hagen, who was known for making plenty of mistakes, but his secret was the way he recovered from them. He even gave himself an allotted amount of mistakes per round that he chalked off as he went. Secondly, be positive and committed to your shot, but ensure you factor in that if the shot goes wrong, what the outcome could be, give yourself some margin for error in the shots you play.
Look back at any great round you’ve played, and at some point you will find a great recovery, which not only helped save a round, but also spurred you on to greater achievements, make sure you see it as part of the great game of golf, and enjoy the challenge and chance to recover is style.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
The bite of the bogey hole!
The Scene
Even though you’ve played beautifully all day, putting into practice all the lessons you’ve learnt, somewhere in the back of your mind you know the one thing you dread is rapidly approaching. Your bogey hole, the hole you can never seem to crack, the hole that catches you out every time and ruins your day. It may be a tight dogleg with out of bounds down one side for you, or it may be a short par four with an approach over water for someone else, and it may even be the short par three downhill that to everyone else seems so easy. Sometimes, it’s not about shooting birdies and eagles, but coping with the pressures that the mental side of golf causes.
The Result
When you arrive at a bogey hole, often in an attempt to get through the pain as quickly as possible, it is easy to adopt a “get it over and done with as fast as possible” approach. However by rushing onto the tee desperate to get over this mental hurdle you risk speeding up all aspects of your game up with an inevitable drop in performance. Rushing through your pre-shot routine often leads to bad habits and a faster swing, which of course leads to an increase in the likelihood of the bogey hole striking again.
Calm and cool
So how do you avoid speeding up and rushing your way to disaster? A simple change in your mental approach coupled with a simple routine will allow you to tame the bogey hole and keep on track to shooting a great round. The secret to developing your special routine for your bogey hole is slowing down. From the moment you walk onto the tee, make a conscious effort to slow down every aspect of your routine, from selecting your shot, through taking a practice swing, to executing your shot.
Why so slow?
Slow play is not something to be proud of, but on your bogey hole, going into slow motion (try reducing your speed to 60-70% the first time) helps in several ways. If you’ve ever tried t’ai chi or other martial arts, you will have seen that by slowing down your movement you will learn to perfect those movements faster, which in turn makes you better at those skills in the long run. By going slowly you will develop consistency and be able to control and maintain a solid and precise swing thus improving concentration and focus. Give it a go, and crack the curse of the bogey hole!
Even though you’ve played beautifully all day, putting into practice all the lessons you’ve learnt, somewhere in the back of your mind you know the one thing you dread is rapidly approaching. Your bogey hole, the hole you can never seem to crack, the hole that catches you out every time and ruins your day. It may be a tight dogleg with out of bounds down one side for you, or it may be a short par four with an approach over water for someone else, and it may even be the short par three downhill that to everyone else seems so easy. Sometimes, it’s not about shooting birdies and eagles, but coping with the pressures that the mental side of golf causes.
The Result
When you arrive at a bogey hole, often in an attempt to get through the pain as quickly as possible, it is easy to adopt a “get it over and done with as fast as possible” approach. However by rushing onto the tee desperate to get over this mental hurdle you risk speeding up all aspects of your game up with an inevitable drop in performance. Rushing through your pre-shot routine often leads to bad habits and a faster swing, which of course leads to an increase in the likelihood of the bogey hole striking again.
Calm and cool
So how do you avoid speeding up and rushing your way to disaster? A simple change in your mental approach coupled with a simple routine will allow you to tame the bogey hole and keep on track to shooting a great round. The secret to developing your special routine for your bogey hole is slowing down. From the moment you walk onto the tee, make a conscious effort to slow down every aspect of your routine, from selecting your shot, through taking a practice swing, to executing your shot.
Why so slow?
Slow play is not something to be proud of, but on your bogey hole, going into slow motion (try reducing your speed to 60-70% the first time) helps in several ways. If you’ve ever tried t’ai chi or other martial arts, you will have seen that by slowing down your movement you will learn to perfect those movements faster, which in turn makes you better at those skills in the long run. By going slowly you will develop consistency and be able to control and maintain a solid and precise swing thus improving concentration and focus. Give it a go, and crack the curse of the bogey hole!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Finishing off in style!
The Scene
Fifteen holes played with three to go and you’re 4 shots under your handicap, having played beautifully all day. Standing on the 16th tee you glance up at the out of bounds running down the right hand side and think to yourself just try and scrape a par, before the par three 17th whose bunkers always grab your ball, and the water in front of the green on the 18th that catches you out every time. Finishing off those last few holes of a round and seeing your handicap goals achieved can sometimes be the toughest part of a game of golf.
Have a break
With one sixth of the course left to play the 16th tee is an excellent time to take stock of your round, so grab that energy bar from your bag, and use the snack as the trigger to get your mental plan in place for the final push. Having a strong mental game is the key to ending your round in style, and that means having a clear mind and strategy. Standing on the 16th tee take a moment and use a simple breathing and visualisation technique to get you focused and ready for each shot of the final 3 holes.
Have a plan
Looking away from the 16th tee slowly take a deep in breath and imagine yourself standing over your ball as part of your pre-shot routine. Now slowly exhale, and use the start of the out breath to visualise the flight of your ball from the tee all the way to moment it lands in the fairway and rolls to the position you are aiming for. Repeat the deep breath and this time in your mind visualise your second shot as your breath out, focusing your mind on the flight of the ball, and continue until you’ve played the complete hole in this way, replaying the hole or shot in your mind if you don’t have a clear strategy or your breathing is not calm and relaxed afterwards.
Finish in style
With each shot you play on the way to the 18th green, don’t worry if a shot is not exactly as you planned, but take a moment to repeat the breathing exercise and visualise the shot you are faced with each time and for every remaining shot of the hole. Using this simple technique the final 3 holes will no longer hold any fears, and you will be cool, calm and you well on the way to achieving your goals of cutting your handicap. Let this breathing and visualisation technique become part of your routine each time you play over the next month, and let us know how you get on!
Fifteen holes played with three to go and you’re 4 shots under your handicap, having played beautifully all day. Standing on the 16th tee you glance up at the out of bounds running down the right hand side and think to yourself just try and scrape a par, before the par three 17th whose bunkers always grab your ball, and the water in front of the green on the 18th that catches you out every time. Finishing off those last few holes of a round and seeing your handicap goals achieved can sometimes be the toughest part of a game of golf.
Have a break
With one sixth of the course left to play the 16th tee is an excellent time to take stock of your round, so grab that energy bar from your bag, and use the snack as the trigger to get your mental plan in place for the final push. Having a strong mental game is the key to ending your round in style, and that means having a clear mind and strategy. Standing on the 16th tee take a moment and use a simple breathing and visualisation technique to get you focused and ready for each shot of the final 3 holes.
Have a plan
Looking away from the 16th tee slowly take a deep in breath and imagine yourself standing over your ball as part of your pre-shot routine. Now slowly exhale, and use the start of the out breath to visualise the flight of your ball from the tee all the way to moment it lands in the fairway and rolls to the position you are aiming for. Repeat the deep breath and this time in your mind visualise your second shot as your breath out, focusing your mind on the flight of the ball, and continue until you’ve played the complete hole in this way, replaying the hole or shot in your mind if you don’t have a clear strategy or your breathing is not calm and relaxed afterwards.
Finish in style
With each shot you play on the way to the 18th green, don’t worry if a shot is not exactly as you planned, but take a moment to repeat the breathing exercise and visualise the shot you are faced with each time and for every remaining shot of the hole. Using this simple technique the final 3 holes will no longer hold any fears, and you will be cool, calm and you well on the way to achieving your goals of cutting your handicap. Let this breathing and visualisation technique become part of your routine each time you play over the next month, and let us know how you get on!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Positive mental states
A golfer’s state of mind is critical for performing well and having a great round, but what can we do to ensure we find the optimum state of mind and what are the factors that influence it?
So what do we mean by a state? Well a state is how you are currently feeling and experiencing the situation you are in and in the world around you this can be seen as anger, anxiousness, happiness, joy, nervousness or calmness. But the important thing to remember is that vary rarely do these states happen suddenly, they build gradually and are more often than not a consequence of the situation you find yourself in.
For the golfer these states can be triggered by many things such as a state of heightened nerves or anxiety on the first tee or worry when hitting a long iron shot over water. Now both of these examples show a negative state but by looking at these and asking ourselves two questions we can begin to turn this around into a positive state.
Firstly, what states are going to help us the most in golf? Secondly, how can we begin to produce these states on purpose, every time?
Of course, that first question is easy to answer. Calmness, concentrating, focused, determined, even happy, are all positive examples of good states to find ourselves in when on the golf course. But what about that second question?
Well our state of mind is a result of the interaction between three parts, our environment, which is the situation we find ourselves in (needing a par on the 18th for a victory), our physiology (the way we walk, breath, stand and swing a club) and finally our mental approach.
For many people controlling the state they are in is not something they would have given much thought to, in fact most of the time the state of mind they find themselves in is a direct result of the external circumstances or environment (such as nerves due to the people watching you on the 1st tee) and leaves them only “hoping” for a good game.
So how do you begin to develop a mental approach that will enable you to get into a positive state of mind?
When we look at golfing greats we tend to see that they create a good state by focusing thoughts purely on the positives. They remember the good shots they have played in detail, they can picture the scene, the results, the feeling and every aspect of the shot they played, and of course this helps them to set goals and more importantly achieve them.
What I’d like you to try now is to imagine you are standing on the 1st tee of your local course, and to imagine it’s your perfect golfing day. Focusing only on the positive mental image, go through each shot you would play. Visualise standing over your ball and hitting the perfect shot down the fairway, imagine the sound the ball will make off the club, imagine its flight, and where the ball will land. Make your way around the course, thinking back to great shots you’ve played in the past, go over them again and again, and slowly let them begin to be the only shots you imagine.
Now next time you go out to play, think back to this session and imagine those great shots. As you stand over your ball replay that image of the shot you want to play. If you keep working on this positive state of mind and reduce the negative states undoubtedly, like all the golfing greats your game will be on the road to success.
So what do we mean by a state? Well a state is how you are currently feeling and experiencing the situation you are in and in the world around you this can be seen as anger, anxiousness, happiness, joy, nervousness or calmness. But the important thing to remember is that vary rarely do these states happen suddenly, they build gradually and are more often than not a consequence of the situation you find yourself in.
For the golfer these states can be triggered by many things such as a state of heightened nerves or anxiety on the first tee or worry when hitting a long iron shot over water. Now both of these examples show a negative state but by looking at these and asking ourselves two questions we can begin to turn this around into a positive state.
Firstly, what states are going to help us the most in golf? Secondly, how can we begin to produce these states on purpose, every time?
Of course, that first question is easy to answer. Calmness, concentrating, focused, determined, even happy, are all positive examples of good states to find ourselves in when on the golf course. But what about that second question?
Well our state of mind is a result of the interaction between three parts, our environment, which is the situation we find ourselves in (needing a par on the 18th for a victory), our physiology (the way we walk, breath, stand and swing a club) and finally our mental approach.
For many people controlling the state they are in is not something they would have given much thought to, in fact most of the time the state of mind they find themselves in is a direct result of the external circumstances or environment (such as nerves due to the people watching you on the 1st tee) and leaves them only “hoping” for a good game.
So how do you begin to develop a mental approach that will enable you to get into a positive state of mind?
When we look at golfing greats we tend to see that they create a good state by focusing thoughts purely on the positives. They remember the good shots they have played in detail, they can picture the scene, the results, the feeling and every aspect of the shot they played, and of course this helps them to set goals and more importantly achieve them.
What I’d like you to try now is to imagine you are standing on the 1st tee of your local course, and to imagine it’s your perfect golfing day. Focusing only on the positive mental image, go through each shot you would play. Visualise standing over your ball and hitting the perfect shot down the fairway, imagine the sound the ball will make off the club, imagine its flight, and where the ball will land. Make your way around the course, thinking back to great shots you’ve played in the past, go over them again and again, and slowly let them begin to be the only shots you imagine.
Now next time you go out to play, think back to this session and imagine those great shots. As you stand over your ball replay that image of the shot you want to play. If you keep working on this positive state of mind and reduce the negative states undoubtedly, like all the golfing greats your game will be on the road to success.
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