Hi Tribers,
Firstly, I’ve got to apologise for not spending much time on the golf tribe – things have been really busy on my end – but I hope to answer more questions in the next few days and continue to add content.
Anyway I’ve been thinking about where to take the golf tribe. There’s a few keen beans that are chatting back and forth – and Bob Mark has suggested some way of posting videos and then the tribe making comments. This is a great idea so here’s what I have in mind.
The website software allows for unlimited users to be able to login and create their own pages. It’s really easy to do and you can write articles, post videos and discuss golf.
All I ask is that you keep things on topic and stick to natural learning – I don’t want this to turn into a technical golf instruction blog. Other than that you’d be free to create content that interests you.
If you’d like to be able to contribute to this forum then here’s what you’ve got to do;
Send me an email to camerons*AT*golfscience*dot*com*dot*au and I’ll create an account for you. You’ll be able to get started right away. Please include your preferred username (nickname) and I’ll do the rest.
Over to you.
Cameron
I received the below email from Stevie today. If you’re struggling with your putting I’m sure you’ll get something out of it. I’ve also added some of my comments at the bottom.
Hi Cameron
Not had a chance to put it into practice as yet as our course is
currently covered in snow!!!
I have read through the book once and intend to go through it again this
week at some point.
Several points you made have struck a chord with me, not least, the
description you make of your own golf game – excellent ball striking
coupled with poor putting leading to reasonable but frustrating scores.
I have been doing the same thing for a number of years – holding my
handicap at 2 but getting more and more annoyed with my putting holding
me back week after week.
The funny thing for me is that as a child I was probably the best putter
in our club. I have spent a lot of thought and effort over the last few
years trying to recover the putting form I had when I was younger.
Always, the reason why I was a good putter then has escaped me and I
cannot find through either thought or practice what it was that I used
to have.
On reading your book the startling thought occurred to me…… that
perhaps I always was and still am a good putter and that there was never
any real reason why this should be the case. Maybe I have never lost
this ability just managed to “let myself get in the way of my own
ability” so to speak.
I definitely plan to try your technique because it makes perfect sense.
As pointed out many tasks are completed on a daily basis without really
thinking about them (I sing when driving all the time, not to great
level I might add!!) so why should this not apply to putting? Its not
as though I put any great effort into actually hitting the ball, one
basic swing thought has been working day in day out (touch wood) for a
number of years.
Hopefully the snow will clear soon and I will get on the course to try
it out.
I will keep you informed of my progress.
Thanks
Stevie
Thanks Stevie for a great email. Sometimes we make the game harder than it needs to be. Yes, I agree with you – your natural putting is still inside, you have to let it out. All the worry and over trying has not helped. If you’ve got the ability to hit the ball well, then you’ve got all the talent and skill to be a fantastic putter.
The secret is to let go, stop trying so hard and let your subconscious take over. You’ll start putting better almost immediately.
For more information about better putting check out my Perfect Putting System
I received the below email from Ben over the weekend. I like it and highlights my thoughts on automatic learning for golf.
Too many minds:
A while back when on a plane I was watching a Tom Cruise movie called ‘The Last Samurai’, (and yes I know what you’re thinking but the truth is there wasn’t much else on).
It’s about an American soldier in the 1800’s who ends up in Japan and is captured by the Samurai. Over time of course he becomes one of them.
In the particular scene I want to discuss, our hero, Tom, is trying to learn to sword fight as a Samurai and is consistently getting bashed and beaten by the main Samurai warrior. During this you can see in his eyes the thought process taking place, how he’s analyzing the situation and evaluating his next move – all to no avail – he still keeps getting whacked.
Then another Samurai, a young one, says to him ‘too many minds’. Tom thinks about this and from that point on you can see the thoughts and clutter begin leave his mind. He stops analyzing and plotting, stops thinking about all the detail, past and future moves and simply starts doing. Of course this works and he succeeds in winning a bout. All because he let his intuitive side work and, figuratively, stopped getting in his own way.
Being creative is like that.
Too often we get so caught up in the thinking part that we get in the way of the creative flow. We tend to over analyze, over evaluate and over compensate, we try too hard when what we really need to do is purge our ‘too many minds’ and simply trust the creative process to do it’s thing.
Whether you’re participating in martial arts or golf it’s vitally important to learn to get out of your own way and trust your subconscious to do what it does best. Perform!
The longer we play the more we should realise the impact of automatic on our golf game.
Automatic is more important than tips and quick fixes. It’s more important than the past, the future, your talent, than birdies and bogeys, than failures, than successes, what your golf coach thinks, says or does. It is more important than style, physical strength or skill. It will make or break a golfer and is the difference between a successful golf career and an unfulfilled one.
The significant thing is that we have a choice every time way we choose to play. We can’t change the past and we can only effect the future. We can’t change the fact that sometimes the ball will bounce in a certain way. We can’t change the weather or what our playing partners will say or do. The only thing we can do is decide to play golf automatically – to play in the present.
Golf is hard. Our automatic game and belief in remarkable makes it easier. Playing golf can make us nervous, doubtful or even scared – Automatic is the road map to confidence, improvement and fun. It is also the only part of our game which allows us to be the best that we can be.
Automatic is everything!
I’d like to thank my mate Evan Spargo who inspired this post with his “Attitude” mantra. If you’d like to learn more about automatic, check out my ebook Play Golf Your Way.
Most of us golfers will try anything if we think it’s going to help us improve our game. Here’s a list of the most common;
- looking for any quick fix
- changing of golf clubs
- constant fiddling with golf swing
I think this constant search for improvement is admirable but highly flawed. Here’s why;
You’re looking for success before commitment
You’ll try something once but if it doesn’t work you’ll move on, looking for the next gimmick or magic cure for your game.
Automatic golf requires a different level of commitment. You’ve got to get committed before any success and be prepared to hang in there when the chips are down.
On Sunday I bogeyed five of the first six holes. It was the worst start to a round that I’ve had in a long time. The temptation was to analyse and change my approach. I did neither.
I dug my heels in and kept swinging without fear or thought. Yes, it’s scary and hard to do. It feels uncomfortable and in many ways seems like the worse thing to do. Convention would say slow down, take your time, work out what you’re doing wrong and try and fix it.
I argue that if you want to play your best golf that you’ve got to break the rules and follow your own path. That, if you follow the status quo you’ll play average and never experience what I call remarkable golf.
My round improved. The swing started to flow and the ball found the target. I recovered from the bad start to record a decent score. Not my best score, but it was certainly a fair improvement, I played to my handicap and had one of the better scores from the group.
The key for this comeback is level of commitment. If you’re looking for success before commitment you’ll get nothing.
If playing your best golf is important to you then you have to learn to hang in there. Stop looking for quick fixes and instant cures. Real success won’t happen overnight – it comes from playing with trust and commitment for a long period of time.
