Fear of failure is a waste. It’s a waste of energy and a waste of time. Why? Because the absolute worst thing that can happen to you on the golf course is a bad score. Not good but not that bad either.
If you play badly you’re not going to be sacked by your golf club and your dog will still love you. Golfers aren’t afraid of bad scores, they’re more worried about what others will think and possibly getting some negative feedback.
Here’s the kicker. Read More
Are you a player? I’d like to think that I’m now a player.
My online golfing buddy is definitely a player.
Most golfers turn up, try hard but in my opinion don’t play golf. You’re not playing golf if you;
- Continually change your golf swing
- Believe your technique is the most important element of your game
- Are always looking for what’s wrong with your game
- Walk off the course exhausted
- Get overcome by self doubt (you can add fear and anxiety too)
- Change your style when the pressure is on
- Feel that you’re not living up to your potential
- Tell stories (make up excuses)
Playing golf is fun, rewarding and worthwhile – anything else and you’re missing out on the real enjoyment and success that’s on offer.
So you think you swing too quickly.
I don’t think you do. Swinging quickly is often used as an excuse for a bad shot or the reason why you can’t hit the ball. But it’s nonsense…
If there’s one thing that you must learn to do if you want to play better golf it’s not emotionally evaluating your shots.
In other words, don’t make up reasons why you played a poor shot. Let it go and step up to the next shot with a clear head. Adult temptation is to think, analyse and control. I used to do the same thing but was never really able to experience my best golf. Each round was hard work – continually thinking and trying to work out what I did wrong (or right) took its toll.
Best you forget about judging and evaluating your shots – hit the ball and move onto the next one. Doing so will allow you to free your mind and play your own version of remarkable golf.
The “swinging too quickly” syndrome is a common one. I think it’s a bit of a cop out too. When you can’t think of anything else it’s easy to blame the errant shot on a quick swing. My advice is to stop doing it.
Most golfers I know want to hit the ball further. By swinging slowly (what you do when you’re trying not to swing quickly) you don’t allow yourself to swing with speed. Speed allows you to find power, and extra power makes the game more fun. Loosen up and let your golf swing flow.
If you think you’re prone to swinging too quickly I offer the following suggestions:
- Stop trying to slow your golf swing down. Commit to the shot at hand and go with your natural swing. Your instinctive swing is better than any consciously controlled swing you can come up with.
- Ignore advice from others. It really is impossible for them to tell you accurately if you’re swinging too fast. Learn to trust your own swing and intuition.
- If you hit a poor shot it’s unlikely you were swinging too quickly. Chances are it was just a bad swing – it’s not possible to hit every shot perfectly. Accept a bad shot or two and move on.
- You can play great golf with a quick swing – especially if swinging fast feels good to you.
Conscious control and emotional evaluation will hold you back. If you’re trying to slow your swing down you’re not playing automatically. If you’re making up stories or guessing what you’re doing wrong you’ll always be disappointed. Automatic golf is the key to playing your best golf. It allows your natural instincts to take over and gives you the best swing possible. Automation will keep that adult mind out of the equation – you’ll be free to play without that inner critic holding you back.
Ultimately you want to swing the club in a way that feels good to you. Stop thinking about too quick or too slow, there’s no such thing.
If only I could trust my swing”, I have heard that many times on the golf course.
Golfers everywhere are looking for the inner belief that they are going to make a good shot. This inner belief is what leads to confidence and ultimately better scores – so it’s worth working out how to do it!
It is a magical feeling when you’re over a shot and you know with every fibre of your being that you are about to hit a great shot. In these all but elusive moments the game is easy, fun and good score are just a matter of turning up!
Great play is almost always partnered by trusting your golf swing. Unfortunately golfers haven’t learned how to do this consistently.
We trust ourselves everyday, performing tasks, that if we sat down and thought about them we would realise they require more dexterity and trust than a silly golf swing.
For example, think about the trust required in driving a car. You have to obey the road rules, watch out for bad drivers, control a vehicle moving up to 100 kilometres an hour with other cars passing you within a metre or so and not to mention changing gears and all the other skills required in maneuvering the car.
I played recently with a surgeon. This doctor spends most of his days performing miracles and changing people’s lives . Put a golf club in his hands and he turns into a scared and doubt ridden golfer. He has no trust in his ability to hole a one metre putt – despite what he could do in the operating room.
So why don’t golfers trust themselves out on the links and learn to experience the confidence, fun and performance of other skills?
It’s because we don’t allow ourselves to trust. We are too preoccupied with technique and performance.
When you learn to let go and hit the ball, you are trusting your instincts to make contact with the ball. Letting go is the foundation of building trust.
Letting go requires a conscious effort (at first – ultimately this should happen subconsciously) to stop concerning yourself with swing, sand, water, trees, out of bound markers and score. Your attention must be on what you want to achieve – then to step up and do your best to achieve that goal.
Letting go and having faith that the ball will be struck well builds trust. When this allows you to hit good shots on the golf course you build confidence. Later, you will start playing better golf under pressure – more confidence surges through your body. The final step is to realise that letting go, playing without concern or worry is better than any other method you’ve tried in the past. This final step I’ve termed “removing the straight jacket” and can only happen when you can swing without fear or concern. This level allows you to become bullet-proof and your golf can reach a level you never thought possible.
I can’t promise you’ll play your best golf all of the time. This is not possible. Learning to trust and let go will maximise your chances of playing better golf. With more and more people contacting me stuck in terrible slumps, the possibility of getting out of that rut is better than any other alternative. The choice is yours.
If you’re keen to “remove the straight jacket” try the below drills;
- Hitting shots with eyes closed – Start at home in the backyard or garage. Without a ball, make swings with your eyes closed. Instead of thinking technique, place your attention on what you can feel and hear. Later you can introduce a ball and move to the putting green. Progressively hit longer and longer shots with all of your clubs. Be sure to to keep things safe (don’t hurt yourself) and don’t try and go too quickly. Enjoy the experience of swinging and feeling and hearing what happens with YOUR swing. For many this will be an eye opener (pardon the pun) that will help unlock your senses and help you experience something extraordinary.
- Test your limits – By performing tasks that might seem impossible or in away that you have not considered will help you learn and build trust. Have you ever tried to escape from a bunker with a six iron? Hit an eight iron 160 metres? What about swinging with one hand or playing in reverse? Don’t try and figure out how to do it, make an attempt and feel what is happening. By exploring your limits you are increasing the chances of remarkable, learning new things and making the game fun. Open up – think outside the square and see what new shots and skills you can learn
- Dare to be different - My advice is to ignore conventional advice if you want to remove the straight jacket. All of the coaches, tips and lessons out there can’t tell you exactly how YOU should play. The buck stops with you. Listen to your gut and have the courage to play how you want to play. Following traditional advice too closely makes you a clone. With most golfers disillusioned with their play it’s time to break the mold and play golf your way!I have learned to break the rules of course strategy and swing theory. Not only is this fun – but I am playing better than ever. I spent years trying to confirm to normality and was left disappointed. I wouldn’t swap my game now for anything, despite what the purists would say.
- Have the courage to take it to the golf course – The final step is to be brave enough to play this way out on the course. This is when it matters! It can take courage and fearless attitude but it’s well worth a few scars. It’s one thing to try something different and let go on the practice fairway, but it takes a real commitment to do it from the first tee onwards. Only the brave and those prepared to experience remarkable golf can do it. Are you ready?
The above steps have transformed my game. I hope you can glean from these words the meaning of trusting your swing, letting go and playing the best golf you’re capable of. Give it a go and let me know how you go. In the next few days I’m going to give you my absolute best golf lesson. I’m not holding back. Best that you get ready, because unless you’ve experienced letting go and trusting your swing you won’t be ready for achieving a master level of performance.
I’ll talk to you soon…
Visualisation is not required to hit a good golf shot.
A bit controversial? I’m sure it is, but give me a minute to explain myself.
I have studied sports psychology, dabbled in meditation and even did some NLP for a little while. These disciplines (at least some of the time) require the participants to visualise. These pursuits have strong ties with the game of golf and a big part of their methodology revolves around visualisation. The most common scenario is to visualise the target and of oneself making a perfect golf swing.
Jack Nicklaus, the best golfer ever (maybe Tiger can put his hand up) has this to say about visualisation;
“I never hit a shot, not even in practice, without having a very sharp, in-focus picture of it in my head. First I see the ball where I want it to finish, nice and white and sitting up high on the bright green grass. Then the scene quickly changes, and I see the ball going there: its path, trajectory, and shape, even its behavior on landing. Then there is a sort of fade-out, and the next scene shows me making the kind of swing that will turn the previous images into reality.”
All this makes a lot of sense and going against this advice would seem kind of silly. I’m also not going to say Jack Nicklaus had it wrong, after all, winning eighteen majors shows you can play.
What I will say is that trying to visualise over the ball or when you’re trying to play a shot is the wrong thing to do.
Why?
Because visualising is not “staying in the present”. “Staying in the present” is what every sports psychologist will tell you to do. Visualising is attempting to predict the future. Predicting the future is no better than worrying about what happened on the last hole. I’m sure you’ll agree that concerning yourself about the double bogey, the three-putt or even the birdie on the previous hole is not going to help you. Neither is attempting to predict what is about to happen.
I’m positive that Nicklaus and every other great player is not visualising when they are hitting the ball. Their minds are clear and they’re playing on automatic pilot.
The more I’ve learned to play instinctively the less I’ve concerned myself with visualisation. Sometimes images pop into my mind when I’m about to play, but I don’t actively try and “see” the shot and picture the target in my mind.
I’m not against golfers trying to picture the shot or their swing in their mind’s eye. Some golfers feel lost without it. What I think is needed is better instruction on how and when to use visualisation. If you like visualising then do it behind the ball. Never when you’re over the ball.
For the most part golfers think too much – and visualising justs adds to mind garbage that holds golfers back. Clear your mind and hit the ball, you will hit better shots and these will be better than anything you could possibly dream up.
Good golfing,
Cameron
What’s the most important part of any golf swing?
Grip? Stance? Backswing?
Nope. At least not if you ask me.
I believe the critical aspect of any golf shot you play is the walk to the ball. Sound a bit strange? Let me explain myself.
The walk to the ball is critical because it is the time you need to get your head in the right place and automate your swing. If you’re walking to the ball thinking about your swing, the target or your score then you’re in big trouble. This has to be done behind the ball.
You need to have a clear head space by the time you reach the ball. You mind needs to be in the present – allowing you to feel relaxed and confident.
I’m aware that walking to the ball is not all that sexy – that most golfers would rather work on swing mechanics or hitting the ball a long way. It’s for this reason that it gets ignored by most golf instruction outlets. If you want to ensure your golf swing becomes automatic and more importantly stays automatic for the duration of the stroke, then you need to pay attention to the few steps you take before getting to the ball. Here’s some key points for your consideration;
- Do all your thinking behind the golf ball. This includes picking a target and choosing a club.
- Focus your gaze on the golf ball, not the target when you’re ready to go. This helps keep your mind in the correct place.
- Play quickly. Although it’s not necessary to play quickly, I have found that golfers can benefit from speeding up their play. You can take your time behind the ball, but once you’ve decided on the shot get on with it. The less you fluff about the better you’ll play.
- If you find your mind getting too distracted you should stop and start over.
- By the time you get to the ball your focus and concentration should be pointed. You should feel relaxed and in your own little bubble. This is the perfect mindset to play remarkable golf.
I can’t expect golfers to get too excited about working on this part of their game but it’s well worth the effort. When you can walk up to the ball with a consistent thought pattern and step into the ball automatically the game almost magically becomes easier. Something worth exploring.
I’ll talk to you soon.
Good golfing,
Cameron
So you’ve given automatic playing a go but you’re not getting the results you were looking for. Below I’ve listed the three most common mistakes that will likely be holding you back.
Not giving automatic a fair go. My strong recommendation is to attempt to play automatically and naturally for at least three rounds. My belief is that you’ll experience something “remarkable” in this time. Hopefully this will be enough to convince you that you possess enough talent to play golf your way, rather than relying on golf industry methods and standards.
The big but is that you’ve got to step up to the plate and give it a go. If you’re going to quit after one bad shot or not prepared to stick it out for three rounds you’re unlikely to see “remarkable”. The three round challenge takes discipline, courage and a level of trust. Ultimately it takes a serious commitment so your system can adjust and then revel in the freedom that automation allows.
Expecting miracles. Automatic playing is not a miracle cure. It will maximise your chances of playing your best golf but it cannot give you a game that you don’t already own. For example, if you’ve always played with a big slice and you’ve never hit a draw shot (even in practice) you will not start hitting the ball with a draw. It’s just not going to happen.
If you can hit the ball well on the practice tee but you choke and stuff up under pressure, then automation is your salvation. It will give you a strategy for dealing with the nerves, pressure and fear. It’s this strategy that can make the game fun again. After all, learning to play well when it really matters is what separates winners from everyone else.
But you’ll need a healthy dose of self-honesty to see the full benefits of automatic learning. If you keep attempting shots that Tiger wouldn’t try or ignore your physical limitations then you’ll always be disappointed. Trying to fool your subconscious is a long road to nowhere. It can’t be done, no matter how long you persist.
Holding on to what’s comfortable. Automatic playing can feel uncomfortable. To make significant improvement you need to change your attitude and your belief of what’s possible. This can feel weired and the temptation is to stay safe. But you can’t keep playing the same way over and over and expect a different result. To do so is madness. The ultimate goal of natural and automatic learning is to get golfers to remove the straight jacket and explore what lies beyond conscious control.
The common place I see golfers “play safe” is on the first tee. They swing carefully and steer the ball down the fairway. They repeat this process for the entire eighteen holes and wonder why the game is so difficult. To me this is not playing golf. A real golfer, a golfer that is prepared for remarkable, will pull out all stops and swing without fear from the first attempt. Thoughts of missing fairways or losing golf balls is replaced with an enthusiasm for what’s possible.
The possible lies outside of conscious thought. You also won’t find it in golf magazines or on the practice tee. Your real potential can only be discovered when you decide to stop thinking and play golf from the first tee shot.
Playing your best golf doesn’t happen because of long drives, holes-in-one and sinking long putts. You’ll discover your best golf when you can get the ball in play from the tee, hit your iron shots somewhere near the green and learning not to three putt. Your own “remarkable” level of golf is a lot easier than you’d ever expect. The remarkable part of it happens when you can do it repeatedly. You don’t need a skill transplant, new clubs or a different swing. Your best bet is to give automatic a go for a minimum of three rounds, understand your limitations and open your mind to a different possibility.
Good golfing,
Cameron
After Tiger won this year’s US Open I wrote about why I think he’s so dominant. Briefly, I believe that he is the most automated and natural athlete in the world. It seems he never plays safe. He lets go, and hits every shot like it’s his last. There appears to be little self-doubt, confusion or worry. He decides what he wants to do and then executes the shot to his best ability.
This process sounds easy to do but it is deceptively difficult. This is one reason I believe that Tiger his head and shoulders above the rest, and why you may not be playing your best golf. I challenged you to take this approach for three rounds of golf. I believe this exercise will teach you more about your golf then any other lesson will. Below are my results of taking the challenge…
Round #1: I made an effort to trust my swing and let go. I realised early on that I had a tendency to think too much about the score and the results. My process for staying automatic helped the cause. I had two putts on 17 to get to five under (my best score in a while). I did everything correctly (I think) and hit the best putt I could. It narrowly missed the hole and traveled 1.5 metres past the hole. Again, I cleared my mind as best as I could and let the putt go. It missed but I felt that I didn’t flinch or steer the putt in any way.
The last hole was a similar story. I three putted after playing two good shots into the green. If I’m honest, I hit the wrong club into the green and let the previous miss (on 17) distract me. The end result was my second putt on 18 was a poor one. I was disappointed but manged to shoot 69 (3 under). It was a good score but it could have been better.
Round #2: This game was played under appalling conditions. It was tough going but I refused to change my approach. I didn’t worry about the wind, my swing or the score. This potentially was one of the best rounds I’ve played. My ball striking was good and I was able to negotiate the tough holes quite well. The last two holes were straight into the wind – I hit two low boring approach shots that finished on the green and was able to make par. It was fantastic to finish the round off so well. Score: 70
Round #3: This game was also the second and final round of my Club’s Winter Trophy. I hadn’t won this event before, and after my first good round (69 – see above) I was in contention and keen to do well. The temptation was to think about my score and worry about what everyone else was doing. I resisted the urge and focussed on playing golf.
The round started well but I couldn’t find a birdie over the first four holes . On the 5th (a par 5) I played a nice second shot and had two putts for birdie. I made a tricky two metre putt for birdie on the 6th and when I birdied the 7th my round was alight!
For some reason I started feeling tight on the 10th tee. I backed off the tee shot and recommitted to the job at hand. I completely let go and had no thought of concern. My three wood found the middle of the fairway and the approach was a good one. By this time the nerves had settled and I was feeling good. The putt for birdie was struck without a worry in the world and found the middle of the hole.
The 10th hole was a revelation for me. I realised that previously I had played too cautiously and safe when having a good round- that I would play to protect my score rather than continuing to shoot the best score possible.
I birdied the 15th hole to get to five under and when I hit my second into the 17th (a par 5) to three metres (my best shot of the day) I was on track for my best score in a long time. Determined to keep the process going I refused to play safe on the last. A good tee shot left me a six iron to a back pin position. The easy shot was to aim for the front tier and leave a difficult putt. I opted for the harder shot and play for the back tier and give myself a shot at a closing birdie. Playing on autopilot I hit a low iron shot that had eyes for the flag. The ball landed past the pin, leaving a quick downhill putt. The putt for a sixty-five narrowly missed and I tapped in for a six under score.
I was thrilled with the round and pleased how I was able to play the last few holes. I didn’t choke or play safe. I had chances to shoot a better score and it was fun to play great shots under pressure.
The three-round challenge was the best thing I’ve done in golf for some time and I’m glad I gave it another go. Here’s what I learned;
- I’m prone to playing too carefully when on track for a good score
- I think too much of the outcome – worried about score and the consequences of hitting a poor shot
- If I let go and not think too much I play better. At first this was uncomfortable but it became easier to do
- Good rounds become great rounds and the possibility for remarkable play is increased
- Much more fun
- Golf is such a silly game and we ALL worry too much
- The difference from average golf to great golf is a fine line. The difference is in attitude rather than skill level
Despite having a good understanding of the learning process and automatic golf I still have plenty to learn. Playing without fear and approaching each shot automatically is easy to talk about but not easy to do. It takes a level of courage and discipline that can’t be bought or borrowed – and one reason why technology will never be the determining factor in golf.
If you want to have a breakthrough in your golf game then I strongly urge you to take the three-round challenge. It is a small commitment but can completely revolutionise your golf game and open your eyes to what’s possible. If you have given it a go I would love to hear about it.
Good golfing,
Cameron
P.S. I managed to win the Winter Trophy which was a nice bonus 
