The courses opened, but my old faults are still there

Finally courses here in California are opened again! My students are writing and texting me saying they are happy to be back on the links but seeing mixed results as they return to the links.

Those mixed results are basically across the board from fellow pros I play with (though the more reps they get in the faster they improve) to an average 5-25 handicap.  So if you are finding mixed results, you are not alone.  So lighten up and let's not get too down on ourselves, ok?

With that being said, there are the basic checkpoints to look at.  

• Have you had a chance to practice yet?
• Did you practice efficiently  ?
• How focused were you when you played?  If you were half focused you will see half results.
• Do you use a good pre-shot routine for every shot you attempt?
• Do you visualize and believe you will make those 6 foot and in putts?
• Do old past failures of past shots still haunt you in some way on the course?

That last item; 'past failures that haunt you' is a really big one.  As a mental coach at this time of the year normally I am working on these mental areas of players games by May.  However the Covid-19 shutdown of society has put this topic on hold.  But if you played recently you know those old ghosts are still there.

Frankly I am amazed by how many golfers easily skirt by and around this topic.  They assume that past issues, results or traumas you faced before in golf really have no bearing on you today.  Or if so, they have little affect on you.  They have a huge amount of affect on you, more than you know.

As I coach Alchemy of Golf to players on an individual level what I first move these players into understanding of 'self realization'.  This simply is the player understanding how and why they think and react to certain areas.  I then go through a detailed process to break down old habits of belief and thought that clog your mind.  Your subconscious mind runs on habitual programs of reaction then action. Beliefs and emotions feed off each other and golfers spiral into the same action/reaction most of the time.

I provide assignments and exercises at home and on the range/course to assist them to see their past tendencies and then we create a new action plan to overcome past habits.

Any external manifestation of reality has an internal origin, meaning that an idea or life process does not occur without an inner creative force molding and shaping it into its intended external outcome.  

Thus as you are playing now and seeing past events or old shot patterns show up again this season...those external manifestations have an internal origin.  If they keep showing up in your physical reality (no matter how much you practice or how many lessons you take) then your inner creative force is not molding and shaping things to the best that you can.

How we respond to our external environment is a choice of balance between the inner and the outer world, between cause and effect.  As you are returning to the course and you see an external environment you do not wish to continue to, then we have some work to do.

Digging deep to find the cause of these past mental thoughts and habits is challenging.  It is not easy for anyone to look within themselves to see how past programs of thought effect you today.  Those programs were nurtured at a very young age and are hard to break unless you know how to find them, break them down and dissolve them.  Then you can create new more powerful one.

If you are interested in that, write me back here and let me know and I can work with you on that.

Be easy on yourself when you return to the course but be vigilant to see and sense when old habits of fear of an outcome or shot shape you do not wish to appear occur.  When they appeared, what were you thinking?
What was your intention?  Did you have any intention for a shot at hand?

The outer reality you see is a reflection of the inner world you sense and feel and envision.  Tour players do not Visualize a shot for no reason at all you know.  Jack Nicklaus always stated "I never hit a putt I did not think and SEE going into the hole".

Golfers are funny, they think it is all swing mechanics, but there are more spokes on the wheel that turns to make the wheel move.  You are the hub, but the spokes to your golf wheel are many.  Be open to this idea, because if you want change this year....you will have to change mentally also.