The first retreat of 2023 is in the books and it was a very rewarding weekend for myself as a coach and everyone in attendance.

The focus for the event was for the players to discover how much their conscious mind is sitting in the driver seat.  Then how often is the subconscious mind in control?

Things observed included looking at shots optimistically or with pessimism?  Letting go of the shot just played.  Using different types of visualizations; including seeing the line of a putt or even visualizing the ball flight of the ball with the backdrop of the mountains to help you.

Among the main focus points if not the really main goal for myself was to relay to each player that their best golf comes from the subconscious mind.  Here is where you play your best golf.  Instinct, visualization, being in the moment with clear intention for the shot at hand is needed.  Conscious thoughts such as a swing mechanic or trying to do something with your mind to your body during a shot is a recipe for disaster.

We played both courses there and I think everyone agreed the Celebrity course is the more enjoyable one to play.  It is more scenic and more rewarding and not over powering with distance or major pitfalls.

Our second day was just designed to create one area that each player could mentally improve on from previous day.  Each player had different options to pick from and they chose which one to tackle.  I see that as a simple way to keep you engaged with your mind and not make it overwhelming to the mind also.

I have included some pictures below from the retreat.  With discussion of players after the round on Sunday I have a clear picture of how to add to the experience to enrich it to a higher level.  I will be working on that task I can assure you ASAP.

Thank you to everyone who attended!  I am looking forward to the next one and ways to create these experiences with small groups like this or individually if desired from someone.

I will follow up with a concluding blog for our overall group this coming week.

We are in full winter mode and here in California with the rain occurring most golfers I see are not working on their game as much as those in other parts of the country.  How is that possible?  Well here it is raining a lot and rain tends to persuade golfers to wait until another sunny day to work on their game.

With indoor training areas like GOLFTEC or indoor simulators I scratch my head at how this is possible?  But facts are facts and I do not seeing players working on the skill of the swing.  Call it technique or mechanic, basically it is being ignored for now.

So I wanted to give you some information on how a player plays their best golf.
With a good skill set created in a swing motion golfers can rely on one area of the mind or the other for the BEST results on the golf course.  The two minds you are drawing from are either the conscious mind or the subconscious mind.  Ask yourself now; which of these two is best for optimum playing and performance?

Ok, what is your answer?

When you have been working on your pre-shot routine and visualization what area of the mind are you tapping into?  Conscious or Subconscious?  Do tour players play with mechanics in mind or with trust and feel and belief?

In the off season when it rains it is the best time to work consciously and improving your swing technique and skill set in your golf motion.  Improve your skill set and work on bits of your swing to give you the potential to play better golf.

The better swing motion would allow you to play better golf you would think right?  You are trying to create the swing into a repetitive motion that you can rely on under pressure when you play.  This is done consciously at first, just like learning to parallel park or drive a stick shift car at first.  Takes repetition of the skill to get good at it.  I was walking to the gym this morning watching a lady try to parallel park her brand new Range Rover here in Hillcrest.  Ouch, she needs work on her technique.  I can parallel park in 3 steps since I had to learn it in Chicago.  Do it quick or someone is gonna be honking at you.  My subconscious knows the motion, moves and angles to take.  I do not think about it, I just do it!

In the golf swing you are trying to learn how to step up to the shot and Just Do It!  Nike Golf had it right!  The question begs to be asked; "are you good at subconscious play with your golf game"?  Can you Just Do It? So I have come up with a exercise to check that out.

The above picture shows me hitting a shot to a 154 yard pin that is uphill 10feet 2 inches.  My typical 7 iron carries 158 yards so this is the club I have selected.  The hole is the 17th hole at Willow Crest Golf Resort in Oakbrook, IL.  I used to play the course a lot when I was living in Chicago.

As you know if you hit ball after ball to a target you can get bored with the task and you can also lose yourself in swing thoughts.  Remember swing mechanics and techniques are skills you are trying to reach to take to the course.  You are trying to consciously make the new swing motion a habit that is repeatable.  Once the skill is fully downloaded into the mind it becomes a habit where you are playing on automatic pilot.  This is the Subconscious mind doing its job.  Just Do It!

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Above is crude picture of the exercise I am encouraging you to take on.  You can see the distance of the shot, 154 yards and the 10 ft incline to the shot on the board and there are two columns.  This exercise is hitting just 4 shots at a time to the target on the picture on the course.

First Column
The column on the left is the 1st round of shots I took.  The first shot I hit 4'7" from the pin.  The second is 39' from the pin.  The third is 34'7" and the last 54' from the pin.  Ugh, very disappointed was coach Al!  Total distance from the pin for all 4 shots is 132'4".   Needless to say not impressive by any means.

But this is an exercise about the Subconscious mind.  Thus in each shot I went through my pre-shot routine and visualized the shot.  A subconscious exercise like this is designed to unveil to you just how much habit you have built into your golf swing?  No swing thoughts... Just Do It.

Second Column
The second column was the next set of shots taken.  Same routine, visuals etc.  I did not 'fix' my swing in those shots .  I focused my mind to the outcome.   I had to focus better and improve from my first round.  The goal was to do sets of 4 and improve each set .  You can see the tour average on the board for reference of the 4 shots.

What did I discover?
Well that was simple.  My mind was focused the first shot in both sets and the second set I was focused more as you can see.  Certainly at the 3rd shot I wandered off like a stray cat with my mind in each set.  In the second set I focused more on my 4th shot to hit it closer to the pin.

My conscious mind wanted to creep in during the first set when it missed the green left.  But I knew better than to let that happen.  I had to focus better with intention, purpose , visualization.

I think this project is great for you to take on.  You can do it on a range to a green or target you can easily see how far you are hitting it form the target.  Both the Del Mar range and Stadium ranges have Foresight shot monitors that you can see distances from.  Or you can do it at GOLFTEC, or on a normal range just seeing the distance difference.

The point here is are you a Nike type mindset or a mechanical mindset when you play?  Do you Just Do It?  

I doubt any of you have tried something like this in this form?  Perhaps a variation of it?  This is a great exercise to take on at any time in the year.  The best playing mindset is needed all the time on the course.  The project is a good one to take on.

Remember the swing skill or mechanic is worked on and refined always in golf.  Do not ignore it since it is raining for several weeks with this Pineapple express series of storms coming in from Hawaii the next 3-5 weeks.

Set out to discover is your subconscious mind doing a good job like it does when you change lanes on the highway and not thinking about where your left had is touching the turn signal to tell others you are changing lanes.  Is your subconscious mind doing an adequate job when you play?

This project will give you direct immediate feedback!  Notice what you are thinking over each of the 4 shots and what is in your mind during the shots?
Can you improve from one set to the next? Is your shot making a habit or not.

For those of you heading to Palm Springs at the end of the month this project should jump to the top of the page for you!

Golf is a mental game and you are in a mental performance program.  Is your subconscious mind creating the habit pattern you want for good golf?
Can you Just Do It?  

I await your answers!

A few players have asked me what their goals should be for this coming year?  Goals are a tricky thing since like New Year resolutions people tend to be shy as to how much of a goal they set for themselves for fear of failure.


No matter what your goal might be, you will still need the skill-set to accomplish the goals you are setting out to achieve.  Keep that in mind as you set out to conquer the new year.


One of the things you have created in the last 5 months is better visualization than say you had back in July.  If you think about it, using visualization for any part of the game is relying on you being optimistic about the outcome.  When you visualize efficiently; your subconscious mind is in the driver seat and you are relying on your skill-set you have  in place to hit the shot you want.


If you visualize a drive falling into the fairway (whether it fades in or draws in) then you do not have fear in your shot.  As you know fear is a negative feeling and basically a pessimistic approach to the shot you face.   Thus the shots you have with visualization is you being Optimistic about the shot you face.


This all sounds so simple, but if you reflect on shots that you had in your last round of golf  how many times were you pessimistic about the outcome you might see?  Visualization leads your subconscious mind to automatic motions and those are better created when optimism is in your mind.


So many players want to hit the driver farther and straighter that it can hinder their performance if they do not see what they  desire.  If you drive the ball to the right rough several times in a round you will probably tend see less and less optimism in your next shots you face.  Are you pessimistic in your round too much rather than optimistic?


Hmm, that is a tricky one.  On one hand you have been working on visualization for your rounds of golf and you are seeing better results.   But I doubt you may have thought of the visualization of shots being optimistic?  The point here is that it is easy to slide into negative thoughts...pessimistic thoughts in a round of golf.


I challenge all of you to review your rounds this month and after the round examine how you react to situations you face.  Optimistic or Pessimistic?  
The new you that you are forming now for this new year with your mind needs a strong mindset and you have to monitor it constantly.  


An optimistic approach to every shot you have is needed.  There is no place for fear and pessimism when you play golf.  Reflect on this after your rounds this month.  Journal what you see and experience.  

I encourage you to start the year off in easy progressions you can follow and assess how you are doing?  Noting if you are optimistic or pessimistic is not a taunting task.  It just is a task that needs to get you back in the habit of using your journal.

The holidays are over and it is time to get back to work.  Keep it simple for now and observe what you are telling yourself.  Is it the old you that keeps stepping up in your face?  Is it the new you that you had been working on?

Not to hard of an assignment, just takes tenacity to get back in the swing of things after the holidays!