It was a nice get away over the weekend. Though on the surface things do not always seem as they appear? My get away was precluded by some mental work for the last 2 weeks.
My focus has been on the topic of Polarity. Everything has the opposites; there are two sides to everything. Heat and cold are identical in nature the differences being merely a matter of degrees. My tee shot went right in the rough near a tree, though I wanted to manifest it in the fairway. Basically your world is the 'perspective' of how you see it. My opponent hits a drive of 300 yards and I hit mine 260 yards. Both have distance but as we know, golfers would tend to see the shorter drive as not having the advantage of the longer one. Which brings me to my hole in one that occurred on Sunday. Prior to the hole-in-one many things occurred at Cimarron Golf Resort and most of the items before I played would have normally set me off and ticked me off. I will start by describing my range warm up. The range at Cimarron I like because it is very large and has grass. I arrived 1.5 hours before my tee time to basically practice on grass finally and not some mat like we have in San Diego. My practice routine started well, it was not too crowded and I had my station to hit from. Each station is separated by bag stands. As a lefty I usually look for one where the grass on the right is gone and the left grass still there for the lefties like me. So I found my station. The range got very busy around 11 am as the players arriving late to their tee time try to force a warm up in as they arrive rushed and late of course. At this point I am half way through my 80 balls and just starting to hit a driver. Every station now is taken and out of no where a man steps into my station (designed for ONE player) and starts to swing and hit shots. He basically shoved himself in, and began hitting as many shots as fast as humanly possible. Whack, whack, whack....right next to me! To say I was upset would be an understatement! But having worked on my Polarity topic for 2 weeks I did not let this situation bother me as much as I might have. Now I had to take deep breathes to not yell at this guy. But it was so funny watching him just whack, and whack and whack. Within 5 minutes his friend comes in and says we are on the tee. Saved by the bell, good! Cimarron is usually not a good place to tee off after 11am, they have a propensity to get behind on the starting time. They run out of carts too. So I finished my warm up and went to the first tee to check in and try to get a cart. I give the starter my receipt and he says a cart MIGHT be available. This is 20 min before my tee time. The line to tee off looks long. I go down to the cart area, give them my name and the guy says ok, Ill give you the NEXT cart. Then Polarity hits again.... a 4 some drives up, drops their bags off and tell the guy they have a 12:20 tee time. Well there is not 12:20 tee time since mine was 12:16. They insist they are right, they go to the golf shop. The shop radios the cart guy and says give them a cart. He obeys and gives them 2 carts, where was mine....of course they are more important than me. I am almost fuming at this point. So I walk back to the starter and he asks me my name and time. Of course he just saw me 15 min before. He says I do not have a tee time....WHAT? So I have to pull my receipt out and show him...he looks overwhelmed and says he will TRY to get me out in the next HOUR! Remember Al......POLARITY!!! Yes every situation has two points to it. I have a tee time and it is moving like barometric pressure before a storm. I had a hitting station by myself on the range alone, and then I did not. Ebb and flow as I await the tee time. Finally another starter shows up, and I explain to him my situation and he sees I am not happy. Ok, he will fix the situation. Indeed he did fix the situation, moved things around and got me back to my original group that I was paired with. That foursome who was let on in front of me was 2 groups ahead of me. Of course they played slow on the course. The players in my group comment how slow things are. I am just thinking to myself , hey I am on the course, Polarity occurred and I am on the course. It is not raining, it is now 75 degrees and sunny. Ok this is a good day. I bogeyed the first two holes due to misclubbing two approach shots. So all was good and I then birdied holes 3 and 4 so was back to even. I under read 2 birdie putts and was still fine with things on holes 6 and 7. By the time I got to the 9th tee I discovered I really was not totally visualizing the shots like I should so I stood at the tee and decided the club to hit with the 147 yards shot being into the wind. I decide to shape a low 8 iron to the hole and then told myself "commit and visualize". As I stood over the shot I could see the draw of the shot and I had a premonition of a really tight shot to the pin. Just before I hit the shot I thought, this could go in. The ball takes off and I think....shit its gonna go in. Sure enough it goes in on the fly! I did not over react since I basically had a feeling it would go in for some reason. The players I was with were screaming and I just gave a fist bump to them and thought, wow this Polarity stuff really works! I got in my cart and thought of making the video of the shot so that is when I started the video as I arrived to the green which I shared on social media and our PDP app page. I will add that word spread like wild fire to the groups behind me and ahead of me. Everyone wanted me to buy their drinks...lol. Ok so the beverage cart tab was high, but the Polarity of the day was interesting to live through. So the month of April we will be working on Polarity and the law of Rhythm. Ill cover that on podcasts starting Monday and some written work for you also. I could have reacted on the range differently with rage, I could have reacted to the starter and cart attendant differently with being the victim. I could have reacted to the slow play by the 4 some that got on with no tee time; but I did not. I saw each situation as a separate situation and what are the poles of the situation that I am seeing. Late tee time or on time? Slow pace of play or I am playing golf? I can assure you if I had reacted in different ways and not observed the situation as I did then I would not have had that hole in one. My energy would have been negative, my emotions all shot, my conscious mind in control and my subconscious mind shut off. However I was still calm, could visualize and could access my subconscious mind. Because I could access the subconscious mind I created the hole in one! I will add that trying to finish the back nine was hard since I was drinking IPA's in celebration. Had to Uber to my hotel....lol. But it was a great day and I made sure I saw it that way the entire day even with how it started with that guy in my station on the range. The situation you see has opposite sides to it, in the fairway or rough. On the green or in the bunker. 40 foot putt short of the cup or a tap in. This is Polarity. You face it every day in golf. You may not master it, but you must understand it and realize how you react to all situations you face in golf.
0 Comments
Here we are 3 weeks into the Level 2 program and the weather is really testing our resolve. It is challenging for everyone to find the stars to align to find good weather and your calendar be free to play or practice.
My latest three podcasts have been focused on how the subconscious really is the gate-keeper to you playing your best golf. The latest link for the podcast can be found on the PDP App channel that I posted there today. Since the weather is not cooperating with practice time or play it is even MORE important to work on our game mentally and get a leg up on your competition. If you have been listening to the latest podcasts I am encouraging you to get into the habit of Mental Rehearsal for play; beyond the pre-shot routine. The reason I am dripping these tidbits to you is to help you shape your Self Image of who you are as a golfer to a better version of you. Your mental Self Image you have of yourself when in meditation or day dreaming or just mentally rehearsing playing the course or mentally rehearsing your practice session is literally changing your subconscious mind to create a new Self Image of yourself. You probably are not really aware of this but it is happening. In today's podcast I mentioned your subconscious mind is most affected by the most recent thoughts and emotions. Thoughts and emotions are what drive the subconscious mind. What the conscious mind feeds it, the subconscious will really not dispute it. Thus the Self Image you are working on now with all this rain is literally like hitting buckets of balls or playing 9 holes or 18. By taking the time to mentally rehearse your shots you will face at your favorite course the next time you play it you basically are playing the course at your home while it is raining outside. In today's podcast I mentioned to be very specific about your mental rehearsal. Imagine not only the shot from each tee box or fairway or the putt you face and also bring into your imagination the sounds, smells and feels of the course. It is slightly like self hypnosis; which is programming the subconscious mind also. These Mental Rehearsals are creating the NEW YOU! These rehearsals are creating the Self Image you are giving to your subconscious. With the rain coming these next 2-3 days I would really encourage you to get more into Mental Rehearsal. These rehearsals could be you on a range, on your favorite course. The rehearsal does not give you a Get Out of Jail card from Monopoly so you do not have to work at the skill of your craft as a golfer. The physical skill is always needed to be honed and monitored and improved. That is being a human, living in the physical reality. But as you know from Dr. Joe Dispenzas books your mind is really a big part in shaping the reality you see every day of your life. So this Self Image is really important to first understand and embrace. Then create the better image of your performance step by step. Mental rehearsal should involve adverse conditions because we all know we are going to face adverse situations. The real test mentally for most golfers is how are you going to react to those adverse situations. In Level one you worked at optimism and not pessimism, opportunity with a challenge verses you are in the trees and your hole is over. Now here in Level 2 you can see more and more how the subconscious mind can be programmed intentionally in your favor! The Self Image you had before of the victim of a bad shot or the victim of a double bogey in the middle of 2 par holes was very detrimental to your advancing to reaching the higher level of the shelf in front of you that you face. If there are 10 shelves in front of you and you are on shelf 4 and want to be shelf 5 or 6 then what would that Self Image be doing on the course? What kind of shots would you make? Where would your tee shots be landing? How many one putts would that player on shelf 6 have or how many up and down saves from off the green? The ball is your court, what are you going to do about it? Who is the new improved version of you? What Self Image are you projecting? As I mentioned in today's podcast your subconscious mind is most effected by your latest thoughts and emotions. The past situations you had are still there but you can override those with mental rehearsal and a better Self Image. It takes time and effort to do it so just take it step by step. Here is where you journal things and this journal is also setting the subconscious to see the new image of you. It helps to read back in your journal to see the old you and then see the new you. When you see the newer version of you in the journal you are validating your work and also making it easier to see yourself get to higher shelves on the wall in front of you. The new better image of you is creating better shots, bringing you better feelings, better emotions. If you wait for the rain to leave you are wasting time that you could have improved your game just through these mental suggestions I am unfolding to you. The time taken to work at it does not have to be a lot, so take what time you can with it. Make it real and feel and sense you are on the range or the course. Build the new you image by image. Your golf game is like watching a movie of yourself playing. Why not write the script of the movie in YOUR favor with your new Self Image? Welcome to Level 2 of the Player Development Program. In level 2 a very major focus is on understanding how the Subconscious mind is working in your golf game.
When we came to the conclusion of Level one I had started to introduce ideas of your mental mindsets, visualizations, how much dedication you put towards your golf game? One of the last items mentioned was the idea of being optimistic when you are playing or practicing. As you probably would think, exceptional golfers have raised their minds to generally be optimistic. In today's world we still see 'participation trophies' given out. Many of the coaches I am around often chuckle about how the world passes out these participation ribbons or trophies. As a golfer you know that the idea of getting a participation trophy would mean very little. Golf is hard, takes the skill of many techniques to create various shots. The participation trophy is supposed to help someone feel optimistic perhaps? In golf you really cannot move forward to play better without working at the technique of shots needed. Simply put you have to put your mind to improving your swing, special shots ( chip, pitch, punch shot) and putting. With good practice principles and hard work at those you could be your best. That would be the feeling of optimism. Tour players perhaps used to think shooting very low 60's or even 59 or 58 would almost be impossible. Today however you see low 60 scores and if someone shoots 59 you are not in shock. It is becoming very slowly the norm to see. Players like Tiger Woods have set the stage for today's tour players to be fit, work at their game very hard and they literally are trying to be like Tiger. They are choosing to be like Tiger. Today you see players like Max Homa, John Rahm, Colin Morikawa emulate the work ethic of Tiger. It surely is the norm in golf. In the opposite direction would be players I see come in for a Swing Evaluation. They state they are inconsistent and want to be better. I ask them their average score, most are in the 90's and I ask what do you want to shoot? Many of them just state I want to break 90. Really, that is all you want? That new reality they want to see is pretty pessimistic. Pessimism has infected many people today and it really shows up in golf. The average golfer probably does not feel it is pessimistic to just try to break 90. They probably do not realize that they are choosing a very limited outcome. As you can see, golfers are choosing things all the time. In Level one you worked at creating a pre-shot routine. You chose the club, the target and created a routine to help you automatically do this for every shot you attempt. That automatic routine was building the subconscious mind to be involved in each shot. Everyone in golf generally has the conscious mind involved too much when they play as they select the mechanical thoughts of the swing, technique etc. Again here the golfer is choosing to do something. From your experience of creating your pre-shot routine you can easily see that each routine is genuinely creating an act of faith in the shot you are about to create. Optimism is an act of faith! It is a belief in something that cannot be proven. Anyone can have this faith and optimism. Elite players find ways to be optimistic when they play golf. Regardless of the circumstances that face elite players; poor tee shot, buried lie in a bunker or a unexpected 3 putt elite players are still very optimistic of what they can still do in a round or with their next shot they face. They CHOOSE to be hopeful, they find reasons to keep believing in themselves and to keep working hard. Optimism is a feeling they are creating for themselves. As a golf coach I am always encouraging golfers to work at their skill to improve their swing, their body and their mind. There comes a time when you have to go play and you are where you are in your game. Your skills have brought you to your current level of potential for the most part. However if you are out playing golf and you hit a few bad shots you will reflect and probably see you begin to feel fear, concern, and doubt about your golf game. Those thoughts would be pessimistic thoughts, not optimistic. Pessimism tends to engage the conscious mind and if that is starting to occur, that is a recipe for disaster in golf. In life you are basically taught that when facing difficult situations it is best to think things out calmly and rationally. The conscious mind is good for these situations. But in golf the conscious mind is not good for simple things like putting. The conscious mind engages, you think of the stroke, lose site of the visualization you have worked on and the ball lips out or misses the cup all together. When you are playing your best golf the subconscious mind is at the helm of your mind in control. When you are engaged with the subconscious mind you are certainly optimistic and you are feeling empowered. The pre-shot routine you have developed opened doorways and portals in your mind to access the subconscious mind. Visualization in golf is using your subconscious mind. Those purposeful intense images in your mind are free feeling, optimistic and purposeful. As you can see you have been making choices all along in Level One. You have worked diligently at engaging the subconscious mind where your most creative power sits. You may not have thought that you were choosing to engage your subconscious mind, but you were. You have worked hard at making the right choices. Here in Level 2 the use of the subconscious mind is being further examined and of course encouraged. However as you can see if you become pessimistic with fear, anxiety and doubt you are opening the door to the conscious mind. Thus when your conscious mind gets too involved it will sabotage the work you are doing towards visualization, pre-shot routines and of course reduce optimism. The point of this opening blog is simply to empower you further to see that your reactions have consequences. The reactions are choices, although that sounds unfair at this point. So getting a grip on the idea of 'choose wisely' will take some time. It will not happen overnight. With this in mind the task for 2 weeks will be to observe what choices you are making in practice or play? To take it further, as you reflect on a round you just played at home or in your car when you observe your assessment of situations you reacted to, notice if your reflections show if you are pessimistic or optimistic? Reflecting on the what you are choosing is the task for now. Go easy on yourself and observe what you choose. Soon you will see that you can always 'choose again' and again and again. Make better choices that are wise as you react to situations. Remember, Optimism and optimistic thoughts engage the Subconscious mind. Good golf comes from the subconscious mind. When you react to situations with fear, doubt hopelessness you bring in the conscious mind. So stay hopeful, choose to be optimistic because that is where the subconscious is engaged. The best golf for any golfer is in the subconscious mind!!! |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
October 2023
Categories |