My Player Development Program certainly has various layers to it wouldn't you say? These layers you have tried to peel through for almost 5 months now. Whew time flies when you are having fun!
I finished another on course PDP lesson this afternoon and I continue to be impressed by how the program players embrace the new ideas I suggest to them! In the last two on-course lessons over the last 8 days both players are utilizing the meditation sheet and are listening to the podcast. Both have come up with several ways to create the meditation sheet with different topics. To expand on this concept, the players have created different sheets for different topics they could meditate on. One sheet with the letter at the top could have B on it to create more birdies. Another sheet could have a C for more consistency in their play. Is it bad to have several sheets to meditate on? No, I have done this before. I have found that one concept or letter on the sheet and its supporting concepts and emotions may resonate with me more than the other. So I have gravitated to one more than the other...I think that is fine. If you have read Dr. Joe Dispenzas' book then you would have run across the chapter called "Walking Meditation". Here he suggests you can calm your mind before your walk and ground yourself with breath work and simply go for a walk. If you recall I had a picture from the beach over a month ago that I posted here? The beach meditation I have done many many times. You cannot get it wrong The simple fact that you have a concept and you are putting thoughts and positive emotions toward it. Those two parts are attracting the outcome to you. The quieter your mind with no interference of phone, work thoughts etc allows you to open your desires so they can come to you. The more you do the meditation at home the easier it is to get the the quantum field or void as I describe it. Finding the quietness is the key and with an empty mind you can then slip in your desires such as you have created on the sheet. As I have discovered there are levels of players mentality that come in to play when applying the concepts and principles of the program. Everyone is different of course and you all see things from your perspective, naturally. My job is to open new perspectives and concepts with you. Some will resonate, some will not. Some are easier to grasp and some are more challenging. Hey, without a challenge or the need to expand your mind you will get the same ole same ole! So on the eve of the holidays this next week I just wanted to give you all a thumbs up for taking on the challenge over the last 5 months. There are many layers to the onion and as you probably know, when you peel one off another one awaits you. Think of how many layers you have peeled off so far! On a personal level yourself you would know if you have peeled as many as you could have to this point or not. I will leave that assessment up to you. Work, travel and family at this time of the year makes it more challenging and of course that is fine! The onion is being peeled and you are doing a great job so far. With the warm weather this weekend perhaps try to go for a beach walk and try the meditation walking? It could be on a trail in the hills like where I will be this weekend in Palm Springs. I will add a small tidbit that happened to me in a lesson today. One of my better players came in today (2 handicap) and he brought his 6 year old and 8 year old sons in for a holiday lesson. They play a lot of golf at Colina Park GC which is a First Tee Course here in San Diego. Holes are 60-100 yards. Both players said their favorite player is Tiger Woods so I put some swings up on the video so they could see how they swing compared to Tiger. Kids have the most formidable years between 2-7 where what they hear, see and feel sits with them the rest of their lives. Kids are visual learners and literally it is "monkey see monkey do'! To further elaborate on this idea, their father ( the two handicap) has a VERY unique backswing and a 'drop the club in the slot' downswing move. Monkey see monkey do, the 6 year old takes the club back exactly like his father, The slot move is very close. The 8 year old is the EXACT REPLICA of his father from backswing to delivery to the ball! It was unreal to watch! So fun to see their swings. I was laughing so hard seeing these unreal moves the kids make. The father is a great short game player and both boys can hit really cool cuts and hoods with wedge, 9 iron or driver. You think seeing a golfers swing and putting it into your mind in meditation would not work? The juniors live by imagining and adults have lost that simple art. However your meditation or walking meditation or any visuals you can have and feel that swing and imagine it can only help you! Try to be a kid as you peel away the layers of the onion. Have fun with the challenging process. You are all doing a great job so congrats to you. Have a great holiday weekend and happy new year!
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Tiger and Charlie are the hot topic this weekend in golf. Everyone is curious how they will do? Charlie hurt his left ankle on the range before the Pro-Am for the PNC Championship today. Hopefully both players will be able to play to their full potential over the weekend. Just yesterday I posted the 'Putt to the Picture' Instagram video. Today while waiting for a player to arrive for a Player Development Program round I started to apply what we saw in the video. Was it as simple as putt to the picture. Well....kinda. I found the concept easy but I also found that basic sound fundamentals cannot be ignored. You can't just wish it into the hole as my student today mentioned. Exactly, there are some technical or mechanics of the putt that you the putter are responsible for. You will need to open each picture or click on it to understand the flow of this blog. The picture on the left is the full putt. 16 ft with a slight break of left to right. I placed a ball mark where I had to putt each ball from, the exact spot. Since I am left handed the ball is to the right of the mark as you look at it. The middle picture in the middle highlights the 'gate the ball has to putt through in order for it to technically have a chance to go in. As you know a breaking putt takes off straight until it hits the apex and then takes the slope to the hole. The third picture is a visual reference for you to see how the putt will have to come into the putt. You could say it is slightly outside the left edge, or if the cup was a clock and the bottom of the clock is 6 o'clock and the top is 12 o'clock then the ball must enter into the cup at approximately 7 o'clock. The mechanic of the puttA good golfer must be able to putt the ball on the intended starting line. This would be me having you putt down a sword or long hardstick back in the training center. The arc of the putter has to be consistent enough with where the face is pointing at impact in order for the putt to get through the gate (2 tees). Elementary concept BUT you must have a good repeating putting stroke to get the ball thru the gate. AKA, can not just wish it through. So like all things in golf, you must have sound basics in the swing to play good consistent golf. Remember putting is basically 40% of golf though most golfers hate hearing that because their tee shots are off line or too short. But I am getting off topic. The pictureOriginally when I was doing this putt to the picture idea I was simply visualizing the putt falling in from either right or left depending on the break of the putt. However with very subtle breaks on the Balboa Park putting green on the north side of the practice green that simple idea needed a boost of support to relay th message to you. That is why I then added the gate to stroke the putt through. I will admit I made that gate large so as not to freak me out. Once I got the hang of the gate I had to literally visualize the ball falling into the cup ( the 3rd picture). I attempted this several times over and over and certainly discovered something that did not shock me but I bet would shock YOU! Mental intangibleSeveral things were discovered in this exercise. I have noticed these before in golf but I do not always notice it. The phrases you hear of in the zone or tuned into yourself apply here. As I was putting to the cup and 'putting to the picture' of it going in on the left edge or 7 o'clock I found several different things occur mentally. These things I noticed only because I was literally picturing the putt, so I did not have mechanical thoughts at all! This is very important because if you have a mechanical thought of the putt you are Diminishing the picture. Go back to Tiger in the video. He states that if he is nervous the picture of the putt is what gets him through the putt. He has a repeating stoke because he practices it. So what were those things I discovered?
Golf is hard but the more you are aware of yourself and your thoughts in golf the better you can become. So I have a weekend project for you since it will be sunny and warmer. the projectThe project for this weekend or next week (weather only getting warmer through next weekend) is to take on this Putt to the Picture project.
Create the gate to stroke the putt through. The putt should be no more than 20 ft. I had 16 ft after I walked it off. Your challenge it to discover what you are thinking, feeling and experiencing in this project. Putt to the Picture of course. But WHAT are you experiencing when you do this? I have made the journal of my experience so why don't you try the same thing? Journal it and see what you are experiencing. I worked at this for 45 min and it was frustrating at times. I am curious to see what your experience is so either post your results in the comments below or write me back through email. You may not wish to expose yourself to the group so that is fine. The point is ...expose yourself to you! What EXACTLY are you experiencing in the simple 'Putt to the Picture' project? I can't wait to see what you have to tell me! It is mid December, where did time go? The holiday season makes the world move faster I think. Things to do, parties to attend, where is the time for your golf game? No worries if you have less time to play or practice. The cold and rain keeps you away for some personal swing work. That leaves personal MENTAL work. Hmm, how is that going? Probably not as well as it could be due to the time of year. That does not get you off the hook....just might be a fact. 45 days ago I encouraged you to mentally start to create the new you. How has that gone? Did you take time to look over your past habits of practice and play? How did you assess that? Did you come up with the New You you want to be? The player you want be. The shot shape, the vision of your swing, your scores you want to post. Did you at least do that? At the beginning of December I introduced a meditation that basically followed up what you were to work on in November and then take those desires and apply them in time alone in meditation. I knew it would rain and get cold, so I wanted to give you additional tools to use to further boost the picture of who you want to be. The meditation I even walked you through step by step how to do it. I know some of you have done both items and are excited about the process. That process is not easy since it takes personal time where distraction of the outside world should not be around. In today's world that is not easy. But what does easy get you? Hmm....not much. I wanted to just send a mid month message to not take you eye off the ball...keep focused on the future you, the better you. Winter is the best time to work on a swing mechanic that must improve. It is good to work on the body, make it stronger, more flexible, improve range of motion. It also is at time to work the mind, use your mind to create the new you. All of those mentioned above are not easy...dedication and commitment are needed. I am just saying the obvious, right? putt to the pictureThe above picture (copied from the attached link so not looking too good) is from a little video post I found somehow on the internet. You know, coincidences just 'magically' show up, right? Ok you should have got that.
In any case the video attached HERE is a really cool since it simply shows something Tiger Woods' dad told him to do at a very young age. Priceless little gem that is so simple it defies further explanation. Putt to the picture...that is what Tiger was told to do. He basically created his own version of what his dad suggested he do. He uses it still to this day. Simple visual concepts that you by the way have been working on. I love how Tiger ends the short video stating to the crowd that he gets nervous and he knows the keeping it simple is the key. He states, "Ok common Tiger, just putt to the picture just like pops used to say". This weekend you will see Tiger and Charlie playing in the PNC Championsip in Orlando. No doubt he has passed this priceless tidbit to his son Charlie. I doubt you will here him say that to Charlie in the telecast....but rest assured he has been coached to use this. Especially when he is under pressure. Let us circle back to the concept of the picture that Tiger is speaking about. That picture is also the new you that you should be working on. What does that picture or video reel of your swing look like? What shot shape should it look like on video? What score would the TV put up on a hole if you were playing in the PNC Championsip this weekend? Takes imagination to see that. Takes the picture in your mind to have the thought to accompany it does it not? Here we are at mid December and if you are not doing your personal work with the pictures of what you want to be and see in 2023 then you are spinning your wheels. Personally I look at your November work like you are driving a car in 2nd gear, using your mind to find a new picture of what you want to create. The meditation is like getting the car to 3rd gear and hearing the engine grind faster. If you do the meditation 5-7 days a week then you are in 4th gear mentally and really move to the new you. All things in golf take time, dedication and commitment. What you put in is what you get back. I know it is December and time is tight, but it is darker, colder and wetter. Ignoring your mental work is keeping the car in park. It sits there. The car is not moving. What is your car doing?? Callaway golf had their new launch of 2023 new driver and irons today and I was at the Ely Callaway Performance center this morning in Carlsbad. Many of the staff players who were there today to get fit for their new clubs I had met and played against in August in the Callaway Golden Sombrero Open.
Some of the coaches and Callaway staff knew of the mental program I am coaching with you and they wondered how the students were doing? I stated that the players were learning the importance of pre-shot routine, visualization, belief, emotions and a strong work ethic to get better at golf. As the staff professionals were hitting the new driver, Callaway had a film crew there to create promos for the driver in one way or another. My playing partner in the August event ended up hitting his drives over 300 yards with a ball speed of topping at 167mph. I can tell you first hand that his ball speed used to be 160 at best and normally average about 155mph. I said to Will ( my player partner in the event) 'Hey you look bigger, have you been working out'? He said yes, and added that he has been working out at the gym every day for 6 weeks! I can assure you , this is not the norm for Will! This is not the Will I know. I stated you seem to be driven to be a new person this next year? He answered that yes indeed he is determined to play better, hit if further and putt better than in 2022. After the fitting we went to lunch and I saw him eat this healthy assortment of things his trainer is insisting he do. Again, I was impressed. He looked at me and with a grin asked; "Why are you so impressed? You of all people know you have to become someone else to create real change. I am already a different person than I was 8 weeks ago because I decided I am". He then in a sly way stated this is what you are teaching your mental students right? They have to become someone else if they want real change. The same ole, same ole is not gonna cut it ....right? Wow, I was impressed again with his words to me. In our back and forth conversation he conveyed that the players in the program are going to have to become someone else to be the better player they want. He asked me how everyone is doing with that concept? I stated that last month and this month they are having to dig down deep to figure that out. They are working at trying to decide what they want to be and what change they wish to create for 2023. " How is that going with them"? he asked. I answered some have it easier than others in the project since there mind has to really change gears to enable new thinking to come in. Old habits and ways of doing things are easier for some players than others to take on. Who they will become I added is up to them, and the beginning stages to that is what they are working on now. I mentioned the written work over the weekend and showed him the article about creating the intention and finding the elevated emotions to empower the creation to take hold. He agreed with the Intention and Elevated Emotion areas of the work. He stated his Elevated Emotions are what is really helping him every day as he works at his change. Will is a very good player and when he tried to make it on tour at the age of 19 he simply was not disciplined enough to get the higher levels of play. Today he said that if he had known his mindset was part of the problem then that would have helped him. He said he wished he had woke up everyday thinking he was a tour player rather than waking up every day thinking he had to go practice to be a better player but still not THINK he was a better player or tour player. As we finished our meal and I came back home and he went on to his guitar lesson he wanted me to tell you something. So here is what he wanted to pass on to you: "Playing better golf starts with your mindset. Determine first what you want to do and then go after it. Take it in stages since you can only handle so much at a time. To become the better player you are going to have to act and think that way. You will have to become a different person. You can only play better golf when you think like a better golfer". " You can not be you, you have to be the better version of you. Every practice session, gym session, or round of golf requires you to act and and be that new you. The longer you take to accept this simple concept, the longer you will take to change your golf game", I must say, I did not see my Monday ending up this way, but it was pretty cool and no coincidence that our conversation ended up they way it did. Who are you going to be in 2023? |
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