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Using your Head for Golf
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Does Golf keep you Slim?

What does that mean to me? Pure and simple, I have to approach the golf course much differently than they do if I want to score. If I try to play their game I am only going to frustrate myself and end up taking a few more strokes than I should. And that could be on each hole.

Some exclusive golf courses or resort courses provide little booklets that describe each hole and show the placement of the bunkers and such. But in every case that I have seen they only point out things to give you an idea of distance. Now don't get me wrong, that is helpful. But it is the subtleties of the course in relationship to what I have to deal with based on my distance and abilities that is going to make a difference to my score. That is where "Managing the Course" comes into play.

Visit www.managing thecourse.com and all will be explained!

Our thought processes have a corresponding muscular impulse without you even realising it. In technical terms this is called an Ideomotor Action. This can be both positive and detrimental to us. If you think negative thoughts, or are very stressed, then you will receive corresponding muscular tension, some of which you may not even be aware of. As you are reading this very sentence, are you aware that your shoulders are too tense? Drop them a bit and relax. That's it. Feel better already?

The ideomotor effect in its scientific terminology refers to involuntary and unconscious motor behaviour. The term "ideomotor Action" was coined by William Carpenter in 1882. Carpenter argued that muscular movement can be initiated by the mind independently of volition or emotions. We may not be aware of it, but suggestions can also be made to the mind by others or by observations. Those suggestions can influence the mind and affect motor behaviour.

In 1890, William James, a well known physician and philosopher of his day, wrote...

"…every mental representation of a movement awakes to some degree the actual movement. Whenever a movement unhesitatingly and immediately follows upon the idea of it, we have ideomotor action."

A huge amount of research into Ideomotor activity has demonstrated the consistency of its presence. So what does this mean to a golfer? Well, if turbulent or stressful thought can produce involuntary muscular tension, this can obviously inhibit your swing, your focus and your playing. Can you play golf [well] whilst angry? Stressed? Unwell? No. Your muscles will respond to what is going on in your head. Those playing golf that can relax mentally as well as physically will fare much better.

If you involve your mind too much, your muscles cannot completely relax. In a positive way, clear and relaxed thinking can induce great results. You may have heard of what champion athletes call the "zone". This is where involuntary activity has taken over, and they no longer need to 'think' about what they are doing. They have trained correctly for so often that they can do their activity without conscious thought.

In one study in America, groups of people were put through a basketball test. For three weeks, one group practised shooting hoops, and the other group visualised scoring in the basket, but did not pick up a ball. The third group were the control group. On test day, those who had actually physically prepared as opposed to visually prepared only did marginally better, the difference was very little...

However at this point be aware that just sitting on the sofa and thinking about Golf instead of actually playing and practicing is not enough. By its very nature, being successful in any sport requires physical hard work and dedication. You don't get good at anything without practice. But visualisation and relaxation exercise are a great tool when you are preparing for competition, not playing, or are injured or unwell. So how can we use this 'Ideomotor Action' to help? You can think about your golf game whilst you are not playing to improve your next performance. These are just some of the tools:

 - Goal Setting
 - Positive Thoughts
 - Positive affirmations
 - Positive Self Talk
 - Visualisation

Visualisation Exercise:

Keep practising this exercise using your own images and practising what you need to practise…putting, driving etc.

Remember, the more detailed your make your imagery, the better it will be. But visualise the CORRECT movement, otherwise you will be ingraining bad habits. See the movement in your mind, feel what it felt like when you did the correct movement. It's a great learning tool and can certainly help you improve. You really can think yourself better!!

About the Author:
Richard Parsons D.Hyp MIAH is a qualified Hypnotherapist practising in Cheltenham at the Cheltenham Holistic Health Centre. He specialises in enhanced sports performance using hypnosis as a tool combined with positive suggestion, relaxation and visualisation. The Enhanced Sports through Hypnosis package is tailored to each individual and includes a 'Mental Training' pack for use at home. Hypnotherapy is also beneficial for stress, smoking cessation, phobias and anxiety.

Her 20 years experience in post secondary education, human resources, sales and consulting, plus undergraduate degree in business, graduate degrees in counselling psychology and certification in GolfPsych ® give her the saavy to use golf to help you identify and address the challenges facing you in today's workplace.