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You
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Calorie
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Happy home can be good for your golf
Getting Golfers to take Control of their Game
Using your Head for Golf
Afternoon zzzzzzzzzzzzzs
Does
Golf keep you Slim?
Five Years' Extra Life
Golf Confidence Coach
Reduce
Your Score By 5 Shots Or More without Changing Your Swing
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Gail
Smirthwaite is a leading mind expert working with the PGA and leading
PGA professionals.
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Gail tours UK Golf Clubs giving talks to Society Members on how to
become a more confident golfer. Gail gained her honours degree in
Social Studies at the University of Sussex in Brighton and the University
of California San Diego, and her full accreditation in Coaching at
Wolverhampton University.
A
chance request to coach a young professional golfer with confidence
issues propelled Gail into the world of golf seven years ago. Many
successes in coaching both professional and non-professional golfers
in lowering their handicaps and playing consistently better golf
followed. By teaching motivation skills and confidence building
Gail’s students gain greater awareness of themselves and their
abilities. This encourages them to achieve the goals and successes
they seek both on and off the golf course.
Gail
currently writes for ‘Lady Golfer and National Club Golfer’
magazines in the UK and several Golf Magazines in Europe. Gail has
appeared as an ‘expert mind coach’ on Radio Two’s
Chris Evans in 2008 on the subject of creating a winning and
positive mentality in golf.
If
you haven’t already, join her new Member Site on the Home Page
and become part of a great golf community. You will have direct
access to Gail through LIVE CHAT so you can ask her any specific
golfing questions you may have. You will also be able to access
many fantastic free resources including her 12 month golfing goal
plan.
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Gail
says:
I was recently asked if I was to choose only one of my tips to help
with the mind side of golf what would it be?
I
thought long and hard about this one - what single thought would
I recommend you take onto the golf course with you? The one that
immediately came to mind was most definitely FOCUS!
This
is also one of the most asked questions; 'how do I stay focussed?'
Fortunately although you are out for perhaps four hours to play
18 holes you do not need to stay focussed for the entire time.
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The
most important thing to remember is your actions follow what you
last visualised.
TIP:
Always visualise exactly where you want the ball to land. If you
have a visual of a hazard in your mind, even if you are telling
yourself not to go there, your mind will try and help your actions
to follow what you can see in your mind's eye. That is why it is
so important to visualise towards your goal i.e. where you want
the ball to land and not bring a visual of the hazard into play
at all.
Till
next time ...
Gail Smirthwaite
GOLF CONFIDENCE COACH
www.GolfMindGuru.com
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| How
playing golf putts you on course for five years' extra
life |
As
sports go, it is far from the most strenuous but golf appears to have
significant health benefits, including the ability to make you live
longer.A study of 300,000 golfers revealed that they were 40 per cent
less likely to die at any given age than those who did not play.
The study showed that the best players - as measured by handicap -
were the most healthy of all. Researchers pointed out that a single
round of 18 holes usually involves walking more than four miles, being
outside for four or five hours, walking at a fast pace, which is known
to be good for the health.
The finding applied across all social classes - showing that golfers'
better health cannot simply be explained by them being wealthier than
average.
The British study found that players who receive the most support
off the course perform the best on it. Loved ones
are credited with boosting self-esteem and giving encouragement and
reassurance.
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| "Reduce
Your Score By 5 Shots Or More without Changing Your Swing". |
Without any complicated, expensive or time consuming swing changes,
Dr Karl Morris, Europe's Leading Mind Coach, teaches You the
SECRET way to lower your scores using the 5 HABITS of SUCCESS.
Click here if you wish to receive FREE training
videos!! |
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| Calorie
Calculator |
Welcome
to the Healthy Weight Forum calorie calculator (taken from
www.healthyweightforum.org). Click on the link below to use the calorie
calculator to find out how many calories you burn for over 70 activities
and exercises. Ever wanted to know how many calories you burn during
a round of golf? Or during sex?!! Use the calorie calculator to calculate
the number of calories you burn!
http://www.healthyweightforum.org/eng/calorie-calculator.asp?action=submit
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| Happy
home can be good for your Golf - extract from Dail Mail 10/01/2007 |
A
happy home life can make you better at golf, sports psychologists
say.
Researchers found the emotional support a golfer receives off the
course is directly linked to the quality of his or her performance
on it.
They measured the level of support that 117 amateur male golfers received
in their personal lives against the quality of their game. Those with
more emotional back-up performed up to 24 per cent better.
"We often speak of the 'moral support' sportsmen get from their
friends and families, which helps their performances," said Dr
Tim Rees, of the School of Sports and Health Sciences at Exeter University. "Perhaps,
then, it is not surprising that golfers benefit from good social networks
off the course. What was surprising to us was the extent to which
this affected their performance."
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| Aches
and Pains? Wear a magnotherapy bracelet |
Magnotherapy
is not a new concept, in fact the beneficial properties of magnets
on health have been know for thousands of years. The
benefits of Bioflow bracelets for golfers is well documented. Well
known players have talked about the success of using magnets in relation
to neck problems, tendonitis, arthritis and general fatigue in wrists,
hands and forearms which we are all familiar with on the last few
holes of a round.
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Robin
Bailey, an independent distributor for Ecoflow plc, is willing to
put on a face-to-face demonstration of magnotherapy products. Any
Lady Captain is welcome to organise a free Pamper Evening at
which handicappers can try on a wide range of bracelets on offer. Only
Ecoflow products are backed with a 90-day money back guarantee
if you find no benefit. So you have nothing to lose. Contact
07966-256724 or email baileyrbn@aol.com
and please mention Business Ladies Golf website.
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| Getting
Golfers to take Control of Their Game |
| All
of us have different abilities. Not all of us play the same game.
We don't want to think that is true but it is. I hit a driver 200
and no matter how hard I try it isn't going any farther than that.
Some of the people I play with consistently hit it 250. Now do you
honestly think that if I am always looking at yardage that is 50+
yards further away than those I play with that we are playing the
same game? I think not. I am hitting 4 metals or long irons most of
the time when they are hitting 7, 8, 9 irons or a wedge. |
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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!
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Using
your Head for Golf
By Richard Parsons D.Hyp MIAH
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| Mind
training and Visualisation has become increasingly important in the
world of elite sports as people realise that physical training is
not enough on its own to compete at a high level. Boxers, golfers,
footballers and athletes are just some sports people that have turned
to mind coaches, motivation experts and hypnosis to improve their
level of expertise. So how does our mind affect our body?
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:
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Goal Setting
- Positive Thoughts
- Positive affirmations
- Positive Self Talk
- Visualisation
Visualisation
Exercise:
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Sit
in a quiet place, close your eyes and start to relax your body. |
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Count
slowly from ten to one, taking deep breaths in through the nose
and out through the mouth. |
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Once
you are fully relaxed you begin your visualisation exercise. |
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Picture
the golf course. Make the image as detailed as possible. What
is the weather like? What is the course like? Where are you
standing? What hole are you at? What sounds do you hear? Use
as much detail as possible. |
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Then
watch yourself as you practice your skill (swing for example).
Notice your grip, your balance, and your weight distribution,
feel what it's like to hit the ball perfectly, with mind and
body in total harmony, relaxed and effortless. |
| 6. |
Take
a slow deep breath and go through the motion again, but this
time watch it from a different angle. You may be looking down
from above or the side. See and feel what it's like to hit that
perfect shot, watch the ball as it goes exactly where you need
it to go. |
| 7. |
As
you do this think of positive words such as confident, strong,
focused, skillful. |
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Once
finished gradually bring yourself back to your surroundings
counting up from 5 to 1 and become fully awake and refreshed. |
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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!!
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| Afternoon
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzs |
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It's
official - an afternoon nap is good for your health. A
study published by the College of Psychologists in Spain (home of
the siesta!) found that a 10 - 40 minute nap between 2pm and 5pm
increased memory and concentration, reduced stress and improved
productivity. So, next time you're battling post-lunch drowsiness,
put your head down and your feet up and have a snooze - you can
tell your boss it's just what the doctor ordered!!
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