It is good to know your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to your level of golf
And whilst we all have strengths and weaknesses, the fact remains that its the weaknesses that come to the forefront of our minds. This is particularly the case in moments of pressure and stress on the golf course.
What can you do?
One idea is to create a movie in your head of how you like to see yourself as a player. An effective pre-shot routine I used to have was to stand back and see a version of myself playing the perfect shot. I would then step into that image and play the shot I had just visualized. Jack Nicklaus spoke about this.
The only down side to this kind of routine was that you had to be good at visualization and creating mental imagery. I always felt this was a weak area for me, and then I found some research on creating videos. I found this to be a fantastic idea. You see we sit on our backsides watching tour professionals from Thursday to Sunday every week and before long we can tell who the players are just from the way they swing a club. Slow motion cameras and pause buttons helps us to zoom in and focus on how the best players in the world take the clubs away and how they deliver the club head back to the ball.
And this is the idea for you. All it takes is your mobile phone with a camera. You can set it up on the driving range and at various points on the course. Its really cool if you add a bit of motivational music. If you watch it enough you start to see yourself as a great player. This is great for your confidence. I would suggest picking the best shots and swings.
Currently I am producing a new series of shots from my game. I’ll have various angles, slow motions shots, putts, bunker play and good old classic driving. Its great for golf instruction and golf tip feedback.
You can even turn a video into a bunch of stills and compare them to the best in the game.
The aim? To help me visualize myself playing great golf. I can then plant this movie in my mind as a positive memory which I can recall when I need to.
And even if our swings are not pleasant on the eye, I can name a few tour swings that are horrific to watch (namely Jim Furyk, Kenny Perry and Keev Milka Singh) so do not get too caught up in the aesthetics. The point is to spend just a little time watching yourself on film.
You never know, it may help you appreciate some errors that you can work on with your local PGA pro in your golf lesson. Then everyone is happy!!
Let me know how you get on?
