Does Mental Training Work?

My obvious answer is YES. This is why I update the website. I have been applying simple mental training techniques to my game and I now carry a lower handicap than back in high school when I played almost every day. Back then I practiced for hours each week but had little to no mental guidance. Today I rely on better thinking to make up for the lack of practice time. Life is busier now than it was. Many of you are in the same spot.

The training has worked for me…does it work for anyone else?

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Failure

Failure is such a powerful word. Read the definitions below.

• lack of success
• falling short
• failing to perform a duty or expected action

No wonder we experience fear on and off the golf course. Nobody wants to be associated with those definitions. So how do we learn to handle and deal with fear in our lives?

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Understanding The Journey

Playing golf is not the journey to a specific destination, it’s just a journey. The first day you picked up a club is when your journey began and it won’t end until you quit playing or die. That is the way it works. Nobody wakes up one day and “arrives” at a location called, “Great Golfer.” Even Tiger Woods, the #1 player in the world can shoot 75 on Sunday and not win the tournament. Congrats to Y.E. Yang, by the way. He just accomplished something very unique along his journey.

So what makes the “Golf Journey” so special?

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The “Time Off” Effect

I was talking to a good friend last week about his 1st round of golf this year after taking about 8 months off. He began telling me how well he played and how the time away seemed to help. He hit a lot of good shots, putted well and put up a good score. This conversation led to a discussion on Time Off and why it often has a positive, but short lived, effect on our games.

So…why does time away from golf seem to temporarily help out?

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4 Fun Facts About the Amazing Game of Golf – Because Inquiring Minds Want to Know!

#1 – How long is the golf club in contact with the golf ball at impact?
  Answer: 450 Millionths of a second.
Is that awesome or what? All the decisions we make prior to hitting the shot are allowed 450 millionths of a second of influence upon the ball. And we immediately know if the influence was good or bad. We can feel the feedback in our hands. We can see the ball shooting out in our peripheral vision. All you can do then is sit back and watch. Check this out: When Tiger Woods won the 2000 US Open, it took him 4 days to complete, he hit the ball 272 times, the ball traveled over 27,000 yards and the total time of contact between golf club and golf ball was about a tenth of a second! The tournament was decided in the accuracy that took place in a tenth of a second. A lifetime of preparation was used to skillfully maximize that tenth of a second. Pretty cool stuff.

#2 – How hard does a golf club strike a golf ball?
  Answer: With 3,000 pounds of force.
Who ever said golf is not a contact sport? And 3,000 is a number from an average swing. Some of the big hitters are pounding it every harder than that. This is the force that transfers the influence of your swing into the ball in 450 millionths of a second. That is a lot of force in a small amount of time.

#3 – Why do golf clubs have grooves?
  Answer: To collect debris allowing the club face to contact the ball.
Most golfers think the grooves are what spins the ball. They play a small role but their main purpose is to give grass and other debris a place to go at impact so the club face can contact the ball and impart spin. Grass gets pushed back into the grooves from the 3,000 pounds of force being delivered by the club. The grooves also hide moisture that gets squeezed out of the grass at impact. The issue with V grooves as opposed to square grooves on the PGA Tour next year simply has to do with how much debris the groove can hold. Square grooves are larger than V grooves and therefore can eliminate more stuff allowing cleaner contact and therefore more spin. Only time will tell if the change makes a difference in scores. We shall see.

#4 – Why do golf balls have dimples?
  Answer: Imperfections in the surface of a spinning object, called turbulators, create turbulence in the layer of air around the object which reduces drag.
Original golf balls were smooth. It didn’t take golfers long to realize that their old, beat up golf balls flew better than the new, smooth ones. Eventually, somebody smart looked into this issue and aerodynamics was applied. The turbulators shake up the air around the ball which reduces drag and therefore allows the object to travel farther. Dimples are simply the symmetrical way to create uniform turbulent air flow around the ball.

And there you have it. Four interesting facts that you can now share and be the smartest in the group next time you play!

Thanks for stopping by and please check back soon.

Mike Snyder
Twitter: @Mike_Snyder

Using the Mind

About a weeks ago, I wrote a post on the phrase, “This hole always gets me.” That post was inspired by a guy I played with two weeks ago at the local course here. He blew his tee shot on the 9th hole way right into the trees and frustratingly muttered the words. Apparently, the 9th hole always gets him.

Now I’m no phychologist, but here is what has happened inside his brain. A connection has been made between the 9th hole and hitting poor shots. This probably happened over the course of a few rounds and now the connection is cemented until he willingly changes it. He sees the 9th tee box and the brain immediately thinks, “This hole always gets me.” He steps up in a very poor frame of mind and whacks another ball into the trees, further establishing the negative connection. The brain never distinguishes between good and bad with these connections. It simply makes them.

So how do we use this whole Brain Connection Thing to help and not hinder? Good question. Read on.

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Warming Up The Mind

Why would golfers warm up the body and not the mind when it’s the mind that controls the body?

Thanks for tuning in. Bookmark the page and check back soon.

Mike Snyder

Twitter: @Mike_Snyder

Practicing With Purpose

It’s good to practice…its even better to Practice With Purpose. Watch below.

Thanks for checking in. We’ll see you again soon.

Mike Snyder

Twitter: @Mike_Snyder

Do You Remember?

I had a great experience two days ago hitting balls at the local driving range. There were only four people on the range at the time; one guy off to the side, a lady taking a lesson, her instructor and myself.

The lady taking the lesson was close enough I could hear their conversation. It was obvious she hadn’t played much golf but she was out having a great time. I arrived near the end of her lesson and was able to watch about 10 shots.

It was her final swing that motivated today’s post… Read the rest of this entry »

This Hole Always Gets Me!

Ever heard those words before? Have you ever said those words before? I would bet most of us have. I’ve heard that phrase a thousand times and I actually heard it again last Saturday. I want out as a single to play at our local course and joined up with three other guys. We get to the 9th tee box and one of the guys hits his drive way right into the trees. The poor tee shot was followed by the familiar line, “This hole always gets me.” And what do you know, it got him again!

Super intimidating tee shot – Riverdale Dunes #15

So why do certain holes always get us? This is a great question. Read on…

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