# Mind Game



## vince410

Hello mates...

Don't you hate those off days on the course? One day your in the groove and the net time around your just water.

Here's some info on expertgolfgame.com about clearing your mind and 
strengthen your brain power to improve your game..

It mentioned that you can play better and be more focused by just 
relaxing and putting your self in a positive relaxed mind frame to 
project positive energy for positive results in your game.

I just ordered and am still waiting on it to arrive. I'll keep you posted on how it is.

Cheers!


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## Surtees

yes if you let your mind wonder or start over thinking it is the death of your game. When I'm loosing focus I take my stance look down at the ball and take some long deep slow breaths until i feel more relax and it seems to work most of the time.


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## FrogsHair

Something I do when playing golf, when something important is at stake, is I listen to comedy routines on CDs. A little humor is good for calming one's soul. Keeps one's heart rate down, and in that relaxing state of mind mentioned above. When just out having fun I don't worry about my golf game at all. It is what it is for that round. Having fun means no worries while doing it. So what that I just sliced my last shot into Souther California, Arizona or Utah. Even the pros slice from time to time. After I hit the ball, I have a post shot routine that can be anything not golf related. Looking at the scenery, wildlife, or just lost in thought about something idiotic. Most of the time I am hoping that hot babe in the beverage cart is heading my way. That, or watching that I don't step on a snake, or into some animal's burrow. Been there, done both of those. After making the trek to my ball, I go into my pre-shot routine. Done deal. Folks who think they have to worry about their last, or next shot, belong on a pro tour some where. That old saying "you're not good enough to get mad" also means you can't be worried when playing your game. There is no way a person can stay focussed, mentally on their game for 3, or 4 hours.


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## Big Hobbit

I'm relatively ambitious with my shots but realistic with the outcomes. I don't worry about my last shot but I do sometimes enjoy thinking of them if they were stunning. I see little point of thinking further ahead than 1 or 2 shots, and I only think 2 shots ahead if its something like I need to hit a 3 wood here so I can hit a full wedge in. Between shots I "switch off" the golf programme in my brain - as Froggie says, you can't give 100% concentration for the full 3-4 hours in a round of golf.

If I'm having a bad round my only thought is concentrate, you know you can have 5 birdies on the bounce so its not over till you're walking off the last green.

And if I have played badly, I'll kick myself when I walk off thev last green. After that, no one died, no one got hurt, there's a roof over the family's head and food in the fridge. Let's have a beer and a laugh.


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## Surtees

yes there is no point worrying about your last shot if it was a bad one. After I hit if it was a bad shot I think bugger that didn't quiet work and my think quickly of the course lift my head has been a good one lately, but as soon as I walk off from where I hit I try and forget it and have a laugh while working to my next shot. f course if it was a good shot I may think of that one a little longer.


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## vince410

Surtees said:


> yes if you let your mind wonder or start over thinking it is the death of your game. When I'm loosing focus I take my stance look down at the ball and take some long deep slow breaths until i feel more relax and it seems to work most of the time.



I totally agree.. A few deep breaths with my eyes closed and a count to three always helps put me in my happy place. It helps me focus before I put my eye on the ball before my swing.. Being relax is the key they say.


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## KrudlerAce

*Thanks*

Thanks Vince, be interested to see how you go with it and the results.

Cheers


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## Christinevuferr

*How does the "pen" mind game work?*

i dont really know how to explain it because i dont understand it but what is the trick to the stupid mind game where someone would ask, if i'm a pen and the table is a pen. is this cup a pen?" or something like that? i dont get it!! please help!


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## Christinevuferr

*Mind Game??*

Its VERY similiar to this. All she did was change the quesition from "who will win" to whatever she wanted. It would take some practice but could easily be replicated in whatever way the person wants.


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## vince410

*does sound silly but it may work*



Christinevuferr said:


> i dont really know how to explain it because i dont understand it but what is the trick to the stupid mind game where someone would ask, if i'm a pen and the table is a pen. is this cup a pen?" or something like that? i dont get it!! please help!


I guess the main point here is not to over think and just do. Sometimes when you over think something it doesn't come out natural which will cause you to maybe tighten up when you should be loosen up and relaxed. In this game the main competition is yourself, so i guess thats when the mind game begins. 

Check out expertgolfgame.com. The scientific explanation might throw you off cause of the jargons but if you can get over that and see what he means, it shows he does have a point.

Hopefully that will help you out


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## Big Hobbit

vince410 said:


> I guess the main point here is not to over think and just do. Sometimes when you over think something it doesn't come out natural which will cause you to maybe tighten up when you should be loosen up and relaxed. In this game the main competition is yourself, so i guess thats when the mind game begins.
> 
> Check out expertgolfgame.com. The scientific explanation might throw you off cause of the jargons but if you can get over that and see what he means, it shows he does have a point.
> 
> Hopefully that will help you out


Over thinking was explained to me as follows; if I threw a ball to you, you would catch it. If I told you how many knuckles should be facing your chest, and your finger should fan with a gap of 15 degrees between each finger, and you should cushion it by relaxing your wrist.... The end result is you will catch more via the natural method.

Another example, which I've actually tried on some guys in the office, is throwing paper into a wastepaper bin. Let them throw 5 in the bin without instruction, and then give them 5 more shots with instruction. You'll be surprised at the results!

Taking mind games at a different tangent, and this is one a sports psychologist has been selling. "A 400yds hole is a par 4. But why not think it is a par 3? Or better still, why not think the target on every par 4 hole is 2, i.e. the least number of shots you can hit the hole with."

A lot of amatuers tighten up when they putt for birdie, and miss a putt they would probably get if it was for par. For many years I've thought, "lowest number possible," and not "this is for birdie." Also, "I can birdie stroke index 1, so I can birdie them all and why not in the same round?" And does it work? If I'm on a run of birdies my brain starts to switch to "this for another birdie," and I can feel myself tightening up.

Another school of thought is give yourself something else to concentrate on between shots. And only switching on to golf when playing a shot. Some think this is distracting whilst others recognise its impossible to stay 100% focussed for 3.5 hrs.


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## golfer_365

*Thanks*

There is some great information in here, I will have to remember it the next time I am out.

I know I sometimes still think about the last shot (good or bad) while I am setting up and it affects my next one. Thanks for the advice.


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## Msand

I'm totally into mind tricks that help out my game. They take practice but seem to help me most of the time. I read a good article yesterday about the mind being more important than your swing that a friend sent me the link to. If I didn't delete it I'll post it on the article board here in a few minutes.


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## FrogsHair

Actually the cause of my game is due to "mental defect"........:thumbsup:


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## visulax

*Try Visulax Golf for Android!*

It's a new app in the Android Market. Less than a medium bucket of balls and will help you relax and think correctly on the course! Click here for more information. Good luck!


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## visulax

Have you tried visualization and relaxation? We just created a new app for Android called Visulax Golf. You can get more info by clicking here. Good luck with your game!


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## visulax

Sorry for the double post...


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## phil brown

If, sorry WHEN I hit a bad shot i try to dismiss it from my mind by thinking of all the bad shots I have seen the pro's hit. They may be more common than you would think. I watched Tiger woods 'Duff' a tee shot and only just reached the fairway, Phil Mickelson chipping up... then back down then back up... back down you know the one. These guys practice 6-8 hours a day and have mind guru's yet they still make mistakes. Bunker shots is part of the game where I think I am surprisingly good. Pro's throw 50 balls in a bunker to practice and I have been in one bunker in the last five rounds. No practice between rounds either. You need to realise your own level of play and accept that you are going to throw some shots away. 

The hard part is the chance to get a shot back. Most mid-high handicappers if presented with a birdie chance on par three's or fives either baby it to the hole and end up short or give it a mad rush and go five feet past then miss the one coming back and then there goes another shot. I fall into this category lol.

I played yesterday and the front nine i played awful, I am off twelve by my reckoning and was 10 over on the front nine. something just clicked after getting a par on the ninth and i went on to par 10,11,12,14,15,16,17. the last hole (par 4)I went out of bounds and i managed a chuckle about it and still made 6 off the tee. All i am getting at is, if you get tied up thinking too much about how you are scoring around the course, once your handicap shots are gone you think its all over but it never is.


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## Andrewion

Truly Golf is a game which needs lot of concentration. Though, I've never played it in reality. But I got the one from Gamefly as a PC game. I play it often and when this virtual game needs so much concentration, I can imagine how much a real one would require


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## Msand

Trust me when I say the amount of concentration during a real round vs. video round is no comparison. 

For anyone who cares the article I mentioned above about mind vs. swing was posted successfully on the articles board.


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