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GOLF - The
MIND FACTOR
NEWSLETTER -
4 June 2008
by Dr Karl Morris
www.golf-brain.com
Featured in this
newsletter :
- Richard Finch find Glory!
- Training the Golf Brain - Learning How to Learn!
- SPECIAL OFFER
- THE PLAYERS PROGRAMME
- A different view - Gary Edwin
- House of Golf hosts MIND FACTOR workshop in
Manchester 23 June
FINCH FINDS
GLORY
It was great to see Richard Finch grab
his second tournament victory of the season by holding
off a quality field in the Irish Open. I had the pleasure
of working with Richard for a while a couple of years
ago and he is one of the Tours top men. He has shown
a terrific determination to do well and hung on in there
when times were tough. Well done.
Darren Clarke continues to move in the
right direction with a fourth place in the Celtic Manor
Welsh Open.
Well done to Justin Rose on his 2nd place
finish in the Memorial Tournament in the US and his
jump up the world rankings.
I am particularly impressed in the all-round
Holistic work that Justin puts into his game along with
his coach Nick Bradley.
With the US Open just around the corner, it will be
interesting to see if Tiger Woods lets the small matter
of knee surgery get in the way of dominating the world
stage. I am sure that some of the swing changes that
Tiger has made over the years have been a necessity
to alleviate some of the knee pain.
I myself have just returned from a very memorable ONE
DAY!!! trip to South Africa where I was asked to present
to the South African PGA at their inaugural teaching
and coaching conference. It was great to be able to
also listen to other speakers such as Robert Baker,
Greg Rose and Denis McDade from the Titleist Performance
Institute.
TRAINING
THE GOLF BRAIN
LEARNING HOW to LEARN
We all know the importance of training the body in
terms of physical fitness and technique, yet ,how many
have ever considered the need to actively train the
golf brain?
It is now a fairly well documented scientific fact that
the human brain CAN be changed.
If you had asked a bunch of neuro-scientists 15 years
ago if the structures of an adult brain could be altered,
you would have received an unequivocal NO.
However, in the last 10 years or so, some amazing discoveries
have been made about the brain. The once held beliefs
that you pretty much had what you were given past a
certain teenage year, have been blown away by a concept
called Brain Plasticity.
Brain Plasticity in effect is the scientific world
saying that the brain can be changed in its structure
and new pathways can be created.
‘Fine’ you might be saying but what on
earth has this got to do with my golf?
Possibly everything in the sense that knowing how to
change your brain can and will result in new patterns
and habits in your game which could produce vastly improved
play.
The trick is to know HOW to train your
brain for changes in your game that will produce the
kind of results you have long been waiting for.
So, to begin with, let's look at the very heart of
the normal way in which golfers practice.
We must be very careful with the concept of ‘muscle
memory’ in terms of learning a new move in the
golf swing.
In simple terms, what we are trying to do when we change
our swing, is to make new neural connections in the
brain. So, it is imperative to understand a little of
what the brain ‘likes’ and dislikes in terms
of learning.
ATTENTION
!!!
‘Hit ball till your hands bleed’, ‘Dig
it out of the dirt’, ‘The more I practice,
the luckier I get’ are just some of the phrases
and stories we have been brought up with.
However, we need to critically understand it is NOT
the amount of time spent on the range that is the key
but the QUALITY of your ATTENTION.
Michael Mersanich PhD the world's leading researcher
on brain plasticity: “All types of stimulation
should grow new brain circuits, but if we don’t
pay attention or attend to the stimulation, the neurons
will NEVER form STRONG, LASTING
connections”.
45 minutes of quality focus and being absorbed on what
you are doing is far better than trying to stay out
there on misery hill until you have hit a certain number
of balls or completed an allotted time.
CONSEQUENCE
For the brain to be able to handle a certain situation,
we need to practice in an environment which is similar
to the place we are going to be put to the test.
Earl Woods constantly dreamed up ways of getting Tiger
mentally ready for the kind of situations he knew he
would find on Tour. Having to hit tee shots with his
father juggling coins in his pocket so as to simulate
the kind of distraction which would later be all too
common.
It is clear that we are playing a game that is possibly
the utmost in sport in terms of CONSEQUENCE.
Every single time you make contact with the ball, there
is a direct and verifiable consequence because that
contact with the ball goes down on the scorecard.
Few other sports come even close to this.
So, it is really important if we play a game of ultimate
consequence that part of our practice should involve
some consequence as opposed to just hitting shot after
shot.
The obvious way to do this that so few people understand
it, is to set yourself specific practice drills which
involve a score. Any time a human being knows he is
being tested, the consequence stakes are ramped up.
The short game Par 18 is a brilliant way to create
consequence in practice.
EMOTION
In an experiment, two unrelated groups of people were
asked to view several movies. The control group were
allowed to view the shows without restriction. The second
group were instructed to observe the shows without any
emotional response whatsoever. At the end of the experiment,
both groups were asked to answer questions to test their
recall.
EVERY SINGLE member of the control group who
experienced emotional responses from the movie remembered
the details of each movie to a MUCH
greater degree.
What has this got to do with our golf and training?
An awful lot in the sensed that if we want to remember
and be able to recall skills in the future, it makes
sense to put some emotion into the things we do well.
When you hit a great shot, hole a good putt, play an
impossible recovery instead of the usual ho-hum response,
allow yourself either internally or externally to get
‘high on the good shot’. Allow yourself
the privilege of some emotion because believe me it
could well be your brain will remind you of what you
are capable of at some point in the future, as you recall
your ability to play a certain shot in a certain situation.
SPECIAL
OFFER!!!
Have you had chance to grab your copy
of The Players Programme, yet?
My latest offer received such an overwhelming response
that it was completely over-subscribed!!! You must have
agreed with me that the offer came at an amazing discount!
Therefore, I want to make this fantastic opportunity
available to those of you who just missed out last time
and, for one week only, will make available a further
20 packages at this very special price!!
The Players Programme is my latest golf improvement
series which contains over six years research and testing
with Professional Tour players.
That’s right! Over six years blood, sweat and
tears have gone in to developing and testing the training
strategies and suggestions contained within it and it’s
definitely showing results.
Graeme McDowell is now displaying immense focus and
calibration on the course which helped him win the
Ballentine’s Championship and Darren Clarke’s
back on winning form after victory in China.
And....
For the next 7 days only
you can claim your copy at an amazing
discount!!
What’s more is, if you are one of the first 20
people to claim a copy, I’ll also throw in a special
FREE DVD gift as well!
Click
here NOW
to claim your copy before they're all gone.
A DIFFERENT VIEW
- GARY EDWIN
When I was in Australia, I came across a quirky coach
who seemed to be getting tremendous results with players
such as Peter Lonard and Rod Pampling with an altogether
DIFFERENT approach that did make an awful lot
of sense.
If you are serious about your coaching I would take
a look!
He is about to do what may be his last seminar in the
UK the week before The Open
Contact Luke Ringrose for details
07894 449610
You can also see a preview at (cut and paste onto your
toolbar) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0PhAw5ndjo
HOUSE OF GOLF
HOSTS MIND FACTOR WORKSHOP, Manchester
A MIND FACTOR
workshop is being held at Brian Connor's House of Golf
in Manchester on Monday 23 June. A opportunity for golfers
of all abilities to learn some of the mental training
techniques used by some of the world's top golfers.
Start : 1930. For further details and to purchase your
ticket contact : Brian or Geraldine on 0161 655 3668
or email b.connor@houseofgolf.co.uk
For more information on how Karl can help you improve
your game please use our online contact form
Visit www.golf-brain.com
for further information on products and services by
Dr Karl Morris.
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