Photo Courtesy of Euro Pro Tour

Photo Courtesy of European Tour

As I have said a couple of times before, Phil is an example of someone who has stuck to a plan, worked on his swing and mind TOGETHER and reaped the rewards. 5 years ago he was playing regional Pro-Ams and got very close to quitting the game. A massive part of his success is down to one of the games upcoming star coaches, Mark Pearson.

Photo Courtesy of www.markpearsongolf.co.uk

I have also been fortunate to work with 3 of the Walker Cup team Lloyd Saltman and Nigel Edwards and in the past David Horsey and it was fantastic to see such an outstanding match played in great spirits right to the end. Congratulations to the American team on their outstanding win but an epic fight on the Sunday afternoon in the singles by the GB and Ire squad.

A special mention about Nigel Edwards who is a person I admire greatly, a man working full time for the Welsh Golf Union who finds the time to be one of the game’s outstanding amateurs but at an age (as Nigel would admit, past 21) where he still has the desire to work on all aspects of his game including his mental approach. A top man!!

TIGER
More than just a few techniques.
Playing from a ‘Solid Core’

‘SOMETHING IS GOING ON WITH HIM THAT IS NOT GOING ON WITH THE REST OF US.’ Davis Love

The words from Davis Love about Tiger seem very apt as the great man wins again on the US tour for the 60th time!!

How priviledged are we to live in an era where we get the chance to see one of sports truly outstanding performers? In years to come, we will be able to say we actually saw this man play golf in the same way that people talk about Ali, Pele, Bradman and Laver.

Why is the man so very great?
Obviously gifted with incredible physical attributes or as we like to call it ‘talent’, great coaching throughout his life but possibly one of the most complete upbringing of anyone who has ever played sport. Tiger Woods plays from what Chuck Hogan calls a ‘safe place’ in the sense that he has been given such as strong sense of self that no matter what happens on the golf course, only Tiger Woods the golfer has a bad day, not Tiger Woods the person.

“The problem is that the more the ego becomes identified with symbols outside the self the more vulnerable it becomes.”

Csikszentmihalyi

We can work on all of the ‘surface structure’ tools that we like but as useful as they may be to our game, we will find little long term progress if we do not attend to some issues at the deeper level of the CORE SELF. Working on the CORE SELF has become for me one of the most important aspects of my work as we move towards finding out the possibilities in developing top class players.

Working on the CORE SELF is not an automatic or simplistic ritual but at the heart of the work lie three key components :

• Acceptance
• Appreciation
• Esteem

If you did nothing other than work on the skill of Acceptance, your golf (and life) will go to new levels. Acceptance is not resignation, it is not ‘giving up’ or ‘giving in’, it is seeing the world through a clear lens that allows you to ‘Deal With’ whatever shot or situation confronts you. It is an extension and a requirement of effective ‘Neutral Thinking’. How many times have you got in your own way on the golf course or in life by not having the skill of acceptance? The opposite of acceptance is the mental bogey of ‘it should be….’ Or ‘ I should be…’

...........‘I should be four under’
...........‘I should have holed that’
...........‘I should be on Tour’
...........‘I should be richer…slimmer…happier….more successful….

The list goes on and on.

The problem is that without acceptance, paradoxically we don’t seem to get anywhere. Not for one minute are we saying that you shouldn’t have goals or aspirations, far from it. What acceptance gives us is the ability to deal with the only situation that we can do something about which is the NOW.

How would your life be different if you developed just a fraction of one of the skills of the CORE SELF?

FINAL FEW PLACES REMAIN AVAILABLE!!!!!!

More tools and techniques for assisting memory are available in the Golf Brain series at www.golf-brain.com.

For more information on how Karl can help you improve your game please
use our online contact form

For more information on how Karl can help you improve your game please use our online contact form.

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