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Golf Psychology Newsletter - THAT NERVOUS FEELING
Welcome again to Train Your Golf Brain newsletter.
SWEDISH SNOW!!
I recently returned from Sweden having been asked to present to the Swedish PGA our ‘Trained Brain’ programme. The turn-out, over 500 pros from a membership of just over 1000 and the attitude and openness to learning, gave such a strong indicator as to why this tiny nation keeps producing champions in sport. Greeted at Gothenburg by temperatures of -10 degrees and a complete blanket of snow, the countryside was a picture.
One Swedish professional who I admire enormously for her vision, openness to new learning and developing an all round holistic approach to coaching, is Pia Nilsson, the co-founder of Vision 54.
 
Take a look at her superb book ‘Every Shot Must Have a Purpose’ which is a great book to blend technical coaching with mental preparation.
THAT NERVOUS FEELING
First tee nerves, stage fright, the jitters, cra**ing yourself, we have all had them in one form or another in various situations in our lives. That ‘nervous’ feeling is one that we talk about so much, dread terribly but understand so little about. Yet, when it arrives, it is an absolute destroyer of our talents and abilities.
Getting into the exam room having done the background work, really needing to pass the test, getting very worked up beforehand, seeing the exam paper - then mind goes BLANK! So much wanting to play well, hit the ball fantastically in practice - then get to the first hole and play DREADFUL!
- What is this thing that we call nervousness?
We use the term flippantly all the time and, therein, may be the answer to the problem.
To illustrate that, I heard a fascinating story about the description Carly Simon gave to her ‘crippling’ stage fright which severely restricted her performances in public. She talked about feelings in her hands, certain strong sensations in her stomach and a buzzing in her head. When she felt these feelings coming on she was terrified!
Bruce Springsteen heard the same description and remarked that if he DIDN’T have those feelings he couldn’t go on stage and perform!!
Same feelings, same sensations, but a different LABEL attached to them.
Jack Nicklaus said ‘Give me that FEELING on the back nine of a major championship - that is what I hit all the balls in practice for’. He didn’t say “give me that feeling of nervousness just give me that FEELING”.
How do we know that we have first tee nerves? Because we have been TOLD that the feelings in our body are nervousness or stage fright and because we put the label to the feeling and the label is ‘BAD’ we resist the feeling and become scared of it!
Whatever we resist PERSISTS!!!
Just imagine if at an early age we had been told that the feeling on the first tee was ‘first tee energy’ or ‘stage energy’, how would the experience have been different? We have all learned and become conditioned to fear certain sensations in our body as a result of the labels that we have inherited from others.
Just listen to the dreadful labels that are dished out on a weekly basis by the golf commentators:
- ‘the pressure out there is UNBEARABLE’,
- ‘this is the MOST important putt of his life’ etc., etc.
Understand this fascinating concept that has TRANSFORMED many athletes performance
‘All feelings in the body are ENERGY’
When we put a label to that feeling such as nervousness, the energy becomes blocked.
What does energy want to do? MOVE MOVE MOVE. Just think of the word EMOTION, what does it mean? E-Motion is energy in motion.
Much of what we have been led to believe about emotional control has been WRONG.
In the coming months I will give you insights into how to transform those unwanted feeling in your golf or perhaps more importantly in your life, so that the feelings which once held you back can be changed for good.
Techniques to transform energy are found in our book:
Darren Clarke 'golf the miNd factor'
£18.99
RESEARCH
- Placebo Power
- The Power of Belief
Optimists are no longer alone in promoting ‘mind over matter’. A compelling study gives evidence that there is a chemical credence for the placebo affect in masking pain.
University of Michigan neuroscientist, Ann Arbour, says that people produce a natural painkilling chemical in the brain when they EXPECT to experience relief. Researchers gave subjects a slow, long harmless injection of a pain inducing salt solution into the jaw. When the injection began, the subjects were asked to rate their level of discomfort. As it continued, the researchers said (falsely) that they had just added a pain relieving serum into the solution. Subjects were again asked to rate their level of discomfort. Subjects were monitored throughout using PET scans. The results showed that in people who said they felt less uncomfortable, particular regions of the brain produced painkilling endorphins right after the placebo was promised. The people who EXPECTED to get relief actually PRODUCED it.
FORTHCOMING EVENT
DATE : 8 May 2006
Performance Day with
Dr Karl Morris and Scott Cranfield
LOCATION : The Oxfordshire
FOR FURTHER DETAILS : Ring Terrie on 0161 633 6610
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