How many times have you witnessed the heartbreak of an athlete faltering at a crucial moment?The painstaking drama of the moment can be excruciating to watch, particularly when the athlete is at the height of their career or even worse, an athlete you coach. At these times, the terms choking or panicking are thrown around loosely to label the underperformance of the individual or team. But what do these terms mean? Is there a difference between them? And can anything prevent an athlete from choking? Continue Reading→
The shot routine is one of three routines associated with playing each golf shot. This one is usually called the pre-shot routine and is often considered the only one. The three routines are the decision routine (selecting club, shot type and target), shot routine (from standing behind the ball to hitting the ball) and the post-shot routine (responses to good and poor shots).
Learning a strong mental pre-shot routine is the single most important thing you can do to improve your mental game, and your golf.
But not just any mental routine. Your mental routine must:
Compliment your learning style
Ease you into narrowing your focus
Free you to hit athletic, artistic, creative, right brain shots or putts
And tap into your powers of self-fulfilling prophesy!
Sound complicated? It’s not. In fact, an effective mental pre-shot routine
Simplifies your thoughts
Makes the game easier
Allows you to think the same for every shot and putt, whether it is to win the Masters or a friendly round with your friends.
We regard the mental pre-shot routine as one of the essentials of a strong mental game. It lends to a very challenging sport….
Consistencey
Longevity
And simplicity
We have long used the pre-shot routine as an excellent and effective standard for measuring and monitoring skill development in all other parts of your game.
The Three Step Journey to a Great Mental Pre-Shot Routine
Tip:
To make this fun and easy, start by assuming that you are of two brains. Let’s call the left brain the “thinker/analyzer” and the right brain the “athletic/creator”
“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” Marcus Aurelius
This implies that fears hold us back from having and showing the confidence that would otherwise be ours.Questioning our confidence is quite normal, particularly when we are attempting something we haven’t tried before. I can recall the first time I competed in golf
tournaments, the first time I coached; there were plenty of doubts…at times they are still there. Certainly having a greater level of confidence would have been handy at the time but the important thing is that didn’t stop me from pursuing those activities.Confidence is having a level of certainty that you are capable of achieving whatever it is that you set out to do
What holds you back?Causes of low self-confidence: Continue Reading→
The basic chip shot is the most useful shot and is used more than any other short game shot aside from a putt. Improving your chipping skill is a very quick way to really reduce your scores. Discounting your putter, the green side chip shot is the simplest motion in golf.
To become an effective chipper there are a few key points that must be consistent.
In About , posted by Virginia on - Comments Off on Coaching Philosophy
No matter how much you know as a coach, the information is only effective if you can get the message across. Being able to tailor my coaching style to suit the individual athletes will create an effective coach athlete relationship. Engaging the athlete is my responsibility. Investing time in communicating and understanding the needs of the athletes will see them achieve their best results.
I am committed to setting a higher standard as a Golf Professional by:
Training essential golf skills not by model or method.
