I’ve just finished updating my mental golf guide with more information on the techniques of mental golf including Hypnosis, Visualization, NLP, Guided Imagery, and Mental Rehearsal. I’ve also changed the name of the guide to ‘A Golfers Guide to MENTAL GOLF ‘. I hope you find it useful in improving your game.
Thanks to all of you for your feedback and suggestions.
Happy Golfing!
To understand how visualization actually works in the mind, it is important to get a solid grasp on how the mind uses images. Visualization creates a connection between the mental world, the physical world and the emotional world. A person’s mind is extremely powerful and complex, but it is not critical to have a high level of biological training to get visualization to work. Rather, visualization and the use of guided imagery evens out natural imbalances in the brain that allow us to feel in complete control of our mental being.
The mind processes every behavior, memory, or action in terms of images. If we want to remember a vacation that was taken as a child, the mind replays, through images, the sequence of events that we are wanting to recall. A person almost never recounts anything through the use of words. When someone dwells on the causes of certain actions, there is a cumulative effect in the way that the mind reacts and that can lead to negative responses. Visualization effectively ends this cycle and allows someone to gain positive reinforcement based on those images.
University studies conclusively prove that visualization works on several levels, and the fact that many of the world’s top athletes espouse the benefits of visualization further displays its enormous power. The reason that visualization used in conjunction with self-hypnosis and guided imagery is so popular amongst today’s athletes is because the techniques produce the desired results.
Visualization is not only effective at preparing an athlete mentally to be their best; it is also very useful at confronting specific shortcomings in one’s performance and provides a way for them to improve. Because the game of golf is more of a mental than physical pursuit, visualization is an extremely effective tool for professional golfers who are seemingly always at the top of their game. Tiger Woods world-wide fame can be compared to that of Michael Jordan’s during his hey-day, and this is because his accomplishments are nothing short of spectacular. He started his pro career with an unprecedented 12-stroke win at The Masters, and more than ten years later he continues to reach new heights.
While I know there is no denying the sheer power of visualization and guided imagery in producing significant changes in a person’s emotional and physical attributes, there are many studies and real-life examples that prove this fact. Even if someone fully believes in these techniques, the mind works in such a way that it helps to see concrete proof of the process working for others.
Several large universities have conducted studies that prove the efficacy of visualization and guided imagery in a controlled setting, and the results garnered were truly enlightening. Most of these studies involved two control groups: one that was using visualization and one that wasn’t. Each group was asked to perform a myriad of related tasks and actions, both familiar and unfamiliar. In almost all cases, the group that utilized visualization performed significantly better than the groups left to their own devices.
Continue reading Visualization: Does It Really Work (for Golf)? »»
