There are many different variations to this dilemma and I’m sure we have all experienced them from time to time. And the club or shot which concerns you as a golfer can change from day to day, week to week, month to month or year to year.

I have experienced it myself in extreme forms – not feeling comfortable with woods off the fairway for an entire season (ALL my woods; unable to feel that I could get them off the ground, but happy with them off the Tee, for some inexplicable reason!); and the following season not feeling comfortable with my irons (ALL of them, knowing that I could shank every shot with an iron with uncanny consistency!); and then as a feeling of comfort returned with both woods and irons, whether off Tee of fairway, and enjoying a feeling of relief flooding over me at the thought of all those extra shots I knew I could play, only to find that short irons had become uncomfortable…WHAT NOW?!

As you can tell, I’m an “all or nothing” kind of person, and some of you will relate to these types of experiences. Thank goodness, as my golf has got better (both technically and mentally) I no longer have seasons of concern with particular types of shots; Instead, it’s just a vague feeling now and again that I’m just not comfortable with the shot which would be the best TECHNICALLY SPEAKING, to play in a particular situation.

In fact, the troubles I used to experience had become such a vague memory that I had almost forgotten what it felt like. What jogged my mind was going out to play a few holes with a friend, a good player, and him saying that he felt that he was being a chicken…that he should be playing a particular shot but wasn’t comfortable with it, and so was hitting a different one instead. He chose his club, made a great shot, the ball pitched in the middle of the fairway, in perfect position for his second onto the green. And yet, there he was, unhappy; In his mind he was a “chicken” for not having taken the shot he felt would have been better technically.

In my mind he was both clever and brave and had made a great decision. He took the club he felt confident with, and played the shot he KNEW would work for him on that day, in those circumstances. He has the ability to manipulate his shots, to create many different shots and went with what he felt most confident with.

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in golf hypnosis cds and hypnosis mp3 downloads.

The object of the game of golf is to get the ball from the tee to the hole, in as few a number of shots as possible, using the golf clubs to control the direction and distance in which the ball travels. So, the golfer’s aim with each shot is to progress the ball towards the hole, nothing more than that. It is far too easy to think that the goal is to have a perfect swing…each budding golfer will develop their own unique swing, with the help of guidance from their teacher AND through their OWN EXPERIENCE.

So the number one focus for every shot is to select a specific target and hit the ball towards it. For the golf ball to go in the right direction, the club head will need to hit the ball square, and the ball flight will tell you whether or not this has happened, and every golfer can learn from their awareness of the ball flight and can then adjust their swing so that they do hit the ball square. This is the second important focus.

These are the two most important things to do in golf – pick a target and aim at it, and be aware of the position of the club head when it connects with the ball. A baby doesn’t try to walk exactly like the adults in the house – he plainly cannot do that, he learns to walk in his own unique way. A child learns through their own experience, and through guidance. Every would-be golfer is a unique individual – having their own unique body and mind, and they will learn to play golf within this framework.

So long as thoughts are kept simple and clear, an individual will find it easy and fun to learn to play golf, so that they can truly enjoy the experience, without fear, and without getting tied up in knots.

And this is true of golfers of every handicap. The majority of golfers will relate to having experienced, at some time or another, a complete lack of confidence and loss of trust in their game. They grip the club and it just doesn’t look right, it doesn’t feel right…and they have no idea why this is the case. In the main this is due to lack of awareness of the basics of the game, a misdirection of focus. They are focusing on how to get a perfect angle at the top of the back swing, or keeping their wrists firm, or making sure their back is at the optimal angle, and so on. They’ve forgotten to focus on the ball and hitting it forward towards a target with a square club face, and this is basic to any successful shot (unless you are intentionally creating side spin so as to shape the ball flight).

And so the inevitable happens, the golf shot is less than perfect, and confidence dips lower, the club is gripped harder and more focus is given once again to the other mechanical things…and a cycle of negative effect can easily occur. This is why I began this article by saying that golf can be a really tricky game to learn. It is like no other game, and learning to play golf well poses an interesting mental and physical challenge to those who care to do so.

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in golf hypnosis cds and hypnosis mp3 downloads.

12. TFT – Thought Field Therapy – you may have heard of “tapping”. Use the following tapping sequence as detailed in the book by Roger Callaghan “Tapping the Healer Within” and your anger will dissolve:-

1.Intentionally think about the anger you are treating.

2.Tap the little finger, on the inside tip, adjacent to the nail, on the side next to the ring finger – tap 5 times

3.Tap your collarbone, about an inch below where a man knots his tie and an inch to the right – tap 5 times.

4.Tap the back of your hand, about an inch below the raised knuckles of the ring finger and the little finger when making a fist – tap with two fingers of the opposite hand, about 3-5 times per second and keep tapping whilst:-

-open eyes

-close eyes

-open eyes and look down to the left

-look down to the right

-circle eyes round in one direction

-hum a few bars of “happy birthday” out loud

-count aloud from 1 to 5

-hum “happy birthday” again

5.Tap the little finger again in the same spot 5 times

6.Tap the collarbone point 5 times

7.Hold your head level and move your eyes down. Then tap you hand in the same spot as before as you move your eyes upward.

Believe it or not, this has been proven to get rid of anger. You’ll need to read to the book to find out the scientific reasons for why it works.

13. Distract yourself – change your thoughts. Everything in life starts with a thought. You create your own reality by choosing the way in which you think about things. “It” doesn’t make you angry – you make yourself angry. You’re the only person who can change your thoughts; nobody else can do it for you. So distract yourself – think about something else – go to your “happy place”.

14. Take a step back – think before you act. Take a moment to review the situation. Distance yourself, look at it from a different direction, and take a different perspective. Breathe deeply and take time to choose the most productive way of dealing with the situation.

15. Learn to laugh at yourself – it’s a GAME, guys! It’s meant to be fun. Lighten up – nobody cares how your shot came off. In fact, your playing partners would like to have a good laugh. Just bobbing that ball straight down the middle would be b..o..r..i..n..g. Having a good laugh should be a pre-requisite in any round of golf.

16. Get it in perspective – Why act like McEnroe on the tennis court? (“You CANNOT be SERIOUS”) Why did you expect to hit a perfect shot every time? Professionals don’t manage that so amateurs should not expect that either. And anger on the golf course is only caused by expectations that didn’t materialize.

17. Whatever you imagine you create – If you want to do some useful preparation and you haven’t got much time, visualizing perfect shots will help. Your brain doesn’t know the difference between a vividly imagined experience and a real one. Imagine a few perfect shots, build up that muscle memory and then you’re more likely to hit a good shot on the first tee. Standing there thinking “I know I’m going to slice this into those trees” is of course great preparation for exactly that. Give yourself a pat on the back – you did exactly what you planned. So if you want to hit a better shot and thereby not trigger off that “Mr Angry” in you, brush up on your visualization skills.

18. A picture is worth a thousand words – where there is a conflict between your will power and your imagination, your imagination wins. To demonstrate this, try as hard as you can, right now, to NOT think about a giraffe. What are you thinking about? Did you see the word “giraffe” or a picture of its neck? Similarly, what happens when you think “don’t go in the bunker”? Your mind is exquisitely talented – the golf ball will go to whatever place on the course you are picturing…So if you want to stop those angry triggers, picture the place where you want the ball to end up.

19. Selective memory (bin the negatives) – turn a blind eye, put it to the back of your mind, sweep it under the carpet. Familiar with these phrases? They reflect another of the exquisite mental talents we all instinctively possess. The problem is that some people turn a blind eye to the good things and focus on the bad ones. Try it the other way round and there will be nothing to make you angry.

20. Talk to yourself nicely – we all feel better with a bit of praise. Most of you will be good at encouraging someone else who’s hit a duff shot…yet when it’s your own duff shot that’s in the spotlight, you’ll call yourself a plonker! If someone else called you that you’d get pretty angry; and calling yourself names will make you angry too. So, give it a go, try being nice to yourself, stop calling yourself names, talk to yourself in a nice soothing voice. Who knows, saying to yourself “Never mind, the next one will be great” could actually work.

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in golf hypnosis cds and hypnosis mp3 downloads.