A Creative Mind is my 'Greatest Weapon'
' My creative mind is my greatest weapon. It is a kind of 'inner vision' that enables me to see things that others might not see, like a certain way to play a shot. The psychology of golf can be complicated as it does entail mental toughness, self confidence, conquering ' Inner Demons' , instant recall of past successes along with the ability to purge any failure. It is the game within the game, I developed my strength early and I cannot over emphasise its importance, I would recommend that you develop yours now '.
TIGER WOODS
Tiger Woods, along with Jack Nicklaus in his era, has one of the strongest minds in the history of the game of golf. We have all seen him play on TV and saw his ability to overcome any frustrations or anger from a bad shot, switch off, re group and then hit a great shot in pressure situations. He also has the ability to grind out a score on a day when he is not at his best which has won him many tournaments a few of which have been majors.
The Four Golfing Types : Which One Are You ?
1. Untrained Swing / Untrained Brain
This golfer normally, but not always is the beginner to golf, the player with no real technical ability with regards to the golf swing, has no basic or fundamental aspect of what a good golf swing should be like. Untrained mentally with regards to golf, and if you put them out on a golf course they would most probably feel very vulnerable, and what ever golf ability they may have will most probably crumble.
2. Trained Swing / Untrained Brain
This is the type of golfer that is becoming ' the norm ' all around the world.
Having worked on their golf swing through both taking professional lessons and through practice, their golf swing looks technically sound, and with the golfer hitting the ball great on the driving range under non pressure situations. When they really want to play well, when the pressure is on, that wonderful range swing seems to fall apart out on the golf course. This golfer does have a trained swing but is matched up with an untrained brain. This type of player, no matter how well they practice on the range, will not reach their full potential until the way they are emotionally, as well as the way they think, out on the golf course are dealt with.
3. Untrained Swing / Trained Brain
This is the type of golfer that we have all experienced out on the golf course, they are the ultimate frustrating player. They swing the club in an unorthodox manner,
look very ordinary, but almost always seem to find the fairway hit a few greens in regulation, have the ability to get up and down and hole putts under pressure. You know you should be able to beat them, yet they always seem to pull through, especially under pressure. This golfer does not have a good swing, but they do have a good brain, which is not necessarily, and probably not professionally trained by an instructor. What this golfer does have is the ability to get the absolute best out of themselves, and out of any ability they may have. This type of player may well hit the ball badly in practice, then quite well out on the golf course, however their technical deficiencies will take them only so far.
4. Trained Swing / Trained Brain
This is the ultimate type of player, who not only swings the golf club well, they can also deal with their thoughts and emotions out on the golf course. If this type of player also has good physical capabilities they have the full package to go far.
Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam both fit in to this player type ! This type of player will become the absolute best that they can be because they are trained technically / mentally / Physically. Very few people can become a Tiger Woods but we can make improvements in any of the fore mentioned to improve our games.
IF you live in, or are coming to the Perthshire area of Scotland, I give lessons at The Blairgowrie Golf Club which lies slightly to the north of the cities of both Dundee and Perth. I would be glad to help you improve your golf game.
I have been trained in Scotland and Germany by Dr Karl Morris and Jamie Edwards of Trained Brain. I have also been trained and certified by The Titleist Performance Institute throughout Europe.
Graeme Leggat PGA Advanced Professional
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