Golf Psychology

psy·chol·o·gy (s-kl-j)
n.

1. The science that deals with mental processes and behavior.
2. The emotional and behavioral characteristics of an individual, a group, or an activity.

Source: The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

There have been numerous books on the psychology of golf. Dr. Tom Kubistant is one golf psychologist who has collected the most extensive bibliography of everything written on the subject. Should you be devoting your every spare waking minute to reading these in order to become more proficient in the mental game? Of course not. Having spent many many hours myself in these works, allow me to summarize what I believe is the framework for you to be able to use your mind to achieve your scoring potential.

First, let's get a meaning for the word "mind." Most folks use the word "mind" interchangeably with "brain." This is completely not true. Most scientists would also include the entire nervous system in the functions of the "mind." More recently, even more neurologists and others in this field are concluding that the entire body is part of the mind. From my studies, (and golf has helped form this opinion) I agree with that.

The big concept you should understand is the idea of the "duality" of our mind.

This means that our mind functions on 2 levels, The Conscious  and The Unconscious (or Subconscious).

The Conscious Mind functions are to: look, listen and to learn. It does all the analyzing, criticizing, reasoning and judging. It has the responsibility to accept or reject any thought or idea.

The Unconscious Mind, conversely, is irrational and makes no decisions. It only acts on what it is programmed to do by instinct, genetics, habit, or repetitive thought. It's main functions are to run and preserve the body, store memories, regulate emotions and energy, maintain perceptions and filters, and more automatic functions that you never have to think about.

Once you understand the differences, you will come to the same conclusion that top pros from Bobby Jones to today's mega-stars have. And that is, that you want to play golf with your unconscious mind as much as possible!

Here it is in a nutshell:

The holy grail of golf centers around the word Consistency right? The Unconscious Mind functions are ALL CONSISTENT, almost robotic if you will. If you can give your golf functions over to this part of your mind and trust it to play your game the way you know you can, then it will return your best performances when you are in sync, harmony and rapport with your conscious mind.

There are many ways to develop this skill, and it is a skill that can be learned. Explore with me on these pages, my websites, and I hope in person to train you how to use your mind in this way.