Opening Your Mind with NLP to Become a British Open Champion
The 2010 Open Championship, often referred to as the British Open, is once again being held at St Andrews, the ‘Home of Golf,’ on the Old Course, one of the oldest golf courses in the world. It’s a course steeped in history and Jack Nicklaus, Open Champion in 1970 and 1978, once said, “If a golfer is to be remembered he must win the Open at St Andrews.” So what does it take to be remembered? What sort of physical and mental skills must be mastered to master the Old Course?
“To win at St Andrews is the ultimate” – Tiger Woods, Open Champion 2000, 2005
On the official St Andrews Links website it says, “What all St Andrews champions have in common is that they learned to plot their way around the hazards that litter the links and prey on the mind.” Speaking from an NLP sports psychology point of view, that one sentence pretty much sums up the content of this article! It takes more than a mastery of physical skills to master the game of golf, it takes a mastery of mental skills to make it all the way to the top.
The phrase, “prey on the mind,” highlights one of the most difficult mental aspects of the game of golf. It takes a long time to get around a golf course and it takes days to complete each game in a Championship tournament; that’s a lot of “thinking” time – a lot of time for doubts, worries, and negative voices to prey on the mind. The Old Course at St Andrews is home to some of the most famous, or infamous, holes in the world, known to golfers and non-golfers alike. The notorious 17th ‘Road Hole’ has ended the dreams of many Championship contenders and many ‘big names’ have endured the cameras of the world spotlighting their struggle to escape from the Road Hole bunker. So how do you get beyond the ‘what ifs’?
To answer the ‘what if’ questions and to cope with the potential for doubt to creep in when ‘thinking’ time provides the opportunity, champion golfers use mental skill. A champion golfer is not only a skilled player, he’s a master at the art of visualisation.
“Success in golf depends less on strength of body than upon strength of mind and character” – Arnold Palmer
A golfer at the top of his game can play every inch of a course without setting foot on it. The whole course can be ‘played’ in detail in his mind. Past experiences can be drawn upon to provide 3D images and to create realistic ‘virtual’ versions of every hole on the course. Crucially, he can also visualise every eventuality, good or not-so-good, and ‘see’ the way forward out of any predicament he may find himself in: he can “plot” his way around the hazards. The most effective mind tool to use against negative ‘what ifs’ is a positive mental attitude. The learned mental skill of visualisation helps to sharpen that tool.
“Golf is a game played on a five-inch course – the distance between your ears”
- Bobby Jones
click here now to join the “team” on my Facebook Page
If you enjoyed this blog be sure to sign up for your FREE report “The Winning Edge “ 7 keys to playing the game of your life click here to sign up
