To play great golf you need a lot of things to go your way. The game is biomechanically quite difficult – it’s so complicated that it is impossible to control every part of your golf swing (it really is, despite what the golf magazines say). You only need to be a little out and the ball will miss the target.

The good news is your natural learning system is perfectly capable of performing the swing. Compared to many other things we do each day, the golf swing is actually quite easy. 

Mental interruptions are the learning system’s short circuit. By getting in your own way you destroy any chance of letting your learning system do what it does best.

If you don’t know which interruptions are holding you back then the game really does become impossible. Here are three interruptions that you probably need to deal with if you want to play your best golf most of the time.

Self-doubt

Self-doubt is horrible. It kills confidence and enthusiasm and makes the game harder than it needs to be.

A golfer that doubts will make poor decisions and never fully express himself. His game will be stuck in first gear and rarely will leave it.

Self-doubt can be difficult to diagnose. Its effects are subtle and can feel quite normal after playing this way for some time. A golfer that doubts himself will;

• Get overly nervous
• Make poor decisions
• Lack conviction in decision making
•  “Steer” rather than “hit” the ball
• Have trouble taking his game from the practice tee to the first tee
• Play worse under pressure, not better
• Make too many stupid mistakes – sometimes in quick succession
• Think golf is difficult and hard work
• Make excuses
• Play the wrong shot at the wrong time

Self-doubt is a sure game wrecker and needs to be hit on the head. The best golf game can be ruined and stifled by a dose of self-doubt. Self-doubt is not as bad as fear, but it often leads down this path if it isn’t addressed.

Noise

Noise can come in two ways. You can be distracted by internal or external noise. Although external noise can be distracting (like someone talking) it’s the internal noise that’s the big problem.

Continual internal chatter is not a good thing. Whether it’s your inner voice (I call him Pesky) telling you how to play (like swing slowly, keep your head down or hit with the big muscles) or making sure you understand how bad you are (after you’ve just made your third mistake in a row), it has no positive effect on your game.

Pesky distracts you from the job at hand and keeps your mind spinning. The plethora of golf instruction only adds to the noise. Golfers need a way of reducing noise, not adding to it. 

A clear mind is a powerful thing. When you understand the clarity and conviction that comes from a “noise free” zone, you’ll get better, not worse.

Fear

Fear is the Big Daddy. It ruins golfers and rarely can anyone play decently when his or her mind has been invaded.

I’ve seen grown men riddled with fear and seen their golf game reduced to nothing more than an embarrassing hit and hope affair.

Fear is the next progression from self-doubt – similar but only much worse. A golfer playing with fear can only display a fraction of his true potential. Success will be rare and golf becomes some sort of weird obsession that probably does more harm than good.

You know you’re playing with fear when you experience some, or all of the following;

• Extreme nervousness
• Nausea
• Major anxiety
• The yips
• Complete helplessness
• Find golf exhausting
• Always waiting for a bad shot to happen
• Shaking
• Dreading the opening tee shot – or the last
• Thoughts dominated by golf problems
• Rarely enjoy a game of golf
• Complete loss of power
• Playing on the edge – always a few shots away from losing the plot
• Scared to swing freely
• Worried about results before hitting the ball
• Struggling to take the club away from the ball

Fear is obviously not good. But it can be beaten and a fun, positive and successful game restored. When you learn to play without fear you’ll kick yourself for not doing it sooner. Fear makes it almost impossible to play any form of consistent golf. Get rid of it and you’ll never look back.

Earlier I discussed two different methodologies. A Learning one and a Technical one.

What I’m suggesting is you adopt a Learning Based Methodology (LBM). As quickly as possible.

An LBM bypasses a lot of the rubbish. And you’re going to need to be brave because you’ll be bucking the system and challenging the status quo.

You see..

Much of the golf industry is built on the
back of a technical learning methodology.

But for reasons we’ve discussed so far, this doesn’t work for everyone. A technical methodology plays right into Pesky’s hand and gives him ample ammunition.

There’s always the possibility of a new tip or club that can set you free.

There’s always the promise of an instant cure.

There’s always something hiding on the next page of Golf Digest or YouTube.

But all this “stuff” is a distraction in itself. It’s getting you away from actually playing golf and unleashing your best version of your game onto the world.

The technique based methodology is actually throwing fuel onto the fire. You expect to get better results but in fact are just making things worse. It’s a horrible feedback loop that is rarely discussed in golfing circles.

Seven LBM’s To Help You Blast Away Interruptions – Starting Right Now! 

In the next part we’re going to go deeper:

I’m going to give you seven learning methodologies – powerful lessons that I have used to eliminate distractions in my game and those of my clients.

This is just the first step – the beginning of some huge breakthroughs in learning, playing better golf and finding a reliable golf game that makes the game worthwhile.

Click here to continue…  (Page 8 of 15)