[Super Tuna]

I think that's a good way of phrasing it wdgolf. Hitting the reset button certainly seems easier lately

[jmiller065]

wdgolf, on 28 May 2012 - 07:52 PM, said:

I was at the range today trying to unlock the mysteries of the 3 wood. After hitting it awfully for a while I decided to try to focus only on my breathing and let everything else be automatic as they describe in PMC. I used my tour striker to instill the right swing feel and just swung away. As long as I didn't try to crush the thing, I was hitting it exactly as I wanted.

I'm with both of you about ignoring bad shots and distractions. For whatever reason, I haven't let bad shots get to me since using PMC. I remember a round I had before where a series of bad shots got me into a funk I couldn't get out of for the rest of the round. In the few times I've played since PMC, I've gotten much better at "resetting" myself before each shot and forgetting bad shots.

I have done some research on the mental game of golf not too much information out their on it honestly. Breathing techniques are something you hear Tour Pros talk about once in a blue moon, maybe some of the PMC testers can touch on this and what kind of drills that PMC has you doing that has helped you stay 'in the zone' / 'calm and collected'.

I know that in my game I use this a lot, I try to stay emotionally pretty even leveled. I don't think about mechanics over the ball my thought is a FEEL thought such as 'smooth' relating to my tempo. It seems to get some great results out of it, if you just think about one FEEL thought in the swing let everything else fall into place. Mechanics for swing are practiced and repeated on the range 3000 - 5000 times for them to be automatic anyways why think about it on the course.

[wdgolf]

jmiller065, on 29 May 2012 - 11:12 AM, said:

I have done some research on the mental game of golf not too much information out their on it honestly. Breathing techniques are something you hear Tour Pros talk about once in a blue moon, maybe some of the PMC testers can touch on this and what kind of drills that PMC has you doing that has helped you stay 'in the zone' / 'calm and collected'.

I know that in my game I use this a lot, I try to stay emotionally pretty even leveled. I don't think about mechanics over the ball my thought is a FEEL thought such as 'smooth' relating to my tempo. It seems to get some great results out of it, if you just think about one FEEL thought in the swing let everything else fall into place. Mechanics for swing are practiced and repeated on the range 3000 - 5000 times for them to be automatic anyways why think about it on the course.

What PMC says about the breathing is it helps get your heart rate to a steady pace. When your heart is beating too fast, it interferes with your natural mechanics. Plus, concentrating on breathing (at least for me) is a great way to clear my mind. I still struggle trusting myself sometimes, but as you say, I probably just need more reps.

There are several breathing drills they have you do. I think PMC must have decided this is an area I really need to work on because I get them all the time. One drill has you put down pictures of your preshot routine. You are supposed to space out the picture properly according to how long you take with each part of your routine. Then, you hit start are are supposed to hit the space bar each time you breath in. The test is to repeat this and you are supposed to breath in at the same rate as before.

The second drill simply has you breathing in and out 6 times per minute. This is supposedly the optimum rate to lower your heart rate. They help you time your breathing by showing a golfer swinging at this rate. As you go to high difficulties, the golfer stops swinging for progressively longer periods of time. This is my personal favorite because you can feel yourself relax as you go through the drill. There are sounds that occur in the background, but these never really bother me.

The third drill is outright mediation. They want you to focus only on your breathing while you stare at a white ball. Each time a distracting thought comes to you, you are supposed to hit the space bar. The ball then becomes larger and slowly goes back down to size. This is meant to help remove the distracting thought. I've only done this one once though.

[barbajo]

I'm finding the breathing drills somewhat useful -- at least I know on the course that slow down the breathing when I'm getting ready to hit a shot. Not sure about the meditation drill, though...it was mentioned earlier that it's way too easy to cheat, and for a borderline ADD type (at least according to my wife) I'll have thoughts like "was that a distracting thought?" popping into my head. Will try going through that drill a few more times to see if I'm missing something.

As others have stated, so far the biggest benefit for me has been help in staying in the moment, enjoying the process and letting go of a bad shot.

The most important shot is always the next one.

[jmiller065]

barbajo, on 30 May 2012 - 07:36 AM, said:

I'm finding the breathing drills somewhat useful -- at least I know on the course that slow down the breathing when I'm getting ready to hit a shot. Not sure about the meditation drill, though...it was mentioned earlier that it's way too easy to cheat, and for a borderline ADD type (at least according to my wife) I'll have thoughts like "was that a distracting thought?" popping into my head. Will try going through that drill a few more times to see if I'm missing something.

As others have stated, so far the biggest benefit for me has been help in staying in the moment, enjoying the process and letting go of a bad shot.

The most important shot is always the next one.

I think the meditation is a practice for "being present", at least I would assume. This is just forgetting about the past, forgetting about the future and not thinking of anything other then being present in the time and space. I could be wrong but a lot of times on the course espesually in tournaments I just turn off the brain as much as possible between shots and just walk being present in the world while between shots. Play my best golf when I have little going on in my head through the round.

[R.P. Jacobs II]

I would say that the mental side of the game has been what has allowed me to play my best golf & many more times than not, allowed me to beat a player(s) that I had no business beating...I guess the ultimate test, at least for me, is match-play...This past Saturday I won a semi-final match 1-up on the 21st hole against a +2, who played the Nike & Hogan(pre-Nationwide) Tours and seeing that he wasn't going to go further than that, "got a real job" & regained his amateur status...

My point is that I had no business beating him if we both play to our capabilities...Fortunately, on Saturday, while he had 70(-1) & I had a 72, other than a double that I had where he parred, we matched cards with me getting "lucky" on the 21st hole by holing out a 22 yd LW..I'm not kidding when I say that I visualized that wedge holing out..Was it luck?..Hell yea!..Though "worse" case is that by visualizing it going in the hole & if it didn't go in, hopefully the "touch" that I applied to the shot would leave me with a short makeable birdie putt....The only mental exercise that I really do religously is visualization...I spend about 15-20 minutes in the morning & will spend time during the day when I am by myself & in the evenings, though earlier than bedtime so that I don't doze off...I also will play through my round, prior to the round/match, in my head, visualizing each & every shot...It's kinda funny because I did this on Friday evening & I had myself shooting a 70, though my birdies on Saturday were not the same ones that I had visualized, nor was the OB & double that I had Saturday in my visualization exercise...lol...


If/when I hit a poor shot, all that I do in my mind is visualize the next shot that is required, giving no thought to the shot that I just hit...This used to be easier said than done, though I have no problem putting the poor last shot out of my mind now...Ironically, where I started to use visualization was in high school football..My position coach told me about it & we would watch film of both myself & the individual that I wold be going up against that week..I was an outside linebacker(wide side/willie)...I would literally visualize a spot 4 yds deep in backfield, & anticipating the snap(usually..lol), I would go to that spot & usually I met either the RB or the QB, and on more than a few occasions, both...I didn't even look @ the TE, RB or tackle or whomever was to block me or in between me and that spot... If I got to that spot, more often than not, I ended up with whoever had the ball in their hands...Again, I beat guys off off the edge that I had no business beating..I was good size & strength. & ave. 40 time & quickness however a very quick 1st step...It was visualization & anticipation...Was I succeptable to the screen or play action?..Yea, but that's another story & I was lucky in that in both HS and college I had a great "monster" back(safety) to cover my backside..lol...In my mind it was only myself & the QB out there, no one else...Same on the course...It's my ball, club & the target, nothing or no one else...I'm known as stand-of fish when I play, however I do not have the ability to carry on a conversation of any depth & focus on my shots...Some can, I can't...I'm not rude, I just walk by myself, using my caddie when I need him for distances & reads...

Anyway, my point is that if you truly use visualization, which is different from meditation, & you use it seriously, you will definitely benefit from it...I find it especially helpful when I have hit a less than optimum shot in that visualizing my next shot with no thought of the one that I just hit keeps my mind where it needs to be, in the present & future, not in the past, where nothing can be done about that outcome, other than to sripe the next shot...

I have probably 35-40 books on the use of visualization in sports..Some are golf specific, some are general & a few are academic in nature(From an application standpoint, they're worthless, it's deep theory, which you don't need to know to apply the technique)...Like alot of the "physical" golf instructional books, many are worthless or generic, though a few are excellent, usually with a chapter dedicated to the technique..If you have any interest in the titles, let me know & I'll give 'em to ya...

Fairways & Greens 4ever.....

[wdgolf]

R.P. Jacobs II, on 30 May 2012 - 01:17 PM, said:

I would say that the mental side of the game has been what has allowed me to play my best golf & many more times than not, allowed me to beat a player(s) that I had no business beating...I guess the ultimate test, at least for me, is match-play...This past Saturday I won a semi-final match 1-up on the 21st hole against a +2, who played the Nike & Hogan(pre-Nationwide) Tours and seeing that he wasn't going to go further than that, "got a real job" & regained his amateur status...

My point is that I had no business beating him if we both play to our capabilities...Fortunately, on Saturday, while he had 70(-1) & I had a 72, other than a double that I had where he parred, we matched cards with me getting "lucky" on the 21st hole by holing out a 22 yd LW..I'm not kidding when I say that I visualized that wedge holing out..Was it luck?..Hell yea!..Though "worse" case is that by visualizing it going in the hole & if it didn't go in, hopefully the "touch" that I applied to the shot would leave me with a short makeable birdie putt....The only mental exercise that I really do religously is visualization...I spend about 15-20 minutes in the moring & will spend time during the day when I am by myself & in the evenings, though earlier than bedtime so that I don't doze off...I also will play through my round, prior to the round/match, in my head, visualizing each & every shot...It's kinda funny because I did this on Friday evening & I had myself shooting a 70, though my birdies on Saturday were not the same ones that I had visualized, nor was the OB & double that I had Saturday in my visualization exercise...lol...


If/when I hit a poor shot, all that I do in my mind is visualize the next shot that is required, giving no thought to the shot that I just hit...This used to be easier said than done, though I have no problem putting the poor last shot out of my mind now...Ironically, where I started to use visualization was in high school football..My position coach told me about it & we would watch film of both myself & the individual that I wold be going up against that week..I was an outside linebacker(wide side/willie)...I would literally visualize a spot 4 yds deep in backfield, & anticipating the snap(usually..lol), I would go to that spot & usually I met either the RB or the QB, and on more than a few occasions, both...I didn't even look @ the TE, RB or tackle or whomever was to block me or in between me and that spot... If I got to that spot, more often than not, I ended up with whoever had the ball in their hands..Was I succeptable to the screen or play action?..Yea, but that's another story & I was lucky in that in both HS and college I had a great "monster" back(safety) to cover my backside..lol...

Anyway, my point is that if you truly use visualization, which is different from meditation, & you use it seriously, you will definitely benefit freom it...I find it especially helpful when I have hit a less than optimum shot in that visualizing my next shot with no thought of the one that I just hit keeps my mind where it needs to be, in the present & future, not in the past, where nothing can be done about that outcome, other than to sripe the next shot...

I have probably 35-40 books on the use of visualization in sports..Some are golf specific, some are general & a few are academic in nature(From an application standpoint, they're worthless, it's deep theory, which you don't need to know to apply the technique)...Like alot of the "physical" golf instructional books, many are worthless or generic, though a few are excellent, usually with a chapter dedicated to the technique..If you have any interest in the titles, let me know & I'll give 'em to ya...

Fairways & Greens 4ever.....

Are visualization and meditation mutually exclusive? Meditation is about clearing your mind from distracting thoughts. I'd assume the best results come from visualizing the shot while having a clear mind.

[R.P. Jacobs II]

wdgolf, on 30 May 2012 - 12:28 PM, said:

Are visualization and meditation mutually exclusive? Meditation is about clearing your mind from distracting thoughts. I'd assume the best results come from visualizing the shot while having a clear mind.

WD, I was told by a therapist that they were not mutually exclusive, though I have also read where they are, though the author had a vested(finacial) interest in that being the case through his seminars, however he would no doubt deny it..lol....I never got into the meditation because when the coach who taught me the technique worked with me, we only covered the visualization technique...

I would think that if you(or anyone) had trouble clearing your mind to visualize the upcoming shot, then looking into meditation might help.....To truly & thoroughly clear your mind of any & ALL swing thoughts is not an easy thing to do...Many, myself included, might have a single thought,ie., drive right elbow into ribs on downswing or start downswing by driving right knee towards the ball...Bottom line is that when I'm firing on all cylinders, the only thing in my mind is the picture of the ball taking off and landing wherever I pictured it...

Even though I've used visualization for decades, sometimes I slip into that swing thought mentality & most of the time it's detrimental to the shot's outcome...Though now, I'm in a groove...Saturday, I got "quick" on a tee shot and drove it OB...Instead of thinking what I did wrong mechanically, I just pictured a 270 yd drive with a 5 yd draw & I ended up with a 267 yd drive w/a 5 yd draw in the center of the fairway on my next ball...

One paperback that I just finished & it was an excellent, informative read was "Golf At The Top" by Steve Williams(Yea, that Steve Williams)...I believe it's 4-5 years out, and it covers his times w/the European pro he started with, Norman, Floyd and of course Tiger...Let me say that when I first saw he book in the clearance rack @ Half Off Books I wasn't expecting much..#1, I'm not a Steve Williams fan..I'll leave it at that..#2, my initial thought was "what the hell is a caddy, regardless of who it is, gonna tell me about swinging a club?"...Answer:Plenty!..He covers the mental side of the game & really goes into the visualization technique & talks of how he and Floyd believed that visualization was responsible for his rebirth at the age of 50, coming out of a terrible 2-3 year slump & culminating with a Captain's pick for the Ryder Cup @ the age of 53yo...I can't believe that I'm writing this, however I would say that this is one of the 3-4 top books on mental techniques in general & visualization in particular..Get it..It's worth the full paperback price & you got a great deal if ya get it on clearance!...lol...Hope this helps...The Best, Richard...Fairways & Greens 4ever...

[jmiller065]

The logical part of the brain is a terrible golfer, think about catching a ball thrown at you without warning, you just react to what you see right? Now sit there and think about catching the ball and mechanics of it on the next throw, if you drop it you will lose a finger. Now more then likely you will not being able to move naturally and athletically in the second example will you?

Golf is about attempting to react to what you visually see athletically and creatively. Just like all other sports, only issue is it is easy to react to a moving object rather then a stationary one. So we have to find a way to let the body act naturally and athletically still. Thus why I say to just have a tempo thought over the ball like 'smooth' let everything else work automatically.

BTW, Great posts R.P.

[R.P. Jacobs II]

Thanx alot JM...Fairways & Greens 4ever........

[Super Tuna]

jmiller065, on 29 May 2012 - 08:12 AM, said:

I have done some research on the mental game of golf not too much information out their on it honestly. Breathing techniques are something you hear Tour Pros talk about once in a blue moon, maybe some of the PMC testers can touch on this and what kind of drills that PMC has you doing that has helped you stay 'in the zone' / 'calm and collected'.

I have much more to stick up on this later but WDgolf did a good run down. The first I want to touch on was the one he mentioned about setup. I find it to be an interesting and odd exercise.

First, it gets you to essentially map out your setup with pictures and then gets you to add in points where you would take a breathe. The idea sounds neat initially. The first hurdle however is that I have no idea what half of those pictures represents. The second is that I'm having an issue adjusting the placement of the pictures on the story board to have the appropriate level of time between them. Sure, I can put down the fact that I measure my spot from the ball, then set up my body, then regrip and put in the markers for where I take a breathe or where I think I should. However I can't seem to space them in such a way to make show that it's 6 seconds not 1 between taking a setup and regripping and I take two deep breathes in between.

That being said, I like the idea of the drill. The makers can correct me as they wish but what it appears to do is to get you into your preswing breathing pattern outside of the swing. Thus it becomes a natural pattern and not just something you do when you stand over the ball and thus have to think about it.

A breif touch on one of the other breathing drills is the one where it shows a cartoon video of a random golfer hitting balls at a green. They get you to tap the space bar when you take in a deep breath and they're looking for a timing of 8 to 12 seconds between inhale and ready to inhale again. As mentioned above, you can certainly feel yourself relax as the drill goes on. Doing this drill a fair bit has actually helped on the course recently as it reminds me to calm down before taking a shot. A deep breath where I can literally see this drill in my head, a little waggle or two to relax my forarms and then pull the trigger. It's been leading to more consistent results with clubs that use to give me trouble or shots I was more anxious over. The routine of taking a shot is more natural as it becomes something (aside from the waggle) that I do everyday. Though I will totally admit to waggling the clutch on my standard while the light is red instead

[R.P. Jacobs II]

[quote name='R.P. Jacobs II' date='30 May 2012 - 12:17 PM' timestamp='1338398224' post='59840']

[quote]
I'm sorry for this post..I was trying to edit it and didn't mean to put a new one up..Anyway, have a good one....Fairways & Greens 4ever.....

[jmiller065]

I am trying to figure out why you quoted your own post R.P. and didn't make any comments? It is a good post that is for sure. Are you comparing your routine with PMC visual drills?

[R.P. Jacobs II]

jmiller065, on 01 June 2012 - 01:13 PM, said:

I am trying to figure out why you quoted your own post R.P. and didn't make any comments? It is a good post that is for sure. Are you comparing your routine with PMC visual drills?

JM no, I was trying to correct a grammatical error & I somehow hit the button to post it...Then I went back into edit & did a back space through the whole post(that was tiring) trying to delete everything..lol...but it still put the whole post up so I just back spaced & just apologized...I'm not kidding when I tell ya I'm IT challenged...Sorry about the wasted posts, space..This sux!..lol...Fairways & Greens 4ever...

[jmiller065]

R.P. Jacobs II, on 01 June 2012 - 03:06 PM, said:

JM no, I was trying to correct a grammatical error & I somehow hit the button to post it...Then I went back into edit & did a back space through the whole post(that was tiring) trying to delete everything..lol...but it still put the whole post up so I just back spaced & just apologized...I'm not kidding when I tell ya I'm IT challenged...Sorry about the wasted posts, space..This sux!..lol...Fairways & Greens 4ever...

it is okay I just got confused for a minute.

Back to PMC, does the software do anything in putting together a pre-shot routine from a mental stand point (I talked about it in a different topic I think under University Mental Game section.)