Pro Mental Coach

[Matt Saternus]

Pro Mental Coach Review

 

 

Introduction

 

Bobby Jones famously said, “Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half-inch course, the space between your ears.” While it may be the most important, the mental game is also probably the most overlooked part of golf. Golfers spend thousands of dollars on clubs, lessons, and training aids that promise to help them hit the ball straighter and farther only to be let down by their brain. Pro Mental Coach is a computer-based training program that promises to improve your focus, concentration, and ability to perform in the clutch, all for only $140. Is this the key to shaving those final few strokes off your handicap? Read on spies…

 

Ease of Use/Set Up – 10 Points

 

If you can find the DVD drive on your computer and click “Ok” a bunch of times, you can install Pro Mental Coach. From there, using the program is quite easy. All the games have ample, easy to follow instructions. The results and training program are similarly well-explained.

 

Score: 10/10

 

Effectiveness – 30 points

 

When you first start using Pro Mental Coach, you create an account and take an assessment. The assessment includes playing some of the training games and also doing some self-evaluation of your mental game. When this is complete, PMC tells you what parts of your mental game are strengths and what parts are weaknesses, and it devises a customized plan to help you improve.

 

For me, PMC recommended doing 4 training games every other day. With each game lasting around 5 minutes, this is a total time commitment of about 20-30 minutes. There is a nice variety of games within PMC, though they all fall into one of a few categories, at least to my mind. Some games focus on breathing/meditation/visualization, others on quick recognition/sorting between different objects, and the third category focuses on short term memory: listen to a series of numbers and repeat them back, for example (please note these are my layman's explanations and I may have overlooked a couple of games). This isn't necessarily a complete index of every part of PMC, but it gives you a rough idea of what types of things you do with PMC.

 

While none of these tasks may seem terribly difficult, you will definitely feel a mental strain while using PMC. Think about your normal day: how often are you forced to focus intensely for 5 minutes in a row? Probably very rarely, if ever. PMC also ups the ante a bit within each game by having “in the zone” segments where the points for correct answers (and mistakes) are doubled. This teaches you to take your focus up a level when needed, just like you do when faced with a critical shot on the course.

 

My only knock against PMC is that there are some moments in the training games that can be a bit frustrating. One example: there's a training game that forces you to sort between positive and negative things (faces that are smiling/frowning and words like “winner” or “choke”). While the words are clear, some of the faces are very ambiguous. For a perfectionist like myself, I hated seeing the red X pop up when I failed to click on a face that looked indifferent, at best. That said, there are not many instances like this in PMC.

 

Ultimately, I was very impressed by the effectiveness of Pro Mental Coach. When I used it regularly, I found that I had fewer attention “blips” while playing, and I was better able to block out distractions. On the other end, when I took time off of my regular practice, I found that the attention “blips” came back. This encouraged me to get back to it, which leads me to…

 

Score: 28/30

 

 

 

 

Longevity – 20 points

 

Pro Mental Coach scores a perfect 20/20 for longevity for a few reasons. Reason #1 is effectiveness: when you use PMC, you focus better. When you don't use PMC, you will notice the difference. Reason #2: PMC has a nice variety of training games, so you don't have to do the same thing over and over. On top of that, most of the games are pretty enjoyable. Reason #3: PMC does not require you to go anywhere, nor does it ask for much time. If you have 5 minutes, you have time for PMC.

 

Score: 20/20

 

 

Value – 20 points

 

Pro Mental Coach is available via download or on a DVD for $139.95. This does top the $100 price point which is so common for training aids, but I would argue that it is worth it. It's never going to wear out, it's highly effective, and it has good longevity. Beyond that, it's a totally unique product that you really can't recreate on your own.

 

Score: 18/20

 

 

 

 

The Peanut Gallery – 20 points

 

For this particular review, The Peanut Gallery consisted of my wife and her graduate degree in psychology. She watched me use Pro Mental Coach and also played some of the training games herself. Her feeling was that these exercises could definitely boost concentration and focus. While PMC is obviously golf-centric, she felt that the benefits could apply to any aspect of life where mental focus is important.

 

Score: 20/20

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

 

Overall, I was very impressed with Pro Mental Coach. While we all recognize the importance of the mental game, very few of us actually work on it. I think the reason people don't work on their mental game is that, until now, there has not been a clear way to train your brain. Yes, there have been books about the mental side of the game, some very good, but it's not the same as doing a targeted exercise. With Pro Mental Coach, there is no longer any excuse. While the price tag is on the high side for a training aid, it is a totally unique product that, I believe, will improve your focus on the course which should lead to better scores.

 

Score: 96/100

 

[Kanoito]

Could you describe some of the games in PMC?

[Matt Saternus]

"Some games focus on breathing/meditation/visualization, others on quick recognition/sorting between different objects, and the third category focuses on short term memory: listen to a series of numbers and repeat them back, for example (please note these are my layman's explanations and I may have overlooked a couple of games). This isn't necessarily a complete index of every part of PMC, but it gives you a rough idea of what types of things you do with PMC."

 

I'll explain a couple that I am commonly assigned in more detail:

 

In one game, you're in a pro shop and there are many items with white sale tags. When a tag flashes red, you click on it. You need to be careful that it's not a "false flash" that turns back to white, however, because that counts against you.

 

Another game has you viewing a hole from a tee box. In a white ball in the center of the screen, an image flashes in the middle of the ball, then moves either right or left and a second image appears opposite it. You need to click on the image that came up first. At the same time, there are "distractions" on the hole (people in the background, branch rustling, fish jumping in the lake) and you need to click on those also. It teaches you to see the whole picture while still focusing on the middle.