Like it or not, competition is a fundamental part of golf, as well as life. This introductory topic lays the foundation on which you can begin to build your mental resilience. Downloads PDF Transcript
Course 3: Building Mental Resilience
There is no doubt that golf can be a frustrating game. You only have to look at players as they leave the course with steam coming out of their ears to recognise how strongly golf can affect a person. There can be few other sports where so many players have a love-hate relationship with the game, and a surprising number of people allow the frustration to completely ruin their enjoyment of the game to the point where they quit playing for good.
And yet, when you ask the typical golfer why they play, most people say 'To Relax".
Unfortunately, bad shots are an unavoidable part of playing golf. Even the world's top players have bad shots. The difference is that the average player will allow a few bad shots to spiral out of control and ruin their whole round, whereas the top player will deal with the frustration and will not allow it to break their concentration.
“Success in golf depends less on strength of body than upon strength of mind and character.”
~Arnold Palmer
This course will equip you with simple and practical techniques to cope when things go wrong, to deal with frustration and stay focussed. You'll learn how simple changes in your posture can have a dramatic effect on how much you enjoy your game, as well as how to keep your concentration and protect yourself from the unavoidable disappointments that playing golf brings.
3.2: Real Self vs Performer Self – Part I
Being able to separate who we are from what we do is a core skill in building mental toughness, whether in golf, in business or life in general. Karl explores the difference between the two and helps you strengthen your REAL SELF. Downloads PDF Transcript Real Self Exercise MP3
3.3: Real Self vs Performer Self – Part II
Once the true sense of the REAL self is strongly developed, we can then build our PERFORMER self, the person who is going to play the golf. Downloads PDF Transcript
3.4: Releasing Emotions
So much of the concept of DEAL WITH is about being able to release negative emotion after the inevitable dropped shot or a missed putt or a poor decision. Karl explains a simple but very powerful method to do this. Downloads PDF Transcript
3.5: How to Keep Your Concentration
Compared with many other sports, golf lasts a long time – 4 hours or so. Unfortunately, a human being can only concentrate for around 50 minutes without taking a rest. Karl explains how to make your 50 minutes last the whole round. Downloads PDF Transcript
3.6: Relaxing and Enjoying Golf More
Karl explains a simple technique that can not only help you maintain concentration, but also increase your enjoyment of your game. Downloads PDF Transcript
3.7: Beating Self Talk – Part I
Most golf instruction concerns itself with the time you are playing golf. But as we have already discovered, you are doing something other than playing golf for over 3 hours. What you do in this ‘in-between’ time can have a dramatic effect on your score. Downloads PDF Transcript
3.8: Beating Self Talk – Part II
In this topic, Karl shares the first of three techniques to improve your self talk. Downloads PDF Transcript
3.9: Beating Self Talk – Part III
One effective means of changing habitual patterns is to use what I call the ‘Stop Sign’ Downloads PDF Transcript
3.10: Beating Self Talk – Part IV
Another effective intervention for players with poor explanatory style and self-talk is to create what I call “The Card”. Downloads PDF Transcript
