Firstly, I learned a small but valuable lesson the other day; ten pin bowling uses totally different muscles to golf. As a result, certain areas of my body are in agony when I move in certain ways at the moment. I must remember not to go ten pin bowling again if I plan to play golf within the following 48 hours.
I am playing a stableford competition today, and have been thinking about my preparation for it. I have mentioned in several posts about a book I bought, called Your 15th Club by Bob Rotella, well I finished re-reading it on Friday having read it for the first time 4 months ago.
The first thing I took from re-reading it is that, in between reading it for the first and second times, I have already adopted a lot of the regimen detailed in the book without realising. This is obviously pleasing, if not a bit freaky, as I thought I had come up with these ideas myself, but maybe they have come from a seed that was planted the first time I read the book?
This blog itself was actually started having read the book. Dr Rotella mentions writing down a journal of good shots, and also writing affirmations. Whilst I have not adopted that to the letter, it did persuade me to start writing about my golf. Obviously in this blog I have to write about good and bad things, however when reviewing I can choose to read only the good things and ignore the posts about bad things completely.
The remaining things in the book, in fact all of the ideas that come across in the book, are common sense. However, they are only common sense when you read them. It’s the sort of “Yeah, I can see why that would help, I’ll start doing that” thoughts. As I mentioned earlier, the seed needs to be planted first.
So, for today, what should my plan be?
In advance of going to the course, basic preparation; checked the weather forecast, ensured I have the right clothing and equipment, and food for the course.
Time preparation; I’m playing at 1pm, so I have a clear plan to get to the golf club at 11.30am, warm up from 11.45am – 12.15pm, have a bite to eat and socialise with my playing partners 12.15pm – 12.45pm, get ready and hit a few practice putts 12.45pm – 1pm.
I’ll make sure that my warm up doesn’t contain any technical analysis, it is purely to get my swing, and muscles, warmed up.
I have already visualised my round; imagined very clearly in my head every shot, taking into account the noises, sights, feelings as I hit each ball.
So what about when I am playing?
When I have a shot, I will only play it when I am ready and have visualised clearly the shot I want to play.
If I have a specific thought, it will be positive. I will think about a generic swing thought if at all possible. If thinking about a target, I will think about where I do want to hit the ball, not where I don’t want to hit it (e.g. “hit it down the middle” is massively more powerful than “don’t hit it in the bunker”).
If it doesn’t go where I want it to, I will forget about it and only think about the next shot. If I miss a green with an approach shot, I know I have practised my short game enough to be confident to get up and down from anywhere.
If I hit a good shot, I will appreciate it for what it is. The mechanics involved in hitting a golf ball successfully towards a target are amazing, I only have to look at a beginner trying to make contact with the ball to realise how difficult it is. I won’t think “About time too” or “I’ll only go and miss the putt”.
When all is said and done, I will appreciate that my score is reflective of how I played. There is no point moaning about a bounce, or the state of the greens, or how much sand is in the bunkers.
Where a good game can become a bad game is when I stop living by any of the above. Maybe I get rattled by a missed putt and replay it over and over in my head. Maybe if I’m playing well I start getting ahead of myself and thinking “What if……”.
I need to keep my frame of mind exactly as it is now whilst writing this; relaxed, positive, almost serene if you like. Do that and I’ll be alright.
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