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Most short putts are missed through apprehension and anxiety.
A tip on how to make your best stroke under these situations.
There are several simple yet effective tips that will reduce fear,
doubt and anxiety, and at the same time enhance self-belief and
self-confidence, when standing over those critical short putts.
Our perceptions (subjective reality of consciousness awareness)
of what we observe going on around us (playing partners standing
around, club members watching, etc.), and in our heads (thoughts,
self-talk, images, emotions, etc of how well or bad we are playing
at the time and how critical this putt is), activates what is called
the 'fight or flight response' (technically called triggering the
autonomic nervous system!). Since all pressure is ultimately self-induced,
it can therefore be managed. Though it may not feel that way at
the time however.
There are as many ways to resolve this problem as there are varieties
of putts. I have chosen just three simple yet powerfully effective
tips that you can try, that apply to all putting, but especially
when it matters the most, and include the following:
- Walking slowly - Slow your walking pace down, immediately you
step onto the green. Start w-a-l-k-i-n-g v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y.
One of the best examples of this is V J Singh. Also watch Tiger
Woods
carefully as he also does this consistently every time, no
matter what the competitive pressure, or how fast he is walking
towards
any green. Slowing body inertia automatically lowers heart
rate, blood pressure and breathing, this will slow down your
mind enabling
you to concentrate better, be more focused and think more clearly.
You will also feel calmer, more confident and in greater control.
- Breathing out - Firstly closely observe your breathing just
before you begin;1. your practice backswing and 2. the real
thing. Are you breathing in or out, or holding your breath? If
you are
breathing out that's just fine, if not practice breathing out
naturally at these precise points. This will immediately release
any tension
in the body. If this works for you, I would encourage you to
practice this each time you make a putt; in mental practice,
on your lounge
carpet, the practice green and when playing.
- Larger cup - Imagine in your 'minds-eye' the cup being 2 to
3 times bigger than it is in reality. Whatever increase in
size is OK, provided you are comfortable with it. You may want
to vary
the size with putt distance, for longer putts some people find
it helpful to imagine it as big as a dustbin! The effect of
having to concentrate, form a fantasy picture of the cup in your
mind
will automatically distract your attention away from the unwanted
sensations of pressure, anxiety and fear.
- Imagine 'stroking' the ball, not 'strike', 'hit' or even 'stroke
the ball'. How you 'talk' about ball striking profoundly influences
the manner in which you instruct your muscles, body and club
to approach the ball. If you habitually use one of these or similar
words, just notice how your putting 'stroke' feels compared
to
'trying on' other words. You may find that the smoothest, oilyest
and silkiest words will end in ING. Improper nouns like "hit'
promote jerky actions. You either hit or do not hit! Words
ending in ING are process words or verbs, and imply smooth
action. Select
the word that works best for you in giving you the results
you want.
Watching tour players, and amateurs, in contention in the home
stretch/back nine of any tournament, especially when unused to
being in contention, they typically 'unconsciously' speed up their
game, due to uncontrolled nerves, fear or excitement, rather than
cultivating a slower walking pace. To reprogramme your brain to
do this automatically do the following 'cumulative benefit' exercise
in the comfort of your favourite armchair.
Create a home video of yourself in your 'minds-eye' in as much
detail as possible, walking onto and around a green more slowly.
Watch Woods or Singh and imagine you are them if you wish. Add
the breathing out and larger cup aspects, if this helps you. It
is important to also get a strong feeling of slowing down your
walking, breathing out and imaginary thinking. Do this for at least
three different competitive situations you expect to encounter
in future. This will help you with every short putt you take, and
especially those that really matter.
If this is a recurring issue for you, there are advanced methods
beyond the scope of this short article which guarantee complete
removal of fear and anxiety, you can learn to play in-the-moment
and build a competitive and resolutely repeatable mental preshot
routine. If your thinking is inconsistent, then you can absolutely
guarantee your game will always be inconsistent.
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| © MIND4Golf Academy 2004 |
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