Don’t Blame Johnson and his Rugby World Cup Players

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Doc Steve

Although their performances were poor these were only the result of what went before. We can be fairly certain that the team all wanted to give their best on the day. So what happened?

Far more important in golf, in life, and in rugby are the processes that took them to this sorry state. Curiously our collective consciousness calls for heroes and villains in such circumstances. I didn’t spot any heroes but am sure they were there somewhere. I did not see any villains either, so where were they hiding? I thought I spotted the odd blazer lurking in the best seats but could easily be mistaken.

Your opinion is at least as important as mine. So what do you think needs to be changed to turn English rugby around?

My only other naive observation is that it must be very difficult to run at speed when you receive the ball standing still. In my day we called these hospital passes, and they were a result of passing to the wrong person or not lying deep enough to take the ball in full flight.

Posted in Power of Unconscious Mind, Sports Coaching | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

What Do Andy Murray and Lewis Hamilton Have in Common?

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Doc Steve

I was tempted to write a blog about Andy Murray’s continuing poor run in the tennis majors, but decided not to, as there is nothing to add to what has already been written. A similar comment applies to Lewis Hamilton and his recent track incidents.

A friend of mine works with the Red Bull team, presumably in some mind capacity, but that might not even be correct. For all I know he makes the tea. Unfortunately I know nothing else (honest!). However the Red Bull results indicate that whatever they are doing is working brilliantly. Perhaps it is the tea.

My point is this. Life on tour, whether in golf, tennis, or F1, is artificial, and like living in a bubble. Reality and perception as always are blurred. The players have punishing schedules, and push their bodies and minds beyond normal limits.

Peak performance depends on listening to the right people, not listening to the wrong people, knowing with total clarity what you want, trusting your own judgement, and maintaining perfect mind/body balance.

This is hard enough at the best of times, but even tougher when you are exhausted. This is scary on the tee at Augusta, and even scarier driving round Silverstone at 200 mph.

Golfers, F1 drivers, rugby, soccer, cricket, tennis players, and many others are paying a heavy price with their minds and bodies because corporate, TV, and other commitments demand it.

I know they get paid a lot of money but that is not the point. Schedules will have to change sooner rather than later otherwise we are going to lose some of our top performers. They will burn out, or worse. Rant over.

Posted in Sports Coaching | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Visualisation – The Secret of Success, and Not Just in Golf

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Doc Steve

You have probably read Jack Nicklaus’s legendary quote. It is priceless, and I use it in almost every seminar. However, it amazes me how many good players have poor or even non-existent visualisations.

So how does visualisation work? The unconscious mind makes far less distinction between reality and perception than we might imagine. The perfect visualisation  is crammed with details of what we see, hear, feel, smell and taste. Then the result is far more likely to be a self-fulfilling prophesy of our earlier visualisation. This is Jack’s description.

‘I never hit a shot, not even in practice, without having a very sharp, in-focus picture of it in my head. It’s like a colour movie.

First I ‘see’ where I want it to finish, nice and white and sitting up high on the bright green grass. Then the scene quickly changes and I ‘see’ the ball going there: its path, trajectory, and shape, even its behaviour on landing.

Then there is this sort of fadeout, and the next scene shows me making the kind of swing that will turn the previous images to reality.

With all due respect to Jack his brilliant process can still be improved upon. Consider his words ‘the next scene shows me making the kind of swing that will turn the previous images to reality.

I might be wrong but I am guessing that Jack is seeing himself making his swing, as if on a TV screen. This is called a dissociated image, and a powerful element of effective visualisation. However change this dissociated image to an associated one and watch the rockets fly!

I must be a slow learner, but I finally figured this out for myself last week, and played one of my best-ever rounds. Of course I want to share my tip with you, so this is how it goes….

Follow Jack’s visualisation, which is usually easiest when standing behind the ball. Now here is the important difference. Visualise yourself standing over the ball THROUGH YOUR OWN EYES. You will ‘see’ your feet, hands, and legs. The in your mind’s eye look and lock on to your target, make your imaginary swing, and follow the flight of the ball to your target.

Don’t stop now. Use this technique in other areas of your life too. I watched ‘The Secret’ again yesterday, and it reinforced to me how much importance its presenters also attach to visualisation.

This visualisation leaves very little, if any, room for distracting thoughts, and it works for everyone. Write to me and let me know how you get on!

Posted in Golf Coaching | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Next Seminar – Central London – 23rd October – Special Offer £147 Expires on 23rd September

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Doc Steve

One day in London to become the best golf player you can be, and a much happier one too. Almost all of the top players have mind coaches, and now it your time.

How to use self-hypnosis, meditation, Zen, universal laws, quantum energy, and the latest psychological and NLP techniques to be a better golfer. Use these same tools in your personal and business life, and the cost of this seminar can repay itself many times over.

Further Booking Information here.

As a medical specialist, best-selling author, NLP Master Practitioner Trainer, MBA, Certified HeartMath® Sports Professional and caddie on the European Tours I have discovered time after time that the secret to playing great golf is keeping life simple. Just stay in the present. Unfortunately most of us find this about the hardest thing in the world to do. The only answer is to adopt a rock-solid proven system that will work every day, on any course, in any weather, and with whoever you play with.

  • Does this mean you will shoot a magical score every day? Certainly not – you have no control over bounce, whether a putt drops or just lips out, and how other players score.
  • Will my system give you the best possible chance of controlling your emotions and finding ‘The Zone’, and so playing to the best of your ability on the day? Certainly.
  • When you walk off the 18th green can you be satisfied that you have done your best, and can feel proud of your efforts, irrespective of your score, rather than beating yourself up? Certainly. Perhaps you might even have a smile on your face!
  • Intriguingly can you believe that players who stay in the present and follow the process, have no need to worry about scores or results?

I have studied with the top coaches in the world to discover the elusive secret of ‘Staying in the Present’. Without question it is the key to great golf, and just about everything else in life too. I have also adopted the best from the frequently confusing world of hypnosis, meditation, Zen, NLP, philosophy, psychology, quantum physics, and anything else I could unearth that could possibly propel any golfer to the next level, and welded them to my own system.

The results have repaid these efforts many times over. Not everyone will need to master ALL of these mind coaching secrets, but everyone will enjoy mastering at least ONE to catapult their game to the next level – and one thing is often all it takes.

Before you commit to discovering just how far you can take your game, ask yourself:

  1. Am I really ready to experiment with new ideas, knowing they have worked for others?
  2. Am I frustrated by how little I have to show for my efforts so far?
  3. Am I ready to say ‘Enough is enough, what have I got to lose?’

Congratulations! The first step is always the hardest one. Too often golf becomes an obsession, compulsion, or even an addiction. Golf should be fun. Curiously happy golfers usually shoot lower scores too! Discover the most effective accelerated mind training techniques to master confidence on demand, create effective visualisation, stay in the present, and enter ‘The Zone’ at will.

This event is promoted by The NLP Life Academy, which is part of the NLP Life group of companies – the largest single NLP training organization in the world.  Our trainers have been personally trained by Dr. Richard Bandler, the man who invented the term ”Neuro-Linguistic Programming”  and John la Valle the President of the Society of NLP and whose influence in the worlds of business, sports, therapy, creativity and personal development is massive.

Posted in Events | Comments Off

Lee for the US PGA?

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Doc Steve

Lee Westwood does not have much time for Mind coaches, but the pressure is finally getting to him. He is in danger of earning the dreaded title ‘best player not to win a Major.’ A more apt title would be ‘the best player not to have a Mind coach.’

Not any more. From all accounts he has been spending less time eating, and more time working with legendary mind coach Bob Rotella since the Open. As a result he is fitter than ever, and saying all the right things about the power of the unconscious mind, and the importance of letting things happen, rather than making them happen. All familiar refrains to the Magic Golfers.

So will Lee lift the US PGA later this week? I hope so. I can laugh off his unflattering comments about mind coaches because in essence he’s a good bloke. People that know him tell me he is humble, grounded, and puts a lot back into the game. That is good enough for me.

But will he win this week? I am not convinced his new conversion will withstand the heat of battle. I hope I am wrong, not least because if he wins he will not stop talking about the power of the mind. Good for him, good for you, and good for me.

Success is blocked by concentrating on it and planning for it…. Success is shy – it won’t come out while you’re watching.  ~Tennessee Williams

Just like Schrodinger’s cat……..

Posted in The Majors 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

McIlroy Racks Up The Rants

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Doc Steve

Rory is having a bit of a hissy with Jay Townsend. From what I have seen and heard he is entitled to be irritated. I’m frankly not that interested, but I am interested in what effect this will have on his golf. I see the destructive effect of distractions all the time with my players.

Players do not lose their concentration, they choose to put it elsewhere, often unconsciously. This is true in general life too. There is a common phrase we hear frequently,

‘Things started to go wrong when she/he took his/her eye off the ball.’

This is not rocket science.

I spend hours and hours watching Tour players on the range and in competition. On the range they all look like winners. However, in the heat of battle few look like winners.

Most players are conscientious, and spend many hours working on their game. Sadly they spend few hours  developing their mind. This explains why you see the same faces year after year struggling to keep their cards or move to the next level.

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and confidently expecting a different result. Einstein would have been a great golfer…

Posted in Golf Coaching | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Darren Clarke Conquers Confidence

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Doc Steve

Many people considered Clarke to be one of the names in the growing list of ‘best players not to win a Major’. His talent was never in doubt, so that only left the mind as the block to fulfilling his potential.

Never one to do things by halves he sought help from not one, but two mind coaches – Bob Rotella and Mike Finnegan. Amongst other things they worked on developing a quiet mind.

I was coaching at the Scottish Open the week before The Open, and his head certainly appeared to be in a good place. His movements were slow and smooth, and the quiet smile was rarely far away. An obvious contrast was fellow Major winner Padraig Harrington, who appears to have much on his mind at the moment, judging from his body language. He will be winning again when he is ready.

One of the hardest lessons I learnt in the University of Life was to let, not make, things happen. It is a lot easier to say than to do. Rotella and Finnegan found the answers for Clarke, and others have found my book Play Magic Golf helpful. As far as I know none has won a Major yet, but in golf, as in life, anything is possible.

Available from Amazon in Kindle & paperback formats

Posted in The Majors 2011 | Comments Off

The Only Thing We Have To Fear Is Fear Itself

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Doc Steve

So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. – President Roosevelt

Sadly there is a lot of fear in golf, and nothing is more certain to interfere with the straight flight of a golf ball than a single doubt. A client sent me this brilliant article. I think it is written by mind coach Dayne Gingrich, but my apologies if the source is incorrect.

My name is Fear, and I dominate you. I control your every thought, and manipulate your daily actions. Because of me, you’re unable to move forward towards your goals. Actually, due to my hold on you, you don’t even set many goals. You view short term failure as guaranteed long term failure.

I have you handcuffed to the type of thinking that keeps you stationary – often times moving, but always standing still. My name is Fear, and I make sure you think of me the moment you awaken until the second you fall asleep. Many nights are filled with dreams of me, unable to find a way out of my grasp. I make you believe you don’t have any control over your future. I hold you to a truth that, in reality, is a lie. I own you … or so you believe.

Because of me, you view new experiences as opportunities to fall, unable to step past comfort zones. It’s these comfort zones that I use against you. I make you believe that outside your natural comfort awaits insecurity and eventual failure. I am Fear, and you are holding on tight. We have a love / hate relationship. You know, deep down, I’m holding you back, yet you still love my familiarity. Fear is a crazy thing, isn’t it. I make you feel comfort, knowing you’re too weak to take a leap of faith.

I paralyze you to the point of giving up. You want more, but don’t know how to pry my fingers from your wrists. Maybe you try once in awhile, but I’ve grown strong. My strength comes from your inability to fight. You quit, I win.

Thank goodness you don’t understand I’m an illusion. I’m the power of your imagination. The same way you’ve allowed me to own your actions is, ironically, the way you’ll get rid of me. My name is Fear. Do you believe in me?

 

Posted in Golf Coaching | Comments Off

McIroy’s Mind Games – It’s The (US) Open Secret

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Doc Steve

McIlroy has clearly worked hard on his mental game since The Masters. Assuming he remains fit and grounded there will be more Majors to come, perhaps many more. According to reports he kept his concentration by playing a game I have used with clients for several years after reading about Jasper Parnevik describing it. I call it 6-set but there are other names for it too, and this is how it works.

A round of golf lasting 5 hours or more is too long to maintain concentration for anybody, let alone any golfer with ADD, and there are many of them. Jasper’s approach was to play only 3 holes, which is called a set, as in tennis. His objective might be to play the set in 1 under par – for an 18 handicapper 3 over par would be a reasonable target. The result can only be a win, draw, or loss. After the set is completed the slate is wiped clean for a new set, and so it continues for 6 sets.

Imagine the familiar scenario of notching up a triple bogey or far worse on the 1st hole in your monthly medal. Your card is in shreds, with nothing left to play for. So play 6-set, and forget the disaster. 6-set is one way of staying in the present. Execute each shot with your perfect pre-shot routine, play each set, and the pars and birdies are far more likely to come than if you wallow in the negative memory from the past. It worked for Rory, and can work for you too.

 

Posted in The Majors 2011 | Comments Off

Soul of the Shaman – Chill & Meditation Music

Posted on May 20, 2011 by Doc Steve

Posted in Books & Audiobooks | Comments Off