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The Magic of the Mind

Do you get frustrated when you can't get to the course to play for some reason, such as weather, illness or just a busy schedule? The good news is that you can continue to enjoy and improve your game off the course. Tremendous benefits can be gained by practicing mentally. Research shows that while you are in a relaxed state and visualizing your shots, the neurons in your nervous system fire slightly as if your body were actually executing that shot. This leads to strengthening of neural patterns which reinforce your neuro-muscular strengthening of neural patterns which reinforce your neuro-muscular coordination. You can mentally rehearse perfect shots and train your subconscious to reproduce them on the course.

An important principle to understand is that your subconscious does not distinguish between reality and imagination. To experience this yourself, try this experiment right now. Close your eyes and imagine you are standing on a board that is resting on the floor. Notice how your body feels. Probably fine right? Now imagine that board is stretched out between two 10 story buildings and notice your physical reactions.

What happened? Did your heart rate speed up, palms get clammy, stomach queasy? This illustrates the powerful effect of imagination on your body. However, by eliciting the fear response, you experienced some dramatic physical reactions. When you are mentally rehearsing your easy relaxed swing, you don't feel the experience as much but you can trust that your body is recording those beautiful shots in your muscle memory, like seeds waiting to bloom when you get back on the course.