The Routine Visualization
Day 2 from “Be the Ball” by Charlie Jones and Kim Doren
The Golf Book Club: Every day, we share a mental game lesson inspired by great golf books—stories and strategies to help you think better so you can play better.
Last time, we talked about programming your golf brain with words. Lines of code.
The authors wondered, “Is that the only way?”
So they asked sports psychologist Dr. Deborah Graham. Dr. Graham has guided her clients to 31 major championships.
Like all great teachers, she knows that we are individuals.
So if words aren’t getting the job done, Dr. Graham has good news: you can also program your mind with images.
He wanted to cry. It felt like a miracle.
One of her students dreamed of playing on the PGA Tour.
That year, Qualifying School was at TCP Sawgrass where the Players Championship is held. The most mental hole is the 17th with that crazy island green.
He put the ball in the water and missed his Tour card by one stroke. He was so upset, he replayed that shot over and over in his mind.
A few years later, Qualifying School was held at a different course. He earned his card and went on Tour.
But every season, when he came to TCP Sawgrass for the Players Championship, he almost always sank the ball on 17. He felt defeated.
So he asked Dr. Graham for help. They began working on Tuesday, two days before tee off.
She says, “He used positive images, imagining himself staying relaxed, imagining that long walk from 16 to 17, imagining himself staying with his pre-shot routine.”
After only two days, he reprogrammed his conscious and subconscious mind. He felt relaxed on the 17th tee, went through his routine as if the water wasn’t there, and put the ball on the green every time.
He wanted to cry. It felt like a miracle.
Visualize your routine, not the ball.
This is not your standard visualization.
He didn’t visualize the shot flying onto the green. After all those years plunking in the water, that visualization was a fantasy to him.
So instead, he programmed his brain with what he knew he could do. He visualized going through his pre-shot routine in a relaxed, confident way.
That’s all it took to set him free.
Dr. Graham says, “You can have memories that stay in your mind forever. That’s how powerful the mind is. If you don’t go back and reprogram, it can haunt you.”
The author David Preston said, “Make it real in your imagination, and you make it real in your life.”
I love today’s visualization because it’s so real. No words. No images of a beautiful shot landing two feet from the pin.
Don’t get me wrong, those are important.
But you are an individual. If that method doesn’t work, try Dr. Graham’s routine visualization. If you can feel relaxed, and execute your routine consistently and confidently on every shot, the results will take care of themselves.
That’s all for now. Tomorrow, Dr. Bob Rotella writes a prescription for tension.
Until then, keep imagining what’s possible.
Today’s Photo
More from Hamilton Island Golf Club Island in Queensland
