|
Golf Energy for Focus and Concentration
Craig Sigl
Ok all you couch potatoes. I know you're only mildly interested
in this area. But I've got to write a few things here to help
you out. First off, to reiterate what I said on the CD's,
WHATEVER YOU DO GOOD FOR YOUR BODY IS STILL GOOD, no matter
how little.
You don't have to be a world class athlete to play good golf.
You don't even have to be in shape to play your best, of course
that would help. What I really want you to get out of this
letter today is the fact that every little thing you do helps
and here's why:
It's the 17th hole and even though you're riding in a cart,
you are starting to get just a bit tired. Your attention is
off just a hair as you crack another joke to your partner
or golf buddies/gals. That's excellent and that's why we come
out to golf right? Great!
But, you're still chuckling about that last one about the
frog on the man's head in the bar and it's now your turn to
tee off. You try to get into your pre-shot routine but it
just seems so pointless now as you have played pretty well
up to this point and you think "so what if I don't do my practice
swing the same way I've done it this round so far." And you
step up to the ball and take a big swing and the little white
orb goes flying out of bounds with a big fat slice on it.
You cuss yourself out for being so stupid and not concentrating
on that last shot. You tee up another one and it hooks into
the trees on the other side as you overcompensate for the
slice. When you get to the ball, it's right behind a tree
and because you are so angry with yourself and figure you
need to "make up" those shots, you go for a small gap in the
trees.
You know "the rest of the story" as Paul Harvey would say
as you end up carding a triple or quadruple bogey on that
hole. You play the 18th hole o.k. and when you add up your
score, you find that all you had to do on 17 was to bogey
and you'd have broken your scoring barrier.
One swing is all it takes! One little mental lapse about doing
your preshot routine focused and in the zone like you did
all day is all it was. One swing can turn a score sour like
in the blink of an eye. You can't afford to be lazy for one
moment on a round that you care about your score. If you want
to go drink beer and just have fun, great! Do it! And don't
even bother scoring if you have a few bad holes because it
will just ruin the fun anyway. I sometimes do this myself.
So what could our serious golfer have done different to have
kept his/her energy level high for maximum, sustained focus
and concentration? Lots of things...
1. If you care about your score, keep the alcohol to a minimum
2. Drink lots of water. That tired feeling is most likely
dehydration
3. Don't eat candy or other processed sugar products during
a round, you'll get a quick high and then a very low blood
sugar drop soon after. Don't drink fruit juices either, they
have too much sugar even if natural. Chips and pretzels do
the same thing.
4. Eat complex carbs like an apple, nuts, or a light sandwich
during the round to keep your energy up and constant. Do the
hot dog after the round if at all possible, it will sap your
energy if you eat on at the turn.
5. If you only exercise once in a while, do it a couple days
before golf so that your body can repair itself.
6. If you drink lots of caffeine regularly in your coffee,
tea or sodas, then make sure you get some in you before you
golf otherwise you'll probably have an energy dropoff from
withdrawal of it. If you don't do caffeine much, definitely
don't do it around golf time.
7. Get the right amount of sleep for you the night before.
Not too much and not too little.
8. Turn the cell phone off when you come to the course. It
will sap your focus and concentration just knowing that it
could go off during the round. Be in the moment and enjoy
the game.
9. Movement begets more energy. It doesn't take it away, it
gives you more in the long run. Any kind of movement and activity.
Park your car in the farthest place in the parking lot at
work. Take the stairs instead of the elevator when you're
not in a hurry. Walk briskly on your lunch break wherever
you are going. Close your office door and run in place for
a few minutes or do it when you are watching TV at night.
Be creative and force yourself to do something.
The small easy things I've mentioned might even lead you to
do more, who knows?
10. Listen to music that pumps you up before a round if you're
feeling low. Sing it throughout the round!
It's a fact: energy is stored and regulated in your unconscious
mind. When you are really up for unleashing it to it's fullest,
then it's time to work on that part of your mind that contains
the 90% unused potential I keep talking about and teaching
folks how to access.
Copyright 2006 Craig Sigl
Craig Sigl teaches golfers that they can score lower
and break through their scoring barriers Without Practicing.
If you've hit a good shot with each of your clubs just once,
then you can do it again and again. Visit www.break80golf.com
for a free 7-part mini-course and ebook.
Article Source: articlekarma.com
Return to The Mental Game of
Golf Articles directory.
|
|