Kia ora Forum
I'm Barry from Brisbane, Australia.
I'm 22 years old.
I've been playing golf for 3 months with a borrowed set of clubs. The one thing i love about golf is how much of a mental game it is. I, like you, have a strong hunger for the game. WHY?

It all started back in late 2010... ~~(transitional music to story scene)~~

Ok, so i got my ass whooped in a 18 hole game by one of my best mates. let's call him Corza.. Now him and I have history together. We're always competing to be One up on the other. He HATES losing to me. And i hate losing to him.

The day he whooped me he awoke something in me. I'm grateful to him for it but i'll never admit it openly to him that he did (i hope he never reads this). He awoke a hunger in me. The hunger for self Development. From the first day he schooled me, i've had my nose buried in books, magazines and youtube videos about the game of golf(on the sneak of course). i guess you could say i'm addicted to golf. I wouldn't want him to think that i'm consumed with beating him. No no no. it's much larger than that now.

My goal was originally to beat him back. My goal now is to become THE BEST i can possibly imagine. Here are my goals for 2011

- Break 100 (hit 100 on my last game) - easy
- Buy my own Clubs - easy
- Beat Corza - easy
- Join a club - easy
- Win a competition - challenging

my golf goal milestones would be (i would actually celebrate these too)

- Beat corza
- sub 80
- sub 70
- win club competition
- beat tiger (still counts if he's wheel chair bound by then)

I have a challenging golf journey ahead of me. It will be fun.

Oh yeah guess what. i've been schooled by corza 3 times since my first game.. but i have an ace up my sleeve that i didn't have last time. Next game i will beat corey. Why? because i'm confident in my ability now. Why am i confident? I've been working on my mental game just as hard as i have been working at the driving range.

Since our last game i've started learning about the mind.
the power of visualisation
the power of focus
the power of relaxation

so here are a few things that i have changed since my last game 3 weeks ago.

Swing power
When i would hit the ball, the mistake i made was hitting the ball as hard as i could possibly hit it. i wasted a good 3 driving range sessions doing nothing but whack the goodness out of the ball and seeing it go everywhere i WASN'T aiming.

I now hit it around 70 - 85% power. And ever since changing my power i've found the ball go to the target area 4 out of 5 times

Focus
When i addressed the ball, every thought imaginable about my technique would flow into my mind. i felt i wasn't in control of myself during this time. i felt my thoughts were getting the better of me.

I now focus on only one thing when i address the ball. I only focus on where my target is. I practice focusing on a target a lot whenever I get the chance - i look at something in the distance with my eyes. so for example i see a lamp post in the street about 50 meters away. i then close my eyes and imagine where it is in my minds eye. with my eyes shut i move the tip of my finger to where i think the base of the lamp post is, so that the lamp post is sitting on my finger tip. i open my eyes to see where my finger tip is. and if it isn't at the base of the lamp post i try again untill it is. this technique helps me become aware of where my target is. i use to be surprised at how far off i was with this. this has helped me to hit to my target. I have improved on the range. i'm yet to try it out on the course.

Routine
I always wondered why pros do the same thing every single time before a shot. So i tried it out. I created my own routine.
1) i stand behind the ball with it between me and the target. i do two little tennis-style handle spins.
2) i then position myself next to the ball and take two practice swings on a horizontal plane.
3) with my right hand i line the face up and then i take my grip. and from here on i focus only on my target.

I've found that i have complete control over my own mind when i do this.

Visualisation
This is the one thing that i never believed in. before now. Not only do i SEE it in my minds eye, but i HEAR and FEEL it. It's what i spend most of my pre-sleep time doing. When i'm having trouble with visualising something, i close my eyes and try and listen to as many sounds as i can hear. it gets me focused enough to start visualizing.

the one thing i visualize during my two horizontal plane practice swings is a picture. the picture has elements of my swing. that picture i then take and turn it into a small logo that i imagine is on the top of the golf ball. when i'm about to start my swing i turn my focus to my target(as mentioned before).

Relaxation breathing
I believe breathing relaxes the body. it's good.

these are my aces up my sleeve so far.

I know the one thing holding me back is my technique. plenty of time to work on it. can't wait. I feel mentally prepared. I know i have a long way to go to be mentally tough. i know i have a long way to go to be the best i can imagine. it's exciting.

I've been training a lot on the range. And i love seeing the progress I'm making. in three weeks my game on the range has improved so dramatically. Time for the course again

I love golf

thanks forum. Here's my journey