FullGolf

"If I could only…"
David Breslow/Weekly Mental Game Columnist for The Golf Channel and
Performance Coach to PGA/LPGA pros
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I’ve spoken with many PGA Teaching Professionals over the years and the most common phrase I hear from them when talking about their students is, “If I could only get my students to (fill in the blank)”.
As a former Tennis Pro (over15 years) I understand the frustration that occurs when watching a student try too hard to get something “right”. Through trial and error I discovered that my students learned more quickly when their minds, bodies and emotions were in a “relaxed” state instead of the pressure that comes with trying too hard to be perfect. Now, as a Performance Coach I teach my clients that TENSION is the number 1 cause for poor play because mental, emotional and physical tension reduces power, rhythm and flow.
People take golf lessons because they want to get better (ok…most people!) and when people are tense their improvement rate slows dramatically. I’ve witnessed golf swings filled with tension magically improve when students begin to relax their mind, body and emotions before trying to implement what they learn. When they try too hard they usually create more and more tension in their golf swing, causing stress for both the student and the teacher!
Here are two suggestions that can help alleviate stress for teacher and student:
1.    Focus on relaxation first
I realize when people pay for a lesson they want to hit as many balls as they can. However, I’ve discovered that if people will take 3 minutes to “slow” down their minds from the days’ concerns and relax their bodies, they can benefit greatly from the rest of the lesson (this goes for the teacher as well). As a Performance Coach, I work with players on the course and at the driving range as well. We always take the first 5 minutes (at least) to bring the mind, body and emotions back into “sync” before my clients ever put their hands on the golf club and it positively affects everything we/they do from that point forward.
2.    The “Tension Rater” Exercise
This is a real awareness grabber that I use when working with a player at the range. Here’s how it works. I ask them to hit 10 balls and rate their tension level between 1 (very relaxed) to 10 (uptight) after each one. Here’s what actually happens: the student hits a shot and immediately comes up with a number from 1 to 10 without editing or trying to “figure out the best answer”.  Most students will begin rating their results (“I liked that shot” or “I didn’t like that shot”) but they are only to focus on their tension level. The benefits are twofold. First, the student gains awareness of their own tension levels and secondly they create a mental reference point between the number and what it FEELS LIKE. For example, they begin to recognize what a “3” or “9” feels like in their body and the mind creates a reference point with that number and that feeling; making it easier to duplicate OR to recognize if it is something they don’t want.
This exercise helps students be more aware, relaxed, clear and focused during the lesson. This will improve retention and application of new skills!
To Your Best Golf!