Trust Yourself

Karl tells you why developing trust in yourself is the mental key to better putting.

"Think back to your best putting round ever. I'll bet one thing; you will recall a feeling of complete trust in yourself and your stroke. Those putts didn't drop in by accident. For a spell, you believed in your ability to hole putts, and you did.

Now think back to your worst putting round. Just the opposite, right? Whatever you tried, the ball jumped off the blade in whatever direction took its fancy. You said things like 'My stroke feels awful', or 'Just can't see the lines today.' No confidence, no trust.

You may think trust comes from a perfect technique. Wrong, I guarantee you will putt better purely by developing the ability to trust yourself. Trust can be learned and developed. Now I'm going to tell you how to do just that."

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Tense muscles are weak muscles

Relaxation is the key

"Most golfers do not realise how tense they get when they go for distance. Add to this a competitive situation on the golf course, and a few phrases like 'GRIP it and rip it' or 'coil your body TIGHTLY' and you have a fantastic recipe for massive tension and muscle tightness.

Tense muscles are weak muscles. You can prove this to yourself by going out to the range, tensing your muscles as hard as you can and seeing how far you can drive the ball. If it goes even half as far as normal, I'd be surprised.

If the only mental skill you learn is the ability to relax your muscles, you will have at your disposal the potential to TRANSFORM your drives and hit the ball much further. Sometimes that's easier said than done. But I will show you some mental techniques to use before and during the game to help keep those forearms and shoulders loose and powerful."

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Relish the challenge!

"When it comes to saving par with a chip and a putt, many amateurs shoot themselves in the foot before they start. They often play the chip shot while they are still brooding on the mistakes that caused them to miss the green in the first place. Their state of mind is confused and anxious. The recovery shot has no chance of success.

But a good short game player has an entirely different mental approach. The bad shots that have caused the missed green are gone, so he wastes no time fretting about them. Instead he is relishing the challenge of turning three shots into two.

That's what you must do. Your first step to improving your short game is to improve your attitude. And that's why the key mental concept is to LOVE the challenge of turning three shots into two. A par rescued when all seemed lost is on of golf's pleasures. It time you felt it more often."

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Build belief in yourself

Build confidence in the sand

"TV commentators drive us mad with their spiel when one of the worlds top players finds himself in a bunker. "They make these look so simple, in fact the player would rather be in there than in the rough"

Good for them, but its not so great for normal folk who don't get the chance to practice for hours on end, and who are terrified of sand.

The mental components of good bunker play are just important as the technical ones. If you step down into the trap low on confidence, chances are you'll be in the for some time. So I'm going to give you some basic advice on how to generate and build up belief in your ability to get the ball out and close enough to the hole to make the putt every time."

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Stop labelling yourself a 'slicer'

Call yourself a slicer and you'll be one

"It is easy to convince your unconscious mind of something. Keep telling yourself you are a slicer and you will start to believe it and play like one.

So the best advice I can give to you is to break this down. Question your belief that you are tied to your slice until judgement day. You certainly are not. And I will give you the mental tools to convince yourself of this fact.

I won't pretend this alone will stop you moving the ball left-to-right. But marry this approach to other swing tips and you will soon feel able to change your entire attitude to your game."

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Be committed

Make your mind up!

"Iron shots need accurate distance management, but this nearly always presents you with a clubbing choice. Is it a hard 6 or a soft 5? The most common mental error people make is to go into the shot without ever really making up their minds which club to hit. In this state of indecision we find it impossible to make a positive, committed swing and the ball usually winds up anywhere but on the green.

So it's time you learned some mental tricks to help you commit 100% to the club and the shot. Use these techniques next time you play and you will find yourself instantly making more confident swings and a crisper strike. You will also find yourself swapping your iron for the putter more and the sand wedge less."

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Stop the scorecard changing your game

Build confidence

"Put a scorecard in a golfer's hand and his whole attitude changes. Suddenly he starts playing shots he wouldn't normally play, either over-safe or over aggressive. He stops thinking about the next shot and instead worries about the stroke index 1 hole up ahead, or the three-putt on the previous green. He starts to worry about his lack of touch and confidence. He spends the whole round preoccupied by how he is doing. In short, he stops enjoying himself.

But here are some ways to deal with these common mind glitches. You will learn how to keep your mind in the present, how to feel more confident on the first green and how to stop becoming preoccupied with your score. Put these tactics into play and you will start enjoying your golf again, even with a scorecard in your back pocket."

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Kill your hit impulse for power

Tense muscles are weak muscles...

"With power, your mind's biggest enemy is the 'hit' impulse. You know, you're at the top of the backswing and your whole body is screaming, "kill the thing!!" in most sports, like cricket or tennis, the hit impulse works.

But it is no good for golf, where you have a still ball and the hit needs an element of delaying. We will deal with this, and also relaxation. Tense muscles are weak muscles, and cannot apply much power to the ball.

So I am going to help you learn to relax, especially in the shoulders, hands and forearms where tension is most damaging to long hitting."

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