President of MindRev™ Labs, Bill Beausay, has a lifetime of knowledge about the golf game. In this guest blog, Bill offers sound advice not just for golf beginners, but for anyone who takes themselves too seriously! Bill's bio can be found below. Enjoy...and feel free to share your comments.
My Best Beginners Advice: Laugh a Little! 😄
Earlier this summer I was following a very entertaining foursome. There was an older guy showing his wife and a younger couple how to play golf. They were in carts and playing fast, but they clearly had very little idea what they were doing.
: thoughtless, carefree, and lost-in-the-moment fun. They were laughing a lot and making fun noises - probably breaking unwritten And they were really having fun golf club etiquette. And I really wanted to be with them.
Unfortunately, I was playing with three grumps; experienced players, really good players who had lost something important along the way. And sad to say, they are the role-model for too many more inexperienced players.
I'm a sports psychologist, trained to take things seriously and always seek sharper ways to get people's psychology primed and working at peak. It's great to work and I've had the profound pleasure of helping people at all levels of the game.
And, from my perspective, I think the game needs an injection of something bright and fresh and vital; something I saw in those new players.
Let me explain it like this:
Golf is like a casino for most beginners. Just like with a slot machine or a card game, you line up a shot, address the ball, swing the club and..... well, you really have no idea what you're going to get. Sometimes you connect with the golf ball and get that rush of adrenaline that says "YES!" Other times, (most of the time) you get a "thud" or a clump of dirt or wild twist in your ball flight.
And you feel like crap.
And you get mad and stomp around and yell at yourself.
Then comes the irresistible lure of another pull on the slot machine, another chance on the blackjack table....and you're hooked on golf for life. And the fun stops.
As a professional in the "head-game" of golf let me make a suggestion: don't let this happen to you.
At my research outfit, MindRev™ Golf, we are running a trial on the technique we call " Neuro-Ecstatics." What that means is that we believe anyone can control their mental chemistry (and thus your playing and your score) by practicing some very specific external behaviors when you screw up.
In particular, we are studying making yourself laugh...out loud....like REAL LOUD, on purpose when you mess up.
We refer to mental routines you do after a shot as a "post-shot-routine". They are especially important to apply after a bad shot. I know it sounds weird but the feedback we're getting from our test-players is that this post-shot routine releases something inside. It makes these players relax, clear their mind, and enjoy their game way more.
In short, it helps them have more fun. Which is why we play in the first place, right?
So laugh a little, just to do it, and love the game more!
Bill Beausay is the President and Technical Director at MindRev™ Labs. He is the former Director of Research and Development at the Academy of Sports Psychology, a full-time inner-game trainer and researcher. If you have an interest in having more information on virtual training programs or to join one of MindRev™ Golf's FREE research trials, visit www.mindrevgolf.com and checkout the "Research Portal" in the catalog of courses.
If you enjoyed this golf game advice, the editor suggests you read: How to Play Happy Golf(even when it rains on your Myrtle Beach vacation!)