Will VS. Phil

By Jennifer Scott, Clinical Hypnotherapist

Will Rogers, the great folk comedian, never met a man he didn't like. Phil Mickelson, the great golfer, never met a shot he wouldn't try to make.

But you're neither Will nor Phil, so how are you going to make those difficult shots without getting into all kinds of trouble? My first answer may surprise you, coming from a Hypnotherapist.

Don't do difficult shots.

Tommy Armour said it first. Play the shot that makes your next shot the easiest. Today, it's called course management. If you're always making your next shot easy, you'll consistently be hitting easy shots. And hitting easy shots will do wonders for your confidence. Which will do wonders for your score!

Instead of trying to hit a 3 iron under branches and then have it hook 30 feet onto the green and stop on a dime, youll choose to chip a 7 iron into the middle of the fairway. Instead of trying to hit a drive 280 yards, into the wind, over a trap on the right side of the fairway, you'll tee off with the club that cant hit it that far.

But if you have to hit a difficult shot, my second answer is this: don't try. Do.

You see, "try" is a loaded word. Inside of try is the thought: Theres a chance I can't do this, but I'll attempt to do it, even though its very hard. This is the very definition of negative thinking. You just raised the mental bar until it became a barrier.

Instead of trying, you want to be doing, approaching the task with every fiber of your being in tune and ready to succeed. Get the endorphins and the adrenaline flowing and you can do miracles.

You'll be In The Zone.