Winter Mental Tip

By Jennifer Scott, Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist

Even if it's cold outside, now is the perfect time to play golf... in your head.

After you read the following suggestions, make them your own, so your golf game can benefit from Self Hypnosis.

Get comfortable -- maybe you're sitting in your easy chair in front of a fireplace. You're feeling very relaxed.

Close your eyes and take a deep, deep breath. Hold it for several seconds. Then, as you exhale, experience a soothing wave of relaxation going all the way down to the tips of your fingers and the tips of yours toes.

Take another breath -- inhaling even more deeply than the first. And as you exhale, begin to picture the numbers from 10 down to 1 getting blurry and then completely disappearing into a soft, white light.

Your body begins to levitate off your chair and you find yourself in the tee box on the first hole of your favorite golf course. It's a gorgeous Spring morning. You're feeling great. Excited to be playing again.

The sky is a vivid blue. The sun a brilliant yellow. Everywhere you look there's lush greenery. It's a bit brisk out, yet you can feel the warmth of the sun on your hands and face. You pick up your driver, hold it in your hands. Its familiarity is comforting. [Suggestion: You might actually hold a club in your hands as you do this.]

Once you really feel that you are on the golf course this Spring morning, go through your pre-shot routine for each shot you would play on that first hole.

Imagine that every shot is perfect. See the ball's trajectory as you want it to be. Imagine your drive splitting the fairway. Your 3 wood shot soaring majestically down the fairway. Your pitch shot nestling close to the pin. Your putt dropping for a birdie.

Every day, visualize another hole on this course until you've gone through all 18. Then repeat, one hole at a time. Make sure your senses are as open as possible. Smell the grass. See its color and texture. Maybe there's dew on the green.

The more you believe you're actually there, the more powerful each experience will be for you.

If you think it's far-fetched for imaginary golf to improve your game, consider the true story of an American soldier who was imprisoned for years in North Vietnam. To avoid going insane, he imagined playing golf on his favorite course. Shot after shot, day after day, month after month, year after year. Back home, after he was freed, the first thing he did was to play golf on that course. And guess what? He played better than he had ever played in his life -- even though he hadn't touched a golf club in five years!

This is the power of visualization and Self Hypnosis. Fortunately, you don't have to wait years to see results. Just a day or two and it'll be warm enough to get back out there. So do this once a day and see what happens on the course.