Behind the Green
Hypnosis could put you in the zone

Tune in to Tribune golf writer Bill Huffman on Backspin The Golf Show at 9-11 a.m. each Saturday and 6-7 p.m. each Wednesday on EXTRA (910 AM). He also can be reached at bhuffman@aztrib.com.

Hypnosis is generally regarded as a means to alter a person's behavior by a subconscious connection through the use of imagery. In that regard, troubled souls for years have sought the aid of clinical hypnotherapists like Jennifer Scott. Among her many success stories, the Scottsdale resident has helped people to quit smoking, lose weight, overcome anxiety, deal with depression, speak in public, and, yes, even play better golf. Her new CD - "Own the Zone'' - is an effort to help golfers get over such things as first-tee jitters, putting yips and mental blocks, as well as helping them learn how to win. She freely admits that her latest endeavor is based on a personal passion.

"I took up the game a year ago, and I'm hooked,'' Scott said. "The way I got into working with golfers was, my husband said to me; 'You do all these things to help others, why don't you help me with my golf game?' '' The seed planted, Scott grew the idea to help any golfer "who is disciplined and will follow my instructions.'' "You still have to have your golf skills down,'' she added. "But if you are committed to getting better, miracles can happen. Anyone can tune in to a higher level of intelligence.'' According to Scott, owning "the zone," a term golfers allude to when everything is going dead-solid perfect, is effortless. At the opposite end of the spectrum, "it can be such a humbling sport ''

"You need to be able to clear your mind when you play it, and get rid of all negative thoughts and triggers,'' she explained. "You don't have to let your mind control you.'' As examples, she quotes on her Web site (www.ownthezonegolf.com) two of the game's greatest players. Make no mistake, most golfers can relate to these words of wisdom from Bobby Jones and Tiger Woods. "If I have two swing thoughts, I have no chance at all,'' Jones once said. "If I have one, maybe I'll have a good shot. If I have none, then I can play like Bobby Jones.'' Woods adds this perspective: "I always have an inner peace on the golf course. I've learned to trust the subconscious, and my instincts have never lied to me.''

Scott, who works with several mini-tour players and amateurs from the East Valley, says golfers get in their own way, "way too much. Hypnosis, while not a cure-all, boosts positive results significantly, she added. "It's a state of being when you're in that flow, in that zone. It's really a random state that we fall in and out of all the time like daydreaming or visualizing. What I'm trying to do is create purposeful hypnosis, where you can stay in the zone all the time.'' The biggest misconception about her profession, Scott added, is that being hypnotized makes you quack like a duck or bark like a dog. "That's stage hypnosis, where people act silly,'' she said. "It's real, sure, but only because the people that are doing it are 'psyched' to do it. Clinical hypnosis is quite different, and I don't think most people realize how powerful it can be.''

Being a curious type, I experienced my own session with Scott and found it to be very interesting, and not what I expected. Scott employs the Esdaile technique, which gradually takes a client down a imaginary escalator of the mind, until you reach the deep, deeper and deepest levels of hypnosis Apparently, I'm left-brain oriented, which means I only reached the "B level,'' according to Scott. On the Esdaile scale, you need to reach the "C level' to be totally hypnotized. "You've got to train yourself, but it's exciting to learn how to get there,'' said Scott, who charges $90 an hour ($150 for the first session), or $360 for a package of four sessions. Her CD, which includes two discs, can be purchased for $50.

Is hypnosis for you? Well, golfers spend serious money on equipment, lessons and even sport psychologists. I guess if you look at it from the standpoint of it only costs about as much as a new driver, what the heck, go for it! "Hypnosis is getting out there, and is much better known an accepted,'' Scott said. "What people don't realize is how ordinary it is, and how extraordinary it is ''

Scott, a former lounge singer/pianist from New York, got into hypnosis in a most unusual way. Due to her upbringing, and unbeknownst to her, she had been practicing a form of hypnosis ever since she was a kid. "I developed this technique of tuning out my parents, because they were always on me about something,'' she confessed. "That was my first doorway to my subconscious and to my spirit "Since then, I've also always been interested in metaphysics. In fact, I've been 'a channel' for others for over 25 years ''

But only a certified clinical hypnotherapist for nine years, having earned her degree from the Atwood Institute of Phoenix. "This is my new music,'' she said of her life-altering shift in vocation. "And love to see people respond to it.'' Scott is so confident of her ability, she said she even would "love to work with Phil Mickelson." After his back-to-back meltdowns in the Honda and Players Championship the past two weeks, it would seem like no one needs her help more. "He's the perfect example of someone who could be helped by hypnosis, because he obviously has some negative triggers,'' Scott said. "As it so happens, one of my clients knows him very well. She's lost a lot of weight, and thinks I can not only help him with his golf game, but also with his weight.'' If you say so, Jennifer. Just keep in mind that Lefty might be just like me - a left-brain type incapable of "owning the zone.''

Bill Huffman, Golf Reporter, Arizona Tribune Newspapers
© East Valley Tribune 2002. Used by permission.