Happy New Year! Here's a Mental Tip that can jump start your season of golf.

It goes without saying that learning how to groove your swing in a nice easy rhythm will go a long way to improving your golf. But it can't go all the way. Because there's something else out there that's equally important.

The Target.

Since accuracy is just as important as distance, fixate your attention on the target in your pre-shot routine. Focus not just in a general way, but also on something very specific. For example, don't just look at a tree or a shrub. Concentrate on a specific branch of that tree or a spot on that shrub.

In putting, focus on a blade of grass or a spot on the green or an edge of the hole. This will not only help in your aim, it will also help distract your conscious mind away from all that useless mental chatter.

By focusing intensely on a very specific target, you're creating a neural pathway -- an energy connection between you and the target. Now hold it in your mind's eye.

The more focused you are on your target, the more powerful that pathway will become. Then, when you're ready to swing and you're looking down at your ball, the image of the trajectory of your ball moving towards its target becomes so strong that your Subconscious Mind gets triggered. And it knows just what to do. It initiates your swing, moves your arms, hips and shoulders back. They coil, "load up" at the top of your backswing, and then uncoil. Whoosh! Your ball heads majestically and purposefully towards its target.

For those of you who have listened to my audio CD program, "Own The Zone™," you've already experienced -- in Self Hypnosis -- the power of target focus by taking a deep breath and saying the trigger words: "Level B, Relax Now."

Why not reinforce this experience by listening to "A Golfing Journey" (on the set's second disk) at least three times a week, so you have both added confidence and a deeper experience of this energy connection. It will pay off for you.

For those who have not purchased "Own The Zone™," here's a routine for you to try:

As you address the ball, take one last long look at the target, "burning in" the image. Take a deep breath, look down at your ball and let it out slowly as you swing. Your Subconscious Mind will take over. And the more your Subconscious Mind is in control, the less you'll worry, fidget, analyze and just generally think too much.

Next time you play, fixate on your target, not on your swing.

Many golfers have written to me about the exciting improvement in their game! I never tire of these stories, so please keep sending them! They help me better understand how to fine-tune my program.

I'm a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist with offices here in Scottsdale, Arizona. You can call me at 480-483-6941 or you can email me here or from my website, www.OwnTheZoneGolf.com.