Tuesday, June 19, 2007

We just read it again in a newsletter from a guru! "You got to control your emotions in this game!!" If you believe that, you will buy the Brooklyn Bridge from some guy in an alley in your neighborhood.

There is little doubt in our minds that there are several things that golfers either don't want to get straight, or can't allow themselves to get straight - and this is one of them. The reason that is a problem is that there are just some things that people can't bring themselves to hear and understand, either because they are so thoroughly pre-conditioned to what they've believed from the past or because they are terrified of anything that sounds like "they may not be “in 'control'."

If you happen to be scared of "losing control," we may not be able to help. But if the problem for you is that you haven't grasped the essential information and it's meaning, then we may be able to assist.

Basic issue: No one can "control" emotion. It is nature driven and built into the system. The harder you try to "control" it, the more it will rear its head. You can "manage" it, but you cannot - repeat - cannot control it. Check any reputable, genuine psychological/psychiatric study and you will find that basic issue verified. (You may not find it in some popular books that have an authentic sound, and that's just another reason for being sure the information you have is valid).

Of course, it is important to know how to "manage" emotion, with the "kicker" being that you must plan for it in advance. That must be done at a time when there is no emotional impact at hand so you are free to make a commitment to yourself concerning the management strategy you will use when and if it arises during the game. What happens is that players typically wait till something happens that throws emotion into full bloom, fired-up presence on the course and then they try to "control" it on the spot. Won't work. That's what leads to references claiming that the "wheels have come off." Two or three mistakes later, you may or may not recover, depending on how "tough" you have "learned" to be (another of those mythological "medicines" for golfing plagues, but we'll deal with the "tough-minded" myth another time).

Get yourself a set of management tools to go with your golf clubs. You'll play better - and have more fun doing it.

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