The Power of Intention

I just got back to playing once a week after having a 3-month layoff.  I was wondering what it would be like after not having struck a golf ball or not even thinking about my own game much over that time. Yes, I've been working with others on their games and issues but my own got sort of left in the dust as I used my spare time to research further into the workings of the mind and how it can benefit us busy folks.

I went out to my local home course and was surprised to find that my swing was pretty much where I left it! I used my go-to shot off the tee not even thinking about distance and took out more club on approaches than I would have when I was warmed up and playing my best before the layoff. This proved a good formula as I kept the ball in play the whole time. I will admit to a few topped and fat shots but overall, I couldn't complain.

Did I have a great score? No, but what did I do? I took what was working and forgot about the rest. And then worked my mental magic on what was working until my next round. It's a simple formula yes, but it does take one word that is quickly becoming my favorite word: intention.

Intention? What the heck is that?

Some of you may call it effort but I don't. Some may call it work but that doesn't have to be it either. Is it focus, or concentration? Nope.

It's a blend of belief, imagination, direction and utilization between your conscious and unconscious mind functions. What's really intriguing is that it does not require willpower. That's right, according to Maxwell Maltz in Psychocybernetics, willpower actually implies putting up blockages to achievement. A better way to describe how to find your best game, your best shots is to "let them happen"

I know, I know, this sounds kind of spacey right? Especially in light of all the traditional teaching you've been exposed to that says you need a swing instructor and you must practice what you've learned until your body aches and your hands blister.

I just read in the May 06 an article by Tiger Woods called "I did it. So can you" In it, he basically writes about how he made changes to his swing and then worked his tail off to make them work. He says that you need a strong will. In making his first swing change in 1997, he can remember practicing a single move "swinging the club halfway down - keeping my arms in front of my body - for more than an hour without hitting a ball. I felt like my arms were going to fall off"

Give me a break. Tiger is the greatest golfer in the world, no doubt, but he is on another planet if he thinks average golfers are going to do that for every small part of their swing even if they do have access to a top instructor who can break it down like that and monitor their progress and prescribe that kind of detailed help. For a pro, yes, that's great advice, for you and me, it's not realistic at all.

Given the realities of our normal life we need another way. This is what I talk about in my program "Without Practice"

The Online Golf Classics library has all the fundamentals you need, your mind already has INTENTION waiting for you to use it.

Greens and fairways,

Craig

Have you heard the old saying that we only use 10% of our mind power? Whether it's 5% or 10% or 20%, you know it's definitely true as you have experienced times in your life, on and off the course where you have had absolute flashes of brilliance and wondered why you can't do it all the time...guess what? You can!If you've hit a great shot with your clubs just once before, there is absolutely no reason you can't do it again. What do you do differently when you don't repeat a great shot? I'll tell you...you run your mind a certain way that produces those results...simple.  Break 80 Without Practice

If you would like to begin to unlock the secrets to the other 90% that you are leaving on the table of your performance, you need to check out:

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