How to create consistency

By: Craig Sigl

I'd be rich if I had a nickel for every time I heard a golfer after a round say something like: "I played pretty well...except for hole #8" or "I'm happy with my game today and would have played under my handicap if I didn't triple bogey the 14th hole."

You've done it before too haven't you? You have a pretty good game going, you string together a decent round all except for one or two holes that you ballooned a score on. Why, Why, Why does this happen?

I'll tell you why. But first, let's set this up. Put yourself in your daily life for a second here. You wake up. you shower, you dress, you eat, you get coffee or tea, you grab the paper or watch some news, then you grab your car keys or bike to go to work. You pretty do things the same way every day, in some order. And there is a comfort in that. You don't have to think, it all pretty much happens on autopilot. It's easy, effortless and habitual.

If you drive to work what happens? You have an idea of where you need to go. You put the key in the door, you open the door, you sit down, you buckle your seatbelt, you put the key in the ignition, you turn the key, you put the car in gear, etc. etc.

Next thing you know, you're at work! And you don't even remember doing any of those actions consciously. You don't even remember the drive at all. Maybe you listened to the radio the whole way and had your entire focus on that. And you made it safely to your destination!!
Folks, this is how we do everything that requires consistency.

Are you getting the picture here? Once you had an idea of what you wanted to do, then set in motion your morning routine, or your driving routine the rest happens automatically. In fact, your automatic functions are so consistent that sometimes, when you're driving and not intending to go to work, you will take a turn or an exit that takes you to work anyway! This is how you want to golf too!

So how do we do this in golf? It's the preshot routine baby. And you MUST do one. I know, I know, I resisted it for years too. I'd heard all about it and read about it in so many articles and books but I always thought it was something that was only for the pros. In fact, I thought I would look like a faker or a phony if I was doing it like the pros while I was a hacker. It wasn't until I became convinced of how we behave as humans, how we are hard-wired to do things, that I finally gave in and made the effort.

Now, it's the absolute cornerstone of my game and the principles I teach. I don't see how you can play consistent golf without a solid preshot routine. What do I mean by a "solid" routine? It's more than just doing the same thing every time before a shot. Jim Flick once said: "90% of all swing error is due to something you did or didn't do BEFORE THE SHOT."

So, a preshot routine must have all the elements in it that ensures that you cover all the necessaries to set you up for a successful swing. Everything you do in a preshot routine must have a definite purpose to it. Everything you do must contribute to setting yourself up for a great shot. Every movement must trigger the next just like sitting down in your car triggers you to put on your seatbelt (at least it should!). These "triggers" are recognized by your automatic mind to go onto the next item in the list.

Still not convinced? What is the most consistent, automatic thing we do our entire life? It's keeping your heart beating right? You do it from birth until death, every day, 24 hours a day non-stop. And do you have to think about it? NO! What force does this for you? This automatic force is called the unconscious (or subconscious) mind.

In order to create consistency on the golf course, you need to take advantage of this automatic force you have operating in your unconscious mind using the principles in this article. In my "Break 80 Without Practice" system, I teach the necessary elements that must be in a preshot routine to eliminate the 90% error. The rest is up to you!

Greens and fairways,

Craig

Article Source: http://www.bettergolfarticles.com

Craig Sigl - The golf Anti-practice Expert - is a Master Practitioner and Trainer of Hypnosis, NLP, and Timeline techniques. Visit his website: www.break80golf.com for a free ebook "How You Can Play Better Golf Using Self-hypnosis" and free ecourse "Without Practice" to discover what he teaches golfers worldwide.

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