Rowe Mental Game Tips
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Leave Your Problems in the Parking Lot
Charles Barkley update.
A couple of months ago, I wrote about Charles Barkley and the Haney Project in this newsletter. If you didn’t see it, you can read it here: Your Ball Follows Your Focus. In the newsletter and in my book, “EFT and Golf: The New Mental Game Manual,” I said that “Charles Barkley’s infamous ugly full swing is undoubtedly the yips. Trying to correct his swing mechanics will likely fail in the long run unless the underlying psychological cause is corrected.” But Haney repeatedly said it was not mental, it was in his swing. If you watched the series on the Golf Channel, you saw that Haney rebuilt Barkley’s swing to “fix his yips.” Barkley’s play last month in the Tahoe Celebrity Golf Championship revealed that Barkley’s progress is nothing to brag about. He still has a severe case of the full-swing yips. As one sports writer said, “Any progress is imperceptible.”
If you have been reading these newsletters you know that I sent a copy of my EFT and Golf book to both Haney and Barkley. I haven’t received confirmation that they have read it yet, but listen to this. Haney, in an article in the September Golf Digest discussing the failure of the Haney Project now says, “The next step is to address the mental side of the hitch: the yip-like symptoms that make it so hard for him to take his range swing out to play.” Maybe I finally got through.
The message for us: If you try to conquer the yips with a swing change, you will be wasting your time and money. If you know someone with the yips, send them to my yips website.Today’s Tip
I was working with a club pro on the driving range teaching him how to use EFT to relax before taking a full swing. He was getting good results but he seemed preoccupied and wasn’t sharply focusing on each shot. I finally asked if something was bothering him. Glancing at his watch, he said, “Yes. Today is Friday and I have to prepare the payroll checks. I just hate to do that job.”
I suggested that he tap on, “Even though I have to prepare payroll checks, I deeply and completely accept myself.” The reminder phrase was, “Have to prepare payroll checks.” After a round, he felt a little more relaxed but still couldn’t get his mind off the checks.
To be most effective, EFT has to focus on the problem as it is defined by the person who has the problem. So I had him do a couple of rounds on “Even though I hate to prepare payroll checks, I deeply and completely accept myself.” This helped some more but still didn’t completely relieve his negative feelings. So I suggested he tap on, “Even though I hate to prepare those damn payroll checks, I deeply and completely accept myself.” After one round, he said, “I’m really pissed off at my boss for making me do those damn checks. I’m not an accountant.” So we tapped on, “Even though I’m pissed off at XX (boss’s name) for making me do those damn checks, I deeply and completely accept myself.” After one more round, he grinned and said, “Well, somebody’s got to do it. I guess I’m the best person for the job.”
He then hit three more shots that he rated as, “Wow, that was perfect.” Then he said, “Thanks. Now I have to go do some checks.”
Like this club pro, have you ever been on the course and had a hard time focusing on a shot because you were worrying about something? As a member of the human race, you usually have plenty to worry about. But do these worries have to affect your golf game?
If you find yourself on the course and you are not able to totally focus on the shot at hand, tap on whatever is distracting you. If you had a disagreement with your spouse and you keep replaying it on the course, tap on it. Focus on exactly what it is that is bothering you about the disagreement. You can start with something general like, “Even though I’m upset about this argument with my wife, I deeply and completely accept myself.” You can get more specific if necessary. It might sound something like this. “Even though I’m right and she’s wrong, I deeply and completely accept myself.” A few rounds of tapping should take the charge off so you can focus on your shots.
To prevent such mental interruptions on the course, search your mind for anything that might concern you while you are driving to the course. Tap on these concerns before you get out of your car, then leave them in the parking lot. If anything should re-emerge on the course, a quick round or two should allow you to put it in the background.
You can, of course, use the same techniques to defuse emotional issues at the office and at home. When we get the emotional components neutralized, we are always in a better state of mind to come up with win-win solutions for all concerned.
Questions and Comments
I discovered just yesterday that the "Contact Page" and the "Subscribe to this Newsletter" page on my website were not working. There was no way to subscribe or send me a question or comment since July 29 and I didn't know it. So if you tried to send me a question or comment, I didn't get it. If you forwarded this newsletter to a friend who tried to subscribe, they would have gotten a message they said they were subscribed, but their subscription information would not have gone through! So please forward this newsletter to them again. My apologies.
Because of the computer glitch, I have no questions or comments this time.
If you have a question or comment, go to questions and comments. It should work this time.
To test the strength of your mental game, take the Rowe Mental Game Test for Golf or the Rowe Yips Test. Note: The Rowe Yips Test is putting yips only. I'm working on the others.
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Until next time, keep on tapping.
Jack