Dr Karl Morris seminar-Grange Sports Club April 2011

Dr Karl Morris Seminar - How to lower your score by 5 shots without changing
your swing

Last Monday myself and a few members attended a Dr Karl Morris seminar - "5
shots lower - without changing your swing". I actually did my PGA training
with Karl back in 1989! He has become one of the leading "mind" coaches and
has had great success with Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell and last year's
Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen.

So how do you improve your golf ? Practice ? Ultimately the best golfers
have trained swings and trained brains.

So what's the most effective way to practice, surely the more you practice
the more you improve and you'll have more confidence in your ability ? Well,
sure its important to practice to acquire the skill but equally important is
to assure your attention is focussed and there is a consequence to your
actions. By this he means most people head off to the range and practice
where the "fairway" is 200 yards wide and then expect to transfer this to
the golf course! Golf is one of the only sports where we practice away from
the environment we play and then expect it to transfer to the course!

Two simple effective ways to change this is to -
1. Make practice more difficult than play.
2. Keep statistics that will act as evidence that you are actually
improving.

Karl uses a game called Par 18 where you set out 9 balls (3 tough, 3
intermediate, 3 easy) pitches to a green where the objective is to pitch up
and hole the putt in par 2 (9 times). You only get one shot at it which
creates pressure and a consequence. A little pressure will immunize you on
the course! Karl also talked about "Think Zone" and "Play Zone" whereby in
the "think zone" you can think about your swing thought, the type of shot
you are trying to play and a clear intent before you step over the decision
line and enter the "play zone". This area requires total focus on the TARGET
and commitment to the shot.

This is something I strongly agree with and ensures the transfer of what we
practice to the golf Course as what we practice is what we get good at.

The evaluation of your practice and your play is a key part of learning.
After every round start a "3 shot diary" of your best shots. keep replaying
them over in your mind. From my experience in the Pro Shop I'm continually
hearing about the missed putts or unlucky breaks, where we should be
building up a memory bank of good shots, positive memories so in the future
we can instantly recall past success, let go of failure don't dwell upon
them.

To summarise try and reduce the BAD emotions and increase GOOD emotions.
This definitely makes so much sense!

I lost my concentration! is a statement regularly used, often wrongly. It's
more your focus has gone elsewhere. During a 4 hour round you only need to
focus for approx. 20 mins on your preshot routine and execution (i.e. 80
shots at approx. 15 secs). So next time you play, in between shots relax and
enjoy the view, enjoy the company you're with and remember how lucky you are
to be out in such beautiful surroundings. The "focus"on your shot.

To conclude, can you reduce your score by 5 shots without changing your
swing ? I'd agree we could all benefit from practicing productively with
consequence and having clearer intent with total commitment on the shot.
More positive reinforcement when evaluating ourselves.
I think if the body and mind are communicating better together that has to
be a good thing. One affects the other. The mental part of the game is a
massive part of golf and is an area we can improve but I still firmly
believe in golf you need all the ingredients to succeed -

1. Good technique
2. Physically equipped
3. Mental skills
4. Skill required to "Play the game"
5. Inner desire, passion and drive

Hope you enjoyed my summary and if you feel you could benefit from
assessment book in for a lesson now!