Sport psych Q&A

[Deleted member 15344]

As Phil says you are still thinking when taking the shot. Concentrating on making a smooth stroke, where you are looking to bottom out and overall power of the stroke. on certain shots you might also be thinking about holding the face open or you might be turning the face over slightly. These things have to be conscious thoughts or you simply wont do them.

Top players use visualisation techniques. They fill their mind with positive thoughts. The recall playing previous similar shots well. They try send get their body to repeat previous movements. They do not, empty their mind and hope their sub conscious takes over and is a better player than they are.

Spot on

It's a simple process IMO and people at times try to make it too complicated - you need the techincal thoughts to process the shot and then the concentration to apply the process

IMO it really is that simple

How people process the the techincal thoughts will be different - some have a few practice swings - some just the one and some none at all

 

[Deleted member 16999]

As Phil says you are still thinking when taking the shot. Concentrating on making a smooth stroke, where you are looking to bottom out and overall power of the stroke. on certain shots you might also be thinking about holding the face open or you might be turning the face over slightly. These things have to be conscious thoughts or you simply wont do them.

Top players use visualisation techniques. They fill their mind with positive thoughts. The recall playing previous similar shots well. They try send get their body to repeat previous movements. They do not, empty their mind and hope their sub conscious takes over and is a better player than they are.

Nobody is suggesting top players empty their minds, what he has stated is they do all the preshot routines and visualisations,
We are not top players and he is asking for for our issues then possibly coming up with videos etc that may help,
If he puts in a video something that helps at the point of pulling the trigger (even for a split second) what's the issue?

 

[G_Mulligan]

As Phil says you are still thinking when taking the shot. Concentrating on making a smooth stroke, where you are looking to bottom out and overall power of the stroke. on certain shots you might also be thinking about holding the face open or you might be turning the face over slightly. These things have to be conscious thoughts or you simply wont do them.

Top players use visualisation techniques. They fill their mind with positive thoughts. The recall playing previous similar shots well. They try send get their body to repeat previous movements. They do not, empty their mind and hope their sub conscious takes over and is a better player than they are.

again "There have been key shots in Major tournaments where I took the club out of the bag and I didn't remember anything until I saw the ball land on the green" Tiger Woods

Quiet mind in action

 

[effayjay]

Bsc (hons) in sport and exercise psychology
Multi skill Lvl 2 sport coach

Hi Greg, I understand that the British Psychological Society (BPS) offers chartered membership in respect of sports and exercise psychology. Are you a Chartered Psychologist?

 

[G_Mulligan]

Hi Greg, I understand that the British Psychological Society (BPS) offers chartered membership in respect of sports and exercise psychology. Are you a Chartered Psychologist?

No and that is not a route I can go down with my qualifications. They changed the rules the year I went to uni, now you need a degree in single honours mainstream psychology plus a post grad and then 2 years of on the job training and then you can be a BPS registered sport psychologist.

 

[3565]

I don't want to discredit your profession in any shape or form, your method you described you have taught and to some degree of success I would imagine. I'm not discounting it either but unless I come to you for you to teach me then I don't think I'd get it in a month of Sunday's. Now as to your answer does my 1234 work on small chips long chips and pitch shots and half shots? Your basing your answer on your professional opinion which your entitled to do, you earned it but how do you know it doesn't work if you've not tried it? Give it a go, you might be surprised.

 

[effayjay]

No and that is not a route I can go down with my qualifications. They changed the rules the year I went to uni, now you need a degree in single honours mainstream psychology plus a post grad and then 2 years of on the job training and then you can be a BPS registered sport psychologist.

Is it usual for someone with a first degree in psychology to call themselves a "psychologist"?

 

[G_Mulligan]

Is it usual for someone with a first degree in psychology to call themselves a "psychologist"?

To be honest most of the people I went to uni with call themselves teachers or administrators, child support workers or sport coaches. It really depends what you do. I practice sport psychology, I have clients and run my own business doing psychology. I can't call myself a 'sport psychologist' as that is a protected title within BPS but calling myself a golf psychologist based on what I do and my degree is perfectly acceptable.

 

[effayjay]

To be honest most of the people I went to uni with call themselves teachers or administrators, child support workers or sport coaches. It really depends what you do. I practice sport psychology, I have clients and run my own business doing psychology. I can't call myself a 'sport psychologist' as that is a protected title within BPS but calling myself a golf psychologist based on what I do and my degree is perfectly acceptable.

I understand that it is more than simply a "protected title" it requires the additional qualifications and experience you mentioned in your earlier reply.

 

[Hobbit]

To be honest most of the people I went to uni with call themselves teachers or administrators, child support workers or sport coaches. It really depends what you do. I practice sport psychology, I have clients and run my own business doing psychology. I can't call myself a 'sport psychologist' as that is a protected title within BPS but calling myself a golf psychologist based on what I do and my degree is perfectly acceptable.

Splitting hairs and semantics it may be but changing "sports" to "golf" doesn't, in my eyes, make you a psycologist. I wouldn't employ an electrician to repair a computer, whatever experience he's got. There's a reason for the extra qualifications, and those reasons will have been arrived at by your peers.

 

[G_Mulligan]

Splitting hairs and semantics it may be but changing "sports" to "golf" doesn't, in my eyes, make you a psycologist. I wouldn't employ an electrician to repair a computer, whatever experience he's got. There's a reason for the extra qualifications, and those reasons will have been arrived at by your peers.

This is just getting out of hand now.

Moderators, can we have this and the last few messages removed from the thread?

I have tried to answer a few questions openly and honestly and it is being used as an unfounded and uneducated attack on my character and credibility.

 

[chrisd]

Bb

This is just getting out of hand now.

Moderators, can we have this and the last few messages removed from the thread?

I have tried to answer a few questions openly and honestly and it is being used as an unfounded and uneducated attack on my character and credibility.

I wouldn't care if you hadn't ever seen the inside of a classroom Greg, if the advice you offer is helpful to my golf. One of my past teaching pro's said that I was thinking too much through the actual shot and got me to say to myself "have a nice day" as I started the backswing and through impact, I t did really help at the time. Now I have a better swing that is repeating I prefer to concentrate on my swing path through the swing and I'm fixated on the ball strike. I think on short chips and pitches my thoughts are always on the ball strike as well

I'm currently reading Golf Tough !

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Splitting hairs and semantics it may be but changing "sports" to "golf" doesn't, in my eyes, make you a psycologist. I wouldn't employ an electrician to repair a computer, whatever experience he's got. There's a reason for the extra qualifications, and those reasons will have been arrived at by your peers.

You would if it was a power problem and the one with the IT quals is of no use!

 

[Slab]

You know what many on here cant do? Continue their 'form' after a short delay on the course

Knowing how to manage that would help a lot of people I'd imagine


Also a similar thing, those that really 'need' practice/warm up time on the range before they play who then find they have to tee off on the 1st with no real pre round practice time

 

[davemc1]

I feel the better players I know and play with have the mentality of just get up there and hit it. While the higher hcs (such as myself) have so many swing thoughts that they just get in the way.

Im sure it's been done before in ngt and the book about the chimp, But finding a way to declutter and focus on the right stuff (whatever that may be) would be of most use to me

 

[patricks148]

I have a bit of an issue with the tee shot on our 16th, its t the wisest fairway on the course but the way the tee points i always make up hash of it. and either pull it into the heather or block it into the gorse. Ive stood on this tee quite a few times level par gross and ruined my score here. Was playing with a mate this sat (who was playing with me the last time i buggered this up in a comp)

An indecent came up involving one of our other mates having to have a poo in the Gorse on the left and him saying he had to use a gorse branch to wipe his bum..

Completely forgot about the tee shot and made the fairway

 

[Ethan]

Guys

Let's park the discussion about the credentials needed for a golf psychologist. Everyone has the right to make an individual choice on that and seek or refrain from getting advice accordingly.

 

[Ethan]

You know what many on here cant do? Continue their 'form' after a short delay on the course

Knowing how to manage that would help a lot of people I'd imagine

I was playing in an event at Bearwood Lakes, played front 9 in -2 gross, hit all 9 greens and missed a couple of decent birdie chances. No bogeys.

Stopped at the halfway hut, had a sausage sandwich and double bogeyed the 10th. And it didn't get much better afterwards.

Although I take the entire winter off and often play decently enough after hibernation ends.

 

[Slab]

I was playing in an event at Bearwood Lakes, played front 9 in -2 gross, hit all 9 greens and missed a couple of decent birdie chances. No bogeys.

Stopped at the halfway hut, had a sausage sandwich and double bogeyed the 10th. And it didn't get much better afterwards.

Exactly what I mean, unless the sausage was beef instead of pork and the bread brown it really only leaves the mental stuff that's knackered your round... (or the sauce )


edit: some cant even keep it together if they are held up on the tee for 3-4 minutes their minds are that fragile

 

[Ethan]

Exactly what I mean, unless the sausage was beef instead of pork and the bread brown it really only leaves the mental stuff that's knackered your round... (or the sauce )


edit: some cant even keep it together if they are held up on the tee for 3-4 minutes their minds are that fragile

I don't think the ingredients of the sausage sandwich, or the HP sauce, that did the harm, it was the break in the rhythm and momentum, and I hadn't looked like having a bogey, never mind a DB, so that then really broke the spell.