By: Tim Graves, PGA
Last week we held one of our Mental Game (Alert Attitude of Indifference) Schools. Myself (Tim Graves) and Paul Monahan (Graves Golf Mental Game Coach) run the school with help from our great teaching staff.
Shortly after the school, Paul sends a follow up email to all the students.
It is such an AWESOME email, I want to share with all / you.
I understand, there are many points in the follow up email you will not “understand” unless you attended the school, but there is also a lot of information thought you might find interesting.
Good afternoon!
It was great working with you last week at the AAI School in Edmond.
Thanks for “emptying your cup” so that you were ready to take on new ideas – and/or revisit the concepts you already knew.
Our goal was to create unique experiences so that important insights would emerge for you about what it takes for you to elevate your mental games skills so that golf for you is full of more higher quality shots, less struggle, and more fun.
That said, learning and exploring at the school is one thing – but applying what you learned is another – and is key to transforming your game.
So, I thought I would share a couple thoughts about how you can make the most of your time at the AAI School, now that you are back home.
First: Revisiting The Big Ideas:
- Golf is simple. We often make it too hard.
- Golf is an athletic endeavor, not a cognitive one.
- Channel your inner athlete, quiet your inner thinker:
- Use your “athletic feels” and awareness of things like: balance, tempo, tension, visualization.
- Use systems and processes to shut down the overthinking:
- Red Zone, Green Zone, Gray Zone.
- Choreographed pre-shot routine.
- Play faster. Practice slower.
- Gamify your practice. Always.
- See the outcome of every shot as feedback, not failure.
- Celebrate and emotionalize your functional shots.
Next: What to do with it all?
Take a deep breath. You don’t need to “eat this elephant” in one sitting. Just go one bite at a time:
- Reread your notes.
- Pick one of the ideas that resonated for you and lean-in to the concept every day for a week.
- For example, practice using the framework Red Zone, Green Zone, Gray Zone for every shot you hit. Practice or play.
- Then pick another one and just focus on that.
- And so on.
Within a 30 days, you will have VASTLY grown your mental game skills – you will be playing better, struggling less, and enjoying more.
Over the next few of weeks, I will continue to stay in touch with you as you playfully integrate these important ideas into your practice and on-course experiences.
In the meantime, remember this: passion has a half-life. If you are excited about your experience last week, understand that the time to do something about it is NOW.
If you let this moment slip, you will simply not make the transformation in your game that is possible for you.
Get after it. Now.
Have a great week!! (Have a great July 4th Weekend!)
– Paul
*****
If you would like more information about upcoming Mental Game Schools, please go to: https://singleplanegolfschools.com/schools/aai-mental-game
