Better Golf with Hypnosis - Your Own Virtual Caddy

How many times have you seen a top professional golfer in deep conversation, when watching golf on television? It almost seems like there are two people out there playing as a team - one doing the thinking and one doing the playing.

I was just watching the last few holes of the 2008 Open Championship again and marvelling at the battle between Padraig Harrington, Ian Poulter and the amazing Greg Norman - how does he play golf to that standard over 4 days at 53 having hardly hit a ball all year?

Anyway, I'm watching Harrington surveying his shot to the 17th at Royal Birkdale and consulting as usual with Ronan Flood, his caddy and brother-in-law, over his 259 yard second shot into the par 5. The camera zoomed in on their discussion and then suddenly Padraig's eyes seemed to glaze over and, as Ronan gave him some last few words of encouragement, he just seemed to hit the shot as if on autopilot.

Well we all know what happened. His five-wood travelled straight as a die, landing on the firm fairway and bounding up on to the green before slowing to a halt less than three feet from the hole - absolutely unbelievable!

Padraig's conversations with Ronan continued as they nurtured each other down the final hole and on to a second successive Open title. It was so very different from 2007 when Padraig was quoted as saying: "You know, Ronan did a hell of a job dragging me back into the 18th after I had hit that second shot into the water and you can see from the pitch and the putt that I was back in the zone". So it was a team event that year as well.

Tiger Woods has a similar relationship with his caddy, Steve Williams. Steve was an experienced caddy already when he paired with Tiger. He worked with Greg Norman, Wayne Grady and Ray Floyd, all major champions before teaming up with Tiger in 1999.

What about the amateur Golfer? Well, very few amateurs use caddies at all and those who do don't have the sort of relationship enjoyed by Tiger and Steve or Padraig and Ronan.

The vast majority of amateur golfers are both caddy and golfer, but the caddy part tends to be just a bag carrier or trolley puller. What's more, the caddy part keeps nagging the player part the whole time, even when playing the shot. There's no escape into the Zone. How would Padraig cope if Ronan kept nagging him while he's playing the shot?

Caddies like Ronan Flood and Steve Williams spend a lot of time walking the course, noting distances, the best positions for approach shots, the slopes and speed of the greens and a host of other things. The amateur has a lot of this information too. They have yardage markers, yardage charts and, of course, they often play the same course every week.

What Ronan and Steve also do is to manage their player. They remind them when to concentrate, when to relax and when to release the shot they've just played - good or bad. They also remind their player about current swing thoughts, pre-shot routines and mental strategies. The amateur has to remember all these things for himself and often doesn't.

Dr Karl Morris, a leading Golf Psychologist has even devised his "Circle Game" in an attempt to help golfers to remember these things. You circle the hole number on your scorecard, if you remember everything you wanted to do on that hole. He suggests that achieving 6 circles out of 18 holes is a good score, so that mean's your mental caddy's gone walkabout for the other 12 holes. Steve and Ronan would get their marching orders if they allowed that to happen. In reality, most people struggle to circle a single hole without outside help.

So what about my own experience? Well, the only time I've ever used a caddy was in my younger days and the caddy was even younger and solely there to carry the bag. However, I did have a playing partner years ago with whom I always played really well and in writing this article I suddenly realised why!

Jim was a friend of my late father. He took up golf in his early 50's and rapidly became a golf fanatic - it often happens, doesn't it.

I was playing off 2-handicap in those days and my father asked me to play regularly with Jim to get his handicap down. It was an interesting experience, because Jim always got to my ball before I did and demanded I explain what I was planning to do with the shot. I would describe the shot I was faced with, the distance and club selection, the effect of the wind and the lie, the landing conditions at the target area and which side of the hole I wanted to land the ball. I would go through a similar description for every drive, every shot, every chip and every putt.

The odd thing was that every time I played with Jim, I scored really well, despite my frustration with his golf. The last round I played with him I scored 68, 4-under par, my best-ever score and I wasn't striking the ball that well. I could never explain why I played so well with Jim - until now.

With the power of hindsight and with my training in Hypnotherapy and NLP, I now realise that by explaining everything to Jim, I became my own virtual caddy. By the time I actually addressed the ball and swung the club, I had a clear visualisation of the successful shot I wanted to play and all I had to do was let my unconscious mind deliver the shot.

By becoming my own virtual caddy, I had to look at the shot I was about to play as if I was that caddy - in NLP terms I had to be dissociated or in the position of an interested observer of my playing self - in the second position. When I actually swung the club, I was back in myself mentally associated - in the first position.

How does this help me? Well, the next time you play golf, imagine that you have a "Jim", or whatever name you want to call him or her, in your head, acting as your virtual caddy and asking you to describe the shot you are about to play, in great detail. It's easier to remember, if you get your "Jim" to ask about every shot and every putt. After a few rounds, he'll always be there, helping you.

If you don't believe me, then just try this experiment.

1. Imagine you are on a golf course that you know well and you are facing a particularly difficult shot. Maybe it's one you always find difficult.
2. Remember the scene in as much detail and as vividly as possible. What can you hear and where's the sound coming from. Are there any particular smells or aromas? How are you feeling, right now?
3. If you're like me you're beginning to feel uneasy - perhaps you're starting to panic.
4. I don't know if you've noticed a few other things. Maybe your pulse is starting to race or your breathing has got quicker and shorter as you remember past disasters with this specific shot or others like it. You may even feel a little flushed.
5. And you're likely to hit another bad shot right now, aren't you?
6. Feels bad doesn't it? It's certainly doesn't feel conducive for a smooth relaxed and confident shot.

Now try it another way.

1. Just imagine that you have your own "Jim" advising you and encouraging you. Picture him and imagine the sound of his "voice" and his calm approach to giving you advice, guidance and above all relaxed confidence. Imagine how you'd feel discussing things with your "Jim".
2. Really feel that you are there with your "Jim" and then assess the shot together. Thinking about the distance, the lie, the landing area, the wind and temperature, how you're playing today and any other things that you'd like to take into account.
3. Finally, you're ready to agree on your club choice, your target and the shot your going to play.
4. Now imagine hitting that shot just as you've planned. Firstly, step back out of yourself and "see" yourself hitting the shot, like watching another you doing it, and watch the ball travelling to the target
5. If you're happy with that imagined "shot", then step back into your body and imagine executing the same swing. This time, it's you hitting the ball, feeling the smoothness of the swing, hearing the sound of the club striking the ball and thin turning your head to see the ball flying perfectly to your target.
6. That feels good, doesn't it? You should be feeling confident and upbeat about being well prepared to physically hit that shot.

Once you get used to having your version of "Jim" as your virtual caddy, you can start to get him to help you in other ways. But forget about him carrying the bag though, he's not real - physically. He's just a very real idea in your mind.

To find out more about becoming your own virtual caddy and to introduce you to your own "Jim", or whatever you call him or her, listen to the free "Your Own Virtual Caddy" Golf Hypnosis programme, regularly over the next few weeks and see how your golf improves.