January 14, 2007 by Jeff Shores, PGA.

Posted in Game Improvement, Golf Thoughts | Print | 7 Comments »

January 9, 2007 by admin.

On the GWJPodcast page of GolfingWithJeff.com you can now listen to Jeff’s interview with golf coach Lewis Terry. I’ve included the link below…

http://www.golfingwithjeff.com/GWJPodcast.html

Posted in GWJPodcasts, Welcome New Viewers | Print | 1 Comment »

December 27, 2006 by Jeff Shores, PGA.

Many people start the New Year with goals or resolutions, only to fail within the first few weeks.  This failure is not from lack of effort or desire, but from the inability to dream and visualize themselves already having attained their goal.  Any goal must first start with a dream and then must be followed with the corresponding feelings that match that dream.

Maybe your goal is to play better golf in the New Year.  If so, dream of yourself playing better golf.  What does it feel like to you?  Does it excite you and make you happy?  Feel those feelings on a daily basis.  Dream of yourself playing better golf as if you you are already doing it.  If your goal is to shoot in the 70’s, dream of yourself making a putt on the last hole to shoot 79.  Feel the excitement!  Visualize the people around you who will witness your achievement.  Immerse yourself in those joyful feelings over and over again until they become a mental reality.

I know what many of you are probably thinking…”I’m not going to get any better just thinking about playing better golf.”  The truth is, whether you think you can or can’t get better, your right! 

If your dominant thoughts are getting better at golf and you hold those feelings close to you day in and day out, your body will move in the direction of those thoughts.  You will find yourself doing the things that make your dreams a reality.  You will practice more, you will read more, and you will talk to more people about your dreams of being the player you want to be.

Dreams and goals are not attained overnight.  They happen over time with relentless persistence and unwavering faith.  You must “act, until it is fact!”  Dream your dream, live your dream, and, in time, you will attain your dream. 

Thanks for golfing with Jeff 

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December 13, 2006 by admin.

On the GWJPodcast page of GolfingWithJeff.com you can now listen to Jeff’s interview with collegiate golfer, Andy Brooks.  I’ve included the link below…

http://www.golfingwithjeff.com/GWJPodcast.html

Posted in GWJPodcasts, Welcome New Viewers | Print | 1 Comment »

December 12, 2006 by The Lefty.

I do think people would watch #1 play by himself, as we have seen by his show where he hit different golf shots and talks about the game through his eyes. I also find this to be more interesting to watch in a lot of cases than to watch the rest of the field try to do what he does, and hope to beat him…I love the game of golf! and Tiger has made the game “cool” (ie:  it’s now cool to be a golfer in school, unlike when I was in school!).  If people want to blame the media for making this a one man game to watch maybe they should blame the rest of the field for not bringing the same heart and intensity as he does.  As far as what will be left after he is gone, other than all new records, and millions of new fans, and a new game for a new age…it will still be one man, hitting one ball, with one club …one shot at a time!  The way this game was started before there were any greats.  As I said, “I love this game.”   I can only thank Tiger, and the media for bringing the game back to the forefront where it belongs, however, it is making the people tune in. The enthusiast, and all of our new era of after Tiger golfers, and all of our purist, all have one thing in common…our love for the game no matter how different we think we are!

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December 11, 2006 by aab180.

Have you ever played a Saturday morning twosome with your buddy and quietly watched in amazement as he or she would hit the ball in the trees time after time and end up in the fairway? Hit a ball so thin that when it rolled in the fairway bunker that it managed to run back out of it into a perfect position? Well I have! And its something I’ve been thinking about recently. 

When I started playing golf my Dad told me a quote that he heard Gary Player say which has stuck with me… “The more you practice, the luckier you get.” However I think that a golfers luck has more to do with how they use the luck and their attitude towards it. 

Some of us may feel that we simply aren’t ‘lucky’ golfers. “I always get bad breaks” which may happen to us every once in a while, but I think that the ‘lucky’ golfers are those who decide to choose an attitude that says “I do get good breaks and I take advantage of them.” 

This morning I watched the South African golfer Charl Schwartzel trying to catch a player in the lead of the Alfred Dunhill Championship with 4 holes to play. On the 15th his drive hooked left. It bounced out of bounds, hopped up on to a small stone wall about a foot tall, bounced two or three times and came back in bounds. Was this lucky? You bet it was! But what impressed me was how he went on to birdie this hole. With this momentum he then birdie the next. Had he not hit his approach shot to the par 5 18th hole in the water, a third birdie would have put him in a playoff. But I think in choosing to believe that he gets good breaks and using them, he had prepared himself for such an occasion and was ready for it when it came. 

Can you and I have that same ‘luck’? Its up to you. Make a choice.

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December 3, 2006 by Jeff Shores, PGA.

Many players come to me with the desire to improve their games.  Some of these players seem very frustrated with the game, saying things like, “I practice so much, but I can’t seem to shoot any better than the mid-80’s.”  Their so called “handicap” is an identity to them.  “I’m a 13 handicap”, is what they think and feel about their game.  This handicap becomes, what I like to call, their Mental Thermometer.

The Mental Thermometer works as a gauge for players, on the course, to keep them comfortable.  It is an internal gauge, having nothing to do with the temperature on the outside.  It works on an emotional basis, being turned on and off by the players thoughts and emotions as they play their round of golf.  Most players unknowingly set this gauge at a particular setting, called a handicap, just as they do their thermostats at home.

Let me explain how this works on the golf course.  A player believes himself to a 10 handicap, shooting somewhere around an 82 every time they play.  One day, they play the front nine holes and shoot a 37, one over par.  This player thinks to himself, “Wow, I’m playing great today, I don’t usually play this well.”  The player feels too hot and out of their comfort zone, so the Mental Thermometer will now be turned on to cool them down.  The player will begin to make mistakes on the back nine, eventually shooting a 44 or 45, to bring them right back to where they believe they should be for the day.

The process works the same in reverse.  The same player has a terrible front nine and says to himself, “I’m better than this, I never shoot a 50 for nine holes!”  The Mental Thermometer kicks in again, only this time it is to heat things up.  The player now starts to hit fantastic shots and shoots an amazing 3-under par, 33, on the back nine holes.  Again, they have proven them self correct in their handicap and in their comfort zone.

How to control your Mental Thermometer:

Avoid the handicap “pigeon hole.”  Your current handicap is not who you are.  It can become an evil, self-fulfilling prophecy that will keep you from playing your best golf.  Play each round of golf telling yourself, “I have unlimited potential in my game…I am capable of shooting low scores every time I play.” 

Enjoy the feeling of playing golf with the heat turned up.  The best players in the world thrive on the feeling of having their Mental Thermometer a few degrees hotter than what feels comfortable.  They yearn for the excitement and adrenalin that comes from turning up the heat in their games.  You, too, should learn to love the heat.  Have that “burning desire” to play your best golf.  The more you play with the heat turned up, the more comfortable you will become with that feeling.  In turn, the lower your scores will become.

Thanks for golfing with Jeff

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December 1, 2006 by admin.

On the GWJPodcast page of GolfingWithJeff.com you can now listen to Jeff’s interview with actor and celebrity golfer Ken Kerman.  I’ve included the link below…

http://www.golfingwithjeff.com/GWJPodcast.html

Posted in GWJPodcasts | Print | 1 Comment »

November 29, 2006 by Cahow.

Not being the best and most focused golfer, I often have other twosomes attached with my group.  I don’t always get the best shot off and start my round off on the wrong foot.  Unfortunately, this annoys those golfing with me and puts even more stress on my pitiful 120+ round!  I usually try to find humor in my golf shortcomings, but when those with you shake their head and feel you are the reason they are shanking their shots, its not so easy to enjoy yourself out on the course.  I always thought that being out on the course was supposed to be enjoyable.  Any ideas on how to resolve this upfront or deal with those people who don’t remember that they had to start someplace too?

Cahow

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November 26, 2006 by Jeff Shores, PGA.

Take a moment and visualize a large Jar of jelly beans.  The jar is clear, so you can see all the different colors and possible flavors of the jelly beans inside.  Now imagine that this jar is abundant, meaning, regardless of what jelly bean is pulled out, the jar will instantly replenish itself.  Reach in the jar, take out a jelly bean and eat it.  Do you like it?  Was the color representative of the flavor that you tasted?  Mentally, do this until you have tried all the different jelly beans in the jar.  Some of these jelly beans you will absolutely love, while others you won’t really care for. (I can’t stand licorice!)  Enjoy the ability to pick and choose the color and flavor of the jelly beans you like.

Let’s take that same jar of jelly beans. Only now, the jar is no longer clear.  You are unable to differentiate between the jelly beans. They all look the same.  Again, grab one and eat it.  Did you like it?  How does the inability to choose your favorites feel to you?  The results of your selections are now left to chance.

A round of golf can be very similar to a jar of jelly beans.  The jelly beans, in this case, representing the shots you hit on the golf course.  And, as before, the jar can be either clear or dark.  Visualization is the key to to determining how clear the jar can be.  The better we visualize the desired results, the more clear the jar becomes.  A beginning golfer must experiment with many different shots before they can pick the shots they truly desire, however, visualization is critical at this period to see and feel all results, good or bad.    

Most beginning players, golf with a jar that is very dark, hitting random shots, unable to select the ones they really like.  Simply accepting the results of their selection without thinking for a moment that they have any control over them.  These players will usually say things like “how did I do that?”, when they hit a good shot, or, “why do I always hit that shot?”, when they hit a bad one.  

Intermediate players, see through a clear jar, yet, still do not choose to select the the shots that they would be most satisfied with.  They are surface level players, playing the first shot available to them in the jar that looks acceptable.  These players do hit far more quality shots, but tend to get lazy and occasionally pull shots “out of the jar” they would rather throw back. 

Advanced players, see through a clear jar and pick the shots out of it that they really want.  they “dig deep” through the surface level of mediocre shots, if need be, to find the shots that they love to see and feel. 

Take a good look at your golf game.  Is your jar clear or dark?  Is it abundant with the shots you want to hit, or do you limit the amount of good ones you can “pull out of the jar?”  Do you sift through the shots available to you, or simply grab for the first one you see?  The more you visualize picking out the perfect shot, the more you will “taste” the rewards of positive outcomes.  Visualize your jar, clear and abundant, and you will see and feel a better golf game.

Thanks for golfing with Jeff

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