PSYCHOLOGY ON THE COURSE
Visualize Your Shots ,
Keep Images Positive
A reader called this week to inquire about the PGA Teaching Manual I
frequently use as a reference. Rich Carrsage wanted to know how he could
get a copy of the book. A quick phone call to the Carolinas Section of the
PGA at North Myrtle produced the
telephone number of the PGA Book
Store: (407) 624-8535.
That event prompted me to go to
the manual, where there are several
dog-eared place markers. The second
or third one 1 turned to had a phrase
underlined m the "Psychology of
Golf" section which read, "...keep the
positive images flowing."
It's good advice that applies to a
wide variety of endeavors. Positive images arc conducive to positive think
ing and an open mind, no matter what task or project is at hand. You don't
have to worry about having too many positive thoughts. You will find your
self suffering from an overdosage. There arc more than enough folks out
there to balance the scales with negative images and thoughts.
Eliminate the Negative...
The world is full of nit-pickers, fault finders and problem identifiers.
They are always equipped with a reserve tank full of notions about what is
wrong in our culture: taxes, high prices, social issues, moral dilemmas and,
occasionally, their golf games. These harbingers of disaster will sometimes
have some recommended solutions. All too often, they are oversimplified
and manifestly subjective solutions to complex problems: "Tax those
wealthy suckers and leave us alone."
Anxieties which stem from the game of golf are largely embedded in
prior failures and frustrations. Vivid and painful images of past experiences
arc the worst kind of negative thinking. NVe have all heard golfers who say,
"I can't play this hole." or "That course kills me every lime 1 play there." It
is difficult, if not impossible, to be positive when your mind i> filled with a
fear of failure.
Create Your Own Mind Games
There some psychological tricks that you can play on yourself which
lead to positive thoughts. In "Golf My Way," Jack Nicklaus relates the value
of positive images through visualizing the shot he is about to hit. He begins
by visualizing where he wants the ball to land and stop, the trajectory the
ball must take to get there and, finally, the swing he will need to produce the
desired results.
You do not often sec Nicklaus taking a lot of practice swings cxccpt on
short, delicate shots around the green. I would suggest, however, that you
extend his practice to several practice swings. Actually take a number of
practice swings and incorporate the image of the ball flying on the desired
trajectory to the target.
Allow me to suggest that these practice swings not be rehearsed when it
is your turn to play. Make them out of the way oi a fellow competitor while
he is playing his shot. If you cannot do so without distracting your buddies,
make several mental swings and sec the ball in the desired trajectory.
Visualize , Visualize , Visualize
Then when it becomes your turn to play, lake at least one or possibly
two practice swings, complete with visualizing the desired shot. The trick is
to actually visualize your shot all the way lo the target. This simple matter or
focusing on ihc positive will, as a minimum, free your mind of negative
thoughts and. at best, will rehearse the mind and body to perform in unison
to produce the desired results.
It also helps to recall and visualize a similar shot you have hit with good
results. "Keep the Positive Images Flowing." As for that hole from hell, try
this: well before you play that devilish fiend, imagine the sequence of shots
that will allow you to conquer that hole. Imagine yourself playing that hole
with a pro's skill, but using your own yardages and flight trajectory.
Try This Trick
In my own experience, I had a long par three hole that used to eat my
lunch. One day I realized that two holes before that par three was a par five
hole with a second, or lay-up shot that was almost identical to the tec shot of
the scary par three. The only difference was that the lay-up shot had no wa
ter hazard or bunkers lo worry about. The lay-up shot was no big deal since
the par five could not be reached in two shots. I used the lay-up shot to re
hearse the tec shot to the tough par three.
The lay-up came off perfectly and left tnc just one extra club to the
green of the par five. When I arrived at the par three, I told myself to hit that
layup shot again to a large target area without nearby hazards. I took the
smoothest swing in memory and watched the ball follow the exact trajectory
I had visualized and stop in the middle of the green. Two putLs later I had a
routine par on a hole that had produced more fives and sixes than pars in die
past.
As I left my long-time nemesis and proceeded to the next tcc, 1 had a
sneaky feeling that there were a lot more pars to be had on that old devil.
And there were for certain. All I had needed were some positive thoughts
and good visualization of the desired shot.
Next week, more mind tricks.
WILLGOLF
BY
WILL
COCKRELL
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jJfUC Shallotte Lions Club
F t; ii^ Presents
A Golfing Event
at
Sea Trail Plantation-Willard Byrd Course
Sunset Beach.
Saturday, June 27 at 9 AM
Captain's Choice-4-Man Team
$40 fee includes cart, green fee,
buffet luncheon and prizes
Prizes Per Team 1st, 2nd and 3rd
Closest to Pin and Longest Drive
Any profits from this tournament will
benefit the blind and those with
visual or audio handicaps.
LAST DATE TO ENTER-JUNE 22
Contact: Richard Westbrook
58 Craven St., Ocean Isle Beach, NC 28459
OR CALL: (919) 579-7895 ? 579-3157
754-9963 or 754-8941
STAfF PHOTO BY DOUG RUTTE*
JOE STEEIJi stands near the eighth tee at Sandpiper Ray, one of
two holes he aced during a round of golf June L
Colorado Drafts McCracken
For Major League Baseball
Southpon native Quinion Mc
Crackcn was pickcd by the Colorado
Rockies, a National League expan
sion team, in the Major League
Baseball draft last week.
The former Duke University and
South Brunswick baseball star was
selected in the 25th round of the an
nual amateur draft last Tuesday.
At Duke, McCrackcn set school
records in hits, games played, at
bats, runs and stolen bases.
The Blue Devil second-baseman
hit .373, had 76 hits, scored 62 mns
and stole 33 bases as a senior this
spring.
McCrackcn was a first-ieam All
Atlantic Coast Conference selection
and third-team All-American nomi
nee.
He also was one of eight ACC
ball players named to the 1992 Am
erica Baseball Coaches Association
Atlantic Region All-Star team.
McCrackcn attended Duke on a
football scholarship and was a
steady force in the defensive sec
ondary for the Blue Devils.
He played shortstop for the South
Brunswick Cougars when they won
the slate 2-A baseball championship
in 1988.
Tennis Hopefuls
Can Pick Up Info
Girls interested in playing tennis
next fall at West Brunswick High
School need to pick up information
packets at the school this summer.
Packets can be picked up any
weekday from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. at
the high school office.
Coach Marti Gillis said she plans
to start practice Aug. 8. Incoming
freshmen and other girls arc invited
to try out for the squad.
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Steele Aces Two
Holes In One Round
BY DOUG R UTTER
Like the sport fisherman who
dreams of hooking a record sailfish,
most golfers spend their lives hop
ing to hit an elusive hole in one.
Few links enthusiasts ever dream
of making two accs. particularly in
the same round.
But that's just what Joe Steele did
during a recent tour at Sandpiper
Bay Golf and Country Club near
Calabash.
The Ocean Isle Beach resident
accd the par- 3 eighth and 15th holes
at Sandpiper while playing in a
men's league tournament June 1.
"The odds have to be something
like 15 million to one," Steele said
last week. "It was really something."
At the 160- yard eighth hole,
Steele used a 6- iron to do the job.
He chose an eight iron as his wea
pon at the 145-yard 15th hole.
"It's one of those things that doe
sn't happen loo often," understated
Sandpiper Bay's head golf pro, Tom
Miles.
With 5 million golfers in the
United Slates, ii only happened 14
times in 1990, according to Golf Di
gest magazine.
Steele, who helps run a restaurant
at Ocean Isle, has been playing golf
for 30 years. The two recent accs
brought his carccr total to four.
The local golfer said his good for
tune last Monday started long before
he made his first hole in one.
On the 152-yard third hole, his
towering tec shot fell short of the
green and splashed in a lake. Steele
said it somehow popped out of ihe
water onto the bank. From there, he
chipped on a rolled in a 20-foot pull
for par.
"It must have hit a turtle or alliga
tor or something," he said. "It just
popped right up on the bank. I knew
it was going to be a good day."
At the eighth hole, Steele said his
tee shot landed on the front of the
green and rolled toward the cup.
He was riding to the green in a
golf cart when the ball dropped in
the hole. The group of golfers up
ahead witnessed the ace.
On the 15th hole, Steele benefited
from a good bounce. "It landed in
ihe middle of the green, made two or
three hops and made a left turn like
it had radar," he said.
Steele, a 54-year-old member at
Sandpiper Bay, was playing with
Phil Canterbury, Hal Foley and
Owen Whitfield when he recorded
the two aces.
"It was really fun, and it was lun
for the guys playing with me," he
said. "They had never seen a hole in
one and got to sec two in one day."
By the way, Steele missed the
green on the course's final par three
and ended up shooting an 80 ? a
score he was somewhat embarrassed
to reveal.
Steele, whose handicap usually
hovers around 14, also made his two
other career aces at Sandpijwr Bay.
They occurred at the eighth and
1 1th holes and were hit within three
weeks of each other during the sum
mer of 1988.
Steele, a small, wiry man, said his
two aces last Monday have been the
source of a lot of good-natured rib
bing at the golf course.
"I've got to give strokes to every
body or they won't play me," he said.
"Everybody's afraid of me now."
Operations and
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Ask About Health Insurance
The State Farm W'av
f A ( Al l. ME.
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Phone 754 9923
I Jet Hwy. 17 & 211
PO Box 78
Supply. NC 28462
l ike .i himhI neighbor. Mali* farm is tht-iv
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leave and return ... 4LO.UU
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