This week I was asked for help by an amateur golfer who was finding it difficult to integrate some changes to her swing. She said her practice swing was great but her actual swing reverted back to her old style most of the time. Golf psychology can dramatically speed up integrating swing changes, so if you’re wanting to make changes to your own swing, read on...

Golf psychology says that if your actual swing is different to your practice swing, you must be THINKING something different. If during your practice swing you are focusing on the new swing, then over the shot you are focusing on getting the ball to the target, these two thoughts will create different swings and frustrating results! Time to reprogram your unconscious.

Having a practice swing that uses a different focus to your actual swing is no good. The two need to be identical - so that your actual swing then becomes an exact mental and physical replay of your practice swing. Rather than a practice swing, think of it as a PREVIEW SWING (we all know that in "practice" we can get away with a lot as the consequences are different). A "Preview Swing" means that you are using the exact same swing thoughts as you will for your shot. Adjust your routine as follows to make sure you stick to ONE swing and ONE set of thoughts, not two.

When integrating a swing change it is crucial that you spend enough time in the "Think Box" - the area behind the ball where you think, plan, see the shot, pick your club, and carry out your preview swings. In the Think Box, go through the following steps

1. Pick a specific target
2. See the ball flight as it goes to that target
3. Pick the club that will play this shot
4. See yourself playing the shot with this club. See yourself using your new swing, striking the ball and it flying to the target
5. Step into the picture so you take a Preview Swing with the same new swing, imagining striking the ball to the same target

Once you have previewed and committed to one clear shot, step up to address the ball - the “Play Box”. The Play Box is not the place to think about your new swing - you have done that already behind the ball. It's the time to remember the shot you have just played in your mind behind the ball and do the same again. So simply see and feel the shot going to the target and put your best swing on it. Finally, judge your success not on the outcome of the shot but on how similar your preview and actual swings were.

If you would like more help in using golf psychology to score less without changing your swing, I’m giving away golf psychology tips through a series of six free audio tipcasts for the toughest parts of the game - sign up for my newsletter now if you would like to receive these.

Love every shot!

Adam Sprackling

Mental Golf Coach