| Golf. What is it about this game that is so alluring and at the same time so frustrating? More people than ever are expressing interest in the game and many of those who already play say they would like to play more. It is also true that for every person that takes up golf another person leaves the game. This attrition rate is disturbing and causes us to look at a more “holistic” model of teaching and learning the game that would enhance the experience of the game and provide valuable tools that effect life development as well as golf game development.
As a former LPGA Tour player, I can attest that playing the game of golf is really about experience, change and communication. Over the past 10 years I have found a very useful technology that provides a workable model for all of the above aspects of golf. It is called Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), and it has proven to be extraordinarily effective in providing a model of experience (the structure of HOW we do what we do) and strategies for making a change in the most natural way possible.
NLP also gives us great tools for positive communication, both with others and ourselves. Anyone who has played golf knows that there is so much more to the game than just technique. There are mental, emotional and physical components that must be developed if we really want to learn to play the game and not simply engage in the universal quest for the “magic bullet”, which in this case might be the ever elusive “perfect golf swing”.
One NLP principle would teach that our thoughts, feelings and behaviors determine our experience at any given moment. It follows then that if, in addition to teaching basic golf technique, we are able to help students learn to direct their thoughts, images, “self-talk”, emotional states and their physiological responses like breathing, muscle tension, posture, etc., we are going to be far more effective at equipping them to learn the game, enjoy the game and play the game for a lifetime. As an added benefit, these skills transfer over to other areas of life making learning golf in this model a vehicle for personal growth and achievement.
(Editor’s Note: Joanne Foreman is an LPGA teaching pro, former LPGA Tour player and founder of MindGame, a firm specializing in performance enhancement in golf and business. She is also a Certified NLP practitioner, and an Instructor at Willows Run Golf Club in Redmond. She may be reached at (425) 868-9377, joforeman@earthlink.net, or by visiting www.mindgame1.com.). |
