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Reinforce the new anchor whenever you practice, for several weeks, using all the clubs in your bag. When you can consistently generate effortless swings, forget about consciously projecting the image onto your hands. If your body ever gets taut when you swing, consciously fire the anchor again.

“Swish”

There’s a process you can use to regain your composure after, say, a dubbed 6-iron from the middle of the fairway went splish-splash and cost you a career nine. It’s called “Swish” and was invented by Richard Bandler, one of the founders of NLP. The name is apt, because when it works, and that’s most of the time, it works quickly—swish. Its purpose is to bring about a lasting change in behavior or mood, exactly what’s needed to be consistent on the golf course.

A few years ago I was working with one of my clients, Billy Musto, an aspiring professional who wanted to make the Pro Tour. He was becoming increasingly angry, banging his clubs against the ground, muttering to himself, and was about to give up. He had just mis-hit an easy approach shot to the 8th green. This followed a scrambling bogey on the 7th hole.

“Let’s pack it in, Mac,” he said angrily.

“That’s certainly one choice,” I replied. “But before we do that, let’s do a ‘swish’ on your anger.”

“A what?” he asked.

“Swish,” I repeated. “It’s a quick way to change your state. Here’s what I want you to do. As you think about your anger, what color do you think would match it?”

“Red, deep red,” he answered quickly.

“Okay,” I said, holding the palm of my hand in front of his face. “Project an image of that deep red color here on my hand. Think about what you were doing that got you angry and at the same time make the palm of my hand bright red. Now really feel your anger.”

Then I asked him what color reminded him of being calm and in control of his golf game and his general behavior. He said that blue was a good color for calmness.

“Now, Billy, remember a specific time when you were calm on the golf course, playing the way you’re capable of playing, and see the color blue in your mind’s eye.” I paused a moment while he did that and asked, “What does it feel like?”

Billy’s facial muscles softened a bit and he said, “I don’t feel as angry.”

“Fine,” I said. “Keep seeing a blue color and that specific time when you were calm and relaxed.”

Billy slowly appeared to relax as he stared into space, looking at the color blue in his mind.

“All right,” I said, “now we’re ready to swish. This is what I want you to do. See the palm of my hand deep red and at the same time see a small patch of blue, about the size of a dime, superimposed on the red in the lower left-hand corner of my hand.”

I knew Billy was following my instructions because his eyes moved up and down and his pupils contracted and dilated. He nodded and said curtly, “Now what?”

“Great,” I replied, “apparently you’re still angry.”

He looked at me with the corners of his mouth turned down and nodded.

Continuing, I said, “What I want you to do is to quickly make the blue color expand and completely replace the red color on the palm of my hand. Do it as fast as you can when I say, ‘Swish.’ Ready … Swish!”

Billy’s eyes defocused completely as he changed colors. Then I asked, “What’s it feel like inside when you ‘swish’?”

“I feel lighter and much more relaxed.”

“Great. Now let’s do it faster, much faster, five times in a row, letting your mind go blank in between each ‘swish.’ But first tell me how you make your mind go blank. ”

Billy stared off into space and said, “I don’t know. There’s nothing there. ”

“Do you see black or do you see white, like a snowy TV screen?”

“I see white,” he answered.

“Okay, let’s begin,” I said. “You’re going to do five ‘swishes’ in a row on my hand again. Make sure you do them fast, the way your brain works, with your mind going blank in between.”

When he finished, I asked him to put the deep red color on the palm of my hand again.

“I can’t,” he replied.