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Trust your feelings of uncertainty when you address the ball; step back and replan the shot if you feel discomfort.

Tony Jacklin, the former British and United States Open golf champion, has reported that during a few rounds of golf he experienced “a cocoon of concentration” in which everything was “pure, vividly clear.” During one of those states he hit a 350-yard drive. Essentially, Jacklin’s state was a trance state during which there was little or no deliberate conscious thought.

My investigations of athletes’ mental states during competition reveal that they’re frequently in a deep trance state when they perform their best.

For example, Tom Purtzer, a PGA Tour veteran, automatically puts himself into a trance or mindless state by staring at the printing on the surface of the golf ball as he sets up. Peter Famiano, PGA professional at Crestmont Golf Club in West Orange, New Jersey, simply alters his state by staring at one dimple on the golf ball. And David Graham hears his internal voice saying, “Good shot, good shot, good shot,” as he takes the clubhead back; this phrase functions as a mantra and hypnotizes him during his swing.

In golf a trance state usually occurs during the time between take-away and when the club strikes the ball, although it may last longer, as in Jacklin’s case. Scott, a golf professional at a club outside of Washington, D.C., told me he experienced a trance state throughout his best-ever game. He said, “It was as if I wasn’t there.” Even as he was reporting the experience to my writing partner and me, he demonstrated physical symptoms of a light trance: defocused, glassy eyes, relaxed facial muscles, and slowed-up speech.

This kind of experience is not limited to professional golfers. Ann Dickimson, a middle-handicapper from Ridgewood, New Jersey, said she experienced an entire round of golf when she was in a zone that allowed her to play at top form. A few of my golfing acquaintances have also reported that sometimes they play an entire round of golf without thinking any thoughts whatsoever about the mechanics of setting up and swinging; it’s as if some other part of them is swinging the club, they say, another indication of an altered state of consciousness.

Some athletes who have competed in contests while in trance states have told me that time was distorted to the point that movements appeared to be executed in extremely slow motion. One golfer said he could actually see the spin of the ball just after he struck it. Bill Burgess, if you recall, said that he saw strings and geometric patterns that were directly related to the path of the club and the trajectory of the ball. Others, many others, have said that they knew a shot would be good even before they hit it. How many times have you absolutely known a shot or putt would be good before you actually hit it?

In contrast to positive trance states there are many golfers who generate negative trance states through intense self criticism. They are constantly in a depressed state. I’m sure you’ve played with people like this. They’re the ones who are always talking to themselves, silently and out loud, repeatedly saying, “You jerk, your swing stinks,” “All you do is slice the _____ball,” “You can’t putt worth____” Essentially, they generate unconscious negative imagery and muscle feelings, and form a negative perception of themselves that often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Needless to say, their golf shots go all over the lot when they’re in that state.

The Nature of Trance

Many people have a mistaken notion about trance, believing that it’s a mystical phenomenon, attainable only by some people. It’s not. Getting into a trance is a natural skill, not a trait, contrary to the opinion of some hypnosis specialists. Those who assert that some people are not hypnotizable are mistaken. The late Dr. Milton H. Erickson, a renowned medical hypnotherapist whose work served as one foundation stone of Neuro-Linguistic