Golf_ The Mind Game - Marlin M. Mackenzie [66]
Auditory
Sound of whoosh during swing.
Sound of club face striking the ball.
Sound of club face taking a divot.
Sound of club face brushing the grass.
Sound of exhalation at impact.
The following are additional “uptime” cues that guide the golfer in making decisions about a shot immediately at hand:
Visual
Lie of the ball.
The flagstick.
Distance of ball from flagstick.
Location of hazards between ball and green (e.g., trees, traps, rough).
Location of “casual water.”
Distance of ball from hazards.
Out-of-bounds markers.
Tee markers.
Thickness of the grass.
Wetness of the turf.
Contour of surrounding land and its slope toward water.
Contour of the fairway, the land surrounding the green, and the green.
Color of the sand in the traps.
Movement of leaves in trees created by the wind.
Movement of flag created by the wind.
Location of the northerly direction.
Color of grass on the putting surface.
Location of the cup.
Debris on putting surface between ball and cup.
Ball marks on the green.
Cleat marks on the green.
Shadows on the green.
Identification marking on the clubhead.
Lightning.
Auditory
Wind in the trees.
Wind across ears.
Sound of cleats on the turf and sand.
Thunder.
Kinesthetic
Softness/hardness of turf or sand underfoot.
Movement of wind over skin.
Rain.
Pressure of grass on sole of club during practice swing in rough.
Ambient air temperature on the skin.
This appendix contains two parts: (1) a series of questions that identify how people internally represent their sensory experience; and (2) exercises designed to strengthen sensory awareness.
Representation of Sensory Experience
The questions that follow are a modification of what Richard Bandler and Will MacDonald presented in their book, An Insider’s Guide to Sub-modalities. Submodalities are classified according to each of the three main channels of awareness that are crucial for regulating athletic skills, namely: vision, audition (sound), and kinesthesia (feeling). The senses of smell and taste are of little consequence in sports, except when fear is involved. Then both smell and taste seem to be quite important.
These questions are a handy reference when you’re practicing several metaskills techniques: Sherlock Holmes Exercise, Cross-over Training, Uptime Anchor, Just-right Anchors, Discovering Differences, Body Scanning, “Swish,” and Self-hypnosis. Whenever any of the instructions for these techniques tell you to change how you see, hear, and feel “on the inside” or in your mind, the questions below can help you do just that.
Vision
Brightness—Are the images brighter than normal, with lots of light, or are they dark?
Color—Are images in color or only in black and white? Is there a full spectrum of color, or is there a dominance of one or more colors?
Contrast—Is there a sharp contrast in the objects and colors or are they subdued or washed out?
Focus—Are the images sharply focused or fuzzy?
Distance—Are you looking at the image as if zoomed in, or do you have a wide-angle view? How wide is the angle?
Location—Where is the image located in space? Is it within your head? Or is it located outside of you, to the front, side, rear, down, up? How far away is it (in feet and inches)? Does the screen on which the image is projected move? If so, in what direction?
Size—How big is the image (approximately, in inches or feet)? Does the size change?
Shape—Is the image round, square, triangular, rectangular?
Border—Does the image have a frame or border? Describe its size and design.
Viewpoint—Are you seeing yourself in the picture as if you were a spectator, or are you seeing what you would normally see if you were actually there in that place at that time? From what direction are you looking at yourself—from the side (right or left), back, front, above, at an angle? Is the image tilted at an angle from front to back or from side to side? Does the image seem to wrap around you, or is it flat or two-dimensional?
Motion—Is the image a still picture, or are you watching a movie? Are there a series of images