Conscious versus Subconscious

To play great golf or any other game, you must control your conscious thoughts and give your subconscious simple clear directions. 

I tell myself, “Don’t hit the ball in the water.”  What could be clearer than that?  The ball goes in the water anyway.  The subconscious doesn’t understand don’ts.  If you have a dog you have trained to sit, when she hears the work sit, she sits.  What will happen if you say, “Don’t sit?”  She would still sit.  She doesn’t understand “don’t,” but the word sit is familiar.  Your subconscious doesn’t understand “don’t” either.  When you tell yourself, “Don’t hit into the water,” the subconscious hears “water” and says to itself, “Oh, he wants me to give the little white ball a bath.”

Visualize the shot going high, from right to left, hitting the green and coming to a stop.  You must control your conscious thoughts.  Use “The Process”, which is Visualization, Feel and Commitment.

For more information on “The Process,” you can contact Bob Shirey, PGA, at 805-286-2590 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .