How Do You Stop Thinking?

[Sandpiper3]

Just reading through some articles by Micheal Anthony and one i came accross is "How to Stop Thinking". He writes a lot about the mental aspect of golf and ive been subscribed to his newsletters for a few months (im subscribed to like 5 different mental golf newsletters). Anywayz.

I was reading it and he talks about how he stops thinking himself, and he also give a couple examples as to how to do it. The one that I noticed was he said "You can minimize your thoughts by focusing solely on your breathing..." I thought to myself about my preshot routine and how ive been playing lately. Ive felt as though my routine has been going longer because my breathing has felt "off" before i exhale and hit the ball, so ive been unconsciously focusing on my breathing... I love it when i stumble upon the good stuff

How do you stop tihnking?

[kiwi]

Why would you want to stop thinking, I just pick a target and let.Thats the final thought before/during my swing. Seems to work all right

[EnglishGolfer]

.... I find going to work does the trick

[emc]

I stop thinking by just picking a tree on the line I want, and hit it. There's no point in hanging around hitting your shot waiting for negative thoughts to come into your mind

[ezra76]

I do the same, pick a tree or target and go. Unfortunately at some point during my backswing that little white ball says "Your motha's a $%*@"

[Fastback]

lately ive been having alot of problems getting stuck at the point where i'm ready to hit.. i just end up waiting a long time before i hit the ball, the more i think about it, the longer i take to swing the damn club.. its extremely frustrating.. i end up hitting a poorer shot then id like as a result..

gotta find a way to rid myself of this habit..

[DouginGA]

A good tune running thru your mind really helps, IMHO. You cannot stand over the ball forever (and letting negative thoughts creep in) when stevie nicks is telling you to "stop dragging my heart around". mental music is just enough of a distraction to stop the negative thoughts and also give you a rhythm. The trick is not in your swing or setup or any of that, its finding the right tune
(nicks wasnt it btw, shot an 89 )

[limpalong]

Originally Posted by Sandpiper3

How do you stop tihnking?

My wife of 40 years says thinking has never been my strong suit. Probably why I have been relatively successful at this crazy game!! LOL

I've always been a fan of Harvey Pennick. One of his great pointers is "Miss it quick!" That pointer has helped me immensely. Simply pick a target, step up to the ball, and 'miss it quick'. Over analysis can cause lots of problems. I've seen it over and over and over. Leave the analysis for the range or the lessons. When you get to the course, "Miss it quick".

[sandwedge]

Originally Posted by aimr75

lately ive been having alot of problems getting stuck at the point where i'm ready to hit.. i just end up waiting a long time before i hit the ball, the more i think about it, the longer i take to swing the damn club.. its extremely frustrating.. i end up hitting a poorer shot then id like as a result..

gotta find a way to rid myself of this habit..

I tend to do this sometimes over short makeable putts. I take a couple of nice practice strokes and then step up to the ball and bad thoughts creep in. My nice practice strokes turn into ugly looking putts. This happens especially when I am standing over a birdie or par putt. I have been reading some stuff on the mental side and working on my pre shot routine to try to get rid of this problem.

[demon]

Join the military, you will sit around so much you will have this uncanny ability to blank everything out. During the first gulf war I was flying back to our base in our H60 and snipers were taking pop shots at us, after a few days of this I was able to fall asleep in our H60 between ops.

[warbirdlover]

AGING helps alot. Seems you can't remember anything anymore.

[Fourputt]

I try to do most of my thinking during the preshot routine. Staniding behind the ball to pick a target line, walkiing up and setting my feet, then I focus on my swing thought and pull the trigger. If I stand over the ball more than 2 or 3 seconds, I have to step back and reload, but that is an extremely rare occurrence.

However, I don't just turn off my brain at address. I have to have a swing thought or I can become a total hack. I have a disturbing tendency to peek if I don't focus on keeping my head down, so that is my primary thought at the start of the swing. No amount of play or practice has managed to cure this ailment, so I have to think about it when I swing.

[emc]

Originally Posted by ezra76

I do the same, pick a tree or target and go. Unfortunately at some point during my backswing that little white ball says "Your motha's a $%*@"

So that's what the aggressive move in your swing is for!

[DaveE]

Three or four stiff drinks will work too.

[kiwi]

Originally Posted by DaveE

Three or four stiff drinks will work too.

I normally do that before every round anyway