Just Imagine......"Armchair Practice"

Listen to a group of amateur golfers and you'll almost always hear them say, "I never have enough time to practice and play as much as I want to."

Does that sound like you?

Wish you could find more time to polish your game?

Well, that's exactly what Tom said when he came to see me a few weeks before a big tournament.

He's the CEO of a thriving company, competitive, and lives by the motto, "If I'm going to do it I"m going to do it right!"

But one of his frustrations is not enough time for practice. "It's hard to get away right now, we're in the middle of a big sales promotion and I have to be at the office even more than usual. How am I going to get ready for our club championship?"

"What I need is a way to practice without leaving home or the office, something I can do when I have just a few minutes to spare."

So, I introduced him to, "Armchair Practice," which is sort of like daydreaming with a purpose. It's about using your imagination to creatively practice your skills.

Using imagery to rehearse a performance is certainly not new nor is it my invention. It is a process often used by elite athletes in many sports, most notably by Olympians. It is well researched and documented that practicing your sport, your performance, while relaxed, and using all your senses, has a dramatic practice effect.

The recent winter olympics offered many opportunities to observe athletes who were obviously mentally rehearsing. Figure skaters, bobsledders, downhill ski racers, snowboarders and cross-country ski racers were featured, eyes closed, their bodies gently moving, as they imagined themselves moving through their performance.

With Tom, I first sent him out to play a practice round on the tournament course and had him take pictures of each hole; one from the tee box, another from the area of the second shot, and finally one of the green.

Making the pictures into a scrapbook, with each of the eighteen holes on a single 81/2x11 sheet of paper, and the pages stapled together, he can flip them just like a book.

Each day in the weeks prior to the tournament he imagines his golf performance while sitting in his armchair looking at the pictures of each of the individual golf holes.

Each practice session begins with Tom settling into his comfortable chair, relaxing, using the simple but effective relaxation process he has learned, one that's uniquely his own, and deciding which hole(s) he wants to play.

Staying relaxed, while briefly opening his eyes to look at the pictures of the hole he's going to play, he imagines himself moving onto the tee box.

Once on the tee box he experiences his pre-shot routine in detail, not just through visualization, or what he "sees" in his minds eye, but also through each of his other senses as well.

His awareness includes his muscles firing, tightening and releasing, the feel of his feet on the ground and perhaps a sense of the ground being either soft or hard. Aromas in the air, like freshly mowed grass, become apparent to him, along with the slight breeze that ruffles his hair.

He hears spectators as they stand whispering behind the tee, the announcer calling his name, and even the airplane above his head.

Some of you may have the notion that if you do not "see pictures in your mind" that you are unable to do imagery. In fact it is not uncommon for people not to have "pictures in their mind" yet learn to use imagery quite effectively.

Visualization is only one way in which imagery occurs. In fact many people have a "sense of something being present" but do not have a picture of something being present. It does not matter how your imagery comes to you. There is no right/wrong, better or best way to image.

Tom "experiences" his stance, the "just right" grip pressure and the perfect aim. He sees or senses his take-away and backswing, the slight pause at the top, the energy shift and momentum of the downswing, and the stretch and sense of total balance during follow-thru.

He "hears" the whoosh of the club head and solid impact as clubface meets ball, and the swish as the ball flies into the air. He "feels" himself standing poised and "watching" the flight of the ball and the perfect landing as it hits and rolls, stopping within inches of the target.

He plays the entire hole, "sensing" himself walking down the fairway, putting, and finally hearing that most wonderful of sounds: the rattle of the ball as it falls in the cup!

Later, after the tournament, Tom recalls feeling confident as the announcer spoke his name and he stepped onto the first tee. He described the feeling saying; "I'd been there before, and it went well!"

During the tournament he felt focused, with just enough adrenaline flow to give him a sense of the "winners edge". Each of the three days of the tournament, he played well as the positive sense of deja vu remained vibrant within.

Shooting a 70, 78, and 72 respectively, and placing second overall, he's proud of his accomplishment. He imagines that next year he will be the champion!

Now that he has discovered a time-saving way to practice he will get in more practice time and his confidence and consistency will go up while his handicap goes down.

Just imagine... he has a very real chance of making that championship a reality!!

Especially if he continues to daydream with a purpose and use his armchair practice to enhance his performance!!!

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Dr. Paula King, Golf's "Head" Coach®, is a licensed sports psychologist in private practice in Phoenix. Specializing in work with golfers her clients include tour pros, juniors and amateurs. Comments or Questions?