Equipment
Three tips to think about nothing while over the ball
After delivering a seminar for the PGA of Philadelphia, a gentleman walked up to me and said “Hi, I’m Dr. Howdy Giles. I was Arnold Palmer’s dentist.” Howdy, and I have been friends ever since and he was kind enough to introduce me to the King in April of 2016. On that memorable day, we asked Arnie what he thought about when standing over the ball, and his response was simple.
Nothing.
To condition yourself to think about nothing while standing over the ball, you must be highly disciplined. These three tips provide you with a dose of daily discipline so you can start thinking like a king today.
No. 1. Challenge Yourself Daily
This self-empowering activity is so much fun and highly motivating. Off the course, your Daily Challenge could be as simple as completing a task, starting a task, making that certain phone call or committing to one thing that will take you out of your comfort zone.
On the course, your Daily Challenge might be to visualize every shot, stay positive the entire round or to think about nothing while standing over the ball. Once you determine your Daily Challenge, it takes only 2 seconds to write it down. Writing it down makes you much more committed and self empowers you to achieve it. Every one of our golfers doing the Daily Challenge absolutely loves it, and I know you will too.
No. 2. Crush Your Morning and Evening Routine
If you want to take control of each day, physically change your path to get in and out of bed each day. The reason why is that 95 percent of what you do today is the same as what you did yesterday, which means you are on auto-pilot almost the entire day. By changing how you get in and out of bed, you create the perfect framework for constant improvement because you are in control of the very first thing you do each day, and the very last thing you do.
Total time required to reroute your path in and out of bed is about 1 second.
No. 3. Ask Yourself a Better Question
Did you know the quality of your life is only as good as the quality of the questions you ask yourself? The conversations you have in your mind must be focused on improvement, not on what’s wrong. The danger in asking yourself the wrong questions is that your subconscious mind will provide you with all the right answers to your wrong questions. You know that dreadful feeling of being stuck or frustrated and you have no clue how to improve? The reason why is your communication creates a perpetual road block with no chance for a detour. Asking the wrong questions makes it virtually impossible for you to succeed, in golf and in life.
If you ask yourself why you can’t perform under pressure or why your short game stinks, your subconscious provides you with a host of reasons why. By asking questions that start with “Why is it so easy,” everything changes instantly.
For example, say any of these questions out loud right now and see how they make you feel:
- Why is it so easy to make this putt?
- Why is it so easy to relax and be totally calm right now?
- Why is it so easy to think about nothing standing over the ball?
By constantly asking “why is it so easy,” you will feel more relaxed which equates to lower stress and less anxiety. Lowering your physical and emotional anxiety translates to better golf, and the best part about it is that asking a better question takes about 2 seconds!
In Extreme Ownership by U.S. Navy SEALs Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, they said something at the end that really caught my attention.
Discipline = Freedom
These three simple discipline tips will help you play your best and create freedom in your game, both on and off the course.
To recap:
1. Take the Daily Challenge (2 seconds)
2. Crush Your Morning and Evening Routine (1 second)
3. Ask a Better Question (2 seconds)
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/29/24): Krank Formula Fire driver with AutoFlex SF505 shaft
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Krank Formula fire driver with AutoFlex SF505 shaft.
From the seller: (@well01): “Krank formula fire 10.5 degree with AUtoflex SF505. $560 shipped.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Krank Formula Fire driver with AutoFlex SF505 shaft
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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Whats in the Bag
Team McIlowry (Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry) winning WITBs: 2024 Zurich Classic
Rory McIlroy WITB
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @8.25) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X (45 inches)
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 X
Irons: TaylorMade Proto (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9) Buy here.
Shaft: Project X 7.0 (4-9)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB) Buy here, Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (58-K @59) Buy here.
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X3 Buy here.
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol Tour
Ball: 2024 TaylorMade TP5x Buy here.
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Rory McIlroy’s WITB in the forums.
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Shane Lowry WITB
- Shane Lowry what’s in the bag accurate as of the Cognizant Classic.
Driver: Srixon ZX5 Mk II (8.5 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ White 70 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus Buy here.
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 X
Irons: Srixon ZX Utility (3, 20 degrees) Buy here, Srixon ZX5 Mk II (4, 5) Buy here, Srixon ZX7 Mk II (6-PW) Buy here.
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X (3), KBS Tour 130 X (4-PW)
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore Tour Rack (50-10 MID, 54-10 MID) Buy here, Cleveland RTX Full Face (58-8) Buy here.
Shafts: KBS Tour Wedge X Black
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour Z Buy here.
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV Buy here.
The winning WITB is presented by 2nd Swing Golf. 2nd Swing has more than 100,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
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Whats in the Bag
Steve Stricker WITB 2024 (April)
- Steve Stricker WITB accurate as of the Zurich Classic. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees, C4 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 7.2 X
3-wood: Titleist 915F (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist 816 H1 (17 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 9.2 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (3, 4), Titleist T100 (5-9)
Shafts: Project X 6.5
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 (46-10F @55), Titleist Vokey SM10 (54-10S @53), Titleist Vokey SM4 (60 @59)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 w/Sensicore
Putter: Odyssey White Hot No. 2
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Grip Rite
Check out more in-hand photos of Steve Stricker’s clubs here.
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Pingback: Don’t think over the ball—especially about shanks or white elephants
crit5011
Feb 6, 2017 at 2:33 pm
I mastered thinking of nothing in the 60’s and my high school teachers will confirm it and and….sorry what was I saying.
edge of lean
Feb 6, 2017 at 12:46 pm
Uuhhh*
Miuralovechild
Feb 5, 2017 at 12:37 am
I remember watching Peter Jacobson and Matt Greaser on Golf Channel talk about their 26 swing thoughts before impact.
Spencer
Feb 5, 2017 at 12:26 am
I think of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
Scott
Feb 6, 2017 at 8:51 am
You were suppose to keep your mind totally blank!!
Double Mocha Man
Feb 4, 2017 at 9:02 pm
This article’s been posted for about 8 hours. Apparently nobody’s thinking about nothing. No comments.
Tom
Feb 5, 2017 at 10:17 am
we’re still caught up on the Under Armor golf bag article
Double Mocha Man
Feb 6, 2017 at 1:32 pm
Thanks alot Tom…now you have me thinking about the UA golf bags. Try not to think of elephants…