Part I:

Just Hit The Damn Ball!(How to Stop Thinking and

Play Your Best Golf)

Part II:The Gorilla Is Loose:

(Your Innate Swing Unleashed!)

Part III:Playing Out Of Your Mind:

(Moving Beyond Swing Mechanics)

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means – electronic, mechanical, photographic (photocopying) recording, or otherwise without prior permission in writing from the author.

Copyright@ David J. Johnstonall rights reserved.

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Table of Contents

..............................................Author’s Note 1

.....................................Acknowledgements 3

....................................................Foreword 7

........................Chapter I: Rattling The Cage 6

.....................Chapter II: Bending The Bars 22

........................Chapter III: Escape The Trap 6

...................Chapter IV: The Search Is Over 26

...............Chapter V: The Road To Freedom 48

.....................................Chapter VI: Fallout 60

.......................Randy’s Closing Comments 63

..........................................Bonus Chapter 69

...............................................References 72

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The Gorilla Is Loose:

Your Innate Swing Unleashed!

Dave Johnston, B.A. PsychologyDirector of Instruction

Author: Just Hit The Damn Ball!

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Chapter III: Escape The Trap

Okay then, let’s pretend that you’ve read Just Hit The Damn Ball! The ideas sound reasonable - block out the memories of poor shots- just focus on good results. Positive thinking, that’s the ticket!

It sounds good in theory.

Here’s a real life anecdote that illustrates the delusion of positive thinking. One of my regular clients (let’s call him Randy W) agreed to get together two weeks after reading the book. When we met, he had played three games. He was conscientiously trying to apply the positive thinking credo.

It worked wonderfully for four holes, and then the inevitable happened. With his permission I recorded our conversation. The highlights are transcribed below. A quick overview will put the conversation in perspective.

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While your experience may not be identical, I’m sure you’ll be able to relate to Randy’s exploits.

For the first four holes, Randy was fortunate to play by himself; no one behind, no one in front - no pressure. He was in the zone. Randy could use some positive thinking to pretend the sand traps didn’t exist. He could block them out. This positive thinking stuff was working!

Not every shot was perfect but they were all playable. No lost balls; so far, so good.

The fifth hole is a 150 yard par 3 over water. The player has to carry 120 yards to fly the pond. No big deal.

As Randy prepared to address the ball, he heard the sputter of gas carts approaching from another fairway.

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Okay, he said to himself. Just relax and concentrate. “There is no water”. As he followed his pre-shot routine, Randy could hear snippets of voices getting closer.Suddenly, two power carts roared into view and pulled up beside the fifth tee. As Randy was about to swing, everything went silent.

Can you guess what happened?

You got it. He hit the ground two inches behind the ball. The ball rose weakly, hovered momentarily then dove defiantly to a watery grave.

“Alright, just calm down and tee up another ball.” This time Randy grabbed a longer club and made a nice, smooth swing.

The second shot carried the pond...and the green...and the out of bounds fence behind.

Mmm...one more time.

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Feeling pressured that he was holding up the group behind, Randy rushed the shot and hit the ball into the trees on the right. Four more shots and he was finished the hole...and the round. Eight shots on a par three and another good round down the toilet.

A s R a n d y re l a t e d t h i s s t o r y I commended him on his effort to use positive thinking, but he was missing the fundamental point of the book.

We pulled up a table in the clubhouse and ordered some cocktail pretzels. Randy slouched down in an overstuffed leather chair and sighed.

“I thought the main point of your book was to block out negative memories and focus on positive results?”

“That’s the general idea, yes. But you’re missing the fundamental theme of the book. Do you recall the subtitle?”

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“Sure. How to Stop Thinking and Play Your Best Golf, but I was really trying to focus on positive results. It was working great until I heard the power cart approaching. For some reason, I couldn’t seem to focus on the shot. My mind wandered and before I knew it, thoughts of the water popped into my head. You know the rest.”

“Can you recall what you were thinking when you heard the cart approach?”

“I wondered where they came from. There was no one behind me for the first four holes. I guess they cut over from another fairway. Maybe they were pressed for time.”

“And then...?”

“I tried to block it out and re-focus, but the memory of the last time I played this hole kept replaying in my head. “

“So what happened...?”

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“When I played last week, I carried the pond but the ball hit a rock and caromed back into the water. It still bugs me because I hit a good shot.”

“Obviously, that memory is still fresh in your mind. How many times have you played the hole before?”

“I don’t know...maybe a dozen.”

“And do you usually carry the pond?”

“Sure, not always on the Green, but usually dry.”

“Yet you couldn’t stop replaying the last episode. Do I have it right?”

“...As soon as my mind was distracted by the power cart, the memory starting playing automatically. No matter how hard I tried to fight it, thoughts of the water kept popping into my head.”

“Now we’re getting to the heart of the matter. The first step is to stop fighting the memory.”

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“But I thought the idea was to try and block negative memories?”

“It is, but you need the right strategy. Most mid to high handicap golfers tend to focus on potential disaster - the harder you try to block it out, the more intense it becomes. If your most lucid memory is one of disaster, then your nervous system fires off a warning blast as a reminder.”Randy looked at me as if I were from outer space.

“Look at it this way. Your nervous system has one primary function – to protect you from a potential threat, physical or mental, real or imagined. It uses your most vivid memory of a similar situation to determine how strong a signal it sends.”

Randy just shook his head and gave me a blank stare.

“Okay. Maybe this will make more sense. Do you have an antivirus system on your computer?”

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“Sure. God knows what kind of junk is floating around out there!“

“And it’s always running in the background. You’re not aware of it until you see the warning about a potentially unsafe site. Does that make sense?”

“Well, yeah. But I don’t see...”

“Imagine your nervous system is a hyper-sensitive security system that’s always on maximum, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. You can’t shut it off. It uses your memories to determine the intensity of the warnings.”

Randy munched on a pretzel and frowned. I’m sure he would have been perfectly happy to escape my little diatribe. I ignored his disgruntled look and continued.

“Vivid memories of failure will set off the alarms to warn you of a potential threat. Are you still with me?”

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“I get the analogy but it sounds kind of silly. I mean it’s just a game. It’s not life or death.”

“Not literally, but how do you feel when you cold top a shot in front of spectators?”

“Well...it is humiliating. I mean, that’s a shot you would expect from a beginner. I’ve been playing for thirty-two years!”

“Your nervous system doesn’t care - its job is to protect you from a physical or mental threat. It can’t tell the difference between an event that you’ve actually experienced or one that exists in your imagination. Humiliation is a form of mental anguish.”

Randy pushed his Titleist cap back until it perched like some strange beak on the back of his head.

“Whoa…back up for a minute! Are you saying that even imagined events can affect the results?”

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“Imagination creates memory. When you constantly conjure up images of poor results, you increase the possibility of making those results occur.”

Randy gave me a look that clearly betrayed the feelings that he was face to face with a lunatic. He looked up at me from beneath raised eyebrows. He came over, stood beside me and placed a hand gently on my shoulder.

“Dave...I’ve known you for twelve years. We’ve had some great discussions and I really appreciate your counsel, but I think it’s time for you to retire. Standing out in the blazing sun for thirty-one years has fried some of your brain cells.”

He motioned to the bartender and sat down.

“Why don’t I buy you a beer and forget about golf for a while. The Blue Jays are playing Baltimore today.”

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Randy grabbed the remote control and started to flick through the TV listings.

“Randy, I appreciate the offer but you really have to understand how the conscious and unconscious minds work in order to get off the roller coaster that you’ve been riding for the past twelve years.”

The bartender signalled that the beers were ready. Randy stood up and sighed. “Let me grab the beers first.”

He headed for the bar, shaking his head and muttering softly. I could hear an audible sigh as he turned around with a stein of Guinness in each hand and returned to our table.

He placed the mugs gently on the glass tabletop, snatched the television remote and flicked the OFF switch.

“Okay Doc, fire away. But I have to tell you that this psychobabble is lost on me. First, you tell me the key is positive thinking and now you tell me that positive thinking isn’t the answer.

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“I don’t get it.”

After a brief toast, we settled back and prepared to open the hermetically sealed vault of Randy’s golfing psyche.

“Thanks for the beer. Now where were we? Oh yeah...the goal is to eliminate or at least reduce the need for conscious control over your swing. Positive thinking is still thinking.”

“So… how do I stop? I can’t filter the thoughts that keep popping into my head.”

“True enough, but with a few simple techniques, you can learn how to control the effects of those thoughts.”

Randy’s fingers strummed the wooden arm of the chair. He glanced out the window at fellow golfers checking their form on the practice range.

It was obvious that he would rather be out there, working on the physical, tangible stuff. I gave him a moment to re-focus.

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“Remember, the subtitle was how to stop thinking. Positive thinking isn’t pretending that something doesn’t exist. Positive thinking is the ability to acknowledge the presence of potential obstacles, and still focus on where you want the ball to go.”

Randy shook his head in mock despair.

“You do this for a living but I don’t have time to listen to hundreds of hypnosis tapes and recite mantras. I’ll never understand this game. Maybe I’ll just go in for a lobotomy.”

“We’re just getting started.” I rejoined, “Besides, that type of operat ion needs s ix months advance booking.”

A weak smile played across Randy’s face.

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“You’re making this way too complicated. It’s no different than any other activity. Let me ask you something, how long have you been driving?”

“About twenty-six years. Why?”

“When you’re driving to the golf course, are you conscious of other cars on the road?”

“Sure. You have to be aware of what’s going on around you.”

“But you still focus on where you want to end up?”

“Yeah...so.”

“Even though you’re consciously aware of other cars, traffic lights and pedestrians, your focus is on your destination. Make sense?”

“Of course. You can’t pay attention to everything and still focus on driving safely.”

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Randy leaned forward, rested his elbows on the table and rubbed his eyes.

“Dave, I really don’t see what this has to do with my golf game?”

Ignoring his objection, I persevered.

“What would happen if you tried to focus on everything going on around you at the same time?”

Randy lifted the mug to his lips and looked at me over the caramel-coloured foam. He raised the glass in a mock toast and took a big gulp.

“Lead on MacDuff.”

“If you tried to focus on everything, you’d be stuck in the slow lane forever – the new driver syndrome. You’ve learned how to concentrate on your destination and still be aware of everything else going on around you. You’ve heard about the issues with texting and driving?”

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“Sure.”

“Do you have any idea why it’s so dangerous?”

“I guess the driver isn’t paying attention to the road...”

“And...”

Randy shrugged.

“When your conscious mind is distracted by texting, your nervous system isn’t receiving the signals it needs to monitor everything else, so it starts firing off the warning alarm. That’s why many drivers unwittingly slow down when they start texting. Their built-in security system is trying to help them avoid a crash.”

I raised the stein and plucked the damp cardboard coaster off the bottom.

“Can you relate this to anything in your golf game?”

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Randy’s eyes clicked from side to side. His right foot started tapping reflexively. Cautiously, he replied.

“Sounds a little like paralysis by analysis.”

“Bingo!”

Randy placed the mug gingerly on the cardboard coaster.

“As much as I hate to admit it, this stuff is actually beginning to make some sense. But why does it seem so different with golf?”

“...Because you’ve been conditioned to focus on mistakes. Most golfers tend to mentally replay their poor shots over and over until they become embedded in their nervous system. Over time, the memories begin to play automatically.”

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“Okay. I get the whole memory thing, but how do I stop it from affecting the present?”

“You don’t try to stop it. The first step is to thank your warning system for trying to help you.”

Randy rolled his eyes and sighed. “Sure, by replaying memories of past mistakes? That doesn’t seem very helpful to me.”

“Your nervous system responds to your strongest memories. If you’ve carried the pond eleven times out of twelve, but you keep replaying the last disaster, that’s the memory that will activate the warning signal.”

“So...”

“We have to find a way to soften the memories of failure and amp up the memories of positive results. The more often you replay a memory, the stronger it becomes.”

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“Well...it makes sense in theory. But how do I amp up the good memories?”

“There are two stages; first you have to interrupt the tendency to dwell on your poor shots, then you need a technique to lock-in or anchor the good ones.”

Randy frowned and made a sputtering noise.

“I’m not sure I can deal with any more of this stuff today. My head’s about ready to explode. Would you mind if we just forget golf for a while?”

I glanced out the window. The practice range was packed.

“Sorry, I get carried away when I start talking about the mental side of the game. It’s just that I see so many frustrated golfers who keep doing the same things over and over, year after year, and never getting any better. Do you have time for a lesson next week? “

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“But I thought you said hitting balls wasn’t the answer.”

“It’s not about hitting balls. You’ll see. Are you available next Monday at two pm?”

“Sure.”

“Okay then. I’ll look forward to seeing you on the practice range. In the meantime, give some thought to our discussion about positive thinking. I think you’ll start to see that driving a car is a lot more difficult than hitting a golf ball. If you can drive a car in a straight line, then you can score in the eighties consistently.”

“See you next week.”

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“So what’s the best one?”

“Everybody’s different. You have to discover your own unique anchor. Whatever you choose should be something simple that you can do automatically. You don’t want to do anything too weird or your subconscious mind will fight back. Do you have the notebook with you?”

Randy patted his hip pocket in response.

“Good. Here’s your homework. For the next two weeks, I want you to experiment with different techniques until you find one that interrupts the negative emotions and automatically starts mentally replaying your best shots.”

Randy eyes glazed over momentarily, followed by a slight jerk of the head.

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“You can do it at home or at work. Practice reviewing your memories. Do it for five minutes every day for two weeks. When you have a chance to hit some balls, use the numbering system and pattern interrupts for the poor shots and really get excited when you hit a good shot!”

Randy considered the instructions, then retorted. “I get the idea, but people are going to look at me really weird when I start jumping up and down after every good shot.”

“You don’t have to be that demonstrative. Just feel it inside then immediately do something to lock in that feeling. Twirl the club, snap your fingers, tap your foot...it doesn’t matter. Find something that you’re comfortable with. Do you remember the Tiger fist pump?”

“Sure. Now that was raw emotion - great stuff!”

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“You don’t have to be quite so flamboyant, but you want to get excited. Really feel it in your gut. Start taking the bad shots for granted and get excited over the good ones. Are you still with me?”

“Mmm…I think so. How many buckets is this going to take?”

“You don’t need to hit balls. Just set aside five minutes a day to mentally replay your memories. If a poor shot pops into your head, use the technique of snapping your fingers to interrupt it. When you have a chance to hit the range, stop after each good shot and really lock in the feeling.”

Randy pursed his lips and motioned as if stroking an invisible beard.

“You do realize that once this book gets out, you’re liable to be out of a job. It sounds like you’re telling golfers that they don’t need professional instruction - their swing problems are all in their

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head.”

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I smiled wistfully.

“We all need a second set of qualified eyes. I’m just trying to convince golfers that they have more control over their progress than they’re led to believe.”

“Fair enough. So how do I lock in the good shots when I’m not actually hitting balls?”

“See yourself tapping your foot or twirling the club or whatever you choose, to call up the memory of your best shot.”

I could see that Randy’s mental gas tank was almost full.

“You want to make it second nature, a habit that will make you feel guilty if you don’t do it. It will take thirty days of daily rehearsal to develop the habit. Think you can handle it?”

“How will I know when I’ve got it?”

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“That will be our last lesson. Let’s meet again in two weeks to see if you pass. Does that sound reasonable?”

“I guess so. Doc, even though I think you’re a little wacko, I do appreciate all the time and effort you’ve devoted to helping me.”

“No worries.”

As I turned to leave, I mimicked the Queen Elizabeth wave and crossed my eyes in my best Crazy Guggenheim impression.

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TWO WEEKS LATER...

Randy had already hit a small bucket when I met him on the range. I stood back for a few minutes to watch him. The difference was amazing! The notebook was on the top of his bag alongside a tape recorder. After each shot, he would immediately call out a number and then jot it in the notebook. The inflection in his voice was even. As the numbers rose above six, you could hear the volume in his voice increase. This was something he had discovered on his own.

“Hey Randy... what’s this?”

“Hi Doc, when did you get here?”

“I’ve been standing behind you for the last five minutes. “

“Wow. I wasn’t even aware. “

“That’s a good thing. It looks like you’re getting the hang of this mental stuff.”

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“I read somewhere that your tone of voice is thirty-eight percent of communication, so I figured that I could use a tape recorder as feedback to learn to control my emotions.”

All I could do was smile. This was the same golfer, who only two weeks ago, was ready to go in for a lobotomy.

“I’m liking this idea of keeping my own personal scorecard. It’s less stressful than beating myself up by keeping track of how much over par I shoot. So what’s today’s lesson?”

“Here’s the test. Are you ready?”

“Hit me!”

“Just start hitting a few shots and we’ll begin.”

I watched Randy methodically go through his pre-shot routine. Just as he was about to start his backswing, I sneezed violently.

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“Gezundheit Dave!”

“Thanks. Sorry about that.”

“No problem.”

Randy set up again. As he started to swing, I jingled the change in my pocket. He froze momentarily, then turned back to look at me.

I looked around innocently, shrugged and stopped.

As Randy began his waggle, I whistled softly.

He turned half around and gave me a baleful look. I resisted the urge to smile and motioned apologetically. He called the shot a six and jotted down the number in the notebook.

One more time should do it.

I positioned myself so that my shadow fell across the ball. As Randy shifted position slightly, I moved with him to keep his ball in my shadow. After three

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dances, he stopped and tilted his head slightly.

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I could see a wry smile playing across his face. He was starting to catch on!

He calmly addressed the ball, followed his pre-shot routine and hit the shot. I would have called it an eight but I heard Randy mouth out the number seven. He held his follow-through and I heard a barely audible swoosh noise.

This unique noise was Randy’s anchor.

Every shot that numbered higher than six was followed by this swooshing sound. Part of his pre-shot routine included this unique noise. To a passerby, it would just seem like a nervous exhalation to the impending shot.

I continued to use variations of these distractions over the next dozen shots. Eight shots were between seven and nine. Three shots were a six and one was a five. I could barely notice a difference in Randy’s physiology (sorry, big word) between the number five and the number seven.

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There was a distinct appearance to the shots he graded as eight and nine. You could see his whole body feeling the shot. He was ready to play.

“Congratulations! You’ve come a long way in three weeks. I can barely notice a reaction to the poor shots and that unique sound is a perfect anchor.”

“Thanks Doc. I was trying to slip that little noise under your radar. I’ve found that swoosh sound helps me get the feeling of the good shots and also stops me thinking about the poor ones. Like a two for one special at Dairy Queen.”

Not exactly a technical analogy, but the practical application was perfect.

“Do you have a game lined up?”

“Tentatively for one week today. I wasn’t going to confirm, until you felt I was ready.”

“Go for it. I’ll look forward to hearing the results.”

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We shook hands and I headed off to another student. I was torn between feelings of pride for Randy and frustration for some of my other students, who for whatever reason, weren’t ready to move beyond focusing on swing mechanics.

I have a sneaking feeling that Albert Einstein must have tried his hand at golf. Only a golfer could come up with this definition of insanity. To paraphrase,” the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again, and expecting different results.”

I’m not aware of any golfing exploits involving Albert Einstein. One has to assume that he abandoned golf to pursue the simpler science of quantum mechanics.

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Chapter V: The Road To Freedom

I didn’t see Randy on the practice range for about three weeks. As I was walking back to the clubhouse after giving a lesson, my priority e-mail notifier started going crazy. It was Randy. He wanted to meet as soon as possible so we set up a time for the next day at two o’clock.

I waited at our accustomed meeting area at the far end of the practice range. Randy was always punctual. At five minutes past two, I glanced at my watch. No sign. I looked around for his car in the usual parking spot. His car was red, but today a blue car occupied the space. He must have bought a new car. I was about to text him when I glanced up and saw a familiar form withdrawing a pocket book and scribbling.

I knew that swing anywhere! Randy had changed his usual habit of going to the far end of the range.

“Hey Randy, when did you get a new 48

car?”

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He looked at me quizzically. “What do you mean?”

“I checked your normal parking space and there was a different car, so naturally I assumed you bought a new one.”

“No. I’m perfectly happy with my three year old Lexus.”

“Was your regular parking spot taken when you arrived?”

“Nope.“

I shrugged, waiting for an explanation.

“Doc, it’s kind of neat to see you puzzled for a change. I’ve been reviewing all the stuff we’ve discussed over the past month and you know, I think you just might be onto something.”

“Glad to hear it. Did you play this week?”

“Yes. Twice...shot ninety-two and eighty-nine. “

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“Congratulations. First time you’ve broken ninety?”

“No...I did it once, about ten years ago, when I was playing twice a week. But even back then I had no idea how I was going to play on any given day. I could shoot eighty-nine or one-hundred and two. Since we’ve started working on this mental stuff, I feel like I have a better idea of what to expect.”

“Interesting, but I don’t see how this relates to finding a new parking spot.”

“Well Doc., do you recall that during one of our sessions, you talked about comfort zones, and how they were a collection of ingrained habits?”

“Sure. Why?”

“I’ve been reading up on this stuff, and if I understand it correctly, every action is a cause and an effect.”

“That sounds reasonable. Go on.”

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“Well. I’ve discovered that you can’t make any permanent improvement to an effect without first changing the cause.”

I nodded, then chimed in.

“It’s the proverbial glass ceiling. No matter how much you practice, if you keep acting and thinking the same way, you’ll keep hitting your head.”

“Exactly Doc, you’re getting the idea!”

I couldn’t help but smile at this reversal of roles.

“As you know, I’ve always had trouble with the first tee shot. I could hit twenty perfect drives on the practice range, then cold top the first shot on the golf course. It used to drive me nuts!”

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Randy began slowly pacing back and forth, almost oblivious to my presence.

“Look at it this way. Imagine your swing is the last link in a chain of events that begins when you pull into the parking lot. As long as you keep repeating the same ritual, the links get stronger. Eventually it runs on autopilot – including the results off the first tee. Are you with me?”

“Absolutely! You’re making perfect sense.”

“So I figured that if I could somehow break one of the links in the chain, then I might have a chance to produce some new results.”

“…and when you get the results you want, then you develop a new chain or ritual to follow. Is that it?”

“Hey Doc, you catch on fast!”

“Based on the urgency of your text message, you wanted to see me

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about something?”

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“Yeah. I played yesterday and for the first time in five years, hit a decent tee shot on the first hole. It won’t win the longest drive contest, but it didn’t hurt me either.”

“Congrats!”

“Thanks, but you know what’s even better?”

I shrugged and motioned palms up.

“I can finally step up to the ball and stop thinking about proper technique or hazards, or what I did last week. It’s a weird feeling, being able to focus on where I want to hit the shot, instead of where I don’t want the ball to go.”

I held out a rolled parchment tied with a ribbon and extended it to Randy.

“What’s this?”

“Your diploma. Read it.”

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“This document certifies that Randy W…has achieved the mental acumen to join the elite ten percent of golfers who understand the meaning of the phrase that golf really is ninety percent mental.”

Randy rolled the document carefully and slipped it into the side pocket of his golf bag. As he turned around, I pulled a pill bottle out of my back pocket.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks Doc. But I don’t have a headache.”

“Read the label.”

“Anti-Slice pills. You must be kidding!”

He read the prescription then asked the question.

“Do they really work?”

“That all depends.”

“...On what?”

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“On whether you think they do!”

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We both chuckled as Randy popped a pill in his mouth. “Mmm…lemon. My favourite.”

“If all else fails, you can pop one of these pills and put yourself in a better frame of mind for the next shot.”

Randy tucked the pills into the ball pocket of his golf bag.

Words can’t describe the sight of two golfers standing on the practice range about to blubber over with emotion.

Randy gave his leftover practice balls to a fellow devotee, then we headed for the clubhouse to have a celebratory beer and watch the golf on television.

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Chapter VI: Fallout

The best players in the world have no idea how well they will play on any given day. When asked the secret behind a spectacular round, a player often shrugs and simply says that everything felt right.

Some of your best rounds can occur when you least expect it.

According to legend, Byron Nelson (sorry, showing my age) played some of his best golf when he felt nauseous just before teeing off.

It’s my hope that this book will give golfers the confidence to trust their natural ability as they refine their technique.

Reviewing my notes gathered from over eleven-thousand lessons, I can see patterns that apply to the vast majority of “average” golfers.

Perhaps my next project will be compiling them into an encyclopedia of causes and effects.

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For now though, I’m going to take a break from golf for a while (if that’s possible). My wife tells me the game is becoming an obsession.

Confidentially, I think the fears are unfounded.

I admit there have been more than a few occasions where I’ve neglected to buy essentials for a social engagement because I was preoccupied with a student’s swing issues.

I appreciate the solicitude of close friends with respect to my aging memory, however, I can recall with deadly accuracy every shot from my round on Harbour Town golf links in 1988.

Perhaps the issue is not the lack of memory per se, but rather the well-developed skill of selective memory.

Forgetting to buy food for dinner is hardly a harbinger of declining memory.

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Obsessed? I hardly think so…

This book is designed to help you discover your unique ability, in the ongoing efforts to master a game which can never be conquered.

In case you’re wondering, there really is a product called anti-slice pills. The debate rages on as to whether they actually work.

If you would like to join the study group, please send me an e-mail (contact information on next page) and I would be happy to send you a bottle.

Thank you for taking the time to consider an alternative to the traditional system of learning the game.

Every golfer has a trained gorilla inside. It will always come back. The secret is learning how to release it for one and a half seconds and just hit the damn ball!

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Randy’s Closing Comments

When I first read Just Hit The Damn Ball! I found it an interesting diversion from the traditional dissertations on swing mechanics.

But that was all.

To be honest, I felt all the psychobabble about habits and language applied only to the accomplished player.

I was wrong.

While Dave has taken some creative liberties with the translation, the results you have read are based on my own personal experience.

When I started working with Dave on the mental game, my score was consistently between ninety and one-hundred and two.

It frustrated the hell out of me because, on occasion, like many amateurs, I could hit two-hundred and fifty yard

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drives right down the middle.

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Invariably, I would have one or two blow-up holes that demolished any chance of a decent round.

I play once a week and figured that breaking ninety consistently was a reasonable goal. Yet it always seemed just out of reach.

Dave and I met by accident.

I was surfing the internet and came across his first book. The whole how to stop thinking phrase was intriguing. I figured that for five dollars it might be worth a shot.

As I read the book, I could relate to some of the anecdotes. Dave echoed sentiments that I had experienced regularly during the past twenty years.

At the time, I thought that professional instructors and scratch players never experienced the frustrations that plague the once-a-week golfer.

Who knew?

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I decided to take a chance and set up a lesson. Dave insisted on meeting in the clubhouse instead of on the lesson tee.

I have to admit that I felt like a psychiatric patient when Dave started casually asking me questions about my beliefs and goals for my golf game.

I’ve taken numerous lessons over the years and this was the first time an instructor wanted to give me a “psych job” instead of re-building my swing.

My swing is far from perfect, but I’ve learned to live with it. As Dave mentions throughout this book, “your swing is your swing”. You can tweak it, refine it and adjust it – but it’s still your swing.

I finally had a foundation to work with. If it feels right and it works – use it. That philosophy hit home with me.

If you try to implement everything in this book, you’ll drive yourself crazy. Follow the strategy as it’s laid out.

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First, learn how to reduce the effects of the poor shots then develop some tools to reinforce the good ones. It’s a gradual process, and if you’re anything like me, a challenge to say the least.

The secret is learning how to use your memories instead of letting them use you.

The single most difficult obstacle I had to overcome was the tendency to analyze my swing in search of mistakes (if only I’d known what a negative impact it had on my game.)

It’s been ten years since Dave and I started working together. I’m still learning and my game is steadily improving.

There are still bad shots and bad days, but somehow they don’t seem to affect me the way they used to.

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I will never play on the PGA Tour, maybe never even shoot in the seventies, but now I have the tools to develop a level of consistency that previously seemed out of reach.

You have more innate ability than you realize. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be attracted to the game in first place.

I am looking forward to the third manuscript in the series, which explains how to apply the theoretical concepts under actual playing conditions.

The title “Playing Out Of Your Mind” sounds like a perfect complement to the first two books.

Best wishes for continued success.

Randy W.

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Bonus Chapter

Excerpt from Part III:Playing Out Of Your Mind.

The date is August 4, 2014. He doesn’t know it yet, but this is a unique day in the life of our protagonist Jonathan. He is about to have the walls of his fundamental beliefs about the game completely shattered – and he is not a happy camper!

We join Jonathan as he is en route to the Cedarbrae golf club in Toronto for his weekly Wednesday afternoon game. He always arrives one hour early and goes to his regular spot at the far end of the practice range for forty-five minutes before teeing off. His inviolate practice routine has been guided for years by the belief that effective muscle memory can only be developed by countless hours of practice.

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Jonathan shoots in the low to mid nineties consistently and like most of us, yearns for the “secret” that could vault him into the rarefied air of the single digit golfer.

He regularly scales to the edge of the precipice, only to be victimized by one (or more) blow-up holes that leave him hanging in midair: he never knows when or where they might occur – only that they will.

The occasional brilliant shot fosters a growing belief that scoring in the low eighties is not impossible. If only he could figure out how to re-create those shots more often.

Jonathan’s weekly game is disrupted by the appearance of an author who accompanies him for a nine hole round with startling results!

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Playing Out Of Your Mind: Moving Beyond Swing Mechanics

Will be available at all major digital bookshelves

in December, 2014.

If you would like to be notified of pre-release bonuses please send me an e-

mail:

Davesgolf_works@rogers.com

Or

check out the website:

www.justhitthedamnball.net

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References

Robbins, Anthony (1986) Unlimited Power, Random House

Morris, Dr. Karl, The Mind Factor: The Players’ Program

Kilstein, Dr. Harlan, Golfers’ Mind DVD program

Palmer, Arnold (1963, 1965) My Game and Yours, Simon and Schuster

Jones, Ernest (1937), Swing The Clubhead Method, Skylan Publishing

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About The Author

Dave Johnston obtained his degree in Psychology from York University in Toronto, Ontario.

Foregoing a career in clinical psychiatry, he decided to investigate the maxim that golf is a microcosm of life.

He has been the Director of Golf Instruction at the Bloomington Downs Golf Club in Richmond Hill, Ontario since it opened in 1988.

His fundamental belief, is that our obsession with perfect technique is the biggest roadblock to improvement for the once-a-week golfer.

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