EFTGolf.com Newsletter - Issue 15

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. October 2, 2017 -  Issue 15 "Golf is Not a Game of Perfect”   Most of us hear that and go duh, because it is such an obvious truth. We accept it and believe it yet we go out and play our round expecting guess what.....perfection. The worst part is most of us can not break 90 in an eighteen hole round, fewer still can break 80 and less than 1% are scratch or better. No matter what the skill level golfers more than other athletes seem to place unrealistic expectations on themselves. Why, I'm not sure. Many of my friends play tennis yetdon't get upset over a missed return, throw their rackets after a missed serve or let losing a match ruin their day as happens to many golfers. Perhaps it's because at first glance the game of golf appears to be so easy.  The ball's not moving, nobody is throwing at us or chasing us or delivering a serve at one hundred miles per hour. All you have to do is swing the club backward and forward to hit a ball that is standing still. Heck,  half the time you get to tee the ball up it up making it even easier. Of course then we play for the first time and find out the game is far more difficult than we ever imagined. Think about all the different variables that can occur in any one round of golf that affect either the ball or your swing. Different weather. Golf course conditions. Everything from different types of grass to well manicured fairways to goat pastures. On one fairway the ball sits up begging to be hit, on the other the ball nestles down in a depression between patches of grass. Fast greens and slow greens. Then there is our physical condition to consider. Some days we are more flexible than others. Our backs do not hurt as much, there is more freedom of movement in our hips and shoulders. Our hands mold to the club perfectly and everything feels good. And finally of course there is that little matter of trying to repeat the same golf swing every time. Golfer's tend to be very self critical so this month's exercise is to be a little kinder to ourselves. No matter what your skill level you can use the following exercise to reduce your general anxiety on the golf course. Tapping Routine – Select some phrases that describe how you feel when you make mistakes on the golf course or are not performing up to your expectations. For example “I expect to hit a perfect shot every time”, “Every missed shot is a missed opportunity”, “I feel hopeless after I miss two shots in a row”, “I feel like I'm wasting five hours”, “The game is too hard”, “ I get so angry after hitting a bad shot because it should be easy”, I feel like I'm wasting money paying expensive green fees”, “I'm frustrated that I'm not playing better after taking a lesson”. “Other sports come so easily to me”, “Other people people expect me to be good” These are just samples. There are many more. Follow the example below and then insert your own phrases that best describe your own feelings to zero in on your specific frustrations with this “imperfect” game. Rate your feelings on a particular situation on a scale of one to ten, one being almost nothing and ten being quite intense. Tap on the feelings with the most intensity until they are down to a one or zero.   Set-up Phrase. While tapping on the karate chop point on either hand I would start with; “Even though I expect to hit perfect shot every time I accept myself. “Even though to me every missed shot is a missed opportunity I accept myself” “Even though I feel hopeless after I miss two shots in a row I accept myself” Shortcut phrases that focus on the problem. Tap on each of the following points while repeating the phrase next to it. Eyebrow “I expect to hit perfect shots every time” Side of eye “Every missed shot is a missed opportunity” Under eye “I feel hopeless after I miss two shots in a row” Nose “Other sports come so easily” Chin “Other people expect me to be better” Collarbone “I feel like quitting after playing so poorly” Under arm “I'm to angry to enjoy my friends and the atmosphere” Top of head “I feel like such a loser” One round of tapping consists of the set up phrase followed by the shortcut phrases. You can do a round on one feeling or you can insert several feelings into one round as I have done above, as long as they are dealing with the same issue.Do a half dozen or so round on the above example then tune in to your anxiety as you imagine yourself playing poorly or missing shots. Then zero in on any phrases or feelings that still give you a bit of a jolt when you focus on them. Tap for several minutes on the new or remaining feelings until they are down to an intensity of one or less. Shortcut phrases that focus on a solution. After tapping on the problem I would then install some positive suggestions. Eyebrow “What if I could stay happy for an entire round of golf” Side of Eye “How much more would I enjoy myself” Under Eye “Other people might enjoy playing with me more” Nose “I'd probably play better if I was more relaxed” Chin “I could recover after one bad shot, how many shots could I save” Collarbone “How much of nature have I been missing” Under Arm “I intend to choose new results for my golf game” Top of Head “I appreciate how enjoyable a round of golf can be when I'm not mad” Spend five or ten minutes a day for one week tapping on all the emotions you feel surrounding the fact that golf is an imperfect game and you play it imperfectly and you willfeel bettr playing your next round of golf. Learn more at www.eftgolf.com.       Unsubscribe doug578.eftgolfacmos@blogger.com from this list | Forward to a friend | Update your profile You are receiving this email because you opted in at EFTGolf.com. Copyright (C) 2017 EFTGolf.com All rights reserved.

EFTGolf.com Newsletter - Issue 14

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. EFTGolf.com Newsletter Issue 14   Last issue we talked about why golf seems so hard compared to other sports.  To review, the takeaway was that in other sports you have more than one chance to be successful and the penalties are not as severe for a miss.  For example in tennis you can serve more than once and even if you are struggling, as long as you hit the ball back over the net between the lines you are still playing the point and continue to have a chance to hit a winner.  If you are up to bat at baseball you can swing twice and miss the ball and still have another chance or you can hit multiple foul balls without penalty and still have a chance to get a hit.   In golf the pressure to hit a good shot is intensified because you have only one swing and one chance to hit a good shot or suffer the consequences. On some holes one bad swing and you are out of bounds, or in a lake or in the woods.  Not only have you lost a ball but now you have to add a penalty shot,  drop a ball and try again to execute the same shot that just got you in to trouble. Definitely not a confidence builder.   Think of all the emotions that might be surfacing in this instance. Anger over losing a ball, frustration over having to take a penalty stroke, fear of having to hit the once more and possibly hitting it in the woods or out of bounds again. Possibly even embarrassment over wondering what your fellow golfers are thinking of you.   All of these are tappable issues but not necessarily while you are on the golf course.  Let’s be realistic you have limited time in between shots and even if there was time you probably wouldn’t want to start a tapping routine in front of your foursome and try to explain what the heck you were doing.   One of the great features of tapping is that it can be done both in the moment you are experiencing the emotion or at home in your easy chair when you replay the event and tap on your emotional response.   For example. Say you hit your tee ball out of bounds on a certain hole. Usually you will have thirty seconds to one minute before you have to hit again. You are in”the moment”.  The best thing to do is just tap on one particular point like the collar bone point for a few seconds while you mentally tune into your fear, anger embarrassment or whatever emotion you are experiencing. Then proceed with the shot. Later that evening or even the next day while sitting at home or in the office you can then replay the event in your mind and go through the whole tapping routine until your emotions  over that bad shot or bad swing have been neutralized.  After several rounds of tapping you should be able to replay or relive that event  in your mind and have no emotional response to it.  If after several rounds  you are still experiencing some emotional response,  there are other aspects surrounding it that have to be dealt with.   Some of the questions you might ask yourself are when was the first time you were angry over a poor performance.  When was the first time you felt pressure to be perfect.  When was the first time you were embarrassed over a poor performance.  It could be as simple as another time when you were younger and playing another sport or it could have nothing to do with sports. For example a teacher may have asked you to read in front of the class and you got embarrassed because you didn’t know some words or were uncomfortable speaking in front ot classmates.  It could even be a presentation you had to make in front of your boss.These would be considered original events when you first experienced  a particular emotion so you would want to neutralize these events as well.  This is explained in much more detail in the book.   Remember to try EFT on everything.  Use it on the course for anxiety over shots or putts, frustration with playing partners, slow play.  The uses are endless.  Next time you have a headache or sore shoulder try EFT on that problem as well.     Steve Botuchis Steve@stevebotuchis.com www.stevebotuchis.com www.eftgolf.com 513-324-3211 "Better Golf with EFT" is now also available on your Amazon Kindle, Google Android, and Apple devices.   Unsubscribe doug578.eftgolfacmos@blogger.com from this list | Forward to a friend | Update your profile You are receiving this email because you opted in at EFTGolf.com. Copyright (C) 2017 EFTGolf.com All rights reserved.

EFTGolf.com Newsletter - Issue 13

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. EFTGolf.com Newsletter Issue 13   Why is Golf so Hard? Did you ever wonder why the game of golf is so hard compared to other sports? This is a popular question with many of the clients I work with, especially beginners. Actually when you think about it the game of golf is not so hard. All you really have to do is swing the club back then swing it through in the direction of the target, brushing the grass and hitting the ball in the process. Most people of all ages and size with reasonable coordination can accomplish this without too much trouble. So what happens to us when we put a golf club in our hand that causes us to melt down? Could the reason be that we have only one chance to be perfect. Think about other sports you play or have played such as baseball or tennis. In baseball you get multiple chances to get a hit. Three strikes, four balls plus if you keep fouling, you keep swinging. Foul balls in golf cost you a one stroke penalty. In tennis you can serve at least a couple of times plus a few times more if it’s a let serve and your ball touches the net. You also get multiple choices to score a point as long as you keep hitting it back over the net. The penalties are not as severe in these sports for missing a shot compared to golf. In golf you get one swing or one putt to hit a good shot. Your second chances cost you another shot or worse a couple of shots more if you hit it out of bounds or in the water. Think about the pressure we put on ourselves to be perfect with the tee ball, with the shot to the green or with that six foot putt for birdie. How many times after a bad shot have you dropped another ball only to hit it squarely on the clubface or hit a second putt after the first one missed and it goes in dead center of the cup. How much less mental pressure would there be if we knew those second chances did not cost us anything. Alas, in the real world misses in the golf swing cost us a great deal and so the need to be perfect with just one attempt causes us enormous stress on each swing. Fear can be one of the greatest inhibitors to performance there is. So what is one to do. Well you could return to playing baseball and tennis or if you want to keep playing the game of golf start changing your mental concept. Adjust your expectations and recognize how performance anxiety over having just one chance to be perfect is affecting your approach to the game and how you swing. Next month I’ll show you some questions to ask yourself and some ideas on what to what to tap on to reduce your fears and tension about the golf swing.    Remember to try EFT on everything.  Use it on the course for anxiety over shots or putts, frustration with playing partners, slow play.  The uses are endless.  Next time you have a headache or sore shoulder try EFT on that problem as well.     Steve Botuchis Steve@stevebotuchis.com www.stevebotuchis.com www.eftgolf.com 513-324-3211 "Better Golf with EFT" is now also available on your Amazon Kindle, Google Android, and Apple devices.   Unsubscribe doug578.eftgolfacmos@blogger.com from this list | Forward to a friend | Update your profile You are receiving this email because you opted in at EFTGolf.com. Copyright (C) 2017 EFTGolf.com All rights reserved.

Why is Golf so Hard? - EFTGolf.com Newsletter Issue 13

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. EFTGolf.com Newsletter Issue 13   Why is Golf so Hard? Did you ever wonder why the game of golf is so hard compared to other sports? This is a popular question with many of the clients I work with, especially beginners. Actually when you think about it the game of golf is not so hard. All you really have to do is swing the club back then swing it through in the direction of the target, brushing the grass and hitting the ball in the process. Most people of all ages and size with reasonable coordination can accomplish this without too much trouble. So what happens to us when we put a golf club in our hand that causes us to melt down? Could the reason be that we have only one chance to be perfect. Think about other sports you play or have played such as baseball or tennis. In baseball you get multiple chances to get a hit. Three strikes, four balls plus if you keep fouling, you keep swinging. Foul balls in golf cost you a one stroke penalty. In tennis you can serve at least a couple of times plus a few times more if it’s a let serve and your ball touches the net. You also get multiple choices to score a point as long as you keep hitting it back over the net. The penalties are not as severe in these sports for missing a shot compared to golf. In golf you get one swing or one putt to hit a good shot. Your second chances cost you another shot or worse a couple of shots more if you hit it out of bounds or in the water. Think about the pressure we put on ourselves to be perfect with the tee ball, with the shot to the green or with that six foot putt for birdie. How many times after a bad shot have you dropped another ball only to hit it squarely on the clubface or hit a second putt after the first one missed and it goes in dead center of the cup. How much less mental pressure would there be if we knew those second chances did not cost us anything. Alas, in the real world misses in the golf swing cost us a great deal and so the need to be perfect with just one attempt causes us enormous stress on each swing. Fear can be one of the greatest inhibitors to performance there is. So what is one to do. Well you could return to playing baseball and tennis or if you want to keep playing the game of golf start changing your mental concept. Adjust your expectations and recognize how performance anxiety over having just one chance to be perfect is affecting your approach to the game and how you swing. Next month I’ll show you some questions to ask yourself and some ideas on what to what to tap on to reduce your fears and tension about the golf swing. Remember to try EFT on everything.  Use it on the course for anxiety over shots or putts, frustration with playing partners, slow play.  The uses are endless.  Next time you have a headache or sore shoulder try EFT on that problem as well.     Steve Botuchis Steve@stevebotuchis.com www.stevebotuchis.com www.eftgolf.com 513-324-3211 "Better Golf with EFT" is now also available on your Amazon Kindle, Google Android, and Apple devices.