The Inner Game of Golf

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I've been playing golf for over a decade competitively, and I still struggle to keep my head down on those 3-footers. Why is it so hard? Here's my take on it.

The Inner Game of Golf: Mental Approach and Attitude The Inner Game of Golf: Mental Approach and Attitude

Tim Gallwey's work went on to found the current movement in business coaching, life coaching and executive coaching. One of the most well known exponents of business coaching is Sir John Whitmore, who popularised Graham Alexander's and Alan Fine's "GROW" model of the coaching process.[6]

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Our definition of performance needs to include the employee’s experience and learning, as well as his or her performance. The real value of this redefinition of work is that it involves and sees everyone as an individual, and the organization as a whole as place for growth, learning and enjoyment. In 1971, while on sabbatical from a career in higher education, I took a job as tennis professional in Seaside, California. While teaching on the court one day, I realized that many of my instructions were being incorporated in the student’s mind as a kind of “command and control” self-dialogue that was significantly interfering with both learning and performance. When I inquired further, I found there was a lot going on in the mind of my tennis students that was preventing true focus of attention. Not long after, I was asked to help IBM to change its prevailing corporate attitude of “we know it all” to that of a learning and coaching organization. Inner Game methods were then put to use in Apple Computer Company’s Leadership Development program.

The Inner Game of Golf by W. Timothy Gallwey: 9780812979701

And, in the 1990′s, Inner Game methods were used to train the top-level managers of The Coca-Cola Company in how to coach their employees, better develop the skills of their work teams, and, eventually, to move towards becoming a learning organization. As a boy, Tim Gallwey was nationally ranked tennis player in his division and later captained his Harvard University team. Golf is like life, that’s what makes it such a complex sport. One day you are in perfect rhythm with things moving smoothly, and the next you just can’t seem to get into the flow.

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BOBBY JONES: "The golf swing is a most complicated combination of muscular actions, too complex to be controlled by objective conscious mental effort. Consequently, we must rely a good deal upon the instinctive (Self 2) reactions acquired by long practice. It has been my experience that the more completely we can depend upon this instinct - the more thoroughly we can divest the subjective mind of conscious control - the more perfectly can we execute our shots. That intense concentration upon results, to the absolute exclusion of all thoughts as to method, is the secret of a good shot. Few great shots are played when the mind is fixed on the position of the feet, the behavior of the left arm, etc." p27

The Inner Game of Golf by W. Timothy Gallwey | Goodreads

I loved the “law of awareness” and the natural learning process. Essentially, “if you want to change something, first you must increase your awareness of it.” The natural learning process is being aware without judgment and letting your body and mind work together to automatically achieve improvement. There is no “do this or don’t do that.” Only few matters. When the mind is concentrated and absorbed in what it is doing, interference is minimized and the brain is able to function closer to potential. Once Self 1 was focused in a concentration exercise, his interference with Self 2 decreased significantly, and performance instantly improved. p20Like any meditation, negative mantras gain power with repetition as they play subconsciously, again and again, in your head. Sometimes these negative mantras are obvious, like when you are beating buy valium online pharmacy yourself up for a slice on an earlier hole. You know what’s distracting you, but just don’t know how to stop “the voice”. Home Golf Terms Golf Shop Golf in the USA Golf Videos Golf Rules Golf Tours List Golf Jokes Golf News All For Golf History of Golf Handicap Calculator Key Principles of Golf

The Inner Game Books - The Inner Game The Inner Game Books - The Inner Game

Starting in the mid-seventies, many corporate leaders and managers recognized the implications of Inner Game concepts and began to use them as models for facilitating desired changes in the workplace. Focus. Without focus, it is going to be extremely difficult to play good golf. Unfortunately, the ability to focus on any task is something which is in short supply in the modern world. Thanks to all the distractions that are available at any given time, it is hard for many people to stay on task. Even on the golf course, you might find your mind pulled in a variety of directions, whether you are looking down at your phone or chatting with your playing partners. Now, we aren't saying that you can't chat while on the course, but you need to learn how to focus when the time is right. Before you hit each shot, there should be a few moments when you bring your mind into focus on the task at hand. After the shot has been played, you can return to your conversations as you walk up the fairway. An experienced golfer will know how to get into this kind of rhythm, moving in and out of focus over the course of a four-hour round. It would be nearly impossible to ask yourself to focus on nothing but golf from the first hole through to the last, but you do need to learn how to focus when actually playing your shots. What is the biggest challenge you face on the golf course? When asked this question, the average golfer will turn to any one of a number of common answers. Some golfers think the sheer distance of the course is their biggest obstacle, while others think it is the hazards that are littered throughout the layout. Or, some golfers will point to one specific physical part of the game, such as driving or putting. While all of those points certainly can contribute to additional strokes on the scorecard, we would argue that none of them is the biggest hurdle you need to clear. In my work with teams and companies, I found that a primary obstacle for most in the pursuit of a goal seemed to be stress. In 2009, I collaborated with two respected physicians, Dr. John Horton and Dr. Ed Hanzelik, to study how stress affects our bodies and minds. We explored how the Inner Game principles could help with not only stress management, but stress reduction and prevention. From this research evolved into The Inner Game of Stress. Loved the concepts in this book and the real golf exercises given to increase ones own feel and awareness.

Tim Gallwey’s game changing work on the performance psychology field has evolved over four decades to develop Inner Game methods of change to corporate culture. His long term clients included Apple, AT&T, The Coca Cola Company, and Rolls Royce where he applied The Inner Game of coaching for Leadership, Sales, Change management and Teamwork, Gallwey’s work has often been credited as the foundation of the new fields of corporate and life coaching.