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TPA Project – Tying It All Together

March 17, 2012 By ChrisBaxter

Dave Sheldon – Sportstalk Weekend Host

It’s been nearly two months since the Player’s Academy Project began.  To recap, at the end of last season, I had an index of 8.3 and for the second consecutive year I had lowered my index.  I was happy with my game, but also wanted to get better.  After speaking with Fraser Mulholland about what I was looking to do, we embarked on this program.

I knew that I had holes in my game and I found myself getting frustrated that I could have myself a great game, post a good score in the mid to high seventies, but not consistently remain there.  My sand game was spotty at best, and when my accuracy was off, I was prone to go anywhere on the course.

If you have been following my progress on this blog and CKNW with Sportstalk Weekend, you will know that Fraser and the crew at the Player’s Academy have adjusted my swing, my thought process and my fitness to create a better golfer.  What I am looking for now would be results.  I have played 3 ½ rounds of golf this year and actually scored worse on the golf course each time!  Nine holes for 43 at Hazelmere, and three rounds in the 90’s at Belmont, Vancouver and King’s Links had me a little worried.

It should be noted that with the exception of the Hazelmere nine hole round that the other three rounds were in extreme conditions.  It rained for most of the round at Belmont, the monsoon winds were up at Vancouver, knocking down trees and branches all over the golf course, and the round at King’s Links made the round at Vancouver look like a pleasant summer day.  Unbelievable wind, rain and extreme cold made the course a bear and the scores throughout the field proved that, not just my scorecard!

We went at it hard at the Player’s Academy, adding blocks every week.  But any of you that have had lessons know like I do now, the results may take a little while to appear.  Fraser added a number of changes to my swing…nothing dramatic, but enough to take what had been my habits that I had developed from years of playing golf, and turning them a little sideways while I tried to adapt to the new ways.  Add to that the unpleasant conditions on the golf course and the scores speak for themselves.

I have been able to put a few weeks of good practice to good use and after my latest session at Seymour Creek with Fraser this past week, the game looks to be rounding into form.  I will head out to McCleery weather permitting on Sunday and hopefully if the weather and work schedule accommodates; I will head out to Ledgeview on Tuesday for the VGT Winter Championship.

My goal is simple, play each shot as its own and don’t over-think out on the course.  I have been given the tools to succeed.  I look forward to reporting my progress next week.

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TPA Project – Let’s Go For A Spin

February 13, 2012 By ChrisBaxter

Dave Sheldon
Host – Sportstalk Weekend
CKNW 980

This past Saturday, with the weather being so glorious, Janice and I were able to get nine holes in over at the Hazelmere Golf Club in South Surrey.

My expectations upon arrival were high…and I know that I should have tempered them a little bit, based upon the fact that over the past three weeks, the lads at TPA were filling me full of information that may or may not have adversely affected my golf swing.  Add to that, I had not been on the golf course since early October and psychologically I could have put myself in a big hole by having any kind of expectation at all.

Here’s the thing, over the past three weeks in sessions with Fraser, Dave and Chris, what I saw wasn’t a transformation of a golfer, it was the evolution.  First and foremost I wanted to hit the golf course with consistency.  This was accomplished.  Without boring everyone with the details, I hit five of seven fairways and the two that I missed I was no more than a combined five yards off the fairway, meaning I was still in play.  Some of my media friends out there that I have golfed with (Alfie Lau – I will single you out!), have mentioned that I only seem to play well when I have adversity hit me on the golf course.  When I am behind a tree, or buried behind blackberries, or when there is only that triangle of daylight twenty yards away and thirty feet in the air, it seems that I rise to the occasion.  While I thank Alfie for the compliment (at least that’s how I take it), I would like to be the golfer who creates from the fairway!  This opening nine at Hazelmere, if nothing else, showed me that I could freely swing away and still be in play, allowing me to really score.  Let’s face it, hitting out of trouble only allows you two options, to save your par or make a big number.  Being in the fairway gives you a few more options.

Second, I made seven bogeys and two pars…consistent.  I am not a huge fan of taking bogey, but I had a chance to score on EVERY hole.  On four of my approach shots, I under-clubbed, forgetting that despite the great weather it was still only six degrees out and the ball was not travelling.  On three of the remaining five holes, I three putted.  I can fix that, as putting has always been something I have been good at, even as a kid.

Taking a 43 on the opening nine holes of the season was not a highlight reel moment for me, but the ability to stay in play and have the ability to score surely was.  Oh, for the record, I played from the blue tees as well.  If I am going to be competitive this year, blue is the game.

While Janice did not have the success she wanted on Saturday, she was pleased with her progress as the round came to a close.  You could see her getting stronger as the day wore on and know that practice and play will evolve Janice into being a stronger player.

Three things that will make both of us better:

1)      We have been given a lot of information.  With that being said, just go hit the ball!  Over-thinking the shot will only frustrate you.  The remedy to over-thinking is to practice.  Get the repetition of what you are doing at the range down and bring it to the course.

2)      After each round, do the opposite of what you are doing now…and you know what I’m talking about.  Far too many times, I will walk by a player in the parking lot who has just finished his/her round.  I will ask how the round went, and I will get a heavy sigh, or the golfer lamenting his or her bad fortune on the golf course.  Take five minutes and celebrate what you did RIGHT on the golf course!  Reinforce the positive.  You have heard the expression ‘That shot will bring you back’.  I can tell you that each round you will have a dozen of those moments.  Celebrate the good in golf, remember, you are out there to have fun!

3)       Playing on the course is not practice.  I know you are going to hate to hear this, but even if you practice once a week, you will improve your game.  Too many golfers go and hit twenty balls at the range, then run out to the first tee, only to be frustrated by having a tough day on the course.  If you are going to spend on average $80 a day to golf, why not spend $10 bucks a week to hone that game in so you can better enjoy it.  I am not saying that it is a quick fix.  I am saying that taking away a good day of practice at the range and applying it to your golf game later in the week is a good recipe for having better success at the links.

Happy golfing!  Talk to you soon!

*Special thanks to Troy Peverley and Tracy Matthews from the West Coast golf Group for having us out and putting up with us!  Thanks!

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TPA Project -The Best Laid Plans…

February 4, 2012 By ChrisBaxter

Dave Sheldon
Host – Sportstalk Weekend
CKNW 980

 

I was able to get out to the Player’s Academy for our latest session with Fraser on Wednesday and was looking forward to building on our session from week before.  Fraser had introduced some ideas that Dave had from the week before about closing my shoulder and ridding me of the fade that I had developed and the results were instantaneous.

 

So, the next question was; could I sustain the change?  Could I take my week of practice and build on the success that I had from the first week?  The answer is yes…kind of.

 

You know how when you always have the best of intentions and then it doesn’t quite work out?  This happened to me on Wednesday night.  A day earlier, I had been on the go all day: Canucks game day skate, doctor’s appointment, visit my son, hit some balls, back to the Canucks game and post game CKNW obligations.  In all, it was a 14 hour day thereabouts and in the middle of all the hubbub of Tuesday I was able to hit 100 balls and feel GREAT.

 

I wake up Wednesday and have the day off.  Besides puttering around the house and doing a couple of chores, my only thing on the schedule was my session with Fraser.  I get to the facility and find that despite my excitement for coming to the range and working on my game, I was tight.  I wasn’t sore, or anything like that, but I just could not get warmed up.

 

Now I know it’s not exactly Palm Springs right now here in Vancouver on Feb 1, but man!  Is it not supposed to be easier to get ready for a preferred activity?  I start hitting balls after our warm-up and I find myself pulling every shot to the left.  The harder I tried, the worse it got.  Fraser was working with Janice and bouncing back and forth between us.  I mentioned to him that I was having trouble and so he asked me what was up.  I told him that I was tight and could not get warm and now hitting the balls left.  He smiled and asked me to do LESS to fix the problem.

 

‘Sometimes you don’t feel your best, whether you are physically or mentally tired, or your mind is pre-occupied on other things,’ said Fraser.  ‘When this happens, in your case being tight, you are now trying to press the issue and over-compensating your tightness, causing you to over swing, which is why you are left.  Swing easy, but FINISH your swing and that should solve your problem.’

 

Sure enough, it did and after about 20 minutes, instead of the normal five, I finally felt normal and warmed up.  Fraser made a great point about there will be times this year when his golf pro friends will enter a VGT event after just working a shift at the range and they will have to get out to the course, warm up and go and sometimes warm up does not go as planned.  So remember not to stress out and that until you get warm less is more.  Don’t start over-swinging!

 

Our focus this week besides building on the swing foundation was to work on our short game.  One of the off-shoots of my main goal this golf season was to tighten up my bunker game.  This also includes my short game.  Fraser showed us that you can have three types of swings with your short irons.  They are all the same swing, just longer or shorter depending on your needs.  Mastering these three swings on my three shortest irons, in this case, my 58 degree Cleveland Wedge (THANKS DAN DODMAN – CLEVELAND-SRIXON), my 54 degree wedge and my pitching wedge, would actually give me nine different yardages that I could apply to my short game.

 

So imagine you are a clock, and your head is at 12 o’clock.  Fraser wants me to develop three swings for each club based upon 7:30, 9 o’clock and 10:30 takeaway, or a short medium and full swing.  After showing us what he was looking for and hitting some shots, I could see right away how useful these shots can be if added to my arsenal.  The biggest thing about the shots is committing to the FINISH.  When you hit from the 7:30 swing, you need to finish the swing!  Otherwise you may under swing, you may stab the ball…a number of things can happen, and not all will be good.

 

My homework this week is to head to the range with Janice and find out what my yardage will be on all three clubs for all three shots.  Fraser will then take that yardage and make tags out that I can put on the bottom side of the shaft of my club that will remind me of what the club can do and what yardage I can hit, based on the shot selection.  I was worried that putting my club yardage info on the shaft of my club is illegal.  Fraser assured me that it wasn’t.

 

I look forward to meeting with Fraser next week and if the weather holds, I will try and get out and play this weekend.  I also cannot wait to meet with Dr. Baxter once again to work on the mental side of the game.

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TPA Project – Weeks 1 and 2 Video Recap

February 2, 2012 By ChrisBaxter

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The TPA Project – Working With the Commish!

January 31, 2012 By ChrisBaxter

Guest Post

Dave Sheldon

Host – Sportstalk Weekend – CKNW 980

I have never had a formal golf lesson.  To be clear, I have had golf pros who are friends of mine over the years give me tips on little things to correct a hiccup I was having or to get me past the present malady that my golf swing was giving me.

I had never had a golf professional look at my game and provide me feedback.  In my first formal golf session two weeks ago, resident TPA MIND COACH Dr. Chris Baxter sat with Janice (my fiancée) and I and started us down the path of the mental side of the game, helping us establish goals that were important to us in golf and also giving us guidance on how to set the goals in a positive fashion.  Then TPA Class ‘A’ Professional Dave Zibrik put us through our paces on the fitness side of the game, setting us up with the K-Vest to look at our swing mechanics and looking at our flexibility through the TPI Screening (Titleist Performance Institute).

I had met Fraser Mulholland through our mutual friend Jay Janower a number of years ago.  The first time I played golf with Fraser was the first time that I had played with a golfer, any golfer, who shot under par.  Fraser shot 64 at Morningstar, and he took the course apart by playing SMART golf.  I out drove Fraser on a number of holes, but hole after hole, Fraser found himself in better spots on the golf course and in better places to make shots to score.  He never had a putt over 12 feet all day, and he made damn near everything that hit the flat stick all day.

Fraser has the right attitude to be a teacher.  He, like Chris and Dave, look at the game from a positive point of view.  But like anybody who is looking to impart wisdom, it is imperative that you have a student who wants to buy in.  Fraser sat us down and talked about expectations, ours and his. Then Fraser asked about our work habits when it came to practicing and getting ready for a game of golf.

Let me clarify, Fraser wants to know that we are committed to working on our games, but remember, it is supposed to be FUN!  He wasn’t judging our work habits, he was seeing what they were, and while he was happy to know that we both had good habits to get ready for a round of golf, he had some sound ideas from the get go and made an immediate impact on our games.

There are some people I know who run up to the first tee and get after it…very little stretching, no putting, no warm-up bucket, just go hit the ball.  That may work for some people, but for most it is the start to an agonizing day on the course.  You head out to the course cold and the next thing that you know, you are 10 over par after four holes and you cannot believe your bad luck!  It’s not bad luck, it’s bad preparation.   For the amount of money that is spent playing the game of golf, the green fees, the equipment, the 19th hole with the buddies afterwards, would it kill you to take 30 minutes of your day before the round so that you can enjoy the next 5 hours on the course?

What Fraser showed Janice and I about warming up is how to use your warm-up time efficiently.  Fraser gave us a warm-up protocol that all the pros on tour use…if it works for them, why not us.  People forget that PGA tour pros are just like you and me, except they are the best golfers in the world…that’s it.  They still have to stretch, they still need to warm up, they still need to eat, pay bills, worry about the day-to-day stresses that life throws at you…they are just like you.  So if I can practice like they do, I know some of that preparation will rub off and I can become a better player.

As we warmed up, Fraser went back and forth between us, looking over our swings.  Janice was having difficulty, flaring shots to the left.  For the record, Janice is a lefty, so she was outright hitting the ball to the left, not a slice, but still a cause for concern as in the past this was always where Janice’s ball would end up if she did not make proper contact.  Fraser identified that Janice’s grip could use a little tweak that would reduce these instances while still being comfortable.  As soon as Janice made the change, she noticed an immediate difference.  Janice felt that by changing her grip she was better able to finish her swing, thus allowing the club to pass entirely through the swing plane.  Janice also was given a tip on driving.  Let’s be clear, Janice can hammer the ball off the tee.  But what Fraser saw wasn’t a deficiency, but an opportunity to maximize the distance for Janice.  Janice’s swing plane was a little up and down and closed, almost hooding the driver and not allowing the club it’s proper loft.  Janice plays a 9.5 degree driver, but the way she was hitting the ball was more like a 7 degree driver.  Great velocity, lots of roll, but no height.  Fraser had Janice sole the club, laying the back of the club in its natural position and allowing the club to use its proper loft.  Janice took one swing and wasn’t immediately comfortable.  Fraser encouraged her to try again and WHAMMO!  For the next ten or so swings, Janice’s drives were not only straight, but long and towering!  Janice added 15 yards extra with each swing, which on a normal spring or summer day may equate to an extra 20 to 30 yards per drive!  BIG SMILES FROM JANICE!

Fraser saw the same issue with my swing that Dave Zibrik had seen in the previous session.  I opened my front shoulder up to the target and was hitting the baby fade.  It isn’t a bad shot to have, but if I wanted to improve my game, this had to disappear.  You see, when the baby fade doesn’t happen on my swing, the ball goes wherever it wants, usually dead left, or dead right.  It does not allow for a fun day on the course when you do not know where the ball is going.  Fraser had me change how my front shoulder was set up and also had me bring the ball back in my stance more, just back into the centre, to allow me to square my club face.  The results were instantaneous.  The ball’s flight path was dead centre and if I wasn’t square, the ball was actually DRAWING a touch left instead of the fade right.

In just one session, Fraser had taught us better work habits and tweaked our swings to see instant results.  Now we just need to practice and get those habits in place.  We look forward to our next session next week and I will keep you up to date on our progress.

***MARCH 26 is my first shot at the Vancouver Golf Tour out at Morgan Creek.  Fraser is the Commissioner of the VGT and is looking forward to getting me game ready for the opening event of the season.  I can’t wait!

You can hear Dave Sheldon on Sportstalk Weekend Every Saturday and Sunday night from 9 P.M. to Midnight on CKNW 980.  Listen for PGA Tour Insider Fraser Mulholland every Saturday night with Dave on Sportstalk Weekend!

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What are YOUR Limiting Beliefs?

January 28, 2012 By ChrisBaxter

If you are like most people, you probably took the opportunity to set some goals for 2012 right around the beginning of the year.  You may have been so passionate and confident in your plans, that you share New Year’s resolutions with friends and family. Fast forward a month; it’s now the end of January. Have you kept your resolutions? If not, you are not alone. According to a recent study of 1,000 Americans, 98% of all resolutions to change unwanted behaviour fail. Wow!

I’ve helped many clients set goals for golf (and life in general) using a unique process called S.E.T.T.I.N.G. Goals. Once a goal has been established, I help clients to flag limiting beliefs; statements and feelings that the client holds to be true that will limit his or her ability to achieve the goal.

Here is how you can flag your limiting beliefs:

  1. Set a goal using the S.E.T.T.I.N.G Goals system
  2. Grab a notebook and a pen
  3. Read your goal and ask yourself “If I didn’t achieve my goal, why would that be?”
  4. Listen to all the answers that flood your thoughts and write them down!

These answers are your limiting beliefs. Whether or not they are true is irrelevant; if you hold them to be true they will impact your performance and derail your plans for success.

As an example, a golfer might set the following goal”

“November 1, 2012. I now carry a 5 handicap or better in golf”

When flipped around with the question “if I didn’t achieve my goal, why would that be?” , the golfer might write down

  • I am a terrible putter under pressure
  • I don’t have enough time to practice
  • I can’t hit consistently straight drives
  • I am not flexible enough
  • I never achieve my goals

Limiting beliefs are flagged by words that are personal (I can’t, I’m not, etc.) and permanent (always, never, etc.). If these beliefs aren’t changed or challenged, there is no way that the goal will be achieved.

Once your limiting beliefs are identified, it is time to share them with your golf coaches. Your trusted team of professionals can help separate fact from fiction and provide instruction, coaching, and motivation to destroy your limiting beliefs and replace them with new beliefs that support your goals!

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Let The TPA Project Begin!

January 24, 2012 By ChrisBaxter

As you may have heard via our Twitter feeds (@playersacademy, @complete_golf, @vancouvergolf), The Players’ Academy is embarking on a year-long mission to transform the golf games of CKNW’s Dave Sheldon (pictured left) and his fiancee Janice.

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of meeting Dave and Janice in our Players’ Lounge to kick-start the transformation with a goal setting exercise. Goals are crucial to improving performance; if you don’t know what you want to achieve, how will you know if you’ve been successful?

When working with clients, I use a process called S.E.T.T.I.N.G Goals (read more about it here). This process allows us to write clear and concise goals AND act as if the goal has already been achieved. This later piece helps with buy-in at the unconscious (or subconscious) level.  If you want to be a champion, you have to walk like a champion, talk like a champion, and otherwise carry on like your goal is already a given.

Both Dave and Janice opted to set handicap related goals; Dave wants to lower his handicap index to 6.5. Using the S.E.T.T.I.N.G. Goals system, his goal is:

November 1st, 2012. I now carry a handicap index of 6.5 or better in golf.

This goal checks all the right boxes; we have a specific date, use concise and positive language, have a clear benchmark for success, and incorporate the word NOW (to act as if the goal has already been achieved).

Dave admitted that he has never been one for writing goals down and discovered that in actually putting pen to paper that the goal was becoming more tangible.

Once we had a goal in place, we through a curve ball into the process by asking Dave “If your goal were not to be achieved, why would that be?” This question opens the floodgates for identifying limiting beliefs; thoughts that we hold to be true that limit our performance.

In Dave’s case, the key limiting beliefs were:

  • I don’t have enough time to practice
  • My short game (from 100 yards and in) isn’t good enough

It doesn’t matter if Dave’s limiting beliefs are actually true; he may have a fantastic short game, but if he does not believe that his short game is good, it will derail his ability to perform.

Now that we’ve flagged Dave’s limiting beliefs, we can come up with a plan to change these beliefs through skill development.  Fraser and the rest of the coaching team can help to separate fact from fiction and help Dave to come up with a game plan to achieve his goals. After all, a goal without a plan is just a wish!

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S.E.T.T.I.N.G. Goals for 2011

March 2, 2011 By ChrisBaxter

Have you ever set a resolution for the new year? How successful was the process? Most people set resolutions that are abstract or vague (I am going to eat healthy, I’ll exercise more, I will lose weight, etc.) and this makes it very challenging to keep your attention focused on your intention to change.

If you’d like 2011 to be different then past years, your first and only resolution should be to replace wishy-washy resolutions with an effective goal-setting system. When working with students, I use the “S.E.T.T.I.N.G.” system for writing effective goals. This system allows you to write clear goals that can be understood by others and verified for success. Each letter in “S.E.T.T.I.N.G.” represents a key point of the system:

Specific

The best goals are very specific. You should be able to have someone else read your goal and understand exactly what you want to accomplish

Evidence

How do you know that your goal has been accomplished? Your goal must be written so that you know without question when it has been achieved

Timed

Goals need to have a success date, the date that the goal will be achieved by. Use a specific date, month, and year when writing your goals.

Towards

The goal must be written using positive or “towards” language such as I am, I have, etc. Negative or “away from” words such as not, don’t, etc. are not powerful goal-setting words. If you find yourself using away from words, simply re-word your goal. If you find yourself writing “I will not make any bogies”, for example, you can use “I will play all holes in par or better.”

Important to you

Your goals are YOUR goals. While it may be tempting to let friends and family tell you what you should be doing, you need to have a genuine desire to achieve any goal that you take the time to create.

Now

The word “now” is very powerful in goal setting. It allows a future goal to be written as if it has already occurred. When you read a goal that has the word “now” in it, you are reaffirming that the goal is achievable and within your grasp.

Genuine

Your goals need to be written from a win-win perspective. You can’t control what others do and must not imply that your goal will be achieved through someone else’s failure.

Here is a sample goal that I have seen students write without knowing about the S.E.T.T.I.N.G. Goals system:

“I will drive the ball much better this year”

When we analyze this goal using our system we see that it doesn’t meet the following criteria:

Specific: what does “much better” mean? Farther? Straighter?
Evidence: how will you know when you are driving the ball much better? There are no targets to judge your performance against
Timed: when specifically “this year” do you want to achieve the goal?
Now: the word “now” is not included in the goal
Rewriting this goal using our system, the result might be:

“November 15, 2011. I now hit an average of 11 fairways per round”

or

“December 1, 2011. My average driving distance average is now 295 yards”

Both of these goals follow the S.E.T.T.I.N.G. Goals system and clearly outline a target for success.

Once you have written your goal, post it where you will see it every day. A great location is the bathroom mirror; you can read your goal while brushing your teeth! Repetition of your goal reaffirms that it is important to you, and your unconscious mind will do what is necessary to make sure that you achieve your goals!

Note that goals can be short-term (within 3 months), medium term (within 1 year), or long-term (more than a year) and that you can have more than one goal at any given time.

There are some excellent creative visualization techniques that I use with clients to strengthen goals even further. Send me a message if you’d like to find out more about these techniques.

Play well and have fun in 2011!

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