Vizualization And a Motorcycle

I had the greatest motorcycle ride today. Of what importance is this, you might ask, to the game of golf? There is much to be learned from a motorcycle: respect, balance, environmental awareness and always looking at where you want to go.

If you can not visualize success then you will never achieve success. This is true of any aspect in your life. You would never dream of entering a meeting with the idea that you're going to stink up the room, now would you? Yet this is the frame of mind that far too many golfers are attempting to play the game from. Let's change those attitudes now...it WILL make a difference. On with my motorcycle story...

I have had my motorcycle license for 5 years. I took the Motorcycle Safety Course and began to ride my 1985 Suzuki Madura 750cc. In those first few years I put about 600 miles on the bike...that's almost like playing one round of golf a year...not a lot of experience.

Last year I turned the big 5-0 and was the recipient of a brand new Harley Davidson Sportster 1200 Custom. (Thank you PR) I was like a kid in a candy store...what a thrill.

This is a significantly bigger and more powerful bike than I was used to and I struggled with building confidence while seated atop this magnificent machine. My trips were basically around the block as I learned how to balance this new beast. (Thank you to all my patient neighbors)

I began to feel a little bit better and started to wander out of the familiar home roads and into the real world. Progress was being made and then, I had an oops. Not an accident, however I found myself in a position on the road that was not where I wanted to be. Shaken, yet in one piece (me and the machine) I made my way home and parked the bike for 9 months. They were the best 9 months of learning that ever could have happened.

I immediately knew the error of my ride. As I was turning a corner, I was distracted by debris on the road and as a result, I stopped looking at where I wanted the bike to go. During the training class five years ago, the instructor laid down a piece of lumber in our training road. She said that if anyone wanted to hit that piece of lumber that all they had to do is look at it. If you want to miss the lumber then to please look at where you want the bike to go. For that one moment of that ride, I forgot to look at where I wanted my bike to go and as a result I had an oops.

With this concept firmly planted in my head I began to use my imagination and over the next 9 months I visualized riding my motorcycle and always looking at where I wanted the bike to go. I may have been driving my car, golf cart or even walking the beach yet in my mind I was on that jet black Harley and I was ALWAYS looking at where I wanted to go. Even when I was playing Mario Cart on the Wii and racing around those tracks I constantly refined my skill of always looking at where I wanted my little character to go.

After 9 months, my heart pumping and my mouth full of cotton balls, I had an awesome ride today. Remember, never sat on a bike for 9 months and yet I nailed every twist and turn in the road. The imagination combined with visualization are two incredibly powerful tools that you too can use to improve your golf, or whatever it is in your life that you want to improve upon.

The next time you stand on a golf tee, rather than describing the "trap" (it's really a bunker) on the left, the out of bounds on the right and oh yes the water in front of the green take a bit of advice...look at where you want to go and you will discover the fairways and greens far more often than ever before.

Create in your mind what you want; Trust your skills; Do the swing...repeat until all holes have been completed.

Believe and Achieve.

Keep Swinging & Ride On!

Jane