Self-hypnosis can be a useful tool for improving your weekend tennis or squash, playing better at volleyball or football, even for more accurate golf, bowling or darts. It is now understood that hypnosis, when correctly utilised in sports, can be of great value as mental training and performance sharpening.

Most professional sportspeople who use my services as Motivation Coach and utilise hypnosis techniques to help them to perform better are reluctant to discuss the matter openly because it may appear to indicate weakness or imply getting a boost from artificial means, or raise some other concern about publicity.

I can, however, share with you my own experience of employing self-hypnosis in golf. The following article appeared in the local press on 8th March 2005:

NETT 44
From the archive, first published Wednesday 8th Mar 2006.

BOURNEMOUTH golfer Rupert Raikes has earned himself a place in the record books after shooting an incredible score at Meyrick Park Golf Club.

The 48-year-old fired a remarkable level par round of 68 to win the club medal competition - off his handicap of 24.

That meant Raikes, a clinical hypnotherapist, was a staggering 24 shots under par to post a nett score of just 44 - certainly the lowest ever at Meyrick Park and possibly much further afield.

Raikes told the Daily Echo: "It was completely out of the blue.
"I only started playing golf in June of last year and going round Meyrick Park in 68 in competition was just incredible.

"Fortunately I had three witnesses because nobody would have believed me otherwise!
"I've never got anywhere close to that and I was 23 over par the week before. It was just the perfect day and the perfect game."

After finding himself three over par after three holes, the Boscombe-based amateur hit back in stunning style.

He explained: "When I started bogey, par, double-bogey, I assumed it would be just another ordinary round.

"But then I got one birdie, then that turned into three in a row and another one on the eighth and suddenly I was one under par after nine holes.

"On the back nine I had birdies at the 10th and 17th holes, but I had a few pars and bogeys as well to come back in 35.

"There were some temporary tees and greens, but we were off the back tees on many of the longer holes.

"My playing partners Frank, Jose and Keith were very supportive on the way round and in the clubhouse afterwards everyone was delighted for me. It has been a great experience."
Raikes, who is schooled in mental training and hypnosis, but he adopted some of those techniques to sign a scorecard that would have satisfied a scratch golfer.

"I just went back to my mental training and took one hole at a time. Sometimes you know that a shot is going to be good before it happens and everyone has that ability to train themselves like that. I just adopted that method for every single shot.

"It is all about visualisation and programming the mind. Using it in sport can produce some amazing results."

Stuart MacDougall of the R&A, golf's world rules and development body, believes the score could be a world record.

He said: "It is a truly astonishing score.

"I have not heard a score like that before but it is very difficult for us to quantify these kinds of records at so many clubs in the country.

"But it is the lowest nett score I have ever heard of - it could even be a world record."

Although the competition was a non-qualifier because some of the temporary greens were in play, Raikes's handicap has now been drastically cut - to 22!

Meyrick Park club trustee John White said: "I think there were six or seven winter greens that day, but it is still the lowest nett score we have ever had in a competition. We've cut him by two strokes, but let's just say his handicap is now under constant review!"

A spokesperson at the English Golf Union said: "It will take quite some time to look through the record books to see if anyone has ever scored as low as that."

Just a day after Raikes carded his astonishing score, World number one Tiger Woods shot his lowest round of the season, his 64 paving the way for victory at the Ford Championship at Doral.

I leave you to draw your own conclusions. Should you, too, wish to reduce your golf handicap drastically and maximise your sports performance, I am but a click away! The 7-day programme I offer (at your club) covers the following points:

Motivating yourself to play better

Tension versus mental alertness

Calm power

Mental rehearsal hypnosis

Winning improvements

Mental training programme

Combining all the elements

 

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