Books on mental training

[Zmirc]

I want to improve my mental game so I'm looking for a good book or two about the subject. I remember reading a post on the PDGA board a long time ago where someone recommended a book written for ball golf, saying a lot of ball golf pros had improved their game by using that book. It was written by some Dr. but I can't recall the name, so if anyone might have a clue what book it is from my great desciption it would be awesome

If you have a book that has helped you, don't hesitate to recommend it!

Thanks.

[Weebl]

Dr. Stancil Johnson? His books are the best in DG imho. For improving mental game, I suggest meditation. By no means is it easy, but it's simple, a good book on learning how to meditate is "The Miracle of Mindfulness" by Thich Nhat Hanh. It shows you how to meditate not only durring designated times, but while walking, cleaning, talking and every day tasks.

Hell, the Samurai were able to lower their reaction time by 3/10 of a second by meditation....

[roadkill]

One such book would be Zen Golf. There's another that was also spoken about on the pdga site, can't recall the title without some searching.

[presidio hills]

the nov. 7th pdga radio broadcast had a good "pre shot routine" discussion with a sports psychologist: http://pdga.com/pdgaradio/index.php

i think having a good mental game is hard to teach... maybe easier to show. it involves how you live your life and make decisions and deal with mishaps. books can tell you to chill out when something goes wrong... but, it's harder than that. i think meditation is like training your thinking power and patience... so it's really practical.

[Weebl]

The way meditation has been described to me is the taming of one's mind and attaining complete consciousness, where the mind no longer exists. Only the single entity of the mind, body and soul.

Analogy: "You are the herder and the ox is your mind. The herder is searching for the ox. Sometimes the Path is difficult to find. He finds evidence of the ox. The struggle is difficult and success seems far away, however, a murmur of achievement is heard faintly. He sees the ox for the first time. The way appears and he recognises it as right, even though it is still unclear. He catches the ox. It is difficult to tame. The mind wanders. He tames the ox. the mind is unruly but by perseverance the ox (mind) follows by itself. You may notice that the ox is changing colour from dark to light. The underlying idea is that the mind is naturally pure but is polluted by extraneous impurities. Through discipline and meditation practice it is cleansed and regains its original nature. The herder mounts the ox. The mind has submitted. He transcends the ox and stands alone. The herder pays no further attention to the ox. The herder and the ox are transcended, neither matter any more."

I find when I meditate for complete consciousness, I have no 'choked' shots, no doubting my shots, ect.

[roadkill]

I think you just have to adopt a certain attitude and thinking habits while playing.
One such habit/attitude I try to employ is to perceive every situation as an oppurtunity which I've been given. Even if the situation would be regarded as unfortunate by others.
Case in point:
Last week I was playing mini discgolf at my friend Donnie Brooks' place (president ,mini disc golf federation). I teed off on a hole that plays up a very steep hill. My drive hits a tree near the basket and rolls the entire way straight down the hill. Now I'm about the same distance away from the basket as the tee, only 15 feet left. Instead of becoming pissed and saying woes me and my terrible luck, I honestly said to myself "Donnie thinks I'm going to bogey now and he thinks he's going to pick up a stroke on me. Little does he know I can make this upshot and save my par, not only can I make this shot but I will make this shot because since I rolled left of the tee it's a better angle and that tree isn't in play as much now." I threw my upshot from the bottom of the hill, my disc ran the chains and sat three feet behind the pin. Donnie's eyes were as big as saucers and couldn't believe my recovery. But I knew I was going to make that shot all along and it was no surprise to me.

Had I not had the confidence in myself and seen the silver lining I would have likely duffed the approach, bogeyed and maybe carried some negativity into the next hole. But instead I was pumped in the same way as if I had birdied the hole.

[Warlord]

Buy this book....'nuff said.
http://www.zengolf.com/

Also....some links:

http://www.golflink.com/golf-tips/tips/#mental_game
http://www.pga.com/improve/features/mentalgame/index.cfm
http://www.tomsgolftips.com/mentalgame.html
http://www.golf-mental-game-coach.com/zen-golf.html
http://www.golf-mental-game-coach.com/how-to-improve-mental-focus.html


Of course, these links are ball-golf specific; but they can also be transferred to disc golf very easily. The principles and goals are the same.

[Warlord]

Print the articles in the links and read one each night...several times. Read them before tournaments or casual play.

Write reminders or snippets on notecards.....take them to the course.

I can't say that I don't make mental errors anymore...but I do catch myself more often...and I have found that I make fewer mental errors.

[Weebl]

Buddhist meditation principles, in almost every article I read if not every one there. Samurai were able to lower their reaction time by .3 seconds by being proficient in the art of meditation. Reaction time isn't needed so much for Disc Golf, but the benefits of such a regiment is unparalleled not just athletically but in all aspects of one's life.