If you need some golf mind help while I’m away then remember there’s lots of interesting material here on the website and in the golf articles section under the resources tab. You will also benefit from listening to my "Your Own Virtual Caddy" golf hypnosis programme that’s available free when you subscribe to my Golf Hypnotist Ezine.

Finally, if all else fails, just watch and listen to this soothing and relaxing video, full of positive suggestions for your golf, from one of my mental game colleagues in the US. And yes, I know that it flashes up their website address half-way through – I’m not afraid of competition, am I now!

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’ve seen Nick playing at very close hand and even played with him in an open amateur tournament, the Hertfordshire Stag, at Moor Park back in the 70′s. I recall that it was just a couple of months before he turned professional and I was amazed at his confidence and scoring ability. I felt like I outplayed and outscored him both morning and afternoon. The scorecard told a different tale with me scoring to my handicap with a couple of 76′s against an SSS of 74 and Nick scoring well below par in both rounds.

Coming back to Nick’s current attitude to golf psychology, I was fascinated to find this fairly recent video article on YouTube with Nick giving a masterclass in Thailand on golf concentration and his mental approach to golf.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’m particularly in agreement with Nick’s emphasis on not using the word "Don’t" when thinking and talking about your shot – "don’t hit it in the trees"; "don’t hit it in the water"; etc. As Nick reminds us, your unconscious golf mind doesn’t know the meaning of "don’t" and does its best to deliver what you are thinking about – "hit it in the trees"; etc. I also like his ideas around visualising the shot you want to play, making a rehearsal swing to achieve that shot and then hitting it.

I’m certainly looking forward to watching Nick playing at Turnberry.

The video includes the swings of 16 golfers ranging from the sublimely mild eccentricity of Seve Ballesteros – who I don’t think deserves to be on the video – through the extremes of Eamonn Darcy, Jim Furyk, John Daly and Raymond Floyd to truly outrageous lunge of Charles Barkley – an odd one out in this list of top class golfers.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The key thing about all of these golfers and their far from perfect golf swings is that through golf psychology and the strengths of their golf mind and their great course management, they’re all consistent golf tournament winners – except of course for Charles Barkley!

Let’s hear what a few of those experts say, beginning with my favourite golfer and ending with one from Bobby Jones.

Your mind holds the key to your success at golf and your enjoyment of the “Greatest Game of All” – Jack Nicklaus.

“I never hit a shot, not even in practice, without having a very sharp, in-focus picture of it in my head. First I see the ball where I want it to finish, nice and white and sitting up high on the bright green grass. Then the scene quickly changes, and I see the ball going there: its path, trajectory, and shape, even its behaviour on landing. Then there is a sort of fade-out, and the next scene shows me making the kind of swing that will turn the previous images into reality.” – Jack Nicklaus

The biggest strength of Tiger Woods you can’t see. It’s his mind – Butch Harmon

You can will something to happen, with your body, with your mind. The mind is that strong. You can say, ‘I want to get this close to the hole.’ That’s where the mind comes in. The mind has to produce positive thinking. All the great players do that – Byron Nelson

Once you’re on the Tour, the mental part of the game is 85-90 percent – David Duval

Golf is a game that is played on a five-inch course – the distance between your ears – Bobby Jones

So what about this survey? Well, despite all the sage advice above, a recent survey suggests that only 12% of golfers think that the mental game is the most important thing to work on for golf improvement. That’s astounding.

Here’s the final table from the survey: