Even the pros have to manage their 'time zones'

RYDER CUP star Lee Westwood is without question one of the best players that we have produced in this country over the past 25 years or so. The number of his worldwide tournament wins is impressive by any standard. Even the very best players, though, do occasionally have periods of time where confidence levels dip alarmingly and the game can become an almighty struggle.

Very often this is down to the use or misuse of what I call your 'time zones'. Lee did some work early this year on this part of his approach. The way you use your own internal sense of time could be a HUGE factor in how effective you are on the course at any time.

Just think for a moment now what you were doing last Friday. And as you did that I am sure some images flashed across the screen of your mind. Now what I want you to consider is what you will be doing a week on Saturday. Again some images flash across your mental screen.

But as you sit here reading this article and you notice the sounds around you and the feeling of the magazine in your hand, where is your attention now?

In just those brief moments, in an instant, I have taken you through the three possible mental 'time zones'. The PAST, the PRESENT and the FUTURE. Now you may never have considered this but the way you manage those 'time zones' will pretty much determine your efficiency as a golfer ­ and as a human being for that matter!

In particular, I want to explain how you can use the time zones of PAST and FUTURE. In contrast to most golfers who look back to the past and find evidence of poor shots and then look forward to the future with a mixture of trepidation and dread, I want you to run your brain in a different way that will allow your best golf to come out on a more regular basis.

Basically, you want to visit the PAST to dig up your peak moments and then plan for an effective FUTURE. Follow these key points and you will enjoy the benefits of a trained golf brain.

- Create your 'Best Shot Inventory'. Go through your whole set and write out in detail the BEST shot that you have ever hit with each club. The goal is to then UPDATE these shots next season

- Write out your 'best escape shot' from trouble and your best 'under pressure' putt as you connect to the examples in your past when you proved your ability under testing conditions

- Take a moment to imagine VIVIDLY your next first tee shot. In detail, see yourself making a great swing, feel the motion and notice if there are any sounds as the ball screams of the club and ensure you see the EXACT shape of shot you require

- Just imagine your next round and notice that you are able to DEAL WITH whatever comes along. Poor shots don't faze you as you keep bouncing back. See yourself displaying mental toughness.

Think of it simply as your mind being a giant movie screen. Would you sit and watch a programme that frightened you or bored you? Of course not ­ you would SWITCH OVER. In the very same way you are taking control of your 'time zones' by watching movies in your head that make you feel good instead of bad.

The whole focus of training your golf brain is about becoming the director of your own internal movies as opposed to an actor who just has to play the part that he is given. If you take control of your internal movie screen YOU get to decide how you feel ­ NOT the outside world.

It is actually up to ourselves what we choose to put up on the screen of our own mind. You can just begin to imagine what kind of extraordinary movies Lee Westwood had stored in his mind but even he needed a gentle reminder that you may have a great DVD collection ­ but it is YOU that has to decide to press the PLAY button!