The leading sports phsycologist begins a regular column in NCG

HEAR it said all the time: Golf is all mental or 90 per cent of the game is between the ears.

Yet when you actually ask people what they are doing about their mental game the best that you usually get is that they have read some book like the inner game of golf. Essentially, they have done nothing.

Let me put the record straight before we even begin. Golf ISNT 90 per cent mental or even 50 per cent mental. It is not even 10 per cent. It is a physical game with a physical club played by a physical body.

However, the mind does have the capability to get in the way and stop the body doing what it is more than capable of which is finding a hole in the ground with a small white ball.

What Im saying is, working on the mental game CANNOT give you what you dont possess.

Some of the nonsensical products out there in the market place and wild claims made by people telling us to do things like sit under a tree and imagine that we are Tiger Woods or chanting over and over again how great a putter we are and how much you love pressure will have little or no impact on your game.

Your brain is NOT stupid and false claims and ridiculous rituals can never take the place of true training.

However what has now been proven over and over again by the world of neuroscience is that your brain CAN be changed.

It can literally be re-wired to be able to give you new responses in situations that you feel that have let you down in the past.

Re-wiring the brain does need a system to it and over the coming months in NCG I will take you through a series of tools and techniques that will have an impact on your game if you apply them in a systematic way.

I have been fortunate over the past number of years to work with some of the best golfers in the world.

Players such as Ryder Cup heroes Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley, European Tour star Graeme McDowell as well as Solheim Cup legends Trish Johnson and Alison Nicholas have all visited me for help and I will share with you some of the techniques I passed on to these players in order to improve their game.

I have also been lucky to be involved in seminar work with the PGAs of Great Britain, Sweden, Australia, Germany and Belgium and in the workshops that I have given it is now apparent that the very best golf coaches are applying aspects of mental training in their own coaching.

Top players do have the same issues that you the club player face on a regular basis.

Issues such as a loss of form, tension and anxiety, thoughts full of doubt creeping in over the ball, how to practice correctly and dealing with golfing disasters.

I will take you through and de-bunk some of the more hilarious myths surrounding the use of the mental game and put a structure in place for you that will yield results.

Just as it is pointless going into a gym without some form of organised programme specific to your needs, it is pointless embarking on training your brain without the same kind of foundation.

Much of the mystery surrounding what sports psychologists say to top players will be taken away and you will begin to understand, perhaps for the first time, that there are parts of your own golf game that you have never even looked at that could have the biggest affect.

One of the aspects that I enjoy the most about what I do is what is called The Inner Game Workshop.

This is basically a two-hour presentation at your golf club showing you an introduction to the mental game and sharing some of the ideas that I have worked on with the likes of Darren.

I have been all over the country hosting such occasions and its always an interesting session for all parties.

If your club is interested in hosting such an event you can contact me on 07889 24903 or visit the website www.golf-brain.com