(Part 2) Play Your Best Golf in 2024 with Lynn Marriott and Pia Nilsson of Vision54
In this episode of T-Time with Tori, hosts Tori and pro golfers Lynn Marriott and Pia Nilsson have an insightful conversation about golf skills beyond swing technique. Drawing from their expertise as co-founders of the VISION54 coaching program, Lynn and Pia share practical strategies to transform your mental game and emotional resilience.
By training skills like tempo, tension awareness, emotional regulation, memory storage, and useful self-talk, you can enhance on-course performance, decision-making and enjoyment of golf. As Lynn explains, “You can have a great golf swing, but tension ruins it.” Mastering both physical and mental skills gives golfers their competitive edge.
The Illusion of “Borrowed” Tempo
Lynn and Pia emphasize that regardless of skill level, every golfer contends with fluctuations in tempo. "You can have a great tempo in one shot, but it's borrowed. You have to find it again in the next shot,” Pia explains.
Even tour professionals battle variability in their swing speed and rhythm. So rather than demanding metronomic consistency, the key is accepting tempo’s natural ebb and flow. By training yourself to smoothly shift gears from faster to slower temps as conditions change, you gain flexibility and control.
Pia and Lynn suggest taking every club in your bag to the range to practice playing each at slow, medium, and fast paces. Attuning yourself to varying speeds makes it easier to dial your tempo up or down during a round as needed. “It’s that variable. The tempo can be that variable,” Lynn says. Mastering adaptation ensures you always swing your best no matter the circumstances.
The Tension Tango
“You can have a great golf swing, but tension ruins it,” Lynn says. Managing physical tension is vital for unleashing your technical potential, as chronic tightness sabotages even textbook swings.
Lynn and Pia note grip pressure and shoulders/jaw as prime tension hotspots. Try swinging with deliberately “cooked spaghetti” arms, or slowly edge grip firmness up or down while maintaining consistency. The goal is to increase bodily awareness to find your personal tension sweet spot.
Since external factors also influence tightness, have contingency plans for anxiety-inducing situations. If tension mounts on narrow fairways or high-stakes shots, proactively focus on releasing pressure points. Maybe adopt a looser grip or slower backswing. Making tension awareness part of your preshot routine gives you a chance to consciously relax instead of unconsciously seizing up.
Calling a “Tension Timeout”
When tension escalates mid-round, quick resets can work wonders. Lynn suggests standing on one leg while swinging to find your balance. Exhale fully to trigger relaxation. Make practice swings at 50% speed, suggests Pia “First you need to know yourself – is it my tempo or tension that goes off?” From there, tailor your timeout to what your body needs.
These in-the-moment adjustments may feel silly, but can totally transform your headspace. As Pia puts it, “You have to dare to do that on the course.” Think of creative ways to disrupt unhelpful patterns. Play a hole standing pigeon-toed. Swing cross-handed. Get creative with resets so you can finish the round centered.
Cultivating Emotional Resilience
Lynn and Pia emphasize that your state of mind directly impacts your ability to perform. Frustration and anxiety flood your body with the stress hormone cortisol, which limits cognitive function. Conversely, positivity and joy grant access to your peak skills.
Since emotions are time-sensitive, actively curate positive feelings between shots before negativity takes root. Appreciate beautiful scenery. Conjure happy memories. “You need to tune it in,” urges Pia. Without resilience, self-judgment can easily snowball into downward spirals on the course.
To build buoyancy for weathering mental storms, establish an “emotional foundation” before teeing off. Listen to empowering music en route to the club. Visualize overcoming past stumbling blocks. Call a friend who dispels doubts.
Ongoing resilience training equips you to navigate turbulence when it inevitably arises. Make affirmations part of your routine, urging Lynn, so positivity becomes automated. With practice, graceful recovery from setbacks or frustration on the greens becomes second nature.
Harnessing Memory for Confidence
While beginners often fixate on swing mechanics, Lynn and Pia remind us that memorizing each shot affects performance more than perfect positions. Our emotional response to an event encodes it as a helpful or harmful memory.
Since our brains retain negative experiences more readily, golfers must consciously create positive memories. How you internally replay shots directly impacts your expectations, nerves and choices for next time.
When you drain a tough putt, make sure to relish and replay your small triumph. If you land a drive in the rough, avoid dramaticizing or resentment. State facts, then close the door. As Lynn says, “No emotion, no storing, no way you’re gonna remember to access that as a go signal for a future shot.”
Actively curating positive memories around common trouble spots defuses their power. If a previous tournament rattled your confidence, use visualization tools to rewrite the experience and instill calm going forward.
The Power of Playfulness
Fundamentally, Lynn and Pia see cultivating playfulness and curiosity as key to growth. “You have to dare to do that on the course,” Lynn insists. Rather than demanding linear progress, have fun experimenting with creative practice games and unconventional shots.
Don’t just humorously try landing the ball balanced atop a handheld tee. Also bring levity to pre-shot routines, trying funky stances to challenge ingrained habits. Maintaining a beginner’s mind loosens the grip of perfectionism to stoke motivation.
As Lynn sums up, “People sometimes say, ‘I wanna get better but I don't wanna change anything.’ I’m like, ‘Well, good luck with that!’” Embracing play unlocks innovation, helping you relate to the activity itself, not just the results.
Quieting Self-Talk for Equilibrium
Given golf’s slow pace, keeping up positive self-chatter is vital for equilibrium. Lynn and Pia teach students to consciously recognize then edit unhelpful “loops” of beliefs, emotions and actions.
Catch yourself mid-complaint after a swing, they advise. Ask, “Is this commentary adding any value? How’s this gonna make me a better player or enjoy the game more?” Usually, such nitpicking does more harm than good.
Similarly, curb judgments framing yourself as intrinsically “bad at putting” or a “poor iron player.” Such labels often become self-fulfilling prophecies. Instead, focus on tangible progress in a skill, keeping affirmations based on reality.
Counteracting negative self-talk takes concerted effort. But the functionality of each thought matters more than sheer volume. Staying solution-focused, not just positive, keeps you in an empowered mindset to succeed.
Stillness Between Shots
Since quiet mind equals quality play, Lynn and Pia also teach stillness cultivation. Though demanding 30 minutes of unbroken meditation on-course is unrealistic, brief snippets of conscious relaxation have immense value.
“Can your mind actually be quiet for four to seven to nine seconds? No internal dialogue?” Lynn asks. Practicing directing all senses outward to absorb environmental details or bodily sensations in the play box builds concentration for shutting down self-talk.
Gently easing into mental minimalism for short bursts prevents overanalysis, making space for inspiration. “Walking meditation” while moving between shots similarly promotes fluid focus to carry you gracefully into the present moment.
Conclusion
Lynn and Pia’s insights reinforce that lowering scores relies as much on honing mental and emotional skills as nailing swing positions. But have hope; with some dedication to posture, tension release and positive memory storage, tapping into peak performance can be a blissful process. Just stay playful in your practice.
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