Northern Trust Open: Final Round Photos

Fred Couples

Aaron Baddeley (Harry How / Getty)

Vijay Singh (Stephen Dunn / Getty)

Kevin Na (Harry How / Getty)

Fred Couples (Stephen Dunn / Getty)

Can British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen's "trigger" help you improve your golf game?

Fred Couples

David MacKenzie

Written by David MacKenzie

Louis Oosthuizen's victory in The Open and the discovery of the "Red Dot" concentration trigger that helped him win has golfers wanting to understand exactly how it works. Here's how. 



The concept comes from a behavioral technology called Neuro Linguistic Programming (or NLP), a fairly new branch of psychology that attempts to improve a person's mental and emotional behavior. The teaching assumes that specific goals or actions (neuro) can be better achieved by "anchoring" (programming) past experiences with reinforcement stimuli such as touch, word or sight (linguistic).

Louis Oosthuizen marked the now famous Red Dot above his thumb on his left glove after working with Sports Psychologist Dr. Karl Morris. During practice, when he was 100% focused and ready to execute a shot, he would look at the Red Dot and "anchor" this mental state with that sight. Then, during competition, looking at the Red Dot as part of his pre-shot routine would automatically recall that feeling and make his mind enter that exact same state.

The goal of NLP is to bring together the conscious and unconscious minds.

In this case, Oosthuizen would first make conscious analytical decisions on how to best play the shot. Then by looking at the Red Dot, a reaction would be triggered by his unconscious mind to adopt the emotional state associated with that visual anchor.

The unconscious mind does not reason, is not logical and makes no judgments. Its primary job is physiological, in regulating body temperature and breathing. But it is also a repository of feelings (hence your dreams) which (if triggered correctly) can be recalled by the conscious mind. In a game where performance can be massively impaired by conscious thinking, bringing the non-judgmental unconscious mind into the shot process can only help our scores.

Confidence plays such a huge role in performing well in golf, so it is important to be able to recall (on demand) those times you felt success. The pre-shot (and post-shot) routine is one of the most important factors in achieving this. Getting yourself into a confident, positive mind-set will massively improve your chances of success. And this is exactly what the "trigger" does.

Golf is an unusual game in that it lasts 4-5 hours. For this reason it is imperative to be able to switch on and off - relaxing as much as possible when you can and conserving energy to give EVERY shot your best concentration. During the intense pressure of The Open, Oosthuizen was able to relax in between shots, safe in the knowledge that his Red Dot would take him into the necessary state of mind to give every shot his absolute concentration and focus. It reinforced his practice and gave him the self-confidence to execute.

The next time you are on the range, practice going through your routine and get as focused as you can be on the shot you are about to play. Give it everything you have. Then look, say or feel your "trigger" - this can be visual, verbal or touch (Ernie Els uses the Velcro on his glove and Fred Couples uses a tug on his shirt.)

That anchor will automatically start to produce the desired action, which is to recall that same focused state of mind. When you hit a good shot, anchor that too in the same way. Then try it on the course and make your new "trigger" part of your routine. This will tell your unconscious mind to adopt that optimal state of mind and you will be ready to play the shot as best you can.

The Golf State of Mind Audio Teaching has been designed as a tool to optimize your mind to ensure that you get closer to your potential EVERY time you practice and play. By using techniques to increase your powers of imagination, visualization and feel, you will discover a whole new, and more powerful, approach to golf game improvement. Listen to it on the way to the golf course or practice range and you will start to play fearlessly, remove negative interferences and become transformed into a better and happier golfer. Through learning how to synchronize your body and mind with visual and feel based exercises and learning a consistent approach to each shot, good golf will become a simple subconscious process. Don't continue to waste any more time practicing in the wrong way!!!
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Couples ahead of superstar leaderboard

Fred Couples

Well, this Masters is certainly starting out terribly.

Or, the best possible scenario.

Fred Couples is 50. Tom Watson is 60. Maybe Jack should have played at 70.

This is the best leaderboard I've ever seen and hopefully it will keep up throughout the entire tournament.

Fred Couples: Coming off three straight wins on the Champions Tour, the 92 Masters champ shoots a career low 66 to lead by one.

Tom Watson: After almost winning the British last year, most people said that was the only major he could contend at because of the links style. As long as they don't set up the course too much differently, he could have a chance.

Phil Mickelson: Very inconsistent all year, but the two-time champ putted great and looks sharp.

Lee Westwood: Always seems to be up there in the Majors recently and said afterword this was the best round he ever played at Augusta.

YE Yang: PGA Champ is looking for his second consecutive major

KJ Choi: Hasn't won a major yet but he is definitely capable.

Tiger Woods: Played great for his first round in 144 days. He could have been the overall leader had he not missed a few makeable putts. Woods did hit the shot of the day at the 9th when he hooked a five iron around the trees with the wind howling to a back left pin location. The ball came to rest about ten feet away and he drained it for birdie.

Anthony Kim: Won last week in Houston, is very streaky, and can get hot on Augusta greens, as he showed last year when he made 11 birdies in round two.

Bizarre Headlines from Tiger Woods to John Daly Cheapen Masters Ambience

Fred Couples

Each year during Masters week, the game of golf has been reflected upon in its purest form. Golfers of days gone by were revered, statistics and quotes of incredible shots were remembered and everyone was deciding on the "right" way to make a pimento cheese sandwich.

Do a Google search this week for "Masters" and a more bizarre and less "Southern" feeling emerges.

John Daly has set up his RV directly across the street from the Augusta National parking lot conducting his own business by selling and signing memorabilia to fans. Daly was not invited to Augusta National as a guest but decided to show up anyway, hoping to make more money in sales than from an appearance fee.

There is more Tiger Woods chat than you can shake a stick at since he is the big draw this week and the reason for an 82-person security detail. Partnering with Woods will be K.J. Choi and Matt Kuchar. The big scoop, however, is that former(?) mistress Joslyn James will be headlining her own act in nearby Atlanta.

James is making a special appearance at the Pink Pony strip club during Masters week. The Pink Pony is playing up the Tiger Woods/Joslyn James scenario by offering directions from Augusta National to (another good ole boys) Club and the tag line, "The former porn star will be dancing on the bars while Tiger is hitting pars!"

Two greats of the game are also making their appearance in the news, Fred Couples and Raymond Floyd. Couples thinks he still has a chance to win and Floyd realizes that it's the end of the line and is calling it quits after 45 Masters Tournaments. Couples should consider sticking with the Champions Tour because even though he has won three times this year and placed second, no fifty-year old golfer has ever won The Masters.

This year at Augusta National will certainly NOT be your father's Masters!

Couples gets 3rd win on Champions Tour

Fred Couples

Fred Couples fired a course record 62 with eleven birdies to win the Cap Cana Championship in the Dominican Republic. The win is his third straight on the Champions Tour and third victory out of four starts. He finished runner up to Tom Watson in the season opener.

Couples beat Corey Pavin by two strokes and broke the course record of 63 that Pavin had set the previous day. He won $240,000 and now has won $931,000 in four tournaments to lead the money list.

Couples, the 1992 Masters Champion, is expected to play a practice round at Augusta with Tiger Woods on April 5th, the Monday of Masters week.

"I am looking forward to seeing Tiger and playing with him and having a good time," said Couples in a Golf Channel interview.

At age 50, Couples is playing extremely well and could be the oldest player ever to win a green jacket.

AP Photo / Paul Connors

The Monday Caddie: Villegas wins, Couples on fire, Tiger's return imminent

Fred Couples

Camilo Villegas won for the third time in his career at the Honda Classic. Villegas has had a stellar season so far with a third place at the World Match Play, tie for 8th at the Waste Management Open, and now a win. With the win, he moved up 21 spots to 3rd place in the Fed Ex Cup standings, and trails only Dustin Johnson and Steve Stricker.



Villegas has credited a new found attitude for his recent success. "I'm just very privileged to do what I do."He won the tournament despite not playing a practice round at the course and after flying in from Columbia where he gave a clinic the prior day. With his new attitude, his work ethic on the course and in the gym, and the confidence of having won again, look for him to have a monster season.



Champions Tour:



Fred Couples has now won twice and finished 2nd in three Champions Tour events. "When you are 50, you are the youngest guy out here and if you are a good player like I think I am, I thought I would have some opportunities to win out here", said Couples. It will be interesting to see how many wins he will get this year, especially in the majors.



Tiger's return:



As usual, there were a million Tiger headlines over the past week. Enough gossip already. The bottom line is Tiger appears to be practicing hard, working with Hank Haney again, and looks to be planning his return. If rumors are true, he will play the Tavistock Cup and at Bay Hill, where he has won six times previously.



The Masters is exactly one month away, and if he does return for it, it should be one of the most watched sporting events of all time. "I can't imagine in 100 years he's going to miss Augusta,"Jack Nicklaus told Golfweek.

AP photo Villegas / Alan Diaz

AP photo Woods / Sam Greenwood

The Monday Caddie

Fred Couples

PGA Tour:
Dustin Johnson defends his title at the AT & T Pebble Beach Pro - Am with a birdie at the 72nd hole. Although he shot 74, he was able to hold off charges by David Duval and JB Holmes who both finished one back. Johnson is off to a great start in his career with one win in each of his first three years on Tour and now moves into 2nd place in the Ryder Cup Standings. Excellent tournament for David Duval, who shot four rounds in the 60s for the first time in almost a decade. He played well all week, and came up one shot short of his first win on the PGA Tour since the 2001 British Open.

Notes:
The announcement was made that the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach this June will be seen in prime time, finishing around 10pm Eastern Time. They did the same thing for the 08 Open at Torrey Pines and this is a great idea. Hopefully the will also do what they did with the player groupings by putting #1, #2, and #3 in the world rankings together. As of now, that would mean Tiger, Phil, and Stricker.

Next on the PGA:
The World Match Play begins this week in Arizona. No Tiger or Phil but there are some really good matchups. Print your brackets here.

Tiger Note: Last weeks tournament was sponsored by AT & T, who dropped Tiger. This week is sponsored by Accenture, who dropped Tiger as well. It will be interesting to see if he ever plays for the sponsors who dropped him again. He could completely ignore them in the future or he may use it as extra motivation to win.

Champions Tour:
Fred Couples wins his first Champions Tour event at the Ace Group Classic by shooting 64 in the final round. He was able to hold off Tommy Armour who shot a course record 61. Couples Champion Tour record is not bad so far. He now has a win and a 2nd place in two tournaments. As long as his back holds up, he should have a monster season.

AP photo - Jeff Chiu