Lack of Games

Due to flu I have been in bed for the last three days, still not cleared up so I have not managed to get any games in this week, just hope I'm ok to fly on Monday. I will update the blog when I have something to report.

Oldham Snooker Academy

Off for a practice with Mark Carrington, its a bit of a trip up to Oldham but worth it as the tables a cheap and lovely.

Mark wanted to player snooker tonight I had work so could only play 6-30pm-10pm.

I felt really great and was looking forward to it, Mark had already had a game with Michael Wild another pro who's going to Malta for the EASB comp. Mark started off well but I really nailed down the energy and stance techniques I had been shown.

It began to tell on him it's quite subtle but eventually it really began to put him off, standing just on the edge of his peripheral vision, Cue ready, positive. After an hour or so he said he felt as if something was wrong, and that he didn't feel up to much tonight.

In the mean time I had played very steady snooker lots of little breaks 15-20's and I knocked in a 35. I felt a bit sorry for Mark and I said to him I would stop putting him off in the next frame.

He looked at me blankly and said what did I mean? I hadn't done anything. I said lets just play and you will understand. He won the next frame with a 41 and a 38 break. I kept out of his way sat down and tried to look dejected. He immediately played better.

In the next I said all bets are off and carried on. I won the next 2 frames getting a couple of 40 breaks and in the last frame 35 and a 44 break just missed the black by a fraction for 51. I lost 6-4 to a player head and shoulders above me ex pro who gets regular century breaks, I was delighted with that result and the way the energy battle had gone.

6 weeks ago I would have said this whole thing was mad but it really works well, it is quite hard to do but once you get into the zone its easy. Mark could not believe me when I tried to explain what I had been doing.

Must get a bit of Billiards in this week after all Malta is not far away.

Prestwich Billiards & Snooker League

Went off to play Mark captain of the Heaton Park Social Club last night we had been corresponding via email regarding me playing next year at the league is much closer than the Macclesfield League to my house.

They play 150 up off handicap the lowest being -45. There seems to be a few decent players in the league the highest breaks being around the 50-70 mark most years. He is on -45 along with 2 or 3 other players.

We played 2 games of billiards 150 up, I won easy in the first getting a couple of 30's, the club was very hot and noisy with kids running around and load music being a Saturday night, didn't bother me to much.

It was a nice table very fast but easy to judge the pace I managed to pick it up quite quickly tonight, the bags were generous but a little tight if you caught the edge. He had 4 sets of balls most of which were poor but the aramiths looked OK you could make one decent set from the two sets he had. So we played with my balls. I played a steady game nothing to fancy as I had to get used to the table.

He played a little better in the second game but reverted to some potting his snooker background showing through. With a little practice on this table some serious bit breaks could be made. Once I got the pace and sheer size of the pockets you could pot from anywhere.

We played a couple of games of snooker to finish off, I played steady in the first winning by about 30. In the second I had found the pace and knocked a lovely little 53 break which included a fantastic piques shot. My white had finished just tight up behind a red in to the middle bag. I had seen Roy do the shot in Austria and the other Friday he showed me the shot along with the massee shot. Cue right in the air little flick and the red sailed into the middle and white screwed back bounced off the rail and perfect on the black. A little lucky but thanks Roy Bacon for that one. Mark was really impressed with that one

I played a bad positional shot for one of the last 5 reds and missed a long straight red in the yellow pocket. Mark potted two reds and a pink. I then knocked in a long red and cleared the remaining reds. I missed and cleared the colours to the black. I won by 100 points. Perhaps I should give up billiards and go back to snooker.

Not sure what to do with that league the standards certainly better than the Stalybridge League and most of the Macclesfield League. I think I should move to Teesside, Cambridge or Boston maybe even Norfolk at least there is some decent billiards around. Hopefully next year the Frodsham League should be a tester.

Snooker Individuals Stalybridge League

Off to the Parkbridge Institute for my snooker match, playing a young lad Aarron Chambers bit worried about this one as I am giving him 39 start in a single frame match and these young lads are usually fearless potters.

First shot I went inoff in the middle pocket. Not happy but made up for it with a nice 36 break next visit and missed a tough black off it's spot. He potted a couple of reds and no colours I potted a long red and got 26. Finished the game off with most of the colours 97 - 47 win to me, he potted 2 reds and the yellow.

Happy with that result puts me in the quarter finals.

Macclesfield League

Played at Disley Golf Club against Macclesfield Liberal Club Norman Routledges Team, he went on first against Geoff Yeoman, he played very well and finished with 32, 81 and 42 unfinished. Not bad in three visits. I went on second and played the other old chap who's name escapes me.
Steve Cannon had come along to watch.

I felt a little odd during the game not really relaxed or up for the game. I won by mainly potting I don't like the table much. Richard went on last and won, 6-2 to us with the aggregate.

I realised afterwards that Steve had interrupted my relaxation techniques, I usually sit in the car and get myself ready, I couldn't with Steve around.

Email Me

I get hits from all over world, I am interested in what you think of the blog and in particular Billiards and Snooker. Why not send me an email let me know what cue sports you have played and to what level and a little bit about yourself.

If you wish to I will publish a few of the replies. I am interested in particular those areas of the world such as Russian and America where English Billiards is not well Known.

I am also gathering information on leagues which play English Billiards if you are a member of a league send me the details web address, email and a few details about the league so I can put a link on the blog. Thanks once again for all your support.

Peter Stanyer

p_stanyer1@hotmail.com

Oldham Snooker Academy Practice

Met Mark Carrington up at Oldham for a practice, we have not managed to get a game for nearly 3 weeks due to work.

We played Snooker first, the tables really are nice lovely Strachan Matchroom tables with very fast cloth. Well worth the 8 miles trip. Mark won the first game which was scrappy, I played well in the second and had a couple of 20 breaks, Mark took the third and I played well in the fourth to set up a tie break.

I played steady and got 38 in front but left Mark an easy opener with the balls spread across the table. He cleared up with a 66 break missing a difficult black for a possible 73.

Holding him to 3-2 of level start cheered me up and I played really well solid with my new less firm grip working well. I potted some lovely balls and used the relaxation and energy techniques well. Mark remarked how solid I looked and played.

90 minutes of billiards next , I played well at the start and got a few ahead, Mark played a little shaky to start with and then got going. He scored 11 points and then made it up to 56 by potting the red and could have just carried on if I had not called the hazard limit. He could compete at quite a high level in this game just by potting alone, but he does want to play properly. I beat him with a small 20 break at the end. My highest was about 35 nothing to shout home about but steady and I played some great shots during the match including a couple of decent run throughs and a couple of 90 degree kiss cannons.

Sports Psychologist Visit 4/4

My final session, where have the past 4 weeks gone time seems to fly when you are enjoying yourself. My session today was about three things, Procrastination, Anchoring and Confidence.

The first section was regarding not putting off things if your are bad at a shot do not put off trying to sort out the problem, don't blame others or the table or the cue, keep focused. Do not keep coming up with excuses as to why someone is better than you. These moments interrupt your mind and game state.

We touched on Anchoring, if you have a game where you played really well, then try to remember the moment. Focus on the feeling your were having, the table, the breaks everything try to immerse yourself in that happy moment and try to bring that moment to today's game remember the feeling of the win and use it to focus your mind.

Confidence was the next subject I think I surprised him with my confidence levels, I have never been shy especially after all that Police training and having to deal with the public. If you are too confident you can appear arrogant and people may not like you so a fine balance is required.
I asked the question 'Can you be over confident, IE making undue risks in a game' the answer was NO. You must control the confidence and the outward display of confidence but inside you can never have too much.

12 hours of intensive soul searching and relaxation techniques is very hard to put in words and I am not sure I have the skills to do so in full, but I am going to try and write a full debrief of the main points. For example even after 12 hours I was able to watch the players in the English AM championship and analyse them and get a feel of their state and energy levels. If was clear me Martin was uncomfortable in his match against Phil Mumford. He looked slightly edgy and not as composed as normal despite playing very well.

I will post a full report in a few days when I have had more chance analyse the conclusions. The one thing I would say at this state is all those players out there who feel that this is a load of nonsense well all I can say is you are wrong, this is one of the most important things I have learnt from the sessions, any player who feels they do not need coaching in these skills is missing out on improving their game but the ability to understand other people better.

Someone said to my not so long ago, 'Why are you seeing a Psychologist is there something wrong with you?' I answered 'No' ,

I was wrong there was something wrong with me and that was I had ignored my mind and body for years, these are more important than a good cue action. As it is your mind that tells the body how to hold the cue and how to pot and how to play. If you improve your mind your game will follow.

Darley Dale

Off to Darley Dale after a nice cooked breakfast. Semi final of the English Am, Martin Goodwill V Phil Mumford. Mathew Sutton V Dominic Mullhall.

We arrived 30 minutes early, and there were quite a few people I knew. I saw Clive Scott and Peter Cooper. Phils Dad and Roger Morgan turned up later in the day, It was nice to see him.
Bem fench and Brian Dix also arrived Bems great I must get up to him house for a practice once the league has finished.

I watched Martin and Phils game first. Martin looked a little rattled when Phil knocked in a 200 in 16 minutes a really outstanding controlled break. Martin responded with a 449, he started off and really looked like he was struggling once he got to 100 he relaxed a little and played better. Once he got to 200 he looked in full flow simply brilliant.

Phil kept going and several other massive breaks later, the interval came where they swapped tables and played from where they left off. The second half was interesting I watched the Sutton game. He played steady getting a 136 but seemed not to be trying to hard. Dominic played really fast and struggled but they both scored decent amounts.

I really enjoyed the games, Phil came back at Martin who pulled out a really great break at the end to finish it off. Simply a great day with some outstanding Billiards. Steven Cannon enjoyed it and managed to get Martin and Roger to sign his copy of Martins book.

Took Roy off to the Manchesters Gay Village for a bite to eat. Saw a few strange sights wandering the streets. I dont think he has ever seens anything like that before.

Practice Roy Bacon

Roy was coming down from Scotland to pick up a old scoreboard for his new snooker room, I had arranged for him to stay at my place on the friday and saturday.

Friday I had arrange a match / practice at the Parkbridge Institute. We arrived at 7.15pm and were playing for 90 minutes then he would show me a few shots top and nursery's hopefully.
The table was very fast the ball really shoots off the rails and the pockets were really tight. My hope was just to stay close to his score.

I managed in the first hour to stick with him and got about 8 in front. I had a couple of decent break the highest of the night 42 and a 28 and a 29. Roy struggled a little on the table but his quality of striking and use of side was simply brilliant. As time went on the better player as usual starts to pull away and sure enough he made 41 of the red and a nice 39. He won by about 130 in the end.

He then played a series of really great nursery shots and showed the juniors some interesting half ball shot to give them a start. Nice club with the coal fire table was really tight but fast quite difficult for a match. I enjoyed it though. I held my own.

The main things I learn are shot selection is vital, playing the right shot is so important. Quality rather than quantity. Play the inoffs in the middle before an easy cannon.
Everytime I see someone play I learn a few shots Roy showed me the masse shot thats certainly one to practice for the future.

Berry Cup - Stalybridge B v Mossley B

Off into the Hill's again Mossley a small Village tucked away in the Hills, the town is in two parts Upper and Lower Mossley they don't get on, the Upper hates the Lower, the Lower can't stand the Upper.

We were desperate for a win, If we lost we were out and if we won we really needed a 4-1 to guarantee the semi final a 3-2 might do depending on other results. I picked up my mate Steve and we went for a hours practice in the Palace Club, he played rubbish. I didn't do much better.

On arrival in Mossley Mick was playing Snooker and won by 30 he played quite well. Billiards next their Captain went on lad called Darren Beswick, I had played him before Christmas when my handicap was scratch so I was getting 80 start and beat him by 105. My handicap was now -80 the same as him.

I felt really relaxed I went through my routine outside of relaxation techniques. I went in and he scored 15 first visit including a couple of really interesting flukes. He is the only other player in the league who can actually play this game and I set about playing good billiards, the table is great but the balls are very light so I stuck to cannons until I felt how much they threw off. I started to place the ball well in the D about an inch or so wider than usual, I got a couple of long losers and then never missed one all night.

He was totally destroyed within 10 minutes, I almost felt as if I was sucking the life out of his shots and he just kept getting worse. I got 6 x 20+ breaks 20,21,21,23,25,26 almost one after another and I won by 125 he only scored about 55 points. I think this was my best overall performance my average for the night must have been pretty high.

Steve went on and lost on the black he was quite unlucky the lad potted a fantastic pink. Roy our Captain lost at Billiards by a dozen, but Steve and Mick won the doubles. 3-2 to us.

This means Mossley have to beat Parkbridge 4-1 away from home to get through.
Not a bad night I again felt good, confident and positive. Looks like this game is in the mind after all.

No Nails / Gum

I have just been thinking about my previous post 3/4, I have described it all fairly well, as well as I could. Something else has just occured to me that I have only just noticed.

I gave up smoking two or three years ago and used the Nicorette gum which worked and finally I went from that to normal chewing gum. I would usually go through a packet a day either a couple of small ones or a large packet of 25. I have not really bothered about this I just found it helpful and better than smoking, since my session on Monday I have not bothered with the chewing gum or bitten my nails.

I find that rather odd as I have made no effort to stop the chewing gum, it was never mentioned in the session. I still have some in my car certainly something has made me more relaxed and less anxious. I am not sure whether the relaxation techniques are working but something has changed.

Visitors

Had a few new visitors this week in particular from Saudia Arabia, Moldova, Bosnia and my first hit from Nepal. Also lots of hits from America and Canada this week, the maps fairly useless as it does not show most of the hits unless you pay for the service shame as its quite useful in other ways.

Still getting around 1000 direct hits per week and 10,000 google search hits a week. Are there really that many people in the world who are interested in English Billiards I'm really amazed.

Thanks for all the support.

New Mill Practice with Mike Holding

Off the New Mill no match but I had arranged to have a knock with Mike Holding. He was there when I got there and we had a nice little game of Billiards 200 up off level start. At this point one of the A Team players arrived Steve Whiteley and said he would play the winner.

I was a bit bothered as I really wanted to play Mike as we had been trying to get together and go over a few shots for several months. Mike is only just learning the game after converting from snooker, he is an accomplished snooker player and by all accounts used to knock in decent breaks.

His billiards was quite good for a learner much better than mine when I started. It made me realise just how far I had come in the last 10 months. Mike knew the half ball quite well and has played a couple of games when the team have been short plus he has watched quite a bit in the club and on the internet. He got a few 15-19 breaks and they were not just potting quite a few cannons and he also played some nice thick run through shots. I won by a bit but he did quite well.

I played Steve next 200 off level start I thought I was going to get thrashed when he started off with a 46. But I plugged away and got a few 20's. I lost in the end but only by a few points 200-183 I was quite happy with that as Steve has had lots of breaks this year in the league, Paul Dunning knows him and rates him a good player. Mike dropped out and I played Steve off handicap, He's on -40 I'm on 70, 110 start to 200 up. I played quite well and thrashed Steve I won by 120 and had a nice little 44 and a 31. He described my handicap as a Bandits handcap.

I don't think he enjoyed that game, I played Mike next off handicap, I give him 20 odd start and he played much better and was 60 ahead needing 18, I pulled it back and I needed 2 to win and missed a simple straight pot off the black spot. He got the red in the middle and won. Quite an interesting game. Once he learns the tactics and some more shots he will be hard beat as he has a nice cue action and pots very well. Long days billiards but I did enjoy the games.

Practice Silktown Macclesfield Tuesday

Not played for a few days so I was quite looking forward to a game with Wayne Holbrook. I arrived a little late after the alarm on my car stopped working. He was on the far left table which I really dont like it throws off and each cushion seems to give a different reaction.

I set my stall out and relaxed and threw out the negative thoughts of the table and pushed my energy levels up as best I could. (You must all think I'm mad)

We started and Wayne got a series of outstanding flukes all over the table, quite incredible really, but they didn't bother me I refused to get upset or let them affect me. We carried on playing and after an hour we were pretty level neither of us played well or badly just avergae and Wayne was about 20 infront. As time went one I really felt I was wearing him down with my positive attitude and all of a sudden I started playing a bit better and within the next hour I had about 10 breaks over 20 with a high of 34.

The better I played the worse Wayne played, even his usually outstanding potting started to go wrong. Now was this just luck, run of the balls or was it to do with mental attitude. I just don't know. I won by at least 100 points in the end which is very unusual as Wayne is such a tough player to beat there is usually only a handful of points between us. I enjoyed the match I'm not sure Wayne did.

Sports Psychologist Visit 3/4

I have delayed putting up this posting as I have not really felt happy with the way I wrote it and this is the third draft and I am still not happy with this one, but I feel it’s the best of the bunch.

The difficulty is putting into words something that you have to take on trust it has no real physical form rather a mental form or perception of emotions and feelings.
I’m not really into all this emotional feely touchy stuff and I tend to view tree huggers with amusement however I am determined to view these lessons with an open mind and as an ex tough macho policeman it’s been quite hard to do as I am not one for getting in touch with mine or anyone else’s emotions.

Here goes then, over to Huddersfield still some tiny patches of snow left it’s exactly 3 months since the first snow in December quite impressive it’s lasted 3 months on the hills.
On arrival we went over a few things from last time and I explained I had had some success with the relaxation and anti vampire techniques in particular. Today’s meeting was about EFT and negatives.

EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Techniques and it’s a method of mind and body healing, although I am no expert and have deliberately avoided looking things up on the internet a form of mind over matter in this case the body, this seems to be quite a well known subject.

We started off with Negatives these are those things that perhaps would affect your game or your attitude to a game, for example there is a club I play at where I dislike the table and the balls are very old and poor but they insist on playing,I dislike the table as it's tight, the balls are very old and not the correct weight. This means that my immediate thoughts are not about winning or getting my concentration and energy levels right but negative thoughts such as ‘oh not that club again I hate that table’ or ‘When are they going get some new balls those old ones are rubbish’.

These negative thoughts tend to ruin everything else and intrude into your mind before and during the match, so we can use the EFT methods to address these negative thoughts and actions. These techniques form part of the solution to your mind set, so we have energy levels, relaxation techniques and positive thoughts, the negatives can then be banished by a form of meditation or I think he described it as mental acuptunture, we can tap certain meridian points (I know this sounds mad but let me finish) and say or assure ourselves that these problems will not affect us such as the table or balls or lighting or the audience etc and in theory we should be able to get on with the game.

I am not sure about this it seems a little far fetched however I was assured that it works and should make a difference. He asked me to inform him of any phobia or something that bothers me which he could try and treat using this method. I couldn’t think of anything but after a few minutes I decided on a physical issue which had nothing to do with billiards. This was I have always bitten my nails not to any great extent but it has always bothered me.

He went through the technique which only took about 3-4 minutes. I had a little internal laugh as I am quite convinced that it was a load of crap and that just saying to yourself that I had no need to bite my nails and tapping my face and chest would make no difference.
As you can see at this point most sane people would be rather sceptical and how I have had great difficulty writing a lot of this down. I can understand the principles and thoughts behind this but I am not sure I actually believe in this. He assures me he has had great success in treating people this way.

The session went by very quickly and we managed to get a few shots done on the table and he demonstrated just how important the balls are. He had a ball which did not match the weights and showed me just how a few grams can affect the angle of the losers and cannons.

I usually write up my blog within a few hours but this has had me thinking, it’s now Thursday and I still haven’t posted anything yet. However as I am sat here writing this blog I can say this that I still haven’t bit my nails since that session, maybe there is something to this after all as soon as a feel my hand going towards my mouth a sort of mental note says don’t do that, it’s quite strange almost a little disturbing.

Jack Karnehm Billiards from the Top

Just spent 3 hours watching the second video from Jack Karneham. It's a really boring DVD but at the same time really interesting as I understand now what it's trying to get over.

The shots he plays at the top are all repeat shots of the same scoring pattern. He seems to have such great touch, my feeble efforts at the top of the table seem so pathetic when I compare the two. I have no idea how to start with attempting these shots.

Roy Bacon is coming down from Scotland to collect his score board from Mike Holding so I am hoping to get a couple of hours coaching from him on the Friday at my local club. I know I should just stick with my all round half Ball play but TOTT is the way to score big breaks in quick time. Going to Darley Dale on Saturday to see the English Amateur Semi Finals hopefully with Roy and Steve. Can't wait for that the standard should be high still don't know who to support Goodwill who has helped me so much, or the slight underdog Phil Mumford who is also such a nice chap.

As Martin has already won the title I think Phil deserves a chance this year and he has played really well so far.

Looks like we finished in third place in the Huddersfield Leagues I have just checked the tables one more point would have put us second. Only 9 points separate the top 10 teams after 20 games.

Practice Steve Cannon

Went to the Place club for a knock with Steve before our games in the Berry Cup. Met him at 6 and we had a nice game of Billiards, he played quite well I have to give him 80 start as per the league.

This proves quite hard as he managed to get a couple of 20 breaks, I clawed my way back in with a nice little 25 and a 41 missing a sitter in the middle off his ball to leave a drop cannon. Idiot why does this happen.

I won by about 21 in the end, but a little more practice and I wont be able to take him off -80.

Off to Stalybridge and Steve played well in his snooker winning on the pink after giving 35 start. I played a young lad I had thrashed only 3 weeks ago. Not tonight though he had about 20 flukes by smashing the balls around and trying to pot he really had no idea what to do but when the lucks with you there is nothing you can do, I lost by loads he very nearly out scored me I had to score 200 he only had to get 75.

Never mind the leagues nearly over now just the individuals to play and the last cup match.

Huddersfield League - New Mill B V Springwood B

Final trip to Huddersfield for the Year, we are playing the league winners in the final game. There are 5 points between the top 9 teams. John Bowden scraped another win he had 11-1 flukes when I arrived.

I went on second and had already got myself ready, I had tried to relax and made sure I kept the Vampires away by not mixing with my team mates and avoiding talking to any one. I felt comfortable and tried to project the right energy levels I think it worked Paul Raynor was missing everything and I got 40-50 in front. I had a couple of 20 breaks and won by about 57 in the end, not bad considering I was giving 20 start.

Derek Hey went on last and won by just 2 to give us a three nil win. depending on other results that may put us in line for a possible second or play off for third.

Practice Crucible Wayne Holbrook

Due to my daughters dancing lessons had to move from our normal venue to the Crucible Stockport, played on the main match table. it took a bit of getting used to for billiards but was fine.

We started off and I showed Wayne some of the shots from the JK video, He was quite impressed and managed to get a few of them straight away.

We played for 3 hours and both scored a few middle 20 breaks not a great break day but we both did OK. We scored less than usual but we did both get some really nice shots. I was trying for the top of the table position all the time and got there several times but only mad 20 or so each time and missed out on a massive break whilst on 27 and in prime top. Wayne did the same he missed an ideal chance. But that's the way it goes. A few more months/years practice and I will be much better around the black spot.

Just towards the end of the match I had a perfect chance to play the Kareham shot red tight on the rail 2 feet below the middle pocket and lots of top right and the white flew in the top bag just like the DVD I was over the moon and even Wayne who has loads of cue power was impressed.

I really love this game is just keeps on rewarding your practice and efforts all the time, that one shot has really given me a boost. I ran out a winner if you can call it that by about 20 points. But we had a great time with lots of practice and tactics discussed. I managed to show Wayne a couple of new shots. No big breaks but a great day.

Sports Psychologist Visit 2/4

Monday Night was my second visit, I certainly got something from the first session. I was looking forward to my second visit, for the first few minutes we discussed what I had done since my previous visit and how I had managed to use the relaxation techniques. Mark Carrington had noticed how steady and 'Up for it' I was in my last match of doubles.

We discussed a very strange subject to great lengths. Energy Vampires.
For those of you who don't know these are people who sap your energy. So for example if someone perhaps a team mate comes up to you in your match and says something like 'oh your were really unlucky with that shot you just played why didn't your play this shot instead' They are feeding off you putting doubts in your mind were you really unlucky, will you have more bad luck. ?

There are 5 main type of Vampires and I could identify most of these from within the groups of players I play with. I wont explain all these groups as you really need to go through this process yourself. But they are out there.

The next part was some practice shots in relation to the Jack Karnham video, some really amazing examples from the video and from the Psychologist.

We then moved on to how to defend yourself from various forms of Vampires. How to put your self in a protective bubble which they cannot interrupt. This was very interesting and quite simple to achieve. I really liked this approach I can see it being a very effective a form of one upmanship perhaps or even bordering of cheating without actually doing anything wrong.

We had a cup of tea and slice of cake and moveed on to another subject 'Fear of Failure'. This was also quite interesting, we introduce stress and tension into our game because we do not wish to let the team down or indeed ourselves. Perhaps we don't want to be to the only loser if the team is doing well, so the fear of failure puts added pressure onto our mind which in turn passes onto the body. Again identifying these pressures and using the protection and relaxation methods to counteract this is very important. I had not really thought of this as Billiards is mainly an individual sport.

We also spent some time discussing how we should never try to be perfect in our game. I found this to be the hardest part to understand, but it links in with the above. If we always aim to be 100% perfect then we are bound to fail some of the time, perhaps a poor shot or bad position or bad luck even. This can play on your mind and introduce doubts, however if we decide to be 95% perfect then we know we can have a few bad shots which were expected and therefore we should not worry about them. Again it's about reducing the fear of failure.

The 3 hours flew and before I knew it I was on my way home again, still lots of snow on the hills. A remarkable session very impressive, really gave me a lot to think about.