Your Sports: Hypnotherapy for your golf game

Mike Camunas, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Golf hypnotherapist Beth Pry goes through a relaxing technique with first-time golfer-client John McLaughlin.
	[MIKE CAMUNAS I Times]

Story Tools Initializing... Contact the editor Print this story Comment on this story Social Bookmarking

ADVERTISEMENT Loading Video...

HUDSON

Beth Pry swears she won't make a client think they're a dog.

"I ask them what is their favorite kind of dog," Pry said. "That way we'll see what we can do."

Pry, a golf hypnotherapist based out of Orlando who visits the Pasco and Hernando County area frequently to work with clients, isn't about to dangle a pocket watch to subdue people.

She works with golfers, who, perhaps mentally, seem to be stuck in some part of their game.

Pry will conduct interviews with the golfer, taking notes to find out what might need work and what exactly needs to be tapped in hypnosis.

"Usually what they think is wrong usually isn't the whole picture," Pry said. "That's my job. So we use pattern recognition technology."

Pry says a lot of people don't see what they do wrong over and over again, "so I help them recognize 'Oh, that's what's wrong with me.' "

Pry says each golfer-client has different issues and/or problems to work through.

Some might have trouble concentrating, while others are, as Pry puts it, "ADD, and their mind is everywhere on everything while out on the course."

Pry has clients focus on relaxing, and a main technique used in hypnosis is "focus on demand," which is a way for golfers to check their focus at any given moment. It's a 30-second breathing exercise that helps the golfer get back "in the zone."

"I help, mostly, with their confidence," Pry said. "I have them really know that they can do it. I have clients, in hypnosis, see that they can do well, that they can make the shot. Just using the conscience language, 'Oh, I'm a good golfer,' doesn't work, because your subconscious mind goes, 'No, you're not. Remember when you messed up that.'

"(Hypnosis) is a lot of remembering the feel of being a good golfer."

That's why Steve LaFalce, owner of Indoor Golf Center in Hudson, where Pry sets up shop and sees clients, has introduced Pry to this area.

LaFalce is a golf instructor, working on mechanics of swing and stance but realizes being mentally sound is very valuable.

"You get a lot of guys who don't get out on the course as much as they'd like and you can see that they'd have a hard time focusing (out) on the course," said LaFalce, who has an individual session with Pry as well. "There are many people who pay big money to the golf gods for equipment, when really, our problems are between our ears."

Another golfer and instructor, Brad Brewer, has felt being hypnotized by Pry was, and can be, beneficial.

"I felt I was being robbed of my better performances," said Brewer, who worked with Arnold Palmer's golf school for 16 years before opening his own golf school. "I had added pressure once I had my own name on the side of the building. We also did some hypnotherapy that were able to get me relaxed and deep affirmations."

Brewer said he was intrigued by neuro-linguistics — where Pry uses open dialogue with clients to find out what issues are bugging them. Pry feels that, because she's been doing this since 1994, counseling doesn't really help in these sessions.

"I don't feel counseling fulfills much of anything because you talk about what's wrong, and in coaching, you find out what you can do to make it work to enjoy golf," Pry said. "When you enjoy (it), it's easier to put what you're worried about on the back burner."

LaFalce says there's skepticism with golf hypnotherapy. He says many golfers "want instant gratification. When you start to work on the (mental) portion of your game … that takes a while."

Pry agrees, adding that getting hard-headed golfers to think outside the tee box, is a tough sell.

"I do avoid saying I'm a hypnotherapist, but that's what I am," Pry said. "People will get weird about it, but I remind people like that the best golfers in the world say the game is 80 percent mental. No one can refute that the game is mental."

Submit story ideas and feedback to Community Sports Editor Mike Camunas at mcamunas@sptimes.com or call (352) 544-9480.

Loading comments...

 

Your Sports: Hypnotherapy for your golf game

To Email *
Personal Message
Your Name *
Your Email *
 

 

Click me for a different validation code

Validation Code *
  Send me a copy
   

 

 

 

* Indicates a required field

Privacy Policy (Opens in new window)