[00:06.29]Major James Nesmeth had a dream of improving his golf game — and he developed a unique method of achieving his goal.
[00:14.35]Until he devised this method, he was just your average weekend golfer, shooting in mid- to low-nineties.
[00:21.86]Then, for seven years, he had not touched a club, for he had been in a Vietnamese prison, as a prisoner of war.
[00:28.94]Ironically, it was during the seven-year break from the game that Major Nesmeth came up with his amazingly effective technique for improving his game
[00:38.31]— a technique we can all learn from.
[00:40.82]In fact, the first time he played golf after his hiatus from the game, he shot an astonishing 74!
[00:48.10]He had cut 20 strokes off his average without having swung a golf club in seven years!
[00:54.75]Unbelievable. Not only that, but his physical condition had actually deteriorated during those seven years of imprisonment.
[01:04.22]What was Major Nesmeth’s secret? Visualization.
[01:07.82]During the entire time he was imprisoned, he experienced no physical activity.
[01:13.04]During the first few months he did nothing but pray for his release.
[01:17.61]Then he realized he had to find some way to occupy his mind or he would lose his sanity.
[01:23.93]That’s when he learned to visualize.
[01:26.76]In his mind, he selected his favorite golf course and started playing golf.
[01:32.64]Every day, he played a full 18 holes at the imaginary country club, as if he saw himself dressed in his golfing clothes.
[01:41.68]He smelled the fragrance of the trees and the freshly trimmed grass.
[01:46.47]He experienced different weather conditions — windy spring days, overcast winter days, and sunny summer mornings.
[01:55.08]In his imagination, every detail of the tee, the individual blades of grass,
[02:01.07]the trees, the singing birds, the scampering squirrels and the lay of the course became totally real.
[02:07.93]He felt the grip of the club in his hands.
[02:10.98]He instructed himself as he practiced smoothing out his down-swing and the follow-through on his shot.
[02:17.07]Then he watched the ball arc down the exact center of the fairway,
[02:21.99]bounce a couple of times and roll to the exact spot he had selected, all in his mind.
[02:27.89]It took him just as long in imaginary time to play 18 holes as it would have taken in reality.
[02:34.46]Not a detail was omitted.
[02:36.75]Seven days a week. Four hours a day. Eighteen holes. Seven years.
[02:42.77]Twenty strokes off. Shot a 74.
