"Gary, I was discussing your idea with a business executive at a Holiday party this evening. He thought that one might not gain much help from a golf pro. You would be threatening his livelihood. My acquaintance did suggest helping the golf pro lower his own score. I am not any expert at self promotion. I appreciate your ideas. Please flush out how you envision gaining clientele at the golf course once you make the initial impression. Regards, Jeff"

Sharon O'Hara's first attempt
at using EFT with a golfer

It was a big success!! I snuck away from the hospital for an hour with my therapist friend, and she got a bucket of golf balls on the driving range about a mile from work. She picked out 4 of her favorite clubs and set up a base line by hitting 4 balls with each club, "messing up" about 2/3 of the time. She defines messing up as not hitting it straight or very far. Then I did EFT, and she immediately started hitting the ball farther and straighter. I did more rounds of EFT before each new club, and her drives continued to improve. She "messed up" about 1/4 of the time. She was amazed. So was I.

We had fun. She agreed to write my first testimonial. Of course, the true test will be on the golf course. She's never broken 100, which is her goal--her average is 110. But she's going to practice on her own a while, because I'm going to be real busy for the next month.

Sharon O'Hara

Hi, Kate.

Ok, what I did was very simple, since, of course, I'm making it up as I go along. My friend picked out 4 clubs (her choice as to number and kind of club), that were supposed to send the ball different distances. She then hit 4 balls with each club to establish a base line. We called each stroke "good" or "off" just for simplicity. (Next time I would probably write these down. Or have three categories: really good, average, off). I asked her what she wanted to improve, and she said, "hitting it straight and far. I asked what she wanted to concentrate on first (keeping in mind Gary's dictum about aspects and focusing on one thing at a time).

Then I modeled tapping using the sore spot first: "Even though I have this tension about hitting the distance, I deeply and profoundly accept myself." 3 times. Then tapped from eyebrow to under arm in basic EFT fashion 2 times. I didn't do the 9 gamut or finger points. Then she hit 4 balls with each club. With each new club I repeated the simplified EFT sequence. Sometimes I threw in a few of the new points I learned at the seminar: top of head, inside of arm above the wrist, inside of leg above the ankle. Once I arm-tested her on "I want to lower my golf score" versus "I want to stay the same." She tested strong on "I want to lower my golf score" so PR was pretty good, but I did it almost every round anyway. She noticed right away that she was more relaxed, and a couple of times when she "messed up" she said, "I felt myself tense up right before I hit that shot." No apex problem as she really did get better fast. Said that it was her best day on the range. And we weren't really keeping track that well. Hope this helps. Use your intuition. And ask your client what might be keeping him/her back, if they had to give a reason emotionally. (My client said "being tense, wanting to be perfect.")

Good luck, Sharon O'Hara

Hi, Gary

Here is my experience with golf. It's also an experience about my own self-confidence. I'm doing things since meeting EFT I never imagined I would!

I had some time a few days ago between appointments and decided to just drop in at a nearby golf course to see what it's like (I'm not a golfer or an athlete of any kind). The people working there were quite friendly, and one person volunteered that "the pro is a lousy putter." I asked if he'd introduce me and if I could quote him. Yes and yes. I told the pro I could help his putting, mentioned something about accupressure meridians, and asked if he was game to try it. We went to his office for a few minutes of introduction. I wanted to explain "roots" and "beliefs" as used in Larry Nims' procedure.

So we were out on the green in short order. (I could hardly believe we were walking out there, this young golf pro and grandmother-type nongolfer, to tap 'n putt.) We established sort of a baseline. I didn't get very specific and write down numbers. Basically, he hit a lot of balls into the cup in 3 and occasionally 4 strokes from 13-16 feet. He verified that he was putting this day about like he usually does. Then we tapped, and as he addressed the ball but before he hit it, he said, "I'm very calm." I checked with him occasionally, and he reported he was consistently calmer than usual throughout this entire experiment, as I called it.

We treated eight or nine separate times, especially paying attention to overshoots, because he identified being quite sure it would take two to get it in the cup when recovering from an overshoot. By the time we quit, he was getting putts in from 13-16 feet in two, sometimes one try, and the second of the two-hit ones he called "gimmies," which I learned is when it's so close you just use one hand on the club to tap (!) it in. So he said he was very pleased.

There was an especially interesting phenomenon. At one point from 13-16 feet, three balls in a row (the number of balls he consistently did as sort of his set before he'd pick them up and go again) rolled over the edge of the cup in exactly the same spot. We were amazed, tapped, and then two went over the same spot again (on the right rim) and one went over the corresponding spot on the left rim. We tapped and then two out of three went straight in from 13-16 feet: one hit, shot, putt -- whatever you call it.

He's playing a tournament this weekend. I'll let you know how it turns out. He said he's going to work with me again. I suspect he was very excited about what happened but wasn't showing it much that I picked up on, so I'm not sure how to read it.

One thing I know: It was such *fun* for me. I can't believe I did such a thing! Now I've even outlined a presentation of EFT and BSFF for the staff at a local nonprofit agency (they are the agency of last resort for lots of folks), and I'm planning to go to AA meetings and get some volunteers for an informal study and going to Portland to show these techniques to a man who runs an agency there that uses accupressure to treat crack addicts.

To those who saw (and will see) Gary treat me for an incident of childhood sexual abuse: This fun, this delight I'm having comes from a new freedom in that I'm *playing* and I'm not plagued by caring about what people think of me. I think that resolving the pain and fear I've carried about that incident set the stage for integrating that young child, which happened in a session with Marilyn Gordon later in the evening. Marilyn knew just how to support my accomplishing the reclaiming of that part kinesthetically, emotionally, spiritually. She guided me in unfolding my own process that was profoundly satisfying at the time and is surely a continuing major contribution to the peace, enjoyment, and focused energy I'm experiencing.

Thanks to all! Leslye Caulley

Jack Rowe provides a golf summary

I will try to summarize selected posts to date re: golf and EFT.

The golf issue on EFTInfo started 12/12/97 with a post from Gary titled, "Building a Thriving Practice--Part III: Golf Anyone?" Gary suggested, "Seek out the golf pro at a local country club. Tell him you have discovered a way to knock several strokes off someone's golf score (EFT will do this). Tell him the process deals with the mental side of the game. Tell him it serves to relax the golfer whenever self doubt or tension appears. Every golf pro on the planet recognizes this problem and knows its solution is crucial to success. Tell him you want to run a study and you will do it for free for 10 golfers. You do it for free to get your foot in the door without resistance. You want 10 golfers because you don't want to pin your star on what happens with just one golfer. With 10 golfers you are almost certain to have some impressive successes. With the help of the golf pro you will get volunteers, I assure you, and it doesn't matter what age or sex you are. Golfers are in constant pursuit of lower scores and some of them will give you their Ferrari if you can knock 5 strokes off their game.

"Just before each shot have the golfers tap the EFT Shortcut Sequence (EB through UA). This takes 7 seconds to do and doesn't hold up or impede the play of other golfers on the course. This will usually serve to remove subtle tension in the body. Some golfers may find it more effective to do the tapping only when they feel self doubt about their next shot. Forget about the Psychological Reversal correction, the Reminder Phrase and the 9 Gamut procedure for now. They take too much time and are too "strange" at this stage. Use them later to further improve results. Your only goal at this stage is to relax any tension that may be in the body and that may interfere with an otherwise smooth shot. Thumping on these points (without saying a thing) each time will likely do this. Just tell them it is an "emotional relaxation technique."

"5 to 8 out of 10 golfers should get noticeable, if not dramatic, improvements."

On 3/15/98, Marie Green reported on helping a golfer. She did Dx and treated him for PR, collarbone breathing, and used a 3 point tx she diagnosed. The next time he played, he shot under par for the first time in his life. Apparently Marie treated him once and he did not repeat the tx on the course??

3/16, Leslye Caulley reported on her experience with helping a golf pro with his putting game. She mentioned that he treated himself 8 or 9 times, apparently for mistakes made while putting. 3/16, Linda Hamm reported on treating herself for negative self-talk, correcting PR, then tapping. She reported doing very well on the driving range.

3/17, Sharon O'Hara explained in detail how she treated a golfer on a driving range. She (the golfer) wanted to hit it straight and far. A baseline was established with 16 shots using 4 clubs. They focused on distance first, "Even though I have this tension about hitting the distance, I deeply and profoundly accept myself. 3 times. Then tapped from eyebrow to under arm in basic EFT fashion 2 times. I didn't do the 9 gamut or finger points. Then she hit 4 balls with each club. With each new club I repeated the simplified EFT sequence. (She also muscle-tested for PR (not a problem).. .) Said that it was her best day on the range." Sharon suggested asking your client what might be keeping him/her back.

3/23, Gloria Arenson reported on working with a golfer on a driving range. She also had him hit 16 shots with 4 clubs to establish baseline. She had him rate each shot on a 0 - 10 scale. After teaching him EFT, he hit 16 more shots. Gloria didn't elaborate on how EFT was used, but reported dramatic improvement.

I tried to test these various ideas and reported the results in my 4/4 post. I had 6 golfers and 2 got noticeable improvements. My volunteers were on a driving range. I had them do the setup on the first three tapping points. They shot 12 - 15 shots (their choice) with a 6 iron to establish baseline. Following Gloria's lead, I had them rate each shot on a 0 - 10 scale. Per Gary's suggestion, I had them tap before each shot. I suggested a setup phrase on "tension" but they were encouraged to tap on whatever was getting in their way. See my 4/4 post for details.

4/5, Anthony T Smith gave some ideas on treating golfers. "I think some of the areas I can help her with EFT are:

- to learn how to control her anxiety before a game of golf;
- to learn how to remain focussed when she needs to;
- to learn how to regain her positivity when she looses it during a game and her thoughts turn to "I can't win this";
- to learn how to stay focussed when some of the older players/more experienced players attempt to "psych her out of" her game;
- to learn how to regain her cool when she gets angry about a poor shot;
- to know how to relax between shots but be able to fire up her focus as she approaches her next shot."

4/5, backchannel, Robert Yourell suggested considering the work I did to be the treatment, rather than the time to measure the results of EFT. He suggested checking their scores in a week, or longer.

4/5, Gloria Arenson suggested checking out if there are any other troublesome thoughts or feelings they are carrying onto the golf course...things from their personal life that can intrude or create stress in addition to the stress of doing well on the course.

Current conclusions:

Gary suggests "selling" EFT as a relaxation technique. The golfers I talked to believed that golf is a "mental" game. You don't have to sell them on that concept. It seems highly likely that EFT will be more effective if used individually with golfers rather than in a group. The treatment may have to be tailored for each golfer focusing on what is holding them back from hitting a perfect shot or what they would like to accomplish. The EB thru UA shortcut is probably sufficient for most. I would add a setup phrase, either combined with the tapping or rubbing the sore spot to correct PR. Tapping before each shot is reported to be disruptive if the golfer feels "in their rhythm."

Jack Eason Rowe, PhD

A subsequent golf study by Jack Rowe

I have been working with golfers and bowlers the last couple of months. I'm still gathering data, but I thought I'd share what I've seen so far. For golfers, I will meet a group on the driving range or putting green. They warm up and hit 15 shots, rating each shot on a 0 - 10 scale with 10 being perfect. These ratings are recorded. I then teach them the EFT combined/shortcut sequence, ie., eyebrow through under arm while saying, "Even though I ______, I deeply and completely accept myself." The _____ is whatever the golfer thinks will prevent him/her from hitting a perfect shot. The golfers then hit 15 more shots and we record the ratings as before. The "before" and "after" results are then compared. With 32 golfers the combined results are:

Shot Rating Before After Change % Change Rated 9 or 10 133 211 78 59% Rated 8 or less 338 263 -75 -22% Total shots 471 474

This chart shows the combined results of all 32 golfers. Before tapping, the 32 golfers rated 133 of their 471 shots as a 9 or 10. After tapping, they rated 211 of their 474 shots as a 9 or 10. That's an increase of 78 really good shots after tapping, an increase of 59%. Before tapping, the 32 golfers rated 338 of their 471 shots as 8 or less. After tapping, they rated 263 of their 474 shots as 8 or less. That is a decrease of poorer shots after tapping of 75 or a 22% decrease in poorer shots.

Note: The numbers don't exactly equal 15 shots per golfer before and after. The first time I did this, 3 of the golfers insisted that they only needed 12 shots to see if there was an effect. I have "recorders" record the ratings so the golfers don't have to stop after each shot and write down their rating. A couple of recorders got lost and didn't count the shots correctly. There were a couple of times that the golfers hit more than 15 shots. I now have recording sheets that help prevent that error.

I gave up on statistics in my 3rd year of grad school, but these results look highly significant to me. Any comments from you researchers/statisticians?

With bowlers, I simply teach them the EFT sequence and they bowl to see how it "feels." The bowlers are unanimous that being relaxed helps their game. For both golfers and bowlers, I have asked them to send me their score cards for the next five games. I will then compare their scores with their averages to see if they improved in actual game situations. I don't have that data yet.

Some observations: Golfers with handicaps less than 11 (that is, good golfers) tend to see (and feel) immediate improvement in their shots. Golfers with handicaps greater than 10 may not see immediate improvement. The explanation of this from the pros is that the low handicap golfers have all the basics down and are limited by their mental game. EFT improves the mental game. Golfers with higher handicaps have some flaws in their form and are limited more by their technique rather than their mental game. They may or may not see an improvement. I have seen a similar phenomenon in bowling. This observation is preliminary and may not hold up with larger numbers of participants.

Some of the more honest golfers have told me that they will not tell others about their "secret weapon." They want to reap the benefits of their improvement before others find out about EFT! (Side bets are common in golf. Money is at stake.) From a marketing perspective, this is not what I hoped would happen!

I have run into some resistance to EFT here in Virginia. The reaction seems to be religious based and a colleague raised in South Georgia believes it has to do with the acceptance phrase and/or anything with ties to China (non-Christian, acupuncture, chi, etc.). Unfortunately, if the resistance comes from the leader of the group, other group members may be affected. That has happened twice. More dramatic (and measureable) results are seen on the putting green than the driving range. For example, today I had 8 good golfers on a putting green. A golfer with a 0 handicap hit 7 of 15 puts from 9 feet before tapping. After tapping, he hit 13 out of 15. One 75 year old golfer hit 4 of 15 before and 10 of 15 after tapping. For the driving range, the ball travels a long way and the shot rating is rather subjective and not as convincing.

Suggestion: If you want to do this with golfers, teach them on the putting green.

Question: Any ideas on how to market this more effectively? Word-of-mouth has not produced anything so far.

Keep tapping.

Jack Eason Rowe, PhD