Do you wanna be in the movies.

Jack Nicklaus has won more important golf tournaments than any golfer. His career straddles the semi-amateur age and the era of the millionaire golfer. During the 1960's the Golden Bear played John Lennon to Arnies "Macca" as between them they saw the world of golf, particularly in the USA transform into the multi-media, sponsor friendly juggernaut it is today. 

Jack's style was different to the flamboyant Arnie. As a golfer, Jack was a prize fighter, slugging the ball further than anyone. Strongly built especially in the upper body, Jack hit the ball hard and long. Around the greens, he developed his own style, a sort of awkward flamingo like stance with elbows splayed and feet aligned way left of the target. 

But despite a personal and unorthodox approach to the swing and his putting, Jack was one of the first professional golfers to truly embrace the idea of the mental game. He understood that spending time on the range was important but also that, as they say, the most important three inches in golf is the space between the ears.

In the mid 1960's  Timothy Gallwey was still to publish The Inner Game of Tennis, a seminal work on sports psychology that would be republished a few years hence with the world Golf in the revised title. Promising British 400m hurdler David Hemery was experimenting with sports psychology at Loughborough College, Britains leading sports college. Hemery would go on to win gold in Mexico and credit "visualisation" as one of the keys to his success. 

So it was early days for golfers to think about such new fangled ideas. Ben Hogan's view that "the answer lies in the dirt" his justification for hitting hundreds of balls to find the perfect swing was seen as the only route to success. In keeping with the times, the only way to be successful was hard work, repetition and dedication. 

Nicklaus however was different. By the time he wrote his life story, he was describing his method as much, much more than the endless pursuit of the perfect swing. Well kind of. For Nicklaus, his perspective was an interesting mix of spirit, competitiveness and the hard work ethic. 

The great man has gone on record as saying that he believes that one of his secrets was his commitment to trying his hardest on every shot. No matter whether it's a putt to win the Masters or a chip shot at the practice green, jack's approach is to say "I'll only get one go at this shot in my life. May as we'll make the best possible effort. I can." 

From the side of the green he was trying to hole out, every putt was aimed at the cup and every fairway was like an archery target. And more than just being determined to do his best,  Jack had a secret. 

He had discovered "visualisation". 

In interviews he describes how before he plays a shot he imagines himself in action, sees how high the ball goes, where it bounces, how the wind might affect it. He once said "it's like I'm watching my own home movie" 

And once he'd watched the movie, he'd get on and hit the shot. 

Experts in the area of visualisation believe that it's not a skill that everyone has, well not the seeing your home movies skill anyway. Some people see movies, some need to talk it through, some just zone in on target. 

It all adds to the same thing. The one thing that every one of the mental side of golf books agrees on (and I have read most of them!) is that before playing a shot you must have a really clear image of precisely what you are trying to do. 

Once you've got it, all you have to do is step up and trust your swing. Imagine.