I take a strong position on child abuse. My thoughts are fixed on the way we should treat our military heroes. I have now, and will always believe, that illegal drugs are bad for you. My thoughts, and hence my actions, have not varied since I was a small child. I have, however, flip-flopped on my opinion of cheesecake. "Cheesecake?? Really, Anne Marie, where are you going with this one??"

The number one request I get from my students is, "I?d like to be more consistent." I tell them, "Consistent actions come from consistent thoughts."

When I was a child, I thought cheesecake was good. When I was a professional athlete, enduring 3 hour a day workouts, cheesecake was BAD! Now that I no longer have the need for "optimum performance," I am back to believing that a little bit of cheesecake is good for the soul. My thoughts have wavered through the years; therefore, my actions were unpredictable.

Some people approach their golf game like that, too. Today, they will try the swing tip they saw in a magazine. Tomorrow, they will listen to their buddy, who decided that he had found "the answer" by watching The Golf Channel. It is no wonder that the typical golfer struggles to be consistent. They never keep the same swing thought more than 30 days.

Do you really want to be more consistent? Talk with your local golf professional. Together, you should decide on one or two swing motions that you would like to achieve. Work on them in slow motion, every day, in front of a mirror to make SURE you are doing them correctly. Every time you make that motion, say what you want your body to do. Example: "Good turn, hinge up." If you say it the same way, while making the correct movements, your body will memorize the motion.

Resist the urge to add new things. Truly commit to ONE school of thought for 30 days. Work on it every day, for 10 minutes a day. If your thoughts are consistent, your actions will follow. On the golf course, prompt yourself, using the same words as when you were practicing.

You can have different swing thoughts for different kinds of shots. For example, on putting, my swing thought is "lock and rock." I lock my wrists and rock my shoulders. On pitch shots, I think, "Turn through, head down." For my full swing, it?s "good turn, good tempo." I use the same words, and make the same motions, 100 times a day or more when practicing.

I?d like to challenge you to spend the next 30 days working on ONE swing thought consistently. Monitor it by videoing your swing, looking in the mirror, or seeing your local golf professional. Once you groove that swing change, spend 30 more days working on something else. In less than 3 months, you can revolutionize your game

Your other option is to keep switching thoughts, practice randomly and hope the consistency comes your way despite your random behaviors. But as Dr. Phil says, "How?s that working for you?"

If you want consistency, control your thoughts, be specific in your actions, monitor your behavior and get feedback from a trained professional who can help you. YOU have the power to recreate your game and play at a whole new level of excellence.

-Anne Marie Goslak