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Pro Mental Coach Review - Forum Testing

I just finished reading the 7 pages in here so far and it's some very interesting stuff. I've read quite a bit about the mental side of this game, but it's still a struggle for me to stay focused out there. Thanks for the early insight guys.
 
Hawk said:
I just finished reading the 7 pages in here so far and it's some very interesting stuff. I've read quite a bit about the mental side of this game, but it's still a struggle for me to stay focused out there. Thanks for the early insight guys.
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anytime! it's going to be a fun experiment...if anyone has ?'s, post em, i'm sure once chunky/texas get hooked up and working this will heat up a bit more.
 
gioguy21 said:
to be honest rock, it doesn't benefit you by looking for the answer you THINK they want you to make. afterall, the puzzles and whatnot are to help you get better at portions of your game/mental state that the assessment determines...if you lied or didn't give a truthful answer i think you wouldn't be getting the most out of the exercises...
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I get that, and certainly I would discourage it. But there are people out there who would answer 'correctly' as opposed to 'truthfully.' Is the assessment portion of the software designed at all to prevent this, or does it rely on 'truthful' answers?

~Rock
 
McRock said:
I get that, and certainly I would discourage it. But there are people out there who would answer 'correctly' as opposed to 'truthfully.' Is the assessment portion of the software designed at all to prevent this, or does it rely on 'truthful' answers?

~Rock
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I don't know how it would prevent it, i mean, all questions have you respond on a scale of 1-10 (from least like your personality to most like your personality, etc) on the assessment. It is from those answers i believe that it makes the schedule for your process. i don't think it has built-in's to determine if a person is being truthful.
 
Initially, I think this will be the greatest product ever reviewed, to date, on THP. I look forward to reading every response in the thread. I would expect that those reviewing this, and giving honest answers in the online assessments, and then following the sw's advice, will not only see improvements in their golf. But, a byproduct of this would be an improvement in their life away from golf.
 
gioguy21 said:
I don't know how it would prevent it, i mean, all questions have you respond on a scale of 1-10 (from least like your personality to most like your personality, etc) on the assessment. It is from those answers i believe that it makes the schedule for your process. i don't think it has built-in's to determine if a person is being truthful.
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There's only so much they can do...problem is, if you're using something like this you want to improve. The temptation is to just nudge your answers toward what the software is looking for. Would it flag answers that are wildly different from the last set of answers?
 
jmatt said:
There's only so much they can do...problem is, if you're using something like this you want to improve. The temptation is to just nudge your answers toward what the software is looking for. Would it flag answers that are wildly different from the last set of answers?
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jmatt. if you're trying to improve, what sense does it make for someone to nudge or make improper responses? the responsibility should not be on the software to make sure you're not lying, but rather give you a schedule if it were to BE CONSIDERED A TRUE STATEMENT. know what i'm saying?
 
coolbreeze said:
I definatly need this after my round today, I blew up all because of a few good shots that turned out really poorly and then I just literaly gave up.
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Some people believe that a post-shot routine is more important than a pre-shot routine. Just thinkin'...
 
gioguy21 said:
I don't know how it would prevent it, i mean, all questions have you respond on a scale of 1-10 (from least like your personality to most like your personality, etc) on the assessment. It is from those answers i believe that it makes the schedule for your process. i don't think it has built-in's to determine if a person is being truthful.
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Thanks for the response. So then it is probably crucial, at least for the assessment, to answer as truthfully as possible, so that one gets the correct evaluation and therefore, the correct training. To me, that seems very important to a product like this. Otherwise, you probably wouldn't get as much out of it as you could.

This product has my attention, and I've even put a reminder on the calendar to consider picking it up early March.

I just took the assessment. Seems like I'm pretty average, except it says my perception is well below my apparent ability. Now I'm incredibly intrigued. I'll be following closely.

Looking forward to hearing some results in the coming week or two.

~Rock
 
Here's my online results. Looks like I entered the wrong DOB haha. Not sure I did the test right either. Not the greatest how to explanation on the tool, but here are the results...

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90% Perception. Sheesh. I must think I am really awesome.
 
gioguy21 said:
Yes this is mentioned in the program, and that it is an example of what some players use to lock back in or refocus. the example given was that Vijay Singh says something about 'i could really go for a scoop of chocolate ice cream' or the like...kinda random but, they say everyone has to find their own, repeat it often, and use it as a mental trigger to get back in the zone.
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Thanks Gio for sharing. Do they say how long it takes for the trigger to become habit? I take it the positive affirmation is used to just forget the bad shot?
What if you rehearse the right move after a bad shot? Does that negate the trigger phrase?
 
Boom. Just joined the testing. Will be spending some time with the product and I will do a writeup and also peruse the thread. Didn't have a ton of THP time the past few days.
 
Well those of you that have been following heard that I had a bit of an issue getting my software installed. I sent Jamie an e-mail this morning and within an hour I had heard back. I got home from work today and used the suggestions in the e-mail and wouldn’t you know it? It was completely fixed and ready to use.

The program started by asking for the product key and some general information, my name, email, password, birthday, and handicap. I entered all of this, and made an account, which I will be using for the entirety of the process. A cool feature of this program is that you can input your PGA Professional’s email address into the program and it will send them updates on your progress. I myself do not have a PGA pro, but for someone who was looking to improve not only with their swing coach, but on the mental side as well, this is a great tool to help them, and the fact that their coach can follow along is even better.

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The setup, installation, and creating the user name was a breeze. It took me probably ten minutes before I began the assessment test. The assessment test was really cool in my opinion, but very difficult as well. It started by asking survey questions that asked to you to grade, on a scale of 1-7, how you believed you handled various situations. This grading scale was beneficial because it required me to go back into my head and remember my last round and how I thought I handled the round. After answering the first set of questions I was presented with my first test.

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The first test was nuts. It was a white golf ball in the middle of the screen, and the goal was to click with your mouse each and every time a letter came up in the middle of the golf ball. It seems easy, except they substitute numbers in place of letters at times and they also put various pictures on the outside of the golf ball, which tempts you to click the mouse. I absolutely bombed the first part of the test I believe. I kept getting more and more frustrated as I would click at the wrong time.

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After the first test there was more reading. I made sure to try and take pictures of some of it because I believe it is beneficial for the people following this to understand what it is the Pro Mental Coach is attempting to do. The reading in between tests helped me relax, and also helped me to grasp what I was hopefully going to be improving on.

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The second test I took was very similar to the first, but they added some variables. Now instead of just letters on a white golf ball, the ball would change to yellow, and when it changed to yellow I would click it every time a number would show up in the yellow. Essentially, White+Letter=Click and Yellow+Number=Click. They threw in plenty of distracting pictures as well, and I found that this test was much harder than the first.

Following the second test was more explanation about how the program was going to help me with my mental game, I had to re-read it a couple of times because I was still frustrated with myself for messing up the tests so badly. After reading a bit more information I was provided with my third test. The third test was the same as the first, White + Letter=Click. I really tried to focus and clear my head, thinking about some of the tips the software had given me before the test. I also practiced one time before the final test, which they allowed for, and I think it helped me. When I relaxed and didn’t get down on myself for mis-clicking when a number or picture popped up, I think I did better.

After the third test was completed I received my results. I was very disappointed when I saw them. I scored below a 50% on many things, and my overall score was a 48%. What I thought was interesting was that my perception of my mental game was only a 30%, and there was a little icon of my coach that told me to stay positive and not be too hard on myself. It is funny to think that even though I thought I did horrible on the test, I didn’t do as bad as I perceived. I was also able to compare myself to my age range and found out that I fall pretty much in line with people my age, which was nice to see.

So far in the first 30-45 minutes with the program, I am still a bit skeptical on what it can do. I will start following my Coach’s training program and update you on how it works for me. This is only the start of a long journey to hopefully improving my mental game.

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Great initial writeup, TexasHacker. Still incredibly intrigued about this product and what it might do in the long term for the testers' games.
 
I'm having computer issues right now. Working on it and still plan on doing the initial setup tonight
 
Nice write up TH, I had the same exercises...that ball one is only tougher as u go...trust me lol Freddie, sorry I didn't quote but, there is no timeframe or when the trigger is supposed to be second nature. I'm only assuming its different for every person, so it'd be tough to make a finite period of time for it to be second nature.
 
gioguy21 said:
Nice write up TH, I had the same exercises...that ball one is only tougher as u go...trust me lol Freddie, sorry I didn't quote but, there is no timeframe or when the trigger is supposed to be second nature. I'm only assuming its different for every person, so it'd be tough to make a finite period of time for it to be second nature.
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I felt as if it went at different points throughout all three tests. It was very difficult that is for sure. Requires absolute full 100% attention, and even still it is ridiculously hard. Look forward to starting my daily exercises with this thing.
 
Well got home tonight and saw the little package I’ve been waiting for. Time for me to have some fun in this testing. Ripped the package open and ran up to the computer. Installed the software and we are good to go. One aspect I really liked about the installation was that they asked for your PGA Pros email address. This way you can share your progress with your coach. I thought that was neat.

First thing you do after registering the software is you take an assessment test. Basically they want to create a baseline so that you can track any and all progress made. It was just a few basic questions about how you handled certain situations during your last round. Took only a few minutes and you were ready to start the tests. Oh the tests!

First section of the assessment test is all about Focus. Perhaps I should have eaten prior to taking this doozy of a test because I struggled mightily with it. The test consists of you staring at your computer screen. There is a series of images that flash on the screen. You should press your spacebar if you see a letter inside a white golf ball. Don’t press the spacebar for anything else. I was hacking away at that darn spacebar for anything and everything. Focus was not a strength lol.

The 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] part is an assessment of your motivation and stress management style. This section consists of 9 questions about my most recent round. The questions had to do with how I played and how I felt during certain moments. The next 6 questions were related to how I handled stress during my last round.

The 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] part was Cognitive Skills. This in essence covered what we all call the zone. What we should not think about and what we should think about during the shot. It was interesting reading and I enjoyed that I was not just sitting here jamming on my spacebar. Now comes the Cognitive Test. This is again pressing the spacebar if a letter in a white ball is seen. They also throw in pressing the spacebar if a number is inside a yellow ball. I may have broken my keyboard while smashing that spacebar for anything and everything that I saw flash up. I was awful.

The 4[SUP]th[/SUP] section was called The Neuropsychology of the Mental Game. In a nutshell they are telling you in this section that you can exercise the brain and how you can do it. The final test is given now and it is again letter in a white ball equals jam the spacebar. I did a little bit better on this one

The final section is what to expect out of the software. The assessment took me about 40 minutes or so. I think I did pretty poorly as it judged not only if you hit the spacebar for the right combination, but also how fast you hit the spacebar after the image flashed. That was where I truly struggled. I was slow. The results of my test is a score of 52% and my perception is 37%. The results say that I underestimate myself. The test score is broken down into 7 groups

Brain Speed-56
Focus-52
Inhibition-50
Flexibility-52
Mental Endurance-52
Stress Management-69
Motivation-37
My assessment was right at 50% for my age group with the only result that was way off base was being very low with motivation.

And that ended my initial assessment test. I enjoyed it. As I said, it took about 40 minutes but it didn’t feel all that long. My results were average although I really felt like I did poorly. I have been trying to start the exercises that come with the program but so far everything just hangs when I try to start the exercises. Going to fire off an email and see if tech support can help me out.
 
Great post Chunk, that provided a ton of insight to the startup of the program. Can't wait to hear more.
 
Thanks TH and Chunky, very interesting. I am eager to see how this plays out.
 
Nice start TH and Chunky. Looking forward to how each of you guys take up on this, and how the results differ between you all.
 
glad to see that Chunky and TH are on a different schedule than i am, the thread should be updated regularly if that's the case...my third session is tonight, i sincerely hope the leaderboard game isn't on the list of 'to-do's'...it was pretty tough last time. Leaderboard is a game in which scores are called out for players a, b, c, d, etc and you have to remember the scores, the order and either fill them in as they were said, or in reverse order. its not bad with just 3 players...but last time it was getting into 5-6 players. the toughest part is that the guy calling them out changes his inflection on his scores and also there is a golf cart that drives across the screeen infront of the scoreboard after all the scores are said, trying to distract you.
 
Thanks for the thorough posts, TH and Chunky. Having played with both of you definitely helps give me some insight into how this could work out for you. I tried to do the online test, but it won't load here. Will have to try later.

One big question I have, that can't really be answered yet, is whether you'll feel it's worth the price at the end. It's not cheap, but that doesn't mean it can't be a good bang for the buck.
 
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