A recent study in Canada has found that talking to yourself can help improve performance. Psychologists from Toronto University gave volunteers self-control tasks in which they were asked to talk to themselves or keep their mind blank. They concluded that using your "inner voice" plays an important role in controlling impulsive behaviour, according to scientists.

Can it work on the golf course? Could keeping an inner dialogue going with yourself help to improve control of your club? I guess it depends on what you're saying to yourself. Other studies into golf performance found using technical terms to analyse what just happened on your previous shot could be detrimental to your game. I firmly believe that keeping it simple and focusing on non-golf terms has a very good impact on performance.

For example, just talking to yourself and saying something like 'keep breathing' or 'am I lifting my shoulders' help to keep you in the moment and take undue stress out of your body. This helps to free up your muscles for a better swing and can prevent injury. Unfortunately I coach many golfers who are having the wrong sort of dialogue with themselves and being totally oblivious to its affect. Your muscles can only do what you tell them to do - the trick is to know exactly what you're telling them to do!

What do I mean by this? Try the simple golf fitness test here and see if you're not surprised by the result :0)