If you are a golfer and love the game as much as I do, just being on the course will bring a smile to your face. For me, whether I play golf well or not, I enjoy my golf. In fact, just getting ready to leave the house, and drive up to the golf club is enough to make me feel a total sense of release. I feel like an eagle soaring high in the sky where nothing can touch it; golf to me is associated with freedom and yet also a sense of "groundedness" at the same time.

Golf is my relaxation, my release, my reward, a time when I completely shut out the rest of my life (without trying to do so) and each moment brings an alternating sense of peacefulness, excitement, adrenalin, enjoyment, mental focus, satisfaction and fun. The feelings which I experience when playing golf are powerful and positive. It is also a game where you meet kindred spirits and there is so much added pleasure in sharing your passion for this truly magnificent game called golf.

There are days when you go out onto the course, stand on that first tee and choose your target and then watch as your ball travels there like a magnetized beam of dazzling light. Oh wow! What a feeling that is! And then there are other days when you stand on the tee, pick your target and the golf ball shoots off into the trees, defying the laws of physics; and then the feeling is different. You have the challenge of an interesting lie in the rough, or behind a tree, and a demanding shot to look forward to.

That round white ball sits there demanding that you focus clearly and use your imagination to create a unique golf shot; that's an amazing feeling too. Golf keeps your attention; it has the ability to play you like a puppet on a string, if you allow it to do so. You can either rise up to the challenge or give in to it. Some people hate the game; they say that "golf is a good walk spoiled", in which case they should not play it.

In reality, we all especially love the days when everything in your game comes together; the tee shots fly down the centre of the fairway, every putt stays on course, the sun shines but it's not too hot, your playing partners are great fun, and so on. But that really shouldn't mean that you cannot enjoy those other days when it doesn't feel so easy. The key lies in focusing upon the aspects of your golf which you do enjoy no matter what the end result might eventually be.

And so, what are ten things which are guaranteed to make a golfer smile?

1. A beautiful golf course which is kept in peak condition.

2.      A great day weather wise - not too hot and certainly not cold and wet, with perhaps a gentle breeze.
   

3. The sight of your first tee shot flying down the middle of the fairway and staying true to your target.

4. The sound of a long putt "clunking" into the middle of the cup.

5. Making a decent chip in (or even better, a hole in one)

6. Making a great recovery shot.

7. Sitting in the 19th with a drink, talking avidly about the previous 18 holes.

8. Going to watch the Masters, the Ryder Cup or the Open.

9. Gaining a greater level of mastery in your game.

10. The feeling of being in the zone.

It is actually very difficult to pick just ten things which make a golfer smile, for me at least. There's not much about golf which doesn't make me smile!

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in hypnotherapy downloads for success and happiness, including the GolferWithin golf mind training system.

P.S. You can play golf well, hit your drives straight down the middle of the fairway and become a great putter with the help of golf hypnosis. Grab yourself a free hypnosis mp3 from my website.