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On-Course Concentration Practice

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What kinds of things can you do on the course to help maintain your concentration?

Never add your score until the end of the round. Nothing will take you out of the present faster than becoming score conscious. You have already read what tour players say about a score focus or looking at the leader board. Make a conscious effort to play one shot at a time.

Use your score card to rank each shot on a one to ten scale, a "ten" being the best shot you can hit. Set a goal of hitting a "ten" on every shot. The MIND UNDER PAR series^TM SCORECARD provides detailed strategies for using a scorecard to develop focused, one-shot-at-a-time concentration, confidence, a "memory bank" of good and great shots, and an analysis of strengths and weaknesses in your game.

Follow the same routine on every shot. A consistent preswing, inswing and postswing routine "cues" the same internal and external behaviors on each shot and ensures that you focus only on the shot you are playing. Practice going from a broad focus as you do yardages, wind, and so on, as you narrow your focus from behind the ball into your setup to your target.

Stay target focused. Pick a target for every shot you are going to play and keep that target integrated through your entire routine. Maintain that target focus during your swing. LPGA Tour player and US Open champion Meg Mallon says: "When I'm playing my best I know I'm focusing right down to the leaf on the tree I'm aiming at." (Golf Tips #3)

Never analyze mechanics during a round. Swing mechanics analyses belongs on the lesson tee. If you don't have "it" during the round, remember what Sam Snead said: "Dance with the one you brought." Return to the lesson tee and ask for drills to work on the changes you need to make after the round.

Practice deep diaphragmatic breathing before, during, and after your round. Deep breathing will keep your nervous system arousal to a minimum and enhance your ability to purposely focus your thoughts on the shot you are playing.

Practice quiet movement and mindfulness. Quieting your movement before and during practice and play will help you develop a desired rhythm and tempo that will build a foundation for peak performance. Mindfulness during this quieted movement places you in the present and minimizes distraction. Practice being nonemotional and dispassionate with regard to your performance. Accept the outcome of a shot or situations, and remind yourself to return your thoughts to the present.

Practice supportive, reinforcing internal dialogue. Supportive dialogue both on and off the course will teach you to be patient and to manage emotional and physical decay that produces mental distraction and physical arousal.

See and feel the swing you want to make, then repeat that feeling or hold that picture through your swing. Focus your thinking on a feeling or a picture of the swing you want to make as you take your practice swings. Focus your thinking on repeating that picture or feeling as you swing.

I once heard it stated that you can't think of two things at the same time. I disagree. You can feel the swing you want to make and still hold an image of the target. It takes practice, but you can do it. You are accessing two separate sensory systems, feeling and vision, simultaneously. Imagery takes place in the same part of the brain as vision.

Remember, none of these things turn on and off like a light switch. The more you practice them off the course, the more accessible and successful you will be during play. Develop a plan for on and off the course use of these concentration strategies.

Practice focused concentration on the range and putting green. Follow your full routine with each practice shot or putt you hit. Practice going from a broad focus to a narrow focus within each shot.
Change clubs with every shot you hit on the range.

Select a club you are going to hit and consider the shot you want to hit (beginning of a broad focus). Stand behind the ball and describe each shot (focus begins to narrow). For example, describe where you are going to start the ball ("...over that divot..."), the line of the shot ("...at the shingle on the top right side of that chimney..."), and where the ball will land ("...on that brown spot about six feet from the flag...").

Direct all of your attention to a small target, for example, the brown spot on the green or the shingle on the top right side of the chimney (narrow focus). As you approach the shot, stay focused on that narrow target through setup and swing. Stare at the target and glance at the ball. As you make your practice swing, feel the swing you want to make and retain that feeling through the shot. As you make your swing you should have a feeling of the swing you want to make (background) and an image of the target in your mind's eye (foreground). Both are a narrow focus. Practice working the ball left to right then right to left to a specific target. Describe to yourself a specific line the ball will take. Hit only one shot with a club, then change clubs.

Remember, the average player sees the fairway and decides to hit the shot "somewhere out there." His practice swing is a meaningless ritual that is usually occupied with mechanical thoughts. The focus may be narrow on mechanical thoughts but not on a feeling of the swing or consideration of a specific target or line of ball flight.

If you are going to learn broad and narrow focus, practice first off the course, then on the range, and then take it to the golf course. As I already noted you will enhance both your performance and enjoyment on and off the golf course.

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