Focus…..what does it mean for golf?
Have you heard someone say, “I had a great round today, I was really focused.” Or maybe you have had that round yourself where you felt like you couldn’t do anything wrong. You had confidence standing over every shot. When you looked at the hole while you were putting it looked like a garbage can. You felt like you couldn’t miss a putt. Ever wonder why this happens only occasionally?
The textbook definition of focus is “a point at which rays of light appear to diverge, or the clarity of an image rendered by an optical system.” What this means is that focus is associated mostly with sight or the eyes. Your ability to focus will come down to the ability of your eyes to zoom in on an object, or in the case of golf, the target. The key to this is the more you see with your eyes, the less you think with your brain.
The highest level athletes have very little chatter in their brain, and their focus is very high. What happens to the common athlete is when they start becoming nervous or struggling with their swing on the golf course they increase the self talk and thinking while their energy available to focus decreases.
Focus comes easy for LPGA's Michelle Redman
Learn to play golf with your eyes. Your pre-shot routine is the key to getting your focus visually. I teach my students to stand behind their ball and pick out the target. I want them to pick out a very specific target high and in the distance. Two key ways that I have them working on increasing their focus:
1. If the target is the flag I have them focus more intently by staring at the metal rod that secures the flag (very specific).
2. I have them repeat to themselves “target”, “target”, “target” until they hit the ball. When you get absorbed into your target, you connect with the target and you provide a clear image for your body to swing.
Remember focus is all about vision and little to do with thinking. When you want to perform at the highest level, crank up the intensity of your eyes and start seeing your scores lower.
Lynn Anderson,
Totally Driven
Tags: course management, Golf focus, golf lessons, improve your game, power improvement packages, Totally Driven
