Golf requires practice, flexibility, strength, and the right golf clubs and balls for your game, but golf also requires an understanding of the golf mental game. To be a successful golfer you need to acquire golf focus and be mentally prepared. As Arnold Palmer once said; “The toughest 6 inches in the game of golf is between a player’s ears.”
The Importance of Golf Focus
Out of all the mental golf techniques, the one that is the hardest to control is golf focus. To be able to stay focused you have to control your golf anxiety; after all you can not expect to perform well on the golf course if you are worried about your game or your swing technique.
I can guarantee that if you learn to focus on every golf shot, you will be in a better position to lower your score and play more consistent golf. So before you think that you need to spend more money on new golf clubs, find a new golf coach, buy more golf swing aids, learn first the inner game of golf technique of golf focus.
Focused golf means that for every shot, you must focus on the result you want. The result of each shot is dependent on your level of concentration. If your game is off, it is possibly because you rushed right in and played your shot without concentrating and focusing.
If you are a decent golfer but you start hitting some wild shots in the middle of your round, it is not your clubs or your set up position that is directly responsible. It is the fact that you lost your golf concentration and you did not focus on the individual shot that caused you to miss-hit the ball.
Even on the driving range you have to be focused or you will be wasting your time. It’s more productive to make a dozen focused swings than hundreds of swift, sloppy ones. Also, your swing will naturally break down when you are tired, so make sure you take a rest when you’re practicing on the range.
Robin Sieger. Mental Conditioning Coach for Golfers, and author of Silent Mind Golf, gives a lessons on the mental game. This lesson is on the importance of target identification.
How to Practice the Art of Golf Focus
The ability to focus is often called the art of focusing and so it needs practice. One method to help you with your golf focus drills is to light a candle and stare into the flame. You should only be thinking of the flame; each time your mind begins to wander to anything else, bring it back to focusing on the flame.
Don’t worry if the first time you do this, you only manage to concentrate on the flame for a couple of minutes. With practice you will be able to work up to 15 minute intervals and your capacity to focus on anything will improve significantly. You will now be able to take the art of focus onto the golf course.
One way to practice is while you are at home pick up an object and really study it. Notice how it feels. What is its weight? Is it rough or smooth? Move your hand while holding the object. How does it feel? In this way you are bringing your focus into the present and putting all of your attention on the one object. Set the object down and think of a past experience or a recent TV show. Think about it and how you felt in that situation. Now, bring your thinking and feeling back to the present. Focus all of your attention on the current situation. Repeat this little exercise until you can move freely back and fourth. After you have done this for fifteen or twenty times. Move on to another object and practice again.
After several sessions begin to experiment at the practice range. Pick an exact target, decide how you will hit the target, complete your pre-shot routine and hit the ball. Now, think of a TV show or past non-golf event. Spend one whole minute thinking of the event. Now, bring your mind back to the next shot. Plane the shot, complete your pre-shot routine and hit. Do this exercise thirty to fifty times. Go slow and notice how you can gradually make yourself snap back with greater ease.
Source: www.golflink.com
Below are a few mental game of golf techniques to help you stay focused:
- Don’t attempt to concentrate for the entire round or you’ll get quickly fatigued
- When you’re playing golf you should only think about your next shot
- If you have to wait for the group in front of you, allow your mind to rest and wander for a few moments
- Do not think too many holes in front, just focus on the hole you are playing and your next shot
- Conserve your mental strength for your shot decisions and concentrate on what type of shot you’re going to play next
Learning The Mental Game of Golf
Because the mental golf game is so important to playing consistent golf, here are three of the best golf mindset products.
Whole Mind Golf
The first product is a book by Wade Pearse called Whole Mind Golf. Wade has experience as a peak performance coach and he is a keen golfer as well. This Golf Mental Game Coaching program consists of a 300+ page guide book plus audio coaching sessions, video coaching sessions, and other bonuses.
Amazing Golf Mind
The second product is called the Amazing Golf Mind which uses the newest technology in subliminal affirmations combined with brain wave states and relaxation techniques.
These combinations are the most powerful mental techniques that most of the top Tour professionals use. The scientifically developed subliminal affirmations, brain waves, and relaxing techniques can help you increase the confidence for hitting long and straight shots, reduce you score, and help you use your full potential on the golf course you have always wanted.
Renegade Mental Golf
The third product is Renegade Mental Golf. It is a Coaching System that will attack your mental roadblocks and get you into peak performance form. The product consists of four MP3s, as well as the comprehensive manual explaining the whole system. Renegade Mental Golf is brought to you by Stephen Ladd and Bill Gladwell who are also known as the Renegade Mental Coaches.
Summary of Golf Focus
You will now have seen how important golf focus is to play golf well. However, focus is just one aspect of the mental game of golf. If you want to take your game to a higher level you need to learn as much as you can about mental golf techniques – the three resources above will certainly help you achieve this.
Shawn Clement shows you the proper golf focus technique when over the ball; this will help you organize what really should be going through your mind at the moment of truth!
