Concentration/clearing the head

[turkish]

Hi,

My lessons and practice have been coming along well over the winter and striking the ball as well as I ever have.

Not been out on the course recently due to the weather but the past couple of times I've been out the shots that are costing me shots are just daft duff shots... It's no particular one thing that's causing me to duff.

It seems more of a concentration thing, or having too many swing thoughts going round my head. Watched a recent video with finch about grooving the swing on range then go out and hit with a clear head.

Any other tips on this?

 

[Foxholer]

I think I've always been relatively good at doing this, though that hasn't prevented the round or 2 after a major changes being rather disastrous. Accepting that this can/will happen is part of the process imo. I've tried to only ever have 1 or 2 thoughts about any 'new swing' and just let it happen. If there are thoughts still left over from the 'old swing' then that hadn't been grooved and the gap between lessons was too short.

Putting was/is where too many thoughts appear these days. But I have a 'non-golf' thought that dispels those!

 

[Bobirdie]

Try narrow it down to one swing thought on the course

 

[fundy]

Id love someone to explain to me how you "clear your head", thoughts come and go its not possible to clear them imho

 

[Bobirdie]

Think its basically practice what you practice on the range. On the course make sure you are set up correctly and swing it. Not trying to manipulate the backswing etc

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Have a look at New Golf Thinking on Kindle or as paperback

 

[the_coach]

this is down to having a good repeatable PSR, & a trigger to the routine that's the same & very definite
positive visualization of the shot that's about to take place. same each time.

so through repeatedly giving your brain the same routine to go through with positive awareness of the shot to be played. you see the shot, feel it, react to those inputs, step up, useful to retain movement not become static, have a physical trigger to start the motion, then execute the shot.

give the brain positive work to do, you're more likely to have mostly good outcomes while still recognizing there will still be mistakes, but you have to let them go so as not to compound with a bunch more mistakes. start every shot with that good positive routine.

give the brain no real instruction but 'worry' & negative thoughts (don't go there, don't hit it heavy, blade it, traps, water, out of bounds) & you'll nearly always get negative outcomes.

"we are what we do everyday, excellence therefore, is not an act, but a habit"

top golfers spend a good bunch of time rehearsing shots they will play out on the course, as well as block technique swing motion work. all the things both they & folks 'practice' will become habits.
these things will pretty much be the ones that emerge during the pressure of playing golf out on the course, they will tend to repeat.
it's real important to make practice - good practice, both mental & physical - if going down the route of trying to shoot better.
that goes for the moments before the motion as well, as this has a direct input into the result.

 

[Region3]

Id love someone to explain to me how you "clear your head", thoughts come and go its not possible to clear them imho

I agree. You don't want to have a zillion swing thoughts in your head and also don't want to be wondering if you left the cat enough food for the time you're away.

I try to think about my target, and the way the ball will get there. Having an image in my head rather than instructions.
I can't do this for a full shot yet, but for a chip/pitch I'm able to 'see' the landing spot in my head while I'm looking down at the ball. Concentrating fully on that spot doesn't allow room for any other thoughts to get in.

 

[duncan mackie]

Id love someone to explain to me how you "clear your head", thoughts come and go its not possible to clear them imho

you can get into some great philosophical thinking about the true nature of concentration here.....

IMHO any swing related thoughts are a potential problem; even good ones! Your sub-conscious handles the golf swing and it follows that you are more likely to perform well if the conscious part of the brain is otherwise engaged (in the absence of a simple switch to turn it off!)

there are numerous mental tricks to achieve this - NGT recommends one such trick

unfortunately most people set out to do exactly the opposite and end up thinking about the task facing them in an effort to focus/concentrate

as coach has outlined - having confidence in your underlying competence (sub-conscious) and trusting to a pre-shot routine rather than thinking the swing through every time is key.

how many people set off striking the ball great without thinking about it at all - then the wheels fall off (when they start thinking about it!)

or, put another way, how many set off badly and improve significantly over the later holes as a result of thinking their way through swing changes?

 

[woody69]

"thinking box" / "playing box". My coach gave me a lesson to help with my concentration as I usually hit poor shots / duffs when I'm either not concentrating (i.e. thinking about the wife) or concentrating on something in the swing I noticed last time, (i.e. weight distribution / head position etc). Both occasionally ended up with a poor shot, so he suggested a routine where you stand behind an imaginary line behind the ball in your "thinking box" and think all about the shot, i.e. swing, visualisation, intended outcome, set up etc etc etc. Once you are happy with that you step out of the thinking box into the "playing box", surrounding the ball. Just walk up to your ball and at the same time start counting down from 5 or 6, set up and hit it when you reach zero. The conscious action of actually counting down means the act of swinging and hitting the ball is handled by the sub-conscious part of your brain and the muscle memory takes over. You think 5 seconds or so isn't enough, but it really is and means you don't get time to start doubting what you have planned in your thinking box. Neat little trick that certainly helped me.

 

[turkish]

Thanks woody that's the kind of drill I'm looking for...

Was looking forward to putting into practice but tonight I was a dingbat and sliced off the tip of my thumb!!! RAGE

Anybody know if this will keep me from swinging and for how long? Currently sitting in A&E waiting to see doc

 

[woody69]

Thanks woody that's the kind of drill I'm looking for...

Was looking forward to putting into practice but tonight I was a dingbat and sliced off the tip of my thumb!!! RAGE

Anybody know if this will keep me from swinging and for how long? Currently sitting in A&E waiting to see doc

Depends which thumb I guess and if you are left handed or right handed.

 

[turkish]

I'm right handed and it's the right thumb- when I got home practiced gripping the club and seems fine- thumb doesn't really need to be on the club- might actually help me have a lighter pressure which I probably could do with.

Think I should hopefully be ok by end of the week. Wanted to go to practice tonight but worried it could burst open- especially if I hit a fat or thin shot.

 

[JustOne]

...also don't want to be wondering if you left the cat enough food for the time you're away.

You might have found my problem

 

[Slab]

Now that the sensible replies are up....

Put your eyes on Bobby Jones... Look at his practice swing, almost like he's searching for something... Then he finds it... Watch how he settle himself right into the middle of it, feel that focus... He got a lot of shots he could choose from... Duffs and tops and skulls, there's only ONE shot that's in perfect harmony with the field... One shot that's his, authentic shot, and that shot is gonna choose him... There's a perfect shot out there tryin' to find each and every one of us... All we got to do is get ourselves out of its way, to let it choose us... Can't see that flag as some dragon you got to slay... You got to look with soft eyes... See the place where the tides and the seasons and the turning' of the Earth, all come together... where everything that is, becomes one... You got to seek that place with your soul Junuh... Seek it with your hands don't think about it... Feel it... Your hands is wiser than your head ever gonna be... Now I can't take you there Junuh... Just hopes I can help you find a way... Just you... that ball... that flag... and all you are...

Thanks to Bagger Vance