Concentration & Focus

[Region3]

Normally when I play, I'm bothered about the score I end up with. Not life or death bothered, but I do what I can on the course to end up with the best score I can on that day.

On Monday I decided I'd just go out and have fun, not worry about the score, just hit the ball without the usual concentration I put into my game.

The result? Shocking. Not "I want to give up golf" shocking, but definitely not good.

I hadn't realised just how much concentration I'd been putting into each shot when I care about the score.

Are you aware that you have to give a lot of effort mentally to score your best, or do you just go out and hit the ball without thinking?

 

[Stuey01]

Generally swing better and hit the ball better when not concentrating too hard. As long as I put enough thought into selecting the right club that is when I play my best.
Chasing a score it goes out the window. Last Saturday in the first medal of the season I was on the 16th 5 shots under handicap, went 8;6;6 to finish. Ended up tied 3rd, 6th on count back, just two shots off the winning score. Still got a .9 cut, which was nice.

 

[dufferman]

I think the concentration issue raises its ugly head when it comes to FIR & GIR - which ultimately add up to a good score. If you're just having a laugh and taking a swing, it's likely you'll end up in more rough and miss more greens. Unless you're sub 10 handicapper, then I assume its engrained into you so much that the swing thoughts automatically include hitting the greens & fairways. Although I guess it's all relative - a 'bad' round for a 5 handicapper is probably low 80's... I'd give me right arm for a low 80's round with a handicap of 25(ish).

 

[pokerjoke]

Well Gaz having played with you,i know how intense you are and how determined you are.
I think you probably need that to play well.
Ok at times its nice to take the pressure off and have fun sometimes,however to
play my best i need to concentratequite intensely.
I think also playing with a clear mind helps,no distractions.
Im all for having fun and banter,but when it comes to playing a shot everything has
to be taken in to consideration.
Wind,slope.distance etc so having that focus and concentration imo is key.
Also playing that way shows you care,i cant see anything wrong with that attitude.

 

[Fader]

I think its important to concentrate when your over the shot working out what you want to hit and do, then you have to trust it when you swing and as soon as its hit you need to switch the concentration back off. Easier said than done of course but when I manage to do it this way I hit my best scores.

You can't concentrate from the moment you step on the 1st tee and walk off the 18th green, its just to long a span to be 100% on focus. So find a way to switch off between shots and a small trigger that siwtches you back on pre shot which is something i've been adding into my pre shot routine and starting to find I'm more relaxed between shots which means being more relaxed over them.

 

[StrangelyBrown]

I think about the type of shot I want to hit, my target and my alignment. If I think too much about the swing itself then things go to pot.

 

[Foxholer]

With a few exceptions, I can't see the point of being on the course for a few hours and not concentrating on properly executing shots.

I can still have banter, entertainment exercise, fresh air, views etc. That doesn't mean I get wound up if I hit one badly or miss a 3-foot straight putt though, but that's pretty much always the case anyway.

 

[Imurg]

I had a lot of things going on in my head last time I played. Work, Life the Universe and everything kind of stuff and there were 4 closed holes. Played the 5 open holes on the front but wasn't really able to concentrate - poor scoring, lost balls etc etc.
Got to the back 9 that I was going to play twice, gave myself a talking to and started concentrating - good scoring, fairways and greens and bothe 9's under 40. Ok not handicap stuff but way better with more concentration. You just need to be able to turn it on and off as required - not easy....

 

[Region3]

I think its important to concentrate when your over the shot working out what you want to hit and do, then you have to trust it when you swing and as soon as its hit you need to switch the concentration back off. Easier said than done of course but when I manage to do it this way I hit my best scores.

You can't concentrate from the moment you step on the 1st tee and walk off the 18th green, its just to long a span to be 100% on focus. So find a way to switch off between shots and a small trigger that siwtches you back on pre shot which is something i've been adding into my pre shot routine and starting to find I'm more relaxed between shots which means being more relaxed over them.

Yes, I wasn't suggesting for a moment that I concentrate for 4.5hrs on the course. Your first paragraph is how I try to play usually.

I'd like to think that I'm not intense and have a laugh between shots, but people that have played with me might disagree? After all, I didn't realise how much effort I put into my shots until I didn't do it!

Reading back my OP, it may not have come across exactly how I intended. Maybe a better way of putting it is that I didn't take as much care as usual. I still concentrated over the ball, but without the usual determination and focus.

 

[One Planer]

I find, personally, it's a balancing act.

If I concentrate too much, my swing becomes mechanical and my focus is not where it should be.

This is where my preshot routine comes in.

When I step up to the ball, it really is a case of no thoughts, just line up, make a swing and let the ball get in the way.

 

[chris661]

Like Gareth too much and I become robotic, although too little and I just wish I could get home. It definitely is a balancing act for me and something I am trying to improve on but it isn't easy.

 

[One Planer]

Like Gareth too much and I become robotic, although too little and I just wish I could get home. It definitely is a balancing act for me and something I am trying to improve on but it isn't easy.

The one thing I'm looking into trying Chris to see if it helps is the "Glove on, Glove off" approach.

Put the glove on when you want to concentrate, pre shot routine and making your shot.

Take the glove off to relax, take in the scenery and move your mind to a less "focused" place.

I'm going to give it a bash this season and see how I go.

 

[chris661]

The one thing I'm looking into trying Chris to see if it helps is the "Glove on, Glove off" approach.

Put the glove on when you want to concentrate, pre shot routine and making your shot.

Take the glove off to relax, take in the scenery and move your mind to a less "focused" place.

I'm going to give it a bash this season and see how I go.

Thats what I have started doing although I do like how it looks hanging out of my back pocket

 

[One Planer]

Thats what I have started doing although I do like how it looks hanging out of my back pocket

Damn, that was going to be my excuse

 

[mcbroon]

There's a balance to be struck, I think. I shot a PB a few weeks back and I was definitely in some kind of 'Zen' headspace that I've rarely inhabited before, but not so much that I wasn't thinking about it.

I think you need to concentrate in order to execute your swing properly - so you think about your target, think about the shot that you want to hit and think about what you need to do in order to do that. The critical thing is to not get hung up on the outcome of the shot, even if it's horrific. You try hit the best shot you can in any given situation but once you've hit it, all you can do is find it and hit the best shot you can again.

The glove on/glove off thing is a good approach but, if you putt without a glove, you need a 'trigger' for when you're on the green. Maybe the moment you mark your ball...?

 

[User 105]

I think it depends on the player. I am VERY score focussed but I know I play my best when I'm not really thinking about things too much.

I just try and pick the shot I want to hit and then try to hit it.

If I over think things I just tighten up too much.

It's tough to do if you are going through any swing changes as your natural tendency is to think about your swing. I find I play best with no swing thoughts.

 

[JT77]

Not sure if this applies to everyone but I find I have to concentrate more now than I did when I was off mid teens handicap. I played more relaxed then but I always thought I had a couple shots in the bag so it's not so bad if I make the occasional error. Now I find if my concentration goes for a few shots I'm snookered. I can get my game back on track ok but then I'm just fighting to hold onto buffer instead of getting cut. What I do find helpful is if I'm at peace emotionally, so a calm mentality not all hyped up and not down on myself, just nice and calm, but with 3 kids it can be tough lol

 

[JustOne]

I don't understand the question

What is you're doing when you concentrate that you're not doing at other times Gary?

 

[Region3]

I don't understand the question

What is you're doing when you concentrate that you're not doing at other times Gary?

2 examples:

For full shots I'd normally stand behind the ball to pick a spot to aim at, then line up with that at address.
Monday I just walked up to the ball from my bag and hit it.

For chips and pitches I would normally take a few practice swings trying to gauge the swing I need to hit the distance to my landing spot.
Monday I still picked a landing spot but just hit the ball without the practice swings.

For both examples I was still concentrating when I was over the ball, I just didn't put the effort in to do everything I could to make the outcome as good as possible.

It was like I was just doing stuff naturally, rather than putting any effort into it.
I probably scored what I would have considered ok 3 years ago.

 

[JustOne]

I would say there's NO concentration where you just walk up and hit it - not a great idea

Then there's a medium one where you line up, get the feel, choose the right club, pick a landing spot etc etc

Then there's top end concentration where the landing spot is the correct one so you don't look back and think "Why didn't I hit this past the pin to leave myself an uphill putt?", you also know the green, all the fairway hazards, all the carries, examine the lie of your ball, change clubs if necessary if the feel isn't right, don't hit a putt until you KNOW it's going in etc etc

Most of the time I'm medium, it ain't the Ryder Cup so you just pull the right club for the yardage/wind and stick it somewhere on the green..... quite often in the WRONG spot as you don't give it enough 'forethought' so to speak.