Concentration....How do you keep it?

[Khamelion]

Afternoon,

After a few recent rounds of golf and several lessons, I'm striking the ball better than I ever have done but that said my scores are not coming down and I put this down to lack of concentration or perhaps that i'm taking the round as a social event chatting to my mate and not thinking about golf.

Not sure who it was who said it, but when asked what the hardest shot in golf was, the reply was, "the next one" and that for me is definatley the case.

A good example, Sunday gone, I hit a cracking drive up the middle which leaves me in lob wedge range of the green, I line the shot up and thin it, the ball rockets over my target green, over the adjacent green, hits a wall, bounces around 50feet into the air and lands in the middle of the fairway on the far side of the wall. In total I was much much further away from the green than from where I'd hit the lob wedge. For which I can only put it down to lack of concentration.

So my question is, how do you keep your concentration from shot to shot?

Cheers
Dave

 

[Foxholer]

Seems more like a Course Management issue than a concentration one.

However, a deliberate repeatable set-up routine can help. Just don't let it get like Kevin Na's!

 

[rosecott]

Lack of skill with the lob wedge? It's not the easiest club to play consistently if you're not a low handicapper..

 

[thecraw]

Its not really about keeping concentration, its more about being able to switch on and off. Allow your thoughts to wander while walking up the fairway or while walking to the next tee, just ensure you have a pre shot routine or something that gets you back into the zone!

Oosthuizen used a red dot on his glove to switch on.

The best in the world cant concentrate for a full round.

 

[Khamelion]

Lack of skill with the lob wedge?

That's very charitable of you

Normally my lob wedge is one of my favourite clubs, it has got me over many a bunker or tree, just on this occasion I well and truly thinned it.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

How can it be a course management issue, he did a good drive, took the right club for the shot, just didnt hit it right,
Course management is all about avoiding hazards and leaving yourself full shots to the green rather than 35 yard half shots.

Get into the habit of a pre shot routine, and try to get in the zone, by all means chat and banter, but when its Golf time, compartmentalise everything else into a box and just think about the shot

Your signature doesnt say your handicap, but if you are a high handicapper like me, then you will do the odd rubbish shot, get used to it, dont beat yourself up about it and move on to the next one

Fragger

 

[Imurg]

Its not really about keeping concentration, its more about being able to switch on and off. Allow your thoughts to wander while walking up the fairway or while walking to the next tee, just ensure you have a pre shot routine or something that gets you back into the zone!

Oosthuizen used a red dot on his glove to switch on.

The best in the world cant concentrate for a full round.

Is the correct answer......

 

[Foxholer]

How can it be a course management issue, he did a good drive, took the right club for the shot, just didnt hit it right,
Course management is all about avoiding hazards and leaving yourself full shots to the green rather than 35 yard half shots.

Disagree.

Course Management is all about making it as easy as possible to score the lowest number of shots on a hole. Plenty of instances where players will play their shot into a bunker in order to achieve that.

And unless the LW is a favourite, and reliable, club from the position he was in, then the great drive was 'wasted' by using it. LW generally is a 'high tariff' club, but some (even high 'cappers) use it well - often from using it so often. If an easy (say 3 to 9 or 'Pelz' swing) PW is a more reliable choice for the same distance (pin placement notwithstanding), then that's the club to use. And was it 'too much club' off the tee? Unless I was attempting to 'drive the green', I wouldn't normally be trying to get within LW distance.

And certainly agree that being able to switch on/off helps. The start of the pre-shot routine (checking that it's your ball) is the natural point to switch on.

 

[Khamelion]

@Fragger, I've not got a handicap as I'm not a member of any club, but I know I could get a much lower score if I could just concentrate a little better and could be scoring in regularly in the low to mid 80's. I know those games are within me.

@Foxholer, In hindsight the PW would have been a better choice, I could have pitched up to the fringe and rolled the ball on, instead I opted for the spectacular which back fired big style.

All in all I think both of you are right, I need to think more about the shot coming up and stuff the social outside world away in the back of my mind for the couple of mins it takes to select a club, address, swing and hit the ball. At the same time it is about course Mgmt as well, getting the ball to where you want it to go and have it stop at a range for a club you know you can play well.

I like the idea of compartmenalising the outside world, going to try that on my next round.

cheers

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Rotella makes much of having a consistent pre-shot routine to get the mind focussed with a definitive start (where you get the brain into play mode) and finish (where you can't do anything to influence the result and to switch off before finding it and hitting it again).

For me, the trigger has always been putting my glove on and then taking it off again. Once it's back in the pocket I don't analyse the shot, or do anything connected with it and just move forward and either look at the view or talk with my partners about anything other than golf.

There is one mor eelement that will help concentration and that is to make sure you keep fully hydrated and eat something during the round. As the body gets tired concentration is one of the first things to go and it is harder in hot conditions. Try and take a few sips of water every hole and eat something like a banana, nits or a fruit bar during the round for slow release energy

 

[Mattyboy]

As has been said. No chance of keeping conentration for 4+ hours. The trigger for me is wearing my glove. When it goes on its time to start the pre shot routine. When it goes off, talk about something with your mates.

If you want to fix the thin lob wedge pay attention to what your legs are doing! If you throw them ahead, that will do the same to your body getting you ahead and the club dosnt bottom out (if at all) until the ball has been knifed! Dave Pelz short game bible might assist.

Good luck!

 

[rosecott]

For me, the trigger has always been putting my glove on and then taking it off again.

Forgive me, but why then do you need a glove?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Forgive me, but why then do you need a glove?

I'm guessing you are being facetious but I'll pander to you anyway. The glove only comes off after the shot has been made. Goes on to start the concentration process and comes off to think about something else onve I've played the shot. Same as per Mattyboy

 

[garyinderry]

my concentration is fine until i blank / make a mess of a few holes. i know my chances of winning are gone. i then tell myself to relax and try and make the buffer. ive only shot 1 sub 30point round this season so far. only once been cut o.3 though and ive now moved back up to where i started which is 11.5 (12)! a few buffers and few 0.1's! lowest was 29 at an away day.

happy enough with the concentration levels. its just the odd bad excecution or bit of luck thats holding me back from a big round. its coming!

 

[chrisd]

I subscribe to the , wrong shot, thinking. I had a lesson recently and talked about my play from 120 yards to 40 yards as needing attention. The pro threw down a couple of balls 110 yards from the middle of of a green and invited me to play my normal shot in. Both ended up on the green, but not close, with my gap wedge. He then showed me the "knock down shot" which I hit with every club from p/w to the 6 iron, and every one ended up on the green, not all 20 to 25 ball were nearer but most were.

The main point was that the full gap wedge was a very high tarrif shot to execute compared to the lower punch shot and it proved that its where you end up that matters.

I saw a utube video by Bob on the 50 yard punch shot on here the other day and it showed how much easier a shot it is to play

 

[ScienceBoy]

my concentration is fine until i blank / make a mess of a few holes. i know my chances of winning are gone.

That can sometimes not be the case, both the competitions I won starting off with a blob. I have known many occasions where someone has made two or three blobs and won and one where a guy made a 10 on a par 3 in a medal and WON!

You are never out of it until the scores are announced...

 

[rosecott]

I'm guessing you are being facetious but I'll pander to you anyway. The glove only comes off after the shot has been made. Goes on to start the concentration process and comes off to think about something else onve I've played the shot. Same as per Mattyboy

There might have been the slightest hint of facetiousness but I genuinely didn't pick up that something took place between "glove on" and "glove off". As I don't wear a glove, I was a bit puzzled as to the ritual.

 

[garyinderry]

That can sometimes not be the case, both the competitions I won starting off with a blob. I have known many occasions where someone has made two or three blobs and won and one where a guy made a 10 on a par 3 in a medal and WON!

You are never out of it until the scores are announced...

if i blob 3holes i wont be winning anything. heres one for you. i shot a p.b. of 6over with a triple at the par 3 5th! i didnt make the top 3. i have won prizes whilst having blobs but as the handicap gets lower you are not allowed as many!

 

[bobmac]

There are sooooooooo many answers to this question I dont know where to start.
Do you concentrate on clearing your mind
Do you concentrate on the visual you have of the last great LW shot you hit?
Do you concentrate on not shanking/topping/duffing/thinning it
Do you concentrate on keeping the lower half quiet, smooth backswing to 11.00 and a fast downswing through to 1.00 keeping the head still, the elbow above the right hip etc etc
Do you concentrate on the ONE swing thought that has given you the most success playing this shot
Do you concentrate on a positive frame of mind in your approach to the shot
Do you concentrate on the landing point on the green

I could go on

 

[ScienceBoy]

I usually just bend my knees with a wider than stance than normal. Lean forward and when I hear a little parp I know I am good to go again.