The mental game!

[ScratchSRL]

After another 9 holes this week in preparation for my first medal at kendleshire.

I am finding that I find it impossible to think about the shots I am hitting, when usually this is something I am usually good at.

I am hitting the ball REALLY well. just not thinking.

Anyone got any ideas about how to keep my concentration?

SRL

 

[Foxholer]

After another 9 holes this week in preparation for my first medal at kendleshire.

I am finding that I find it impossible to think about the shots I am hitting, when usually this is something I am usually good at.

I am hitting the ball REALLY well. just not thinking.

Anyone got any ideas about how to keep my concentration?

SRL

If that's the case, then why change?

I'd think that your mind has sorted the 'correct' level of concentration out just fine!

Only consider changing it when it's not working (well enough)!

 

[the_coach]

After another 9 holes this week in preparation for my first medal at kendleshire.

I am finding that I find it impossible to think about the shots I am hitting, when usually this is something I am usually good at.

I am hitting the ball REALLY well. just not thinking.
Anyone got any ideas about how to keep my concentration?

SRL

No-one can keep concentration around the whole round of how ever many hours, that's impossible. You have to develop a let go switch after a shot & except the outcome whatever.

Likewise you have to have the switch on point when you arrive at your next shot. Just some sort of either physical reminder, some guys take the golf glove off after a shot, so putting it back on is their trigger to go into game shot mode.
With some folks it's taking the relevant club out of the bag. Some it's just tugging on the golf. Freddie Couples pulls the left sleeve of his polo. Other pull their golf pants by the knee. Sir Nick Faldo just imagined a box around his ball, when he stepped over the line into the box he was just concentrating on what he had to do with the shot. South African golfer Louis Oost. marked his glove with a red dot in between his thumb & forefinger & would make a point of looking at that as his trigger.

Whatever it is you decide to do, better if it's at the very start of you looking at your line from behind the ball & going into the few things you do before each shot. But the trigger you picked & the things you do prior to you shot, need really to repeat for every shot helps focus on the positive & keep negative thoughts out. Chop & change it shot to shot & that will disrupt your ability to concentrate.

 

[ScratchSRL]

Amazing help coach! thankyou! I will try and develop a solid practice routine before shots.

 

[G_Mulligan]

Like nearly everything in life concentration can be practiced and improved. As the coach said you can't concentrate for four hours so you do need a focus trigger but I think they work best as a reminder of what to focus on at the right times. Think of focus like a spotlight on stage you need to move it to the right place at the right time to see what is happening.

There are two types of thinking you need before each shot; before the shot you need to engage the analytical brain, (the pre frontal cortex) to assess all the conditions then choose the shot and the club. You then need to switch to the automatic motor control (the cerebelum). This means quieting the PFC and switching off the analytical brain. You need to soften those thoughts and bury them deep in the back of the mind. This is where fluid cues like numbers or a song come in to help bury the thoughts. Motor control is vastly superior at performing actions so as long as you have practiced the action a certain amount of times you can access that muscle memory as long as you shut down the PFC.

One other important note is not to over focus, relax and take in the information but don't try to force anything. Once you have picked your target for example the brain won't forget it. It's then a surface thought which can get in the way of a quiet mind and a fluid action. Let the target go, bury it deep with the fluid cue and just swing. This is most obvious when putting. You know where the hole is and you know your goal is to get it in so you don't need to think about it anymore.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Try a Rotella book or better still New Golf Thinking. As others have said, you only need to think about the shot itself for a small proportion of the time.

 

[3565]

Or I can recommend Golf54 Every shot has a purpose by Pia Nielsson and Lynn Marriott. Very good book and they worked with Annika Sorenstam.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

After another 9 holes this week in preparation for my first medal at kendleshire.

I am finding that I find it impossible to think about the shots I am hitting, when usually this is something I am usually good at.

I am hitting the ball REALLY well. just not thinking.

Anyone got any ideas about how to keep my concentration?

SRL

What thinking do you need when you are hitting the ball really well ?

I would suggest carry on as you are

 

[ScratchSRL]

There is a difference between hitting a ball really well and hitting a good shot. And thinking about your misses. Which I at present am not.