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FocusThere
is a lot of talk about focus in golf. You hear a golfer say, “What a lousy
day, I really lost my focus.” You will hear a coach yell “Focus on what
you’re doing”. So what is
focus? Just
like when you are looking through a microscope and it is in focus, you are
looking at or paying attention to the one thing or the one group of things
that you are supposed to be looking at or thinking about. In mental training
focus has a similar, yet expanded, role. In mental training focus is a
process that has several factors. One of the most important factors has to
do with internal verses external focus. Internal focus means that you are
focusing on things that are mental constructs, like thoughts or images.
Internal focus takes you away from the external and frequently away from the
present time. An example of internal focus would be seeing the ball land
exactly where I want it to before I even hit the ball. Another example of
internal focus is using a memory of a great shot to help me establish a peak
performance mental state of mind. Obviously, the opposite of internal focus
is external focus. External focus is simply being aware of a single or group
of external things or events. Another
important factor is the concepts of broad and narrow. If you look at the dot
at the end of this sentence, that is narrow focus. If you look at the entire
paragraph above that is broader. If you look up and see the wall and floor
and furniture in the room you are in, that is even more broader. You can be
broad or narrow internal, or you can be broad or narrow external. Wherever
your attention is that is where your focus is. Another
factor that I mentioned briefly above is the time factor. By this I mean
present past or future. When determining which club to use you will use the
past (what you have learned) to determine which club has served you well in
this situation in the past and you will also use the future to check out
your decision and build a positive expectation. When you make your shot or
putt you will want to be in the exact present so you can focus all of your
attention on accomplishing the task at hand. All
four quadrants (broad internal, broad external, narrow internal and narrow
external) are all important in golf. When you combine these with the time
factor you have the entire concept of “Focus”. The trick is to control
and manage your focus so that you can produce your best golf. Obviously
being in the wrong quadrant or in the wrong time frame can cause real
problems. You have already become very adept at using these concepts in most
areas of your life. Taking the time to really understand and master them in
golf will provide you with a powerful tool for control and performance.
Remember understanding is the first step in mastering a new skill. Bob
Phillips, Ph.D.
Slump Busting
A real challenge for every serious golfer is the
problem of being in a slump. Slumps are periods of time when both your
physical and mental skills are at a level considerably lower than your
average performance. When we take a close look at a slump what we find is
that a slump is actually just an extended down turn in performance. As you
know your performance is always moving either up or down. Even the most
consistent of pros is not really all that consistent. Everyone has play that
ranges from fantastic to really bad. The really bad days are the days when
you think your really ought to sell your clubs and take up bowling. Slumps can begin with a drop in either your physical or
mental ability. For a slump to
continue, however, you must mentally continue the process that causes the
poor performance. In other words you must intervene and stop the natural
upturn in performance. You must snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by
actively stopping yourself from getting better. Your natural cycle of poor
to better golf is interfered with so you do not move up in performance.
Instead you either stay at a lower level or you actually get worse. Now this
is a slump. Slumps can begin is several ways. Some of the more common physical lead-ins to a slump are:
Some of the most common mental lead-9ns to a slump are:
The way out of a slump is to understand the natural ups
and downs of golf. Know that your mind is trying to move out of the slump if
you will let it. It is also important to commit to your fundamental game for
three months. Do not try radical changes to make things better. Commit to
your equipment, your coach and to your style of play. It is also often helpful to organize your practice.
Have specific goals for the practice and work to reach these. Remember the
whole is made up of lots of little parts. If you get the little parts right
the big picture will fall into place. Keep at it. Like an old pro once said,
“Keep hitting em, they will land someplace.” You should also resolve any personal or non-golf
problems in your life. Perhaps most important is to recall why you play golf
in the first place. Play for the good reasons like to have fun, to meet a
challenge to socialize or just for the love of the game. Bob Phillips, Ph.D.
Calling Time Out
You
bring the putter back and suddenly you feel like your hands have turned to
stone. You have addressed the ball and begin to take two deep breaths
(step-breathing) but your mind continues to think about the tree on the left
side of the fairway. You’re bringing the sand wedge back but you still do
not feel like your feet are well planted. All of these are times to call a
time out. If
your mind is telling you that something is wrong, than there is a
fifty-fifty chance that there really is something wrong. Stop what you are
doing and step back. Refocus and back up in your pre-shot or pre-putt
routine. You are better off taking the time-out even if there really is
nothing wrong. That is, you have prepared the shot or putt well. You still
need to reset your routine so that you are not allowing the tension from
this distraction to enter your muscles and affect the shot or putt. These
“time outs” are a much smarter way to proceed than simply forcing your
way through. The “yips” are
an example of what happens when you are not prepared to stop, refocus and go
on. The best attitude to have is one of appreciation. After all, this
message has probably allowed you to take a second look at the situation and
to make corrections. I suggest that golfers actually say “thanks” as
they step back and check things out. This is more helpful than getting upset
or frustrated with yourself. Some
people are more worried about what others in the group might say or think
about their stopping or spending more time. Usually, nothing is said if you
do this only two or three times a round. It also helps if you make it clear
that you needed the time to do it right. Not many will fault you for doing
something smart. If they do say something or act annoyed it says more about
them than it does about you. Of course some good natured kidding should be
taken as part of friendship. If
you find yourself wanting to take more than two or three of these “time
outs” in a round you may want to take a good look at your pre-shot and
pre-putt routine. Remember, pre-shot routines are ways of moving quickly and
smoothly through the process of being ready for your best shot or putt.
These routines are not rituals that must be performed perfectly or in just
the right order. They should become so natural that they do not interfere
with the process of making the shot or putt. Make sure that you have set an
exact target and, in putting, an exact line. Always have this exact line in
your mind before you putt. Work with your training pro on your alignment and
aiming techniques so you are confident of them. Use step-breathing to
separate the thinking from the hitting parts of your routine and keep
everything as smooth and uninterrupted as possible. Remember, if things are
not right, there is a good chance that your mind will let you know in some
way. Be aware of these signals and take a time-out when you need it. Bob
Phillips, Ph.D.
Boxing Out the Next
Shot
A major problem with even professional golfers is that
it is so easy to let our minds take a wide sweeping view of what the next
shot means. How well it affect my score? What does it mean to me personally?
Is this the best round I have ever played? Is it the worse round? “If I
sink this putt it will put me one up on Harry!” “My dad is watching, I
really want to do well.” All of these comments, questions and statements
are all possible, along with hundreds more, at the very time you need to be
focused on the elements of planning and executing the shot. If you are doing
this you are not “Box out” the shot. “Boxing out” means that you are mentally putting up
a fence around what you need to do so that you are not distracted by the
things and thoughts that have no real bearing on the shot or putt. By not
“boxing out” you allow your mind to wander to distractions. Remember
that even pleasant thoughts of success are not relevant to making the shot.
Sometimes this lack of limiting your thoughts is called “outcome
thinking”. In other words, you spend time and energy thinking of what the
outcome could be and how that would feel. This is truly an unwise way of
spending the time and energy needed to make the shot. Think of a piece of paper with words and pictures
covering it. All of these words and pictures are in some way related to the
next shot, but only a few of them are helpful in making the shot. Now group
the needed and useful elements together on the page. Now draw a box around
these few things. Some of the things in the box would be a solid plan to
make the shot, a solid pre-shot routine, feeling the swing or putt in your
mind, seeing the ball go to where you want it, and ending up looking at the
back of the ball as you swing or putt. Things left out of the box are past
mistakes, thoughts of how bad it would be to miss the target, thoughts of
how good it would be to make the shot, just about anything else you could
think of. All of these are left out of the box because they do not help you
make the shot. It is important to really understand what should be in
the box. Make a list of what is important to making the shot. You may even
what to consider the sequence or order of the included thoughts. Any other
thought or picture is out of the box and not allowed. If you find anything
in the box that does not belong in there, simply pick it up by its tail and
dorp it outside the box. Practice limiting your thinking to only what is in
the box. Begin by practicing at home. Practice “boxing out” fifty times
at home before you begin to practice it in physical practice. After two or
three weeks of practice you will be ready to begin to use this in
competition. Remember, you must first practice mental training at home and
then in physical practice before you can expect to use it in competition. Bob Phillips, Ph.D.
Become a Putting
Engineer
Did
you know that the single biggest difference between people who are creative
and people who are not creative is that the people who are creative believe
that they are creative, while the noncreative people think that they are not
creative. Remember the Henry Ford quote, “If you think you can or if you
think you can not, you are probably right.” A putting engineer is a golfer who has studied how to
make putts. He or she has practiced the craft of putting and reading greens.
They are creative, focused, goal oriented, well grounded in statistics (I
will make only a percentage of these), not banking of luck, and ready to
sink the thing and get on to the next hole. As with most engineers they are
pragmatic and structured. They do not think of the next project (the next
hole), nor do they think about the thing falling apart in the middle. When
they miss they are somewhat surprised and immediately begin planning a
better putt. While
engineers are as human as the next guy, they do not throw up material
(strokes) and expect something good to come of it. They know that hoping it
works is not the same as planning it to work. They take things in the right
order and expect to test things before they put them all together. The
golfing engineer does the same things. He or she will not just hit a ball at
the green or hole, they will plan the shot, use historically successful
blueprints (memories) to guide their plans and allow for changes is the
current situation. Above all they expect the process to work. They are
confident that given the right stuff and using the right plan they can
accomplish the task at hand. These putting engineers usually make the grade
and the shot. Be
a putting engineer and not a golfer who only pushes ahead and hopes to get
close. Use all of your resources to their maximum and do things in order.
Understand the math and be flexible. Above all, expect to be successful. Bob
Phillips, Ph.D.
How
to Help Your Child Love the Game of Golf
Help
your child learn about the game of golf. Remember that kids naturally want
to have fun at games and they may, in fact, teach you how to return to the
fun part of golf. It is a game after all. So rule number one is HAVE FUN, Use
golf to be successful. While it is true that there is no perfect golf, you
can show any child how he or she can enjoy getting better. Never connect
success in golf, or any sport, with success as a person. Always strive to
get better and like yourself even when you play poorly. Focus on what is
getting better and not on what is poor or not improving. Do
not coach the child. If your child wants to learn how to play golf after you
have shown his or her how much fun it is, hire a training professional to
teach them the correct skills. You can show them a few things but do not
become their coach or primary teacher. In this way you can keep your current
special relationship with the child and not run the risk of losing what you
have over golf. Hire a pro and you be the kids most ardent fan. Encourage
instead of threaten. All golfers, especially the young ones, will have
enough pressure to do well. Never threaten or punish the child for playing
poorly or not practicing. Threats produce only very short-term results and
can easily hurt your relationship with the child. This is another reason to
hire a professional trainer to work with your child. Challenge your child in
a friendly and cooperative fashion. This allows a feeling of support and
trust. “I bet you can” will get more that “You better or else”. The
mental game. Encourage the child to learn the mental side of the game.
Mental practice and expectation can greatly increase the speed and level of
learning golf. Help them understand that it is fun to learn how to not get
upset or how to put up a mental wall between themselves and the outside
distractions. Begin the mental training from the beginning and they will be
much less likely to become frustrated and quit. Gaining the understanding
early that it is not what happens to your, but rather how you respond that
matters, is very important. Love
the process. Children, as well as adults, need to see the process of
learning and how failure is a vital part of moving on. When you fall on your
face, you are still moving forward. Bob
Phillips, Ph.D.
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