| |
Focus Your Focus
How to Ward Off Distraction During Your
Golf Swing
Tracy Reed
There is a great possibility to lose your mind when playing
golf simply due to the constant shifting of focus. I think
the brain doesn't like to change focus. It wants to stay in
one place until the job is done, but in golf, we think about
the present; the stance, and we think about the future; the
shot.
The mind wants stimulation, and the stance simply doesn't
fill the bill. The shot on the other hand has hope and excitement,
wondering whether the ball will go where you want it to, where
it will land, and what you will need to do next.
When you set up and look downrange, your mind almost instantly
locks on to the shot thoughts....and abandons the task at
hand of taking the backswing and making the transition.
If you think about your daily life it works the same. It's
much easier to let your mind wonder off to the next vacation
than to keep working on the mundane task of work. At times
like that, you must call your brain back to work and get back
to whatever task you're doing.
To get the results of a golf swing, you have to do the same
thing. Usually, just before you take the backswing, you take
one more look downrange. This is the mind's last opportunity
to escape, and it often does. If you can keep the mind interested
in the swing, it wouldn't go running off to the future all
of the time, but how?
This is one reason I stress visualization during the swing
process. If you have a movie of the impending swing in your
mind, the brain will want to hang around and see if the body
followed instructions.....(it's a power thing, the brain wants
to be in charge and it thinks the body wants to take over.)
But sometimes a good picture isn't enough. You need to remind
your brain to get back to the task at hand. I do this with
a trigger. I want something visual that will tell my mind,
"hey, get back to the swing!" Mine is a little complicated
to describe but it's simple as a picture. When I take my backswing,
as I am feeling the weight building up under my back foot,
I want to feel my shoulder touch my chin and I want to see
that the line across my back is behind the ball. Once I see
that, I know I can start the transition.
All I have to do is to remind myself before the round that
I won't start the transition until I see and feel what I have
described. The picture I'm looking for, combined with the
self instruction that it has to be there or I can't finish
the swing, brings my focus back to the swing.
Do you want to make sure your focus is where it should be
during your swing? Find a trigger picture that has to happen
before you can make your transition. Then train yourself that
you can't swing until it's right. Instead of concentrating
on hitting the ball, concentrate on making sure everything
is right before you pull the transition trigger....the rest
of the swing will take care of itself.
When do you set the stage for the round of golf? On the way
to the golf course. Think about your trigger, and decide that
you will be patient no matter what situation rears its ugly
head. After you do this for a while, your patience in the
face of adversity will carry over to your daily life.
Tracy Reed is a Golf Biomechanic, International Golf
Coach, and author of "Golf Swing Control" now sold in 28 countries.
Learn How to Gain the Unfair Advantage on the Golf Course.
Go to http://www.golfswingcontrol.com.
Article Source: http://www.articlesaz.com
Return to The Mental Game of
Golf Articles directory.
|
|
