BRAIN AEROBICS
by Marie McFadden
LPGA Teaching & Club Professional
Oftentimes while giving a lesson, when I ask students what target they have selected, I hear responses such as, “Oh you want me to aim at something.” Another answer is, “I’m aiming out towards the 200 yard marker.” These responses reveal a lack of attention to a very important detail: golf is a target-oriented game. It’s also a game of mental concentration. When you are selecting a target, whether it be from the tee or the fairway, narrow the area you want the ball to land in. The smaller the better. Then visualize the ball landing in the spot you have chosen before you swing.
If you watch golf on television, you will often hear the commentators talk about where the best place to land the ball on the green is for a particular player and circumstance. For instance, if a player has a one or two shot lead in a tournament coming down to the eighteenth hole, he or she doesn’t want to go for the flag if there is a trouble on that side of the green. The smart thing to do is aim for the safest part of the green, two putt for par, and assure the win. When pros make this decision, they have narrowed the target down to a small area. They are focusing on getting the ball to the selected target. They have acknowledged the trouble spots around the green, and then shifted the focus to the specific target, seeing a successful outcome in their minds eye.
We all know from experience that when we’re ready to hit a shot and we’re focusing on the trouble spots, that’s where the ball usually ends up. You must make the mental transition from acknowledgement of where you don’t want to go to focus on where you do want to go. There is a lot of emphasis now about physical fitness and stretching before you tee up to prepare your body for the physical task at hand. This is excellent practice, and good advice. However, exercising that grey matter is just as important. “Use it or lose it” as the expression goes.
When you are hitting balls at the range it’s not a good idea to just whack away with no idea of what you’re there to accomplish. I would suggest that you always choose a narrow target, that you set down two clubs, one aimed at the target to establish your target line, and one parallel to that line to guide your feet in your set-up, that you develop a pre-shot routine which includes standing behind the ball to establish the target line before every shot, that you visualize every shot landing in the chosen target area before you swing, and that you change your target after every fifth or sixth shot.
If you practice in this way, you’ll sharpen your concentration and visualization skills markedly. Fewer shots will stray into hazards, there will be fewer trips into the woods (taking you out of the running for the girl scout explorer badge), and your scores will definitely improve. Remember, mental fitness equals better play and more enjoyment.
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