How to Commit and Trust
by Bradley Turner Keiser University College of Golf Director of Online Golf Instruction – MBA, PGA
This follow-up article to last week’s How to Imagine Good Golf Shots was in response to a student’s question on visualization. Here was his question:
“Visualization is the toughest concept for me to grasp in all of golf basically…while possibly being the most important for my game. I think I take visualization way too literally. I’m thinking I need to see the ball go on a line to my target like a video game or movie…like actually see the ball do that. Thinking back to mental game class, visualization is not just a sight thing, right? We are supposed to use all of our senses to imagine a shot. It is just hard for me to grasp all of this, but I think it would really help my game if I could gain that ability.”
He asked a great question that brought back my challenges in developing the skill of imagining good golf shots. As I discussed in the previous article, Jack Nicklaus is great at visualizing the shot he wants, like a video game or movie. On the other hand, Tiger Woods doesn’t visualize as much, as he likes to feel the required shot in his hands and body. Clearly, either way, it has worked for the two greatest golfers ever to play the game. The big additional piece to their mental acumen is the consistent quality and level of focus that Tiger and Jack can create before striking the golf shot. Whether you visualize or feel the shot, the ability to commit to it coupled with the ability to trust the execution is something that all golfers can benefit from. Since the mental game is a skill that can be developed, how do you measure this skill? How do you know how well you are preparing to hit a golf shot?
The Process Game
The search for a great mental game has led me down many different beliefs and subsequent thoughts on the mental side of sports. After studying the great performers in all different sports and disciplines, the theme of the mental process is very similar. Some noted sport psychologists may create more depth and background information in explaining the mental process, but I have simplified this down to two essentials in striking a golf shot. I created a game for my students to play and assess their own mental skills over an 18-hole round of golf. The goal is for the player to commit to every shot and then trust the execution. Commit and trust. I call this the Process Game.
The next time you play, try and keep score of the process of hitting a golf shot. For every shot you hit, you must perform two tasks. First, see and or feel the golf shot and commit to the desired ball flight. For example, on the first tee, you must describe to your playing partners the desired start line and curve of the golf ball. If you are hitting an approach shot to the green, you should verbalize the yardage and landing spot on the green. Second, you must trust your swing through the impact zone by eliminating any concern of a potentially negative outcome. We all have struggled with “getting over the water” or “don’t hit it left out of bounds,” and the subconscious mind reacts at impact. Trusting your golf swing takes work and discipline to get to the point of making your best golf swing.
In the Process Game, you keep score by giving yourself a point if you fail to trust or commit to a golf shot. Just like in golf, you are striving for a low score in this game. You are the judge of your ability to trust, and your fellow partners can measure your commitment and ask you to describe the shot before you execute it. If you committed to a shot but didn’t trust, then you would receive one penalty point. If you didn’t see or feel the shot to build commitment, yet you trusted your golf swing, you receive one penalty point. If you fail to commit and are unable to trust your swing, then you would receive two penalty points. The game’s goal is to commit and trust on every shot, resulting in 0 penalty points.
Over an 18-hole round, most golfers quickly realize that playing the Process Game is much harder than they thought. Here is a scoring grid for those that want to give this mentally challenging game a try.
Patience and Persistence
Don’t be surprised with a high point total the first time you play the Process Game. If it were easy to concentrate and stay focused over 18 holes, golf would be a different game. Wherever your baseline score is on the grid, your goal is to improve your process. It will take a lot of patience and mental discipline to continue to improve. If you go to the gym for one day, you will not see much improvement. If you play the Process Game one time, you will not see much improvement. Persistence is the ability to overcome real or perceived challenges to the end goal. With time, playing the Process Game and some focused effort on improving on each shot you hit, you will begin to see significant changes in your mental game. When your mental game improves, there is a high probability of lower golf scores!
If you’d like to study with Bradley Turner and other PGA Master Professionals, contact the College of Golf today.
So if you see it and trust it, but your swing is not solid enough to get the results, is it a question of going to the range and working on your swing ? Then go back out to play and employ steps 1 and 2? And just keep going back to the course and back to the range and just keep plugging away?
Thomas…excellent question. Measuring your quality of ball striking on the driving range is never easy to assess. However, if you clearly perform better on the driving range than on the golf course, the process game of committing and trusting is an excellent strategy for improved scoring. Committing and trusting does not improve skill…it will allow you to play to your potential. If you want to improve your golf skill and potential on the golf course, you will need coaching and plenty of time working on your game.
The expectations of students is a challenge for most coaches, regardless of the sport. You may have played baseball but if not, I am sure you have a friend who has played. If I sent you to short stop and asked you to make a few throws to first base, you likely could do this. What would happen if you were in a game? Could you still make a good accurate throw to first base? If the answer is no, then the mental aspects of the game are creating a barrier for you. Working on commitment and trust is a good idea. However, if you want to throw the ball with more authority and accuracy, then the issue is physical, which would take training, gym work, and coaching.