Concentration!

How many times have you seen top players scowling at the photographer who accidentally took a picture in their backswing and how many times have you stood over your own ball feeling uncomfortable, fretting about the out of bounds off the tee, only to see your ball disappear into the trees.

There are lots of things on a golf course to distract us from our game, and all the time you let these distractions into your mind you run the risk of making the mistakes you fear come true. Now we’ve all heard the clichés of “focus on the ball” and “taking one shot at a time” but does concentrating on the ball really help? Granted, it is possible to concentrate on the ball, its shape, the colour, the numbers, but is this really helping your game?

Of course it is impossible to concentrate for the length of time needed to play 18 holes, and it is not particularly helpful to try! Remember that you can’t just make yourself concentrate, you can’t just scowl intensely, furrow your brow and tell yourself to concentrate, and in fact these sorts of thoughts can be distracting and stop you focusing purely on your shot, routine and technique. You can’t just tell yourself to concentrate, and in fact by filling your head with thoughts such as “concentrate, concentrate harder” you risk distracting yourself from the shot in hand. But what is important is to start the process of your pre shot routine by using a trigger to slip into a comfortable and relaxed state of mind that is uncluttered with negative or irrelevant thoughts.

Now the trigger can be anything you choose, but what is important is that you recognise this as the start of your routine. It could be the moment you place your bag next to your ball, or when you take out the club you want to use, or another option may be to take off your glove after each shot, and use putting it back on as your trigger.

So next time your on the course enjoy the distractions as you walk along, have a look at the views, relish the conversations you have with your playing partners, but as soon as you reach your ball use your trigger to allow the start of your routine and to slip into a relaxed and comfortable state of mind.

Concentration comes from having a clear plan, and by removing the negative thoughts about the hazards in front of you. Visualise the shot your are going to play, run the shot through your head, focusing only on the positive aspects of the shot, and not any potential pit falls, and allow your mind to begin to concentrate in a natural unforced way.