Golf is a complex game that requires a range of skills—you need to hit the ball long off the tee, you need to control distance with your irons and you need to find a way to get the ball into the hole when on or around the green.
Then to complicate the task further, you’re really only hitting the golf ball for five minutes the entire time you’re on the golf course. In between shots you have to deal with the chatter from your buddies as well as the wind and other curve balls Mother Nature throws at you. It’s hard enough to execute the shot without the distractions.
What’s a golfer to do?
This isn’t a swing tip. It doesn’t deal with mechanics in the least. It’s the secret of every good golfer you’ll meet. It’s your pre-shot routine. Or, more appropriately, your lack of one.
Learning a strong mental pre-shot routine is the single most important thing you can do to improve your mental game, and your golf. But not just any pre-shot routine. An effective pre-shot routine must complement the way you learn, it must help you narrow your focus and free you to hit the creative, athletic shots that you visualized. This pre-shot routine will simplify your thoughts, makes the game easier and allows you to think the same over every shot—the key to consistent golf.
The first part is easy—the analysis of the shot at hand. Stand behind the ball and evaluate what you have before you. What club? What flight? What’s the desired result? Where is the best miss? If you’re putting, consider break, speed and grain. This is your thinking brain working. Let it work, then commit to the club, shot and desired result you choose.
Now that you’ve made your decision and committed to it, pick up your golf club. That’s your trigger that it’s time to turn the thinking brain off and switch to your creative brain. This is the time to narrow your focus even more. If you cannot commit to the club or the shot, do not move on to the next step. Fully commit to your chosen path before you do.
Now visualize the shot you’re going to hit. Feel the shot in your practice swing. It’s important to make the exact swing with which you intend to strike the ball. See the desired result materialize in your mind. If you’re putting visualize the ball taking your intended line at the correct speed and finding its way into the cup. Be sure to use the same stroke. Rehearse it. See your success.
At this point you’re ready to hit the golf ball. Release all conscious thought. Now, everything is about the target. Focus everything on the target. Breathe, take one last look and let it go.
Use the same routine before every shot. All of them, no exception. It is crucial to separate the first step—the analysis and commitment to the shot before you pick up your golf club. Once the club’s in your hand, focus shifts to feel and visualization. Make the necessary adjustments to best suit your game and temperament, but make no mistake, consistency is the key.
It critical to stick to your pre-shot routine, no matter the circumstance. There will be two instances when it will be most difficult to do so. The first is when you’re playing poorly and resort to thinking mechanically about your swing or have become anxious about your poor play.
Ironically, the same thing is prone to happening when you’re playing very well, when thoughts of excitement or the pressure of being in contention or being out of your depth. In both instances, the correct method of reigning in your mind is sticking to your pre-shot routine.
It will be difficult at first but stick with it. Use it in your practice games. Be aware of your thought process as you practice and progress. Learn to release analytical thought to allow free reign of your creative brain. Then hit and repeat.
The pre-shot routine is the key to getting the most out of your golf game and is the best tip you’ll ever get.