Mental Concentration, Golf, and You
All players, when they are concentrating on a stroke, are in some respects mad; for a second they become monomaniac; you are possessed with an idea that is fixed in your mind; your singleness of purpose is absolute if you really are concentrating. And I cannot imagine how anything can disturb them unless they allow it to. If this does happen, then, in my opinion, you cannot be giving your whole mind to the stroke, you aren't concentrating.
When you are out on the course there are many minor distractions that you may encounter, from coughing or sneezing, all the way up to load and obnoxious crowds or players. But once a player gets into the habit of being put off their game by these little worries, you are unlikely to make any progress in the game, and you run the risk of wandering around the course looking for things at which to be annoyed, actually seeking them. Few golfers realize that their game cannot stand still, whether their handicap is scratch, eight, or eighteen; their standard of play must progress or retrogress, improve or deteriorate, according to the amount they play or practice.
In connection with this notion, a friend of mine suggests the obliteration from the mind of a bunker that is directly in the line of play. I might say (but I have not any intention of doing so) that my friend has chosen the wrong word. My argument is this: Was the player who landed in the bunker thinking of the bunker when he played his stroke, or was the golfer imagining that it was quite likely that the ball would land in the bunker?
By a law to which there are no exceptions, the will yields to the imagination. As an illustration of this, any one can walk along a plank a foot in width when it is lying on solid earth; but place that plank across the two trestles of a bridge, twenty feet up in the air, and not one person in twenty will walk calmly across it, because they imagine that they are likely to fall off! Undoubtedly this player in the aforementioned match actually imagined the ball hopping into the bunker, and that was the last conscious act before making the fatal stroke.
Can there be any other meaning to the word concentration, in a mental sense, than a focusing of the attention? And further, can you focus your attention on such a thing as a golf ball? I answer these questions with another question: Doesn't the golfer focus his attention, not on the ball itself, but on some action connected with the ball? I grant you that you can concentrate on a golf ball, on the size of it, on its marking, or on the dents you may have made in it, but no player wishes to do this in the middle of a close match. So that when a golfer is "concentrating on the ball," he or she is in reality concentrating on the stroke they are about to make. The golfer is focusing their attention on the desire to put the ball as near the hole as possible; and can it be doubted that the average golfer starts concentrating on the second shot long before he or she reaches the ball? This appears to me to be a fatal policy. It is well enough for a golfer to plan the method of play for the whole of any particular hole when they are on the tee, and yet I do not think that even this is a good plan. You may hit your tee shot, "as per schedule," only to find that your ball is reposing in an old divot mark and that it is thus quite impossible to use a the proper club for your second shot. So the whole of your concentration is wasted.
The ideal method of playing golf is not to use your mind until you have to. When you reach your ball, concentrate as hard as you can, for upon your powers of concentration your next stroke depends. I have said, in common with every other writer on the game that hesitation is fatal, but it seems to me desirable that I should now amplify that statement. "Those who hesitate are lost," because they aren't concentrating. If you concentrate hard enough you cannot hesitate, provided you are clear about what you are concentrating on.
© 2005 BlackCash Enterprises, LLC - All Rights Reserved
Jarrod Cash and Michael Black have created "The Lost Golf Secrets Collection" available at: http://www.LostGolfSecrets.com
Are You Too Busy Practicing Your Swing to Improve Your Game? Stop Playing Golf the Hard Way!
Latest News
 SuperSport | Kim, Villegas lead charge for PGA Tour's young stars USA Today - Actually, Garcia arrived on golf's grand stage at 19 when he nearly chased down Tiger Woods at the 1999 PGA Championship and a month later was 3-1-1 as the ... PGA Tour Commissioner Finchem to appear on Golf Channel tonight Golf Channel HD Kicks Off With PGA Tour Golf: Fiji's Vijay Singh to undergo knee surgery |
 Slippery Brick | How Can a GPS Help Your Golf Game? Ask Garmin PC Magazine - The only thing caddies have to do is carry the bag. by Craig Ellison LAS VEGAS—If you want to slice a few strokes off of your golf game, Garmin's new ... New Garmin GPS unit helps your golf game Garmin® Goes Golfing with Approach™ G5, New Touchscreen GPS Device ... |
Disc golf referendum might face legal question MSNBC - CHICO -- A referendum seeking to keep disc golf courses in upper Bidwell Park faces a legal issue that could potentially allow the Chico City Council to ... City Council Changes Mind About Disc Golf City Council Votes To Restore Disc Golf In Upper Bidwell Park Council takes on disc golf again |
Xerox Golf Classic Won’t Run This Year 13WHAM-TV, NY - (Rochester, NY) – Xerox has decided to drop its sponsorship of the PGA this year, and move those marketing dollars into other areas. ... Xerox Classic golf tournament goes on hiatus Xerox Classic goes on hiatus for lack of sponsor |
Area golf calendar Dallas Morning News, TX - To submit tournaments for the area golf calendar, send the information to texasgolf@dallasnews.com or via facsimile machine to 214-651-0580. ... |
 Golf Monthly | Palmer, 79, is still the King San Jose Mercury News, USA - By Eric Pinkela Even at 79, more than 20 years removed from his last victory on any tour, nobody can justly claim that the game of golf has passed Arnold ... The Long Shot Rough Putting: Five Things To Watch In 2009 Tiger may defend Match Play title in Tucson |
 TVNZ | Golf-Recovering Seve targets return as Royal Trophy captain Reuters.uk, UK - BANGKOK, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Seve Ballesteros is planning to return to golf next year as captain of Europe's Royal Trophy team after starting rehabilitation ... Olazabal: European skipper Olazabal wary of Asian threat in golf showpiece Europe urged to win for Seve |
Troubled Collins Hill Golf Club open, but with ‘skeleton crew’ Atlanta Journal Constitution, USA - By PATRICK FOX The Collins Hill Golf Club is still open, but things are no better than they were last month when the governing board asked the county to ... |
 Arizona Republic | 16th Hole to be "Stadium Golf Hole" KTAR.com, AZ - This year the hole will have a different look, as it will become the sport's first "stadium golf hole". There are now an additional 3000 general admission ... FBR officials watch closely to see if recession affects golf fans The 16th Hole At TPC Scottsdale To Be Fully Enclosed For FBR Open PGA Tour Schedule |
Man found dead in Grover Beach near Pismo State Beach golf course ... San Luis Obispo Tribune, CA - Bickford’s body was found just after 5 am Wednesday near the golf coursen entrance at the end of Grand Avenue near the beach, according to the Sheriff’s ... Body Found Near Golf Course Body discovered on the Pismo Beach State Golf Course Dead body found near Pismo Beach State Golf Course |
Resources
-
The Simple Golf Swing
Unlock Your Hidden Potential by Discovering the Golf Swing that is Delivering Consistent, Accurate Distance to thousands of golfers world-wide.
-
Golf Options: Hit Fairways Your Way.
New Golf System that Explains How Setup and Swing Factors Affect Ball Flight and Solutions to Common Golf Problems.
-
Golf Fitness Book - Golf Exercise Guide - Golf Training Workouts
Golf fitness exercise training book providing Golf workouts,Golf stretches,Golf exercises and Golf swing tips to improve Golf swing.
-
Golf Tips, Golf Lessons and Golf Instruction- Guide On How To Break 80
How to Break 80 is an instructional guide for golfers looking to get Golf tips, Golf lessons and Golf instruction.
-
Golf FREE At Golf Courses And Get Paid!
Discover the secret to playing free Golf at Golf courses anywhere and make up to $897 a week for playing Golf.
-
The Dave Way.
Destroy your Golf Slice in a matter of Minutes using this Revolutionary New System! Success Guaranteed. Sports & Recreation.
-
ShopUntilYouDrop.net - Get paid for shopping, eating out and more...
Get paid for shopping and eating out. Shop at your favorite stores, eat at popular restaurants, see the latest movies, shop the internet. Even your purchases are free!
-
Golf Fitness Experts provide comprehensive guide to better Golf
Golf exercises, mental strategies, and swing instruction from 7 leading Golf experts.
-
Play Golf For FREE And Get Paid To Play...
PaidToGolf reveals how to play FREE Golf and get paid to play.
-
Golf Game Method Book Putting Scoring Clubs Teeing Off Golf Instruction Ebook To Score In the 70s Im
This Revolutionary New Instructural Method is So Simple So Easy to Learn So Effective Golf putting Golf book shooting in the 70