Thu 2 Oct 2008
You know I must be very slow on the uptake, stop nodding there at the back :-), but following my post Golf Is Not A Game Of Indecision I made a startling (to me) discovery.
I had some great feedback from the post at Stracka.com and got thinking about why certain things have distracted me on the golf course over the years and came to the conclusion that I was often reluctant to back away from a shot because I was concerned about holding other players up. Consequently, I was unprepared for the shot, rushed it and invariably got a poor result.
It’s ridiculous I know but I’m sure we’ve all been there.
This got me thinking, therefore, about a pre-shot routine. I don’t follow one. To be honest I’ve often thought they were a bit show-offy. Sometimes I’ll have a practice swing sometimes I won’t, I try to visualise the shot but not always, so you can see I have a pretty haphazard approach to my golf shots.
I think this is because I’ve played golf long enough I’ve convinced myself I have a decent enough swing and know the kind of shot of want to play in each situation.
But, here’s the blinding realisation. It’s not a physical pre-shot routine
IT’S A MENTAL PRE-SHOT ROUTINE. By following a set routine it tells my mind I am prepared & ready to hit my shot.
Through some trial and error I have come up with a routine that takes about 20 seconds by following it I hope to be better mentally prepared for each shot and more able to regroup after a distraction.
After all 20 seconds isn’t going to hold anybodys game up.
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October 9th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
[…] my previous post of Pre-Shot Routine - A Blinding Realisation I worked on a new pre-shot routine and tested out at the range this week. I didn’t hit a shot […]
October 26th, 2008 at 10:45 am
perfect golf swing
I want to be a pro golfer….its my life dream.
January 29th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
If everyone actually moved around the golf course more quickly, they’d have more time for a pre-shot routine and not hold people up behind them. How many fourballs due you see on the course moving to one ball together, then the next ball together and so on. If they went straight to their own balls they could give themselves time to have a pre shot routine.
January 30th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
@Paul Nash
I know what you mean perhaps we should universally adopt “Ready Golf”
June 7th, 2010 at 8:44 am
[…] a previous post regarding the pre-shot routine being a mental routine I have recently been having some success with the Tour Tempo system developed by John Novosel and […]