The game of golf presents many challenges of that there is no doubt. Within that long list one must learn to keep the tee-ball in play & establish an effective iron game.
There are other aspects as well, which include pitching, chipping, sand play & last but not least putting.
Secrets To A Consistent Golf Swing
Well rounded Golf Game
With the seemingly endless to do list of skills one must learn, in the end, to have a well-rounded game. We can contemplate for a moment what it’s going to take to transfer these skills from the practice area to the battlefield.
Moe Norman…a Canadian Golf Legend
The secret to a consistent golf swing has been sought out by many.
Moe Norman, a famous Canadian golf legend is one of the only in this mystical game to have unlocked this closely guarded secret.
Moe's consistent golf swing on Youtube
You can burn up many hours on YouTube with fascinating footage of Moe Normans golf swing and interviews. Trust me it’s well worth the time spent it's highly informative and fascinating all at the same time.
PGA superstars…cracking the golf code
Of course Jack Nicholas and Tiger Woods are also great examples of elite golf athletes who have cracked the secret code of consistency for many years within their careers.
So we have a total of three players who were able to crack open the secret door to golf consistency.
Where does that leave the rest of us?
Driving Range Vs Golf Course…what’s the difference?
If you had a dollar for every time you heard someone say. “they were hitting the ball great on the driving range… but just can’t transfer the results to the golf course”.
You’d likely not be sitting here reading this article but perhaps enjoying a round of golf at the PGA West Stadium course in Palm Springs.
The question becomes.
How can we as students and participants of this fine game of golf become a more consistent participant?
Mental side of golf
For those just beginning this wonderful game it would be highly advisable to seek out advice and guidance from your local PGA Golf Professional for a series of lessons. For those who have an established skill set and have seen good results many times in the past. It becomes a journey that leads us more towards the mental side of the game.
Improve all your golf skills
The game of golf requires you as a participant to have many arrows in your quiver so to speak. It’s important to have a good driver that produces a solid strikes that end up in the short grass. Your iron game must be sharp & accurate to provide you many birdie opportunities. Your short game has to be on point to take advantage of birdie opportunities & make par saves.
Accurate as an archer…golf focus secrets revealed
In order to possess all these weapons within your game let’s look outside the box for minute.
Imagine if you will for a moment an archer.
He/She is out on the range, nothing on their mind but the target set down range.
The bow is tightly strung, the arrows ready to do their job. The sportsman eyes the target… calmly and quietly takes aim. With a steady pull he’s set. Fully engaged in a state of laser like focus.
Steady as a leaf on a tree limb resting on a perfectly quiet day. His eyes won’t blink…they remain a picture of perfect concentration. Breathing is slow and controlled, fixated only on the target center. The focus is now singular. In complete control, a gentle release produces the result of the arrow finding dead center!!
Bulls-eye!!
Golf swing secrets revealed
I love this analogy for analysis purposes. Let’s go back and determine what is the weapon that made this single shot find the bull’s-eye?
What is the weapon to produce the Bull’s-Eye?
The archer has his bow, was this the weapon that provided the ultimate in accuracy?
Wait a minute was the arrow the weapon that provided the dead center bull’s-eye? It can be argued that both instruments of course contributed to the successful bull’s-eye.
Is there something more?
Concentration...a Weapon in golf improvement?
The real weapon is the archer’s mental state and ability to focus simply & successfully.
Although aiding in the success the bow alone certainly couldn’t produce the result without the athlete’s ability to do the pull and remain steady.
The arrow remained straight & true. Certainly the arrow could not have found the targets center without the steady hand and laser focus.
The “fundamentals of concentration” on display for the successful target shoot was indeed the weapon that led to success.
Your golf clubs or your ability to focus
Let’s circle back to golf to see if we can piece together a plan so you can achieve a bull’s eye with your golf game. Approaching again the game of golf…knowing you have a golf bag full of golf clubs.
It’s your quiver full of arrows so to speak. They will aide in getting you there, but not on their own.
What are your weapons in golf?
Your driver is most certainly a weapon to be utilized for solid hits straight down the middle with good distance.
The irons in your bag are weapons to produce pin high approach shots. True enough!
Your sand wedges are weapons for tight approach shots, chip-ins & par saves. True that!
Your putter is a weapon for making long breaking birdie putts and difficult 6 ft. par saves.
You'll need focus to create all these bull’s-eyes!
Ability to focus is your KEY WEAPON!
Your mental ability to establish an effective swing thought and zero in on it time after time is your key weapon.
Your ability, as does the archer to stay calm and relaxed is vital.
Keeping your focus singular and attentive to the task at hand is your weapon, stay in the moment.
Golf concentration drills
Establish for yourself, a swing thought to be utilized with your long game. That being everything that would require a full swing.
Identifying a swing thought is your first order of business.
The thought or feel may be simple or complex just identify it and zero in on it, all else disappears.
Whatever it may be it must be clearly identified. Once you've identified this thought or series of thoughts you now use the weapon of focus to execute simply time and again!
Golf offers many distractions
Golf is a game full of distractions some are very obvious like slow play or a chatty partner. Others are much more subtle like playing poorly or even playing well.
Ever played a career round of golf?
Everything seems to fall into place, it was relaxed and easy which led to a fantastic score. The next time you play, you try to repeat most recent experience and everything goes wrong?
So what’s the difference?
Golf Consistency has to be nurtured
Let’s look back at the archer…
Arrow 1 comes out of the quiver, the routine is solid from the pull to the breathing. His steady hand to his singular focus on the target.
It’s a calm & relaxed process, the result of course is a dead centre bullseye!
Arrow 2 comes out of the quiver. The archer does a steady pull his eyes soundly locked on the target. Will this athlete be saying to himself? “I hope I can hit the bull’s-eye again”.
Or, will this elite athlete stay with the process of focus that leads to success?
The mentally sharp athlete knows that following a Relaxed and Focused sequence of thought is what will produce the bull’s-eye…not in hoping to recreate a past event.
Execute…repeat!!
The routine is solid from the pull to the breathing. His steady hand to his singular focus on the target. It’s a calm & relaxed process. The result of course is another dead center bulls-eye!
Golf secrets of the PGA pros
With golf, we can have a bull’s-eye round of golf, it can seem so easy and effortless.
You record a personal best!
Next time out your way of thinking gets caught up in trying to duplicate the previous result. When your mind is caught up with trying to duplicate a previous result or trying to remember what you did the day before. You’re most certainly in a different state or employing an entirely different way of thinking then the day that led to your personal best.
The stars of the game do an amazing job of leaving the past in the past. That means the good and the bad. If you've rung off five straight birdies that can become a heavy distraction if you let it. Always do your best to leave everything in the past. Stay in the moment with your process.
Remember…focus is KING
The mindset as with the archer is to remain relaxed and calm, stay in the moment. Your breathing is slow as is your walk. Remember no slow play here people!
Your overall demeanor should be one of complete relaxation and the feeling of being completely at ease. You have a simple swing thought that you developed for yourself. Your swing thought always sits…front of mind.
Each time you approach the ball, whether on the practice tee or on the course itself. Your swing though is front of mind. Relaxation is front of mind. Be relaxed and focus on simple the tasks you've developed.
The execution of your swing thought is done with laser like focus within your relaxed demeanor.
Practice golf focus techniques
With much practice it can become your goal to match up some relaxation and focus techniques to match your existing skill set.
The goal becomes establishing a relaxation process. A focused sequence of in motion thought that’s the same every time.
Establishing this relaxed process and thought sequence is important to develop on the driving range. The fact that you execute this on the driving range with precision will enable you to precisely execute on the golf course as well.
You’re not transferring the results to the golf course, you want to transfer the thought process to the golf course.
This will break the trend of…
“I can do it on the driving range... but I can’t do it on the golf course”.
Golf Focus sequence
Establishing a sound focused sequence that is the same every time is essential.
Through your best efforts, make an attempt to have your relaxation techniques feel the same each time and with the same wording.
Through your best efforts, make an attempt to have your swing thought focus techniques feel the same each time and with the same wording.
Relax & enjoy golf
The goal is to stay in the moment of execution. Employ a sound & relaxed process then go about following that process consistently.
Stay on point each and every time you approach a golf ball.
Remain in the moment & Enjoy the process!!
Happy golfing friends
