Consistency*
“Many factors make up a consistent round of golf, such as desire, realistic expectations, and confidence in your ability to perform well. Consistency comes from practicing your skills until you are confident that you can execute the shot or putt. But physical practice is not enough. You must believe that you can do it time after time under all kinds of conditions. Mental conditioning is what separates the great players from the field.
The Preshot Routine
Why have a pre-shot routine?
A mental and physical routine is used in every sport to prepare the athlete to perform. It keeps the athlete engrossed in the moment, away from the pressure of the results. A good preshot routine is a series of actions designed to get the golfer totally absorbed in the process of getting the ball to the target. It is a signal to the unconscious mind to get ready.
When you watch gymnasts, ice skaters, and divers perform intricate maneuvers with their bodies in midair, you know that they do not have time to think about what they are doing. What they do have is a strategy to activate those maneuvers.
Athletes train their minds to do the same thing in sequence over and over until it becomes a habit so they don’t have to think about the routine or the physical activity. These preperformance routines are the maps that give direction to the brain and body. Without a consistent routine, the results will be inconsistent.
When you watch an engrossing movie or play, your attention is focused on the drama. In the same way, planning for your next golf shot can be just as engrossing. The shot will hold your attention if you lead up to it with a consistent preshot routine. When you are this focused, you are not distracted by outside noises, and your mind is too focused to listen to negative thoughts. As you approach the end of the routine you will have built up a rapt desire of wanting to swing the golf club toward your target.
A preshot routine allows the thinking, analyzing brain to stop and attention to be focused on the process of preparation to hit the ball to the target. If you do not use the same routine before every shot, your brain is sending different messages to your body, which will then react with inconsistent results. Robert Schuller has said that “spectacular achievement is always preceded by spectacular preparation.”
*Excerpts are from Chapter 17; Consistency, “THE HEART OF GOLF, Access Your Supreme Intelligence for Peak Performances” now available on www.createspace.com/6307102 All royalties will be donated to Junior Golf!
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