Five Great Exercises to Focus Your Thoughts on Your Target

I've been asked to write a series of articles for Want Better Golf. It's a great blog that all golfers should consider following. The article below is the second for Want Better Golf.

Five Great Exercises to Focus Your Thoughts on Your Target
Have you ever driven home on autopilot? We’ve all done so. After a long day on the job, we put the car in drive and our mind wanders. We’re paying very little conscious attention to the task of driving! And by some miracle, we arrive home, with very little memory of the drive we’ve just completed.

(This is a very dangerous habit by the way, and not recommended!)

We play golf the same way! (This is not nearly as dangerous, but also not as much fun as it could be.) We wander through most rounds on autopilot, exerting very little control over the direction of our thoughts. And by some miracle, we eventually hole the ball 18 times and then wonder what went wrong.

We established in previous posts that the ball will usually follow the direction of our thoughts. We shape our shots, bend the ball, with our thoughts. Even though we may focus our eyes on a very specific target in the fairway, if we’re thinking about the out of bounds along the left, our ball will likely head left.

To be more successful, we must focus both our eyes AND our thoughts on our intended target!

This is easier said than done, so here are a few exercises, off course and/or off season, to help hone these skills. These are progressively more difficult.

SIMPLY FOCUS YOUR EYES AND THOUGHTS ON AN OBJECT

Simply sit alone in a quiet room and focus both your eyes and your thoughts on any particular object. This sound simple doesn’t it. It’s not! Set an alarm for one minute, just 60 seconds, and try to focus your thoughts. You’ll find lots of other thoughts – what’s for supper, when do I have to pick up the children, did I leave that report on my boss’s desk, etc. – will drift into your mind. Each time this happens, just let those other thoughts go, and then bring your mind back to focusing, your thoughts, on just that one object. Keep trying.

ADD YOUR GOLF STANCE

Repeat the above exercise, but this time do so holding a golf club, in your stance, as if you’re about to hit a shot. Repeat this as often as you like.

PRACTICE THINKING AND PUTTING

In this exercise, you’re actually going to hit some putts. Set up your target and then get into your stance. Take one last look at your target. While doing so, focus your mind as well; focus your thoughts, on the intended target. Then bring your eyes back to the ball, while holding the thought of the target in your mind. And putt. Repeat this as often as you like.

FOCUS YOUR THOUGHTS IN A BUSY ROOM/AREA

It’s one thing to focus your thoughts when you’re all alone. It’s quite another to do so with some distractions. On a golf course, our partners generally respect the fact that we’re taking a shot by standing still, quietly. But they’re still there. They’re still watching. We’ve all experienced those first-tee jitters. And sometimes they’re not so quiet, or so still. Sometimes a group in another fairway causes a distraction.

In this exercise, repeat the first exercise, focusing your eyes and your thoughts on one particular object, but do so in a busy, noisy, distracting environment. Repeat as often as you like.

FOCUS YOUR THOUGHTS WHEN UNDER STRESS

Lastly, let’s introduce some stress. Most of us face times, often daily or weekly, when the stress of our job or other aspects of life are simply getting to us. This is a great opportunity to again repeat the first exercise. Just as in life, on the golf course there are times when we feel stress. The ability to focus both your eyes and your mind/thoughts on one particular object, even when under a great deal of stress, will definitely improve your golf game.

We’ll continue to explore the mind in future posts. For now, make it a great day! For yes, you do have the power to do so!