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Golf Basics – The Importance of Visualization

Eventually… you just have to put the clubhead on the ball.

At some point, you’ve got to just clear your head and put the clubface on the golf ball…

When it come time to play, you’ve got to stop practicing… start your pre-shot routine and then just put the clubface on the ball.

Sure this sounds simple… but when when I watch people take their game to the course… over and over again, I see them running their latest lesson or practice session through their head.

When it comes time to play, start thinking about managing the course and getting into the moment of each golf shot. Remember, the golf ball only goes where the club tells it to… so relax… drop the mechanics mentality and work on just putting a smooth swing… and ultimately to clubface on the golf ball.

Perhaps a better way to put it would be to practice your mechanics… but play with feel.

The mechanics part is easy and self explanatory… just take a lesson and go to the range to cement the lesson…

The feel part is where the mid to higher handicappers part company… they just can’t seem to leave the mechanics on the range.

Playing with feel is getting in tune with how you are not only going to play each hole on course; but it is also micro’d down to how you’re going to play each shot. Learn to make visualization a part of each and every pre-shot routine in your golf game. Visualize what it is that your are going to accomplish with each of your golf shots… this is imperative for good feel.

Many times an analogy I use when working with people is this; I grew up playing baseball… in fact, all the way through college… I was a pitcher. As a starting pitcher, before each game warming up in the bull pen, I would go through a very specific ‘game day’ routine. And just like any athlete there were days when my stuff was on fire… and there were days when… well… not so much so.

But point here is, when it came time to leave the bull pen and head for the mound the only thought in my mind was… “It’s time to go compete with what I’ve got today.” No more mechanics, no more adjustments… just me, the mound, and the competition.

And that’s what you’ve got to do if you’re struggling with getting your game from the practice tee to the first tee… just go with what you’ve got and when you step up to the tee… engage your eyes… visualize… command your eyes to commit your mind and your body to each shot and target.

For the champion athlete’s this is ‘in the zone’. You can get into your zone as well if you understand that you just go with what you’ve got and commit to your visualization.

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