"It is not the will to win that matters, everyone has that.
It is the will to prepare to win that matters." - Paul "Bear" Bryant
Tom's Featured Tip: Visualization, Repetitions, Automacity
Lesson Comments: What Students Have To Say
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Visualization, Repetitions, Automacity
For simplicity, all advice on actual swings or drills is provided from a right handed perspective.
Two Great Training Aids For Indoor or Outdoor Practice
The Divot Board
This is the most useful ball striking development training aid that I own.
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Visualization, Repetitions, Automacity
Visualization
To me, visualization in golf means looking at a target and imagining the flight of the ball towards the target in vivid detail - trajectory, curvature, landing, and the ball either rolling out or drawing back when it hits the green. For a putt it would be seeing the line of the putt and seeing the ball roll out and drop into the hole.
In my daily study of the game we all love, I often see visualization touted as the "cure all" for golf swings, and that it should be used to essentially erase all mechanical thoughts from your golf swing process.
I've heard "experts" at golf say "don't think about your swing" and "stay in the moment" as generic advice for all golfers.
That sounds good, but there are a host of other factors to consider before such advice should be given, and it should never be considered to be absolute generic advice for every golfer.
Among many other factors to be considered are:
- Which kind of thought process works better for an individual - verbalization (words)
or visualization (imagery),
- And a persons working mental capacity.
Scientific research has shown that "while optimal performance may seem to occur when our level of swing thought is reduced, the opposite does not hold true."
In other words, merely reducing swing thoughts will not in itself lead to peak performance.
This is in stark contrast to previous academic research and the prevalent teachings of golf psychologists over the last two decades.
Automacity and Repetitions
Automacity in golf means that you can execute a swing without consciously thinking about the components (body movements) that are required to execute the swing correctly. The swing is basically automatic.
When a golfer has attained a level of automacity with their preferred swing technique, visualization has a chance of producing optimal performance.
That's what I mean when I say "own your swing" - practice enough so that your body knows your swing automatically. This level comes before mastery, which most of us will never attain for various reasons - time for dedicated practice and inherent talent being two of them.
So the big question is how much practice does it take to "own your swing"?
I wrote an article on how anyone can learn a skill in 20 hours,
Issue 682 20 Hours , and I've seen research that it can take up to 10,000 hours of practice to attain mastery.
I believe both assertions as they can apply to golf, and it's my personal belief that a person can practice enough to attain automacity in a less time than it takes to achieve mastery at a skill. Note that you can be very good without attaining mastery.
I saw this interesting quote, unrelated to golf, that I think can be applied directly to golf practice and studying golf:
Author Toni Morrison on how to get better at writing - or anything, really:
"I thought of myself as like the jazz musician: someone who practices and practices and practices in order to be able to invent and to make his art look effortless and graceful. I was always conscious of the constructed aspect of the writing process, and that art appears natural and elegant only as a result of constant practice and awareness of its formal structures."
What you can take away from this.
- Visualization, then removing your thoughts as you swing only works if your body has been well trained in
technique.
- There is one exception: Putting. Because it's such a small swing, and because putting technique is so individualized,
visualization and/or verbalization may work to produce better results for you now. For example, a combination of
visualization - seeing
the line of the putt and imagining the ball dropping into the hole, and verbalization -
the mantra "straight back - straight through" has helped me improve my putting.
Experiment and see if it works for you.
- There is one exception: Putting. Because it's such a small swing, and because putting technique is so individualized,
visualization and/or verbalization may work to produce better results for you now. For example, a combination of
visualization - seeing
the line of the putt and imagining the ball dropping into the hole, and verbalization -
the mantra "straight back - straight through" has helped me improve my putting.
- If you don't "own your swing" yet, do not be afraid of having a couple or perhaps even a few swing keys in mind when you
execute your swing.
- If you do "own your swing", experiment a with visualization then verbalization - or both combined - to see what produces
the best result.
- Last but not least - keep practicing!
Try it, you'll like it.
Comments: TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
Love your practice, own your swing, own your health,
Tom
Golf Lessons
I conduct lessons at The Plum Creek Driving Range & Practice Facility
there's a link for Plum Creek info here: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/
Lessons are available for all ages and skill levels, please contact
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for more information.
Outdoor Lessons Details and Rates:
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Sponsors and Affiliates
Buying a sponsored product through any of my affiliate links helps support this free newsletter, and I only affiliate with excellent products that I use myself. Thanks, Tom
Train with a Rypstick to improve your swing speed and gain more distance off the tee. If the versatility of three different swing weights in one club appeals to you, this is your swing speed training aid of choice.
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All the best,
Tom Tucker
Teaching Pro, Plum Creek Driving Range & Practice Facility
WGTF ' "Top 100 Golf Teacher"
USGTF Class "A" Teaching Professional
IGPA Certified Golf Psychology Coach
Cell: (716) 474-3005
Email: TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
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"There are no substitutes in the quest for perfection!"
~ Ben Hogan