"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: More On External Focus
Lesson Comments: What Students Have To Say
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2022 BCC Junior Golf Camp The Junior Golf Camp sold out quickly in 2021, so get your junior golfer registered soon. Call BCC at (585) 343-7600
More On External Focus
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.
Click here ImpactSnap.com to buy now. Start using the ImpactSnap training aid indoors or outdoors to make you instantly aware of proper hand action, which is second only to low point awareness for great ball striking.
More On External Focus
I've discussed External Focus within the context of the swing itself, and here's another aspect of your game where it can be used successfully.
For example, when we place our focus on what we are trying to do with the clubhead, the golf ball, or the effect of our movement (impact) rather than the movement itself, it's called External Focus.
That type of focus is opposed to Internal Focus, where we concentrate on a hand or body movement in our swing.
When I give a playing lesson to a student and ask them where their focus of attention was before and during a shot, I rarely find that it was on the same things.
Many golfers are very good at training their swings, but not as good at training their attention.
It's very easy for the mind to become more concerned about the movement of the swing than the intention for the shot. Most golfers go through the motions¯ during their Pre Shot Routine and convince themselves they are focused, but are unaware of where they are directing their attention.
What we focus on as we prepare to hit a shot, makes a big difference in the execution of it.
Studies show that generally speaking, having an external focus is the most effective way to play. When we become too focused on what we need to with the body (Internal Focus¯), energy is directed away from the intention for the shot and towards thinking about the swing. By doing this, our intuitive athletic ¯mind is pushed out of the process.
Your Pre Shot Routine gives you many options for external focus and attentional cues that can affect how you connect with what you're trying to achieve and how you swing the club or stroke the putter.
Shot routines and what a player focuses on, can also be different for full shots, short game and putting.
Here are a few examples:
- The target - how do you see it and can you retain it?
- The feel of the strike (path, face, ground contact)
- The speed of the putt (being able to trace it with your eyes before starting your stroke)
- The visual image of the ball taking off, the apex or landing
- The tempo of the swing
- The sound of the shot
- What type of external focus produces your best shots?
When all is said and done, golf is a game of discovery.
Intention of focus and awareness of your attention is an important part of practice. After all, when you are on the course, maybe playing in a tournament or a money match, focusing becomes harder because more of your energy goes to your nervous system. Decide what you plan to focus on and practice it mindfully, so you make it a habit.
I'm currently reading a book by James Clear called Atomic Habits and he alluded to this as follows:
"When you want to maximize your potential and achieve elite levels of performance, you need a more nuanced approach.
You cant repeat the same things blindly and expect to become exceptional. Habits are necessary, but not sufficient for mastery. What you need is a combination of automatic habits and deliberate practice.
Habits + Deliberate Practice = Mastery
To become great, certain skills do need to become automatic. Basketball players need to be able to dribble without thinking before they can move on to mastering layups with their nondominant hand. Surgeons need to repeat the first incision so many times that they could do it with their eyes closed, so that they can focus on the hundreds of other variables that arise during surgery.
But after one habit has been mastered, you have to return to the effortful part of the work and begin building the next habit.
Mastery is the process of narrowing your focus to a tiny element of success, repeating it until you have internalized the skill, and then using this new habit as the foundation to advance to the next frontier of your development.
Try it, you'll really 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
me - Tom Tucker - at (716) 474 3005 or email me at TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
for more information.
Outdoor Lessons Details and Rates:
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Testimonials:
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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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Use your club or hand to re-set the board after your strike
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Train with the Impact Snap training aid to improve your hand and wrist coordination for a powerful strike. A Golf Digest 2021 Editors Choice Training Aid
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SuperSpeedGolf.com Buy now and get to work on increasing your swing speed now.
Club Champion Don't waste another dollar on clubs until you've gone through a fitting at Club Champion, 1669 Pittsford Victor Rd., Suite 400, Victor NY 14564. Call Master Fitter & Builder Jeff St. John. PGA work: (585) 978-8513, cell: (585) 831-2292 to schedule your fitting today! Mention my name and you'll get special attention.
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Plum Creek Driving Range and Simulator Outdoor range and play indoor golf on any of our 40 Simulator Courses. Call 585-993-0930 or email Mark at plumcreek4@rochester.rr.com to reserve time for simulator play or practice!
Batavia Country Club (585) 343-7600 www.bataviacc.com
Great rates, the best greens in WNY.
Golf Digest Four Star rating for public courses to play in New York State.
Tee times online or by phone in season.
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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
http://www.TomTuckerGolf.com
"There are no substitutes in the quest for perfection!"
~ Ben Hogan