Whenever you watch pros in action, you will notice they all have various types of routines prior to executing the shot in hand.
Tour pros are meticulous in their preparations, especially when it comes to their pre shot routines but as John Peters, head PGA professional at Machynys Golf & Country Club, explains a pre shot routine is about more than just taking aim.
Both the men's and ladies tours move closer to mainland Europe this week with the unusual situation of them both playing in the same country, Morocco.
However the two courses are quite different, the men playing at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam, an inland course which is reasonably long and tree-lined, while the ladies are closer to the coast at Royal Golf Anfa Mohammédia, a slightly more open course where the wind will be a major factor for the players to contend with during the week.
Both courses will require players to control the trajectory and shape of their ball. This will take not only technical ability, which most of these professionals have in abundance, but more crucially the ability to process and create the imagery of the shot they intend to play.
Just like most aspects of the game, this is a learned habit rather than a talent you're born with, although some players find it considerably easier than others!
This can depend on the type of coaching received or environment the players developed their game in. Whenever you watch professionals in action, you will notice they all have various types of routines prior to executing the shot in hand.
Some players can clearly see in their mind the ball flight or even the swing required to perform the shot.
Again, most of these pre shot routines will involve standing behind the ball looking down at their intended line of target. It would seem to most of you that all they are doing is getting the line right to the target, but actually most of the players are using a process to conjure up the image of the ball finishing at their intended destination; therefore creating the imagery in the mind of what they're about to do with the ball/swing.
This process invariably uses three types of senses, visual (seeing), kinaesthetic (feel) and auditory (sound) to help build the image of the shot required.
It's not the case that all players use all three when creating the image but they'll definitely have a dominant sense or primary lead, creating an order in which they process the shot in their mind to help them produce the best result possible.
Club golfers are also doing this process but are not necessarily aware of the order or primary lead that works best for them.
The primary lead is the sense that produces the clearest image and can then lead to the other senses to help form the image of the ball arriving at its intended target. Some players can clearly see in their mind the ball flight or even the swing required to perform the shot, for others it's more the feel of the swing or the ball on the clubface and then for some it's the sound that the shot makes when struck properly.
As I stated earlier, often it's a combination of all three with one being the primary lead. Successful performers religiously create these sensations in their minds as part of their process for every shot.
To help you find out which senses work best for you, try writing down after your next round of golf, five of your best shots noting what you recall about them the most. Then pick five of your worst shots that day, again noting what you remember the most about these shots.
You should start to notice in the better shots how there's a similar image recurring each time with a particular emphasis on one of the senses mentioned, vice versa you may notice the imagery and use of sense is not so apparent during your poor shots and therefore your order/process has been altered making the image of a successful outcome more difficult and unclear.
You might even find it difficult to recall any particular sense or image at all, again highlighting the lack of clarity in your mind of the intended shot required. The idea of this type of exercise is to help you form the correct process using your strongest sense as the primary lead when creating the image of your shot during your pre shot routine. It could be that the inconsistency you experience in your game is not down to technique, but more the ability to process the shots clearly in your mind before execution.
John Peters is head professional at Machynys Peninsula G&CC and GUW Regional Centre of Excellence and is part of Golf Coaching Cymru Discussion Group which is a group of coaches selected by The PGA and Golf Union of Wales to pilot Levels 3 and 4 of the UKCC coaching qualifications.
17 March, 2010 | The PGA