Did you know that you never lose your focus? While it might seem like you do from time to time you’re always focused on something, even if it’s something that can hurt your game.
Maintaining good focus is not about forcing your mind to lock onto a single thing. It’s about disciplining your mind to let go of a lot of other irrelevant things. To improve this part of your mental game I’m going to share the 3 ways you can improve your golf focus.
Good golf focus isn't abt forcing your mind to lock onto a single thing - it’s abt disciplining your mind to let go of irrelevant things. 3 Ways to Improve #GolfFocus Share on XWhat Gets in the Way of Focusing on the Right Things?
There are golf and non-golf related things continually vying for your attention. I bet there have been a lot of rounds during which you were really trying to focus but you were distracted by things that had nothing to do with your game, like…
- remembering what you need to get at the grocery store
- thinking about the person you need to call back
- deciding where to make a dinner reservation
- making preparations for family members coming to visit
- and more…
And what about your phone that you left turned on in the cart that’s been buzzing and pinging with alerts and updates? Or the chatter of a playing partner that keeps pulling your thoughts away from being totally focused on your next shot? And the group pressing from behind or the slow group you keep waiting on?
There are specific things you can do to limit the impact of a lot of distractions before you head to the course. To learn more I invite you to grab a copy of my free guide – Top 5 Ways to Clear Mental Clutter Before You Play – To download it CLICK HERE
While following the recommended strategies in my free guide will help clear the clutter you might otherwise take to the course, there are three additional strategies you can use to improve your focus while you’re on the course.
Keeping Your Attention Focused on What Matters
It’s amazing how solidly and consistently golfers can swing when they’re playing with a quiet, focused mind. If you want to swing freely, your mind must first be free.
But there are certain things on the course that can become sources of distraction —
- focusing on your score
- focusing on a hazard
- focusing on someone else’s poor shot, or club choice
- focusing on a past miss hit
Focusing on any of those items will NOT help you hit your next shot well, but focusing on the following three simple things will —
1. Your desired target
There’s a big difference between focusing on a target, and locking on to the target you really want to hit. I’ve worked with plenty of golfers who approach their shot considering where they don’t want to hit before getting around to thinking about the target they actually desire to hit. Start with the ideal end in mind and focus on the ONE target where you want the ball to go. This will keep your thoughts moving in a streamlined direction toward making that target your reality.
2. Your past successes
Resurrecting the past is only a good practice if you’re remembering the shots you’d like to repeat. How much time do you waste thinking and worrying about the shots you hope you don’t hit again? Stop wasting precious mental energy and focus getting distracted by your past mistakes. Train yourself to pull forward memories of good shots you’ve hit to create a clear mental picture of what you want to do next.
3. Your “A” game
Thinking about the things that aren’t working in your bag is another source of distraction and a complete waste of time. A lot of golfers think they need to focus on fixing what’s not working. But the last thing you want to do is get caught up in your mechanics and giving yourself a swing lesson in the middle of a round. That’s the complete opposite of trusting your swing. Let go of worrying about what’s not working in exchange for focusing on what is. By doing so you can invest in leveraging the “A” game you have in the bag for the day.
Any of the three focal points would be great purpose goals to take to the course. (If you aren’t familiar with how to set your purpose goals before you play that’s one of the things I teach you to do in my free guide that I referenced above.)
Distractions are ever present, but that doesn’t mean you have to play at the mercy of them. Training your mind to focus on a handful of beneficial things makes it much easier to redirect your thoughts to one of them when you catch your mind getting off track.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, good focus is not about forcing your mind to lock onto one thing over another. It’s about reducing the distractions so that all that’s left are focal points that actually help you play great.
Leave me a comment below to tell me which of the three focal points I listed above you believe will help you the most in your next round.
And if you liked this article, please share it with a friend. That’s always the best compliment you could give me.
I believe all three focal points are equally important and necessary for every round. I think I need to make a list of the beneficial things that work so I have concrete material to have to redirect my mind when the negative thoughts enter. Why does it seem that the misses come to mind before the past successes?
Reece, Thank you for your comment! A list is a great idea — that’s the point of setting your purpose, or as we talked about them, your non-negotiable rules of play. The reason that it’s much easier to recall the misses over the past successes is because of the emotional power we attach to those memories when they happen. Think about how frustrated or downright angry you can get after a blunder of a shot. The ask yourself if you get equally emotional in a positive way after a good shot. Or does it take hitting a spectacular shot to get you that emotional? Shannon