“Visualization is the most powerful thing we have.” – Nick Faldo
The Golf State of Mind coaching philosophy is about using everything you have to get the most out of every performance. Visualization is one of those things that doesn’t require any physical skill to learn, but as Nick Faldo says, it’s the most powerful thing you have.
Why visualize?
The world’s best athletes use the practice of visualizing a great performance before the action for a very good reason – it works!
Visualization has been proven to:
- stimulate the muscles necessary to perform an action
- program the mind and muscles prior to playing to increase confidence
- control pre-round nerves and relax the body and mind
- re-frame from negative to positive outcomes
- Help with swing changes
- Help recovery from injury
- Improve concentration
The science of visualization for golf.
Movement is initiated by the brain. When you want to perform a physical action, the best way to do it is to first feed the brain a picture of that action and the desired outcome of that action.
The brain doesn’t know the difference between a real and imagined action (the sensory input into the brain is the same). So, when you visualize a physical action, you’re actually stimulating the same muscles that you would use to perform the real action. Sports scientists call this “Functional Equivalence”.
A study was done by Sports psychologist, Richard Suinn, which involved skiers being monitored by an EMG machine (a machine that detects muscle activity) while imagining skiing down a slope. The results showed that even though the skiers weren’t moving, the exact same muscles they would have used during a downhill ski were activated.
So when you think about physical activity, you are essentially getting those muscles you need ready for action.
In golf, if you don’t have a clear picture of the shot you’re about to hit, you’re quite simply wasting a valuable opportunity to prepare the brain to activate the exact muscles required to execute it. To access those muscles, the brains uses specific “neural” pathways to send impulses to those specific muscles. When you’re visualizing, you’re telling the brain which pathways it needs to use.
Visualization before a golf shot
I’m going to assume you have a good course strategy and you’ve picked the best target for your shot. But how will the ball get there? What does a good shot look like?
Here’s where your visualization comes in…
2 ways to visualize a golf shot.
To visualize a shot, you need to get a clear picture of the path the ball will travel to reach the target. Is it a fade or a draw? Low or high? How will it bounce when it lands? Make the picture as vivid as you can. If you’ve seen the Shot Tracker technology they use to show the shape of a shot on the PGA TOUR TV coverage, that’s what you’re looking for. This type of visualization is called “outcome visualization”.
The other way to visualize is to actually see yourself hitting the shot (with the flight of the ball too). This is the one I prefer as you actually get a look at the swing you need to make, which will help you repeat that movement. This type of visualization is called “Process Visualization”.
You might have heard Jack Nicklaus’ famous quote of imagining himself hitting the shot during his pre-shot routine. He describes having a very vivid image, like it was a color movie.
Do you have an "Image Reel" in your head?
One way to do this is with a virtual “image reel”. After Jordan Spieth’s win at Augusta this year, his coach talked about the image reel they’d been working on. Showing Jordan’s best shots, which he could recall during play. Imaging past successful shots is actually easier than imagining new shots. You already have them in your memory. This would not only help him move his body in the same way, but seeing that past success also helps evoke a positive mood. This is why it’s a good idea to keep a “mental game journal” of your best shots.
When your target is externally focused, you’re a lot more committed and assertive with the action.
When your focus is on an image of your desired outcome, and you can keep that focus on that image (even when you’re over the ball), your focus is on something external. Golf is a hard game because you are not looking at the target when you hit the ball. When you throw a basketball you have the information of where the target is relation to you as you perform the action.
Your focus is on the target as you throw the ball. Not on your body, which makes it a lot easier. I call this “external focus”. When your focus in on what your body has to do to hit the target, it’s called “internal focus” and it makes the game a lot harder. Your movement is not as fluid and free-flowing and it leads to more inconsistencies in your swing. When you focus on the target is external, you’re a lot more committed and assertive with the action.
Remove all technical thoughts.
In golf, the best way to achieve this “external” focus and make sure you don’t have technical thoughts, is to use visualization and try to imprint an image of the target in your mind so you can see it when you’re not looking at it.
Tiger Woods used to say that he could still see the target when he is looking at the ball. Nick Price said he felt like he had a camera looking out of his left ear which allowed him to see the target in his mind as he looked at the ball.
The 3 Keys to Golfing Success are all right here for your to use!
Read more about how to improve your visualization skills on the course here!
Source: David Mackenzie Golf State of Mind Mel Sole Golf School,
Pictures: Golf State of Mind Taylor Bartlow
Thanks for reading - The 3 Keys to Golfing Success
Related Posts.
Visualization for Winning Golf.
Lower Your Scores with Visualization!
Better Bunker Play Through Visualization.