Many tasks we perform in life have been perfected through practice and visualization. For example, each morning, many of us get into a car and drive to work. The first time we got behind the wheel it all seemed very complicated; now we can literally do it without thinking (well, too much). You just visualize your destination and go.
Or typing. I don’t know about you, but I was a little intimidated the first time I saw a keyboard. It all seemed like a bunch of letters and numbers arranged with no rhyme or reason. Now, without glancing at the keyboard (well, too much), I can sit in front of a computer and make words appear on the screen with ease.
Golf is another example. The goal of the golf swing or putting stroke is not to just simply hit the ball; the goal is to get the ball to a target. Golf is a strange sport in that you are not looking at your target during your motion. Through practice, you can work on your mechanics to enhance your ability to make more solid and consistent contact. But ultimately, you still need to focus on actually getting the ball to your target.
In putting, distance control is much more important than direction. Many people three-putt more often than not because the first putt runs five feet past the hole or four feet short of it, rather than missing by a large margin to the right or left. This feel for distance can be improved by “visualizing” the hole during your stroke.
Think of it in terms of playing catch with someone who keeps moving closer or farther away on every throw. Your eyes tell you to throw the ball faster or slower depending on how far away your “target” is standing.
When I am giving golf lessons, I am often asked what a player should be “looking at.” My answer is that we should be “thinking of the target rather than staring at the ball.”
Loren Roberts, one of the best putters ever, talks about his “eyes going fuzzy” when putting. What happens is that he actually puts himself into a small daydream where he has a picture of the target in his mind during the motion. We have all daydreamed where our eyes were open but we were picturing something else. You need to learn how to harness this ability by picturing something you are not actually looking at.
The best exercise I’ve worked with to sharpen distance control and the ability to “see” your target is a three-part drill. First, you start by hitting putts while looking at the hole, feeling the speed of your stroke and putter. Your eyes will tell you to roll the ball faster or slower.
Next, hit some putts with your eyes closed. Take a practice stroke while looking at the target to feel the speed and distance. Then, set up to the ball, look at the hole, look down and then close your eyes. Get a clear picture in your mind of the hole and the distance, and then stroke as if you are actually still looking at the target. It is amazing how often students start dropping 20 and 30 foot putts while doing this. They are no longer thinking about mechanics or contact; they are focusing only on the target and speed.
The next step is to hit putts with your eyes open but visualizing the target and feeling the speed. After taking a practice stroke looking at the hole, set up, look down at the ball but then “picture” the distance to the hole as if your eyes were closed. This takes some work to be able to put yourself into this “daydream,” and you definitely need to practice this before you take it out onto the course.
When you are out on the course, you need to be thinking more about getting the ball into the hole instead of perfect mechanics or contact. Once you start thinking about your target instead of the ball, your putts and scores will start to drop.
Even if you are not a golfer, you will be amazed by the many things you can accomplish in your life through visualization and practice.
