What does this have to do with golf you might ask ?
In its most quintessential form , golf is a game of targets . From your first shot to your last , you strategically plot your way along the course aiming at the targets you deem most likely to get the ball in the hole in as few shots as possible . Depending on skill level , some golfers are more successful than others at hitting their targets and thus are more likely to shoot lower scores .
From a mental perspective , one of the key psychological skills necessary to play successful “ target golf ” is , not surprisingly , target focus . Target focus has two key features and can be defined as : ( 1 ) the conscious awareness of a chosen external target ( e . g . a distant tree branch , a section of a fairway , or a spot on a green ), and ( 2 ) the ability to stay attentive to that target throughout the golf swing undistracted by external or internal stimuli . By external stimuli , I am referring to any possible distractions outside the mind of the golfer ( e . g . weather , noise , course conditions , hazards , other people , etc .) By internal stimuli , I am referring to any possible distractions inside the mind of the golfer ( e . g . performance anxiety , fear , elation , negative self-talk , thoughts about swing mechanics , etc .).
Having worked with many golfers over the years , the first part of being target focused is easy . If you hand a golfer a club no matter their skill level , point them down a fairway and ask them to choose a target , they will be able to do so . An interesting note , which I will get into later when I suggest ways to work on target focus , when you ask a high handicap golfer to pick a target , they often chose targets that are non-specific and closer to them in proximity ( e . g . the fairway or the green ). When you ask lower handicap golfers to pick a target they chose very specific and distant targets ( e . g . a cart path sign or the left edge of a bunker ). The second part of target focus , the ability to stay attentive to that target throughout the golf swing , is something that even the professional golfers I work with find challenging .
Again , choosing a target for a professional golfer is not the problem , being able to stay focused on that target is the true test . The shift is often subtle and their attention inevitably seems to slip away from their chosen target to something else , which my students often report is something internal . They start thinking about their swing , their setup , or their grip . Negative thoughts creep in . They worry about whether or not the ball will go where they intend it to , or about what other people are going to think if they don ’ t perform well . All the while , their chosen external target slips farther and farther away from their awareness . Only the most vigilant golfers can bring their attention back to the original external target .
In psychology , this switching of attention , back and forth from one stimuli to another , is known as “ toggling ”, and it is thought to be one of the reasons why we can ’ t pay attention to two things at the same time . As mentioned and demonstrated earlier , as our attention shifts , we lose sight of , or ignore , the thing we were previously paying attention to unless we turn our attention back to it . A common example of how this works is texting while driving . Hopefully you ’ ve never texted while you drive , but if you have , think back to the last time you did and how difficult ( and dangerous ) it was to drive as your attention shifted back and forth from the road to your phone . There may even have been a time where you almost drove off the road , or narrowly avoided an accident . Interestingly , if I asked you if you were able to pay attention to both your phone and the road at the same time , you would say , “ yes ” despite clear evidence to the contrary . Importantly , our perceptions of our abilities to attend are skewed , and despite our beliefs , when our attention shifts from one thing to another , we become blind to the previous thing we were focused on .
These principles apply to golf as well . If , as you prepare to hit a shot , you appropriately focus your attention on an external target , say a tree in the distance and then start worrying about your backswing , your attention will shift from the tree in the distance to “ worrying about your backswing ”. If
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