Build A Solid Pre-Shot Routine.

So little of the time during a round of golf is actually spent playing the game, somewhere around 90% of the time is what the Mind Game calls "In-Between" time, the walk between shots, waiting on the tee, waiting for the green to clear and so on.

No-one can possibly concentrate solidly for 4-5 hours and expect to perform at their best, it is therefore important to be able to switch off between shots, it must then follow that it is also important to be able to switch back on again when it is time to play.

A pre-shot routine is used, in part, for reducing the amount of conscious thinking whilst actually playing a shot; it is a practical tool for quietening the mind in a real life situation and allowing a player to perform in a more automatic sub-conscious manner.

A great thing about a pre-shot routine is that it's all for free, there's no exact rules as to how you go about it and no cost in shot terms for how you execute it, although there may be if a player does not adhere to their routine or has an incomplete one.

A pre-shot routine is a consistent and systematic procedure, a series of thoughts, checkpoints, movements and details that the golfer executes prior to hitting a shot. It helps in eliminating extraneous thoughts and assists in the desired state of "being in the present" Each player's routine will be individual to them but its tempo should be one that suits their personality and mode of play, if the player is a fast paced individual a long drawn out routine is unlikely to suit them, and likewise a slower more methodical person would not benefit from a fast paced routine. But whatever routine is used it should be practised and ingrained so that once a player starts their routine they have initiated a Stimulus - Response scenario that has triggered their concentration mode.

A trigger is all important to beginning the routine and is the equivalent of the referee's whistle to the golfer, an obvious trigger that a player can use is the sound the velco on their glove makes as they open it to put it on.

Once the player has triggered their concentration they can bring their attention to the shot to be played asking themselves questions about how they are looking to execute it what result they are seeking, in effect, "what does a good shot look like here". Having decided what a good shot looks like, maybe from their good shot library, the player is now ready to make their practice (dress rehearsal) swing, the full movement of what they now intend to do.

All of this conscious thinking has taken place before crossing the bridge over the commitment, or play, line. The routine has put the player into a state where they have done all of the necessary thinking to play the shot and there is nothing more to do but trust in their preparation and cross the play line with a quiet mind which is in the present and from there trust their swing and just let the shot go.

None of this will guarantee a good shot every time, there are too many elements involved that can influence the shot, from the player themselves to the general conditions, but , whatever the result the player knows that they prepared themselves correctly and did everything they could to produce the desired result. If the shot played is not what was wanted there is a danger that a player will immediately return to thinking about their technique, the course is really not the place to do this and, assuming that the routine has been correctly built, practised and ingrained, the player must learn to trust it so that whatever the result of a shot the next one is prepared for in exactly the same way.

Finally, in the same way that a player has their trigger signal to initiate the routine there also needs to be a stop signal, a conscious movement or action that tells your brain that that particular task is finished and whatever its result it is over. This is the signal that tells the player they are returning to in-between mode; it can be the action of returning the club to the bag, the sound it makes hitting the bottom of the bag or other clubs, maybe something on their equipment that they look at.

The signal I use is that on returning my club to the bag I pull it towards me before letting go as if it were the handbrake on my car, we have come to a stop, that part of the journey is over and we're in park, but, the car is ready to go again as soon as the next shot releases the brake.