During a recent lesson with my PGA instructor, Dale Ketola, at the Grande Dunes Golf Performance Center, the focus was on putting and the mental game. Dale made me realize that I don't need the line which I currently place on my ball to point to the target - the line, speed, confidence, and feel are all in my head.
Dale incorporates really high line golf technology into his lessons to show where players need improvement or if they are on the right track. Along with V1 software, BODITRAK and Flightscope, my very able instructor utilizes FocusBand with his students.
FocusBand is a mind-sensing neurofeedback device which shows when a golfer is thinking too much negative thoughts when playing the game. Sounds like it comes from the head of Gene Roddenberry, doesn't it? Several well known PGA Tour, LPGA and Web.com Tour players, such as Jason Day and Michelle Wie, use this apparatus...and now it is my turn to try it out!
We used this headband during my putting lesson to help measure my subconscious thoughts while standing over the ball. Am I:
- Overthinking (Excessive Fear or Anxiety)
- Having Fear of Failure
- Frustrated
- In the Zone
Dale dropped a ball on the green (as if it landed in that perfect position) and watched as I performed my pre-shot routine.The simple interface showed that, while standing over the ball ready to putt, my brain was "in the red zone".
Uh, oh,...I was definitely thinking too much! But, what was I thinking of? That was for my instructor to determine as machines cannot give you that piece of the puzzle...yet.
It is his experience as a teacher and player that made me understand what I am thinking, sensing and how to limit my thoughts to one visual before striking the ball.
I asked Dale what he does during his pre-shot putting routine. He says that, before taking his putt, he analyzes the green, then stares at the dirt in the bottom of the cup and puts that thought of the circle into his mind; he goes up to the marker, places his ball (with a small circle drawn on top) into position, aims and shoots.
At address, I need to, "Occupy my mind with what's going to happen, not how it's going to happen."
You can also relate putting to driving a car and how you don't consciously think of pressing down on gas or brake pedal or placing your hands on the steering wheel or turning your car to the left or right - you just know how to do it already and make it happen.
I learned quite a bit during my putting lesson at the Golf Performance Center - thank you, Dale! Now, I need to practice my new routine so that, when I get onto the course, my brain is in the "green zone" on the green!
A parting thought about the importance of putting...
After his sobering loss at the 99th PGA Championship, David Duval said of Hideki Matsuyama, "On a Sunday, I don't think you have to make a ton of 15-footers, but you have to make the four and five footers to win a golf tournament."
Here is a great putt from Justin Thomas during the 3rd round of the U.S. Open which helps prove that the mind is what gets the golf ball to the hole:
ARE YOU KIDDING? WHAT. A. PUTT! @JustinThomas34 #USOpen (🎥: @usopengolf) pic.twitter.com/foKFJsNo1K — GOLF.com (@golf_com) June 17, 2017
What techniques do you use to "see" the ball to the hole? Let's talk putting! Post comments below on this golf blog and on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.
