Integrating the Mental and Mechanical Pre Swing Routines

Chapter 2 Routine

In their 1978 book. The new golf mind Dr. Gary Wireman and Larry Sheehan, PGA teaching professionals and Dr. Richard coop, an educational psychologist presented a theory of brain function that is quoted and used by many golf instructors To this day.

The authors described brain function as analyzer or left-brain and integrator is right brain These authors presented the left-brain analyzer as necessary in processing verbal information while the right brain integrator is primarily responsible for the execution of the swing.

They further note that too much left brain analyzer during the pre swing interferes with successful shot execution.

let’s discuss an integration of the mental and mechanical links of the pre swing chain and discuss the left and right brain functions and their places in the pre swing routine.

Now I’d like for you to picture a series of lengths and a total chain, one side of this link has a physical routine and the right side has a mental routine they’re connected and occurred together. These links connect to a second link to a third link into a fourth link.

• So on the physical routine, for example, you walk to the ball and on the mental routine, as you walk to this ball.
  • Link one, you check your line. Is it downhill? Is it uphill? Or are you in the rough? If so, is it up or down in the rough? And you consider the natural ball of light and you determine a target.
  • Link to you on the physical routine, you find a distance marker and you step off your distance and the mental routine and link to is to calculate the distance to landing area or your target
  • Links three, and the physical routine. You toss the grass into the air. And on the mental side, you determine the strength of the wind. And you consider the club allowances at a one club wind and so on.
  • Links for on the physical routine, you look down the fairway and the mental routine. You find a target and determine the type of shot in the club based upon your lie. When distance target your ability to hit the shot, can you hit a draw, fade, lower high, and so on.
  • Link five. You walk back to the golf bag in your physical routine and in your mental routine, feel the ground under your feet with a thought focus only on the successful outcome of this shot.
  • Link six physical routine. You remove your club from the bag, the mental routine and link six, feel the club head, the shape, shaft and temperature, and your movement is quiet and deliberate.
  • Link seven, the physical routine, you walk back behind the ball and the mental routine. Ideally your movement matches your desired swing tempo.
  • Link eight, the physical routine, and you look down the fairway and the mental routine and link eight. You find a target and recall a similar shot you have had well before. I want to picture the ball flight and swing, and you want to feel the shot and you confidently meaning that you believe it. You confidently describe to yourself the shot you are going to hit. For example, I’m going to start this ball out left of my target over that Oak tree, the tallest branch on that tree. And let the side hill lie produce a natural fade.
  • Link nine. The physical routine is you take a practice, swing the mental routine. As you take this practice swing, you feel the swing you want to make to produce the shot. As you hold a visual image of your primary target or ball flight.
  • Link 10. The physical routine is you walk to the ball and the mental routine, your movement matches your desired swing tempo once again, and your eyes and thoughts never leave your intermediate target if you use one. And if you don’t your eyes and thoughts never leave your primary target.
  • Link 11, you square your club phase to the intermediate target in your physical routine. And the mental routine in Link 11 movement is gentle and relaxed. As you continue to look at your intermediate or your primary target, whichever is appropriate for you.
  • Link 12. your eyes go to the primary target. Then you shuffle into your setup and assume a balanced athletic position in your physical routine and in your mental routine in link 12, you stare at the target glance at the ball, and you hold a visual image of your primary target. As you glance at the ball.
  • Link 13. Your physical routine is the waggle of the club in preparation to start your swing. The mental side of that Link 13 is that your movement is quiet, relaxed, and deliberate. He focuses a foreground mental image of the target and a background feeling of the swing.

Now in the models presented by doctors, wiring and coop and Larry Sheehan. The pre swing routine has a left-brain analyzer and a right brain integrator.

If you look at links, one through four, you will find the verbal decision-making based upon an assessment of lye when distance obstacles and so on. This is all left brain function. According to this model. Now, once you move to link five, the right brain or the integrator takes over and for the best shot execution remains in control.

Now let’s review an example of this by looking at an intrusive thought between Links 12 and 13. Now I go back to link 12 and the physical routine and link 12 is your eyes go to the primary target. Then you shuffle into your setup and assume a balanced athletic position.

And now the mental side of link 12, you stare at the target and glance at the ball. You hold a visual image of the primary target as you glance at the ball.

• What will break the link between links 12 and 13 maybe one or a combination of the following intrusive thoughts.
  • I need to hit a good shot here. If I could birdie this hole, I can get back in the game and start to play better on the backside all over the last time I had this lie hook the ball.
  • Or I need to be sure I don’t pull the club inside too quickly this time. I think that’s what I’ve been doing, but I don’t want to hit this one. Right? I’ll do that. If I get the club outside, I would never be able to recover from those trees.
  • Or Still another. I wonder if I have enough club here, maybe it’s a smooth 7 iron instead of a hard 8.

And as a result of any one or combination of these intrusive thoughts, the new Link in 13 becomes the physical routine. You begin to stare at the ball and glance at the trees to the right, and in the mental routine, you might say.

• If I get in those trees, that’s good for another double or maybe even a triple anytime.

Intrusive thoughts occur during the pre swing routine performance deteriorates. According to the model of the new golf mine, the intrusive thoughts take you from right-brain left-brain from a learning perspective, these intrusive thoughts break a link in the behavior chains, this break, and the links impacts upon the readiness potential by feeding undesired content to the brain mechanism that is developing the motor program.

In this case, the motor program is being rewritten by thoughts and images of an undesired swing path and pass poor performance with a similar line, regardless of what the explanation may be, the outcome is always the same poor performance.

So what should you do? Well, step off the ball and start your routine over.

If for example, your routine was like the 12 steps presented. You would walk quietly and deliberately behind the ball and start your routine over from let’s say, step number 9.

Now, if you’ll recall, step number 9 is behind the ball where you take a practice, swing and feel the swing you want to make to produce the shot as you hold the visual image of your primary target. So that’d be a good starting place. If you do step off the ball, the same is true of Putting.

And there’s a story that’s told about Billy Casper’s pre swing routine. He approaches a fairway shot, stops at his bag and pulls his yardage guide from his pocket. Then he steps off the yardage puts the yardage guide back in his pocket, talks to his caddy about the shot, takes a club and completes his routine behind the ball. He steps up to the ball, begins to waggle his club, and here’s a camera shutter click. He steps back from his ball. Glares at the photographer, walks back to his bag, drops his club in the bag, walks 10 yards back down the fairway turns around and starts his routine over from that point.

Now here’s a player who understands the importance of an uninterrupted routine.

Please continue with: The mental end Swing Routine