Although there are many different ways to get the job done, the one thing that Must remain consistent is your planning process which entails; reading, visualization, decisions, commitment and execution…
- Reading
- This refers to the lie of the ball be it fairway or rough, etc, slopes the ball is laying on as well as the slopes of the green. Elevation of the shot as well as how far it must travel in the air and how soon it must stop once it lands. The key feature is to choose a landing point which will help you derive all information necessary to move forward.
- Visualization
- Once you’ve chosen a landing point, you’ll need to visualize the proper trajectory/spin factors that will enable the ball to stop once it has landed at your chosen spot.
- Decisions
- This comes in the form of choosing the club and technique to use as well as the speed, rhythm and effort needed to generate the shot you’ve visualized.
- Commitment
- Without the previous processes, you will not be able to commit to the shot as you have not made a clear decision of what you want the ball to do and what feeling will produce it.
- You are better off committing to the wrong shot than Not committing to the correct shot. This means, that if you don’t commit you won’t even be able to hit a decent shot because your body and brain don’t truly know what they’re supposed to do! If you commit to the wrong speed or rhythm, the worst scenario will put you just a few more feet from the hole.
- Execution
- A short physical routine that takes you from commitment to take away must involve keeping your awareness on the trajectory or shot tracer and the landing point. Let your body react to the target and ball flight without a litany of instructions as to the mechanical aspects of how to hit the shot. You’ve already covered this in our previous steps, so let it go!