GRIP CONTROLS FACE

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MANAGE YOUR GAMETHINK BETTER, SCORE BETTER

By Rick Sessinghaus, PGA | Photos By David Johnston

THE PRESHOT ROUTINE

Most golfers think a preshot rou-tine involves only taking a practiceswing, aiming at your target and thenswinging, but it has a bigger purpose:to prepare a golfer to hit his shot suc-cessfully. This demands both a men-tal and physical routine.During the mental routine, take

in your environment: the lie, haz-ards, wind, yardage and target; thenanalyze what the shot requires. Sayyou’re 142 yards out, your ball is inthe fairway, and the pin is tuckedover a bunker.There’s a 10mphwindinto you. At this stage, you need tomake a decision, based on your skills,aboutwhich club and shot is required.Next, rehearse the swing you plan

to make. If it requires a ¾ 7-iron,take a¾practice swing so that it sim-ulates your actual shot. I call this the“feel stage” of the preshot routine.Its purpose is to help you commit toyour shot.Once you’ve rehearsed your swing,

it’s time for the real thing. Set up tothe ball and shift your focus to thetarget. This is the time to quiet yourmind and react to the target. Finally,makea swingwithyour target inmind.

FAST FACT!Emotionally charged events orinformation (whether good orbad) burn a more significantimprint on the brain thannonemotional events. Soevery time you react withfrustration to a mis-hit shot,you make it harder toconcentrate in the moment.

A common saying in golf is that the game is 90% mental.That is, 90% of what’s required to be successful comes fromhow you think andmanage your way around the golf course.I don’t think that’s true. I think it’s 100%mental.Consider the fact that you have, at one time or another hit

a perfect golf shot. Clearly you’re capable of making solidcontact. So why can’t you do it all the time?One reason, of course, is that a lot can go wrong in the

golf swing; another, more likely reason is that your mindoften impedes. Whether you think too much (about swingtechnique or a water hazard) or don’t picture the shot athand or fail to build a repeatable routine, simple courseman-

agement and mental game techniques can help you not onlyplay smarter, but also swing better.Being mentally tough doesn’t mean you have to have a

killer instinct with you at all times, but it doesmean you haveto knowhow tomanage your game, fromwarming up beforeyour round to bouncing back after bad holes to goal setting.Golf is such a terrific game because it’s subtle. For some

folks, those nuances have reduced grown men to tears andfits of rage; for others who manage it well, it has catapultedthem to another level of performance, and they’ve becomebetter players and better people because of it. Read on tobecome one of them, too.

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THE POSTSHOT ROUTINE

HOLD YOUR FINISHAfter your swing, hold your fin-ish for at least three seconds with-out reacting to the result.Don’t talkto the ball, call yourself any namesor use any negative body language.Just watch the ball and hold yourfinish. Reacting to a shot’s resultwears on your emotions.If youhave ahot temper andcom-

plainaboutevery shot,composeyour-self. Start by doing this postshotroutine. Hold your finish without areaction. It’ll take some time, butyou’ll play better and have more en-ergy at the end of your round.

After most players hit a shot, they usuallytake a moment to react to it (often verballyand not always with words that I can repeathere) and either walk away pleased or frus-trated. Riding an emotional roller coaster likethis can do damage to your confidence. Aproper postshot routine, however, will mini-mize your emotional reactions and help toprepare you for your next shot.After you hit a poor shot, first figure out if

it happened because of a mental or physicalerror. Mental errors include being distracted,lacking confidence and never committing tothe shot. Physical errors are swing flaws suchas bad alignment, an open or shut clubface,poorweight transfer and incorrect swing path.If your shot happened because of a mental

error, remind yourself that you, and only you,are in control of when youmake a swing.Don’tswing until you’re ready. If it were a physicalerror, understand the cause and effect of theshot pattern. If the ball went right, then simplysay to yourself, “I left the clubface open.” Thenrehearse the swing you wanted to make. Thegoal is to walk away from your shot and un-derstand what happened.The problem many golfers suffer from is

that they get mad after a poor shot and don’tlearn from it. Thismakes it more likely that thepoor shot will be repeated. By making a prac-tice swing after a poor shot, you’ll forget aboutthe shot and shift your focus to the next one.

RISK VS. REWARD

Many golfers let one bad shotruin a hole because they try (andusually fail) to pull off a difficultshot to get out of trouble. The nexttime you find yourself with a dif-ficult shot, ask yourself if the re-ward is worth the risk. Is it worthtrying to save one shot, when youmight add on a couplemore? Con-sider your skill level and honestlyassess what your chances are ofpulling it off.Consider the situation I’m in

here. My ball is behind a tree, andthere’s a small gap under itsbranches. I could go directly at thepin, but I might hit the branch, orI could hit a little to the left andavoid trouble altogether. The saferplay to the left might leave me witha 20-foot putt, but I’ll be on thegreen with my putter in hand. If Irisk it and go at the pin and hit thetree, I’ll have to hit another pitchshot, and the chances of getting upand down decreases.I ended up playing it safe. The

risk was not worth the reward. I’llleave the green feeling confidentand hope to bounce back on thenext hole.

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SETUP VS. IMPACTPUTTING ROUTINE

WHAT’S YOUR TARGET?

Your putting routine should start when you’re100 yards from the green. From there, it’s easierto see how the green slopes. Too often, peoplestart to look only after they’ve marked their ball.Here’s how to do it.First, look for the general slope—the high and

low points of the green. When you get on thegreen, use your eyes and feet to tell you how theputt breaks. If time permits, walk the low side ofthe putt and feel the slope under your feet. Manytimes, our eyes will see one break, and our feetwill feel a different one. As you take one last lookbehind your ball, it’s time to pick a target and seethe entire line, including where the ball will enterthe cup.Your practice stroke should replicate howhard you plan on stroking it.

The average player should aim for the mid-dle of the green. If you have a normal shot pat-tern like a fade, then play for it.You should rarelyaim at a hole that’s tucked on one side of thegreen, especially if it’s tucked behind a bunker orother hazard.Imagine if your ball finishes in the middle of

any green. The longest putt you’ll probably haveis 30 feet. When you aim at the middle of thegreen, you minimize the chances of hitting it introuble areas on the side of greens. Also keep inmind your skill level. What’s your average dis-persion rate with the club in your hand? Unlessyou’re a low handicap, you’ll be better off play-ing to a target in the center of the green.

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WHAT’S YOUR CLUB?

Many players fall short of theirtarget at least 80% of the time be-cause they overestimate their skilllevel. Just because you once pureda 7-iron 150 yards doesn’t meanyou’ll do it on every shot. Insteadplay what I call the “10% Rule.”Take the best shot you’ve hit with

a club and deduct the yardage by10%.Never take a club you feel youhave to hit perfectly to get to yourtarget. If your best 7-iron goes 150yards, then deduct 10% (15 yards)and plan for a 135-yard 7-iron.You’ll swing smoother and makemore consistent contact.The worst-case scenario is that

you’ll hit it too flush and end up onthe back of the green, or have tochip from just over the green.Mostcourses are designed with troublein front of and to the side of thegreen.You’ll take those hazards outof play by playing within yourself.

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THE HOLE YOU HATE

VERBALIZE YOUR SHOT

Playing a hole you hate can send your scores soaring.You might hate a certain hole because it doesn’t set up toyour eye or because it challenges your weaknesses. Don’tworry, because you have options:• Play a different shot. For example hit a 3-wood off the teeinstead of your driver.• Remember a similar type of hole you’ve played well toboost your confidence.• Use visualization to focus on what you want to do insteadof fearing what you don’t want to do.

HOW TO BUILD A PREROUND ROUTINE

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A common technique used by Tour profes-sionals during their preshot routine is visualiza-tion. By imagining their shot’s shape, they see aclear picture of the shot they intend to play. This“mental rehearsal” promotes focused, confidentdecisions—and that leads to good shots.Unfortunately many amateur golfers have a

hard time pulling this off. While some see wherethey want the ball to end up, they don’t see thepath of the entire shot. If this sounds like you, orif you have trouble visualizing your shot, then ver-bally describe the shot you want to hit. For in-stance, tell yourself, “I’m hitting the driver towardthat palm tree with a 10-yard draw, and it will rollpast the bunker on the left.” Saying it out loud willhelp you create pictures and clarify the shot shape.Another benefit is that it places your focus onwhatyou want to do, not what you don’t want to do.

The goal of a preround routine is to get your bodywarmed up, your mind focused and your swing readyto go.Here are a few quick ways to get ready before your

next round:• Do light stretches for five minutes that concentrate onthe lower back, hamstrings, hips and shoulders.• Take at least 10minutes to hit about 25 balls on the range.Start with a sand wedge and make some half swings, thenprogress through your set, skipping a couple clubs eachtime. Finish by hitting a few drivers. Use this time to de-

velop your rhythm and balance for the day.When you hitthe last three balls, go through your preshot routine to getyour mind focused on targets instead of swing mechanics.• Next, give yourself fiveminutes to practice putting on thepractice green to develop speed control. The last few puttsshould be from four to six feet so you can feel confidentstanding over some short ones.• Finally, go to the first tee with a positive attitude. Don’tfixate on your score, but rather stay committed andfocused on every shot. This will minimize pressure and getyou focused on what’s in your control. Then go have fun.

I’m going to draw thisshot about 5 yards soit catches the slope.

FAST FACT!During the time you prepareto hit a shot, a hemisphericshift should take place in yourbrain. From the analytical leftside (measuring your shot,accounting for the wind),to the creative right side(visualizing your shot).

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HOW TO BOUNCE BACK AFTER A BAD HOLE

The definition of mental toughness is the ability to handle adversity, and nothing puts your toughnessto the test more than blowing up on a hole. Golf can be frustrating when a shot result (or a bad hole)doesn’t match our expectations.The first thing you need to know is that all golfers hit poor shots and get bad breaks. How you react

to these situations says a lot about your character.Here are some tips on how to bounce back from a bad hole:

• Put the shot into perspective—it’s just a golf shot.• Use whatever frustration you feel to refocus on the next shot.• Remember the rounds when you hit poor shots and had bad holes, but still scored well.• Shift your focus from outcome to process, and to what’s in your control (namely the next shot).• Become aware of excess tension that creeps in when you get frustrated or angry. Take some breathsand begin to walk a little slower to relax yourself.

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Most golfers feel a little nervous onthe first tee. After all, the first-tee shot(rightly or wrongly) often sets the tonefor the entire round.If you’ve been playingwell recently,

then you may be excited that you’llput together a great round. If you’vebeen playing poorly, you might fear abad round. The key is to not feel toomuch pressure on your first shot. Ifyou stripe it down themiddle or cold-top it, your first shot doesn’t deter-mine whether you’ll shoot 80 or 100.What determines your success is yourability to shift your focus from a bunchof “what ifs” to what is in your con-trol. Stay focused. Play to yourstrengths, eliminate your expectationsof what you think you’ll shoot and de-velop a plan for the first hole.With first-tee jitters usually comes

a feeling of discomfort. Change thatthrough proper breathing and a solidpreshot routine. If it makes you feelmore confident, hit a club (3-wood oreven a hybrid) that’ll have you playingyour second shot from the fairway. GT

bodymotion allowing them to be con-sistent on these short shots.Third,watch their routines. Itmight

seem as though they take forever to hita shot, but they stick to a routine inwhich theymake a decision, set up andfire away.Most averageplayers just guessand rush their shots. Take an extra fiveseconds to think before you hit it, andyou’ll notice a huge difference.

HOW TO BEATFIRST-TEE JITTERS

Golf is one of the few sports you can watch on television andimagine hitting the same shots pros do. You might not hit itas far or as consistently as they do, but you’ve had to get upand down to salvage a par to beat your buddy.Watching the best in the world can benefit your game if

you focus on a few key areas.First, observe their swing tempo. Yes they hit it a mile, but

they look smooth and in control while they’re doing it. Theaverage player hits it shorter but with more effort and swingsout of balance.Second, study how pros play around the green.As talented

as they are, they still keep it simple. For example, pros treatchip shots like putts. They read the slope of the green andplan for the break. They pick an intermediate target wherethey want to land the ball, and then they visualize the ballrolling into the cup. Their chipping motion has very little

Ideallyyoushouldn’t“think”about anything when youswing. I suggest you “picture”or“visualize”or“imagine”yourtarget, but most golfers have ahard time doing that.Don’t use technical swing

thoughts like,“my right elbowshould point down at the topof my swing.” This disruptsyour flow anddisconnects youfrom your target. If you havetrouble picturing your target,use swing thoughts that focuson tempo, balance or finish.Keep your thoughts simpleand tailor them so you canswing through the ball.

WHAT YOU SHOULD THINKOFWHEN YOU SWING

WHAT YOU CANLEARN FROMWATCHING GOLFON TV