Attention Counts
People I talk to always ask me the same thing: "So, what's this all about?" Invariably, I talk to them about ice.
Anyone who has spent any time in Chicago in the winter knows about ice. You've either slipped, fallen, fallen hard, fallen hard and broken something or know someone who has done any and/or all of the above. So, what does ice have to do with golf?
When you're walking down the street thinking to yourself about how cold it is or talking with someone about how much you hate winter and can't wait for golf season to arrive your attention is most likely on that -- namely, thinking or talking. When you take that fateful step and your boots go sliding uncontrollably......everything else stops:
You stop talking, you stop thinking, you stop everything. The only things you do (after re-balancing and/or picking yourself up and dusting off the snow) are stand perfectly still and look down in front of you for the next 12 - 24 inches and search for any (shiny) signs of ice; in other words, you look for the "task-relevant cues" for the situation knowing that you were not paying attention to what you should.
Dull = snow = safe; shiny = ice = unsafe. Then you bend your knees (lowering your center of gravity, further stabilizing yourself) before you take the next few, slow, tentative steps.
What you don't do the next day is:
- Buy a new pair of boots
- Refer yourself to a physical therapist to examine and re-learn the biomechanics of walking
- Watch a program on Weather Channel describing tips for walking on ice
- or Read an article or book on ice walking.
Why? Because, you haven't forgotten how to walk; you've simply been distracted or inattentive at a time that necessitated more focus.
As absurd as it may sound, golfers do exactly the equivalent of the ridiculous things mentioned. When they mishit a shot, golfers often want to:
- Buy new clubs
- Review their mechanics with a professional swing coach
- Watch swing tips on The Golf Channel
- or Read books/articles about their swing problems.
Unfortunately, more often than not the cause of the swing error is not physical but mental -- inattentiveness or distractibility at "the moment of truth." Neither clubs nor tips will fix that!
In the analogy above, I didn't forget how to walk I simply failed to adequately focus my attention on the task relevant cue (i.e. Where is the ice?). Once I received that feedback (i.e. slipping/falling) I was able to shift and focus attention where and when it was needed to enhance my performance.
Golfing errors don't happen because golfers forget how to swing or pitch or chip or putt. Errors occur when attentional, emotional, interpersonal and/or other psychological factors interfere with established patterns of performance.
Why else do folks shoot 10 strokes lower in the practice round for a tournament than in the tournament itself?
Why else do folks stripe a drive 250 yards right down the middle and shank the easy wedge shot right after?
Why else do folks make a significantly higher percentage of putts on the practice green when nothing is at stake than the 18-incher to win the club championship?
The Positive Course Performance Enhancement Services allow you to learn and understand your own attentional and interpersonal strengths and weaknesses which directly effect performance.
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