You're Correct!

If you are looking to focus better on the golf course, it is really important that you start to channel your focus down and that the only thing you do when you are over the ball, is focus on the task in hand - getting the ball to the target.

Before you go to play your shot, the first thing you should do to help you focus better on the target is to pick a specific target. Rather than saying you want to hit the fairway, pick a specific area on that fairway and similarly when you are going to hit into the green, rather than saying you just want to hit the green, pick a specific area you want to hit to.

Now from that specific area, look up and see what is the highest point above that which would be maybe the tree line and pick a specific branch of a tree, a specific leaf that you can see. If you have got houses in the background, it could be a specific point on the house, a tile on the roof, a window to hit at. Pick a very high but specific target and that will start to narrow your focus down and get you to have better attention at your target.

The second thing you want to do to focus better is to stay in the present. If you are going to focus well and you are going to play good golf shots, you have to be present. It is no good recalling shots that happened in the past, it is no good thinking about what might happen in the future, you must be present.

A good way to do this, if you find your mind wandering just before you play the shot, is to pick three things that you can hear around you on the golf course. Stand and listen to exactly what you can hear. Pick three different sounds that will get you back to the present and exactly where you are. Focus on that specific target, walk into the ball, aim the golf club at the specific target, set yourself up and then have a key word, something like - you believe you can do it, youre committed to doing it, you trust yourself, you can do it, youre confident. Anything that is positive and then swing and hit the shot, feeling your golf swing as you do it.

The final thing to work on is commitment. It does not matter whether the decision you have made before you get over the ball ready to swing is correct or not. All that matters is whether you commit to the decision you made. You do not want to be over the ball wondering whether you have got the right club, or if you have made the right choice. What matters is that when you have made the choice, commit to it. Work on hitting a really good shot and then you can learn from it, whether it was the correct thing to do or not. Make sure that you commit to what you have decided to do and if it helps, try to imagine you have got a line you need to walk over so that as you walk towards the ball you walk over that line. That is your commitment line and once over it, you are now committed to the decision you have made, to the club you have selected, to the target you have picked, the swing you have chosen to make. Commit and then see what happens.

If you work on these three things, you will find that really helps to improve your focus and that you start to reduce your golf score when you are out on the golf course.

Golfers should aim to play one golf shot at a time, therefore, thinking about the entire round and a target score can be detrimental as it doesnt allow you to stay in the present.

It is impossible to focus for four hours, therefore talking to your playing partners can often be a welcome distraction as long as you refocus before each shot.

It is impossible to focus, or concentrate well for an entire 18 holes. You need to learn when to switch your concentration on and off so that you achieve short, effective bursts of concentration. Trying to focus solidly for four hours will not work at all. You need down time from focusing and concentrating when you are out on the course.