Thought Free Golf®

Most people who play golf for a while find that complete mental mastery - eliminating the tensions and distractions that result from thinking during a shot is very difficult. Mental mastery requires us to eliminate any distractions or outside thoughts from our minds during our golf swings. These thoughts can be separated into two groups: external distractions and internal distractions.

External Distractions or “Sensor Thinking”

Our brains gather information visually, auditorally, and kinesthetically. If a fly lands on your golf ball when you are set for a shot, it can distract you. Another golfer’s sneeze, a bird’s call, or the wind rustling your jacket can also sidetrack you. These external sensory stimulations can grab your train of thought and cause “sensor thinking” to occur. When this happens, your mind is diverted from your swing to the distraction; instead, it focuses on what you are seeing, hearing, or feeling and causes your body to react to the stimulus.

Having mental mastery of your body and your golf technique means being able to block out this kind of external stimuli. It gives you the ability to shut out all external distractions at specific critical moments and the it is the first rite of passage into the world of a pro.

Internal or “Tinker Thinking”

You can also become distracted internally when you force your mind to focus on the things that you want to happen. When you try to “tweak” your swing in order to improve it, you think through each move (sometimes even talking to yourself during your swing), believing that this “tinker thinking” may help. The truth is, however, this mental technical coaching shifts your focus away from your natural, practiced swing. You likely do not tolerate others distracting you, yet you allow your own inner voice to do the very same thing. The urge to “tinker think” is strong, yet the reality is that in the few moments it takes to complete your swing, there’s not enough time for your subconscious mind to internalize and then implement these conscious instructions.

Mental Mastery & Your Golf Swing

The Golf Swing is a complicated combination of muscular actions which are too complex to be controlled by conscious mental effort. Amazingly, your muscles can get the job done better without conscious thought by relying on unconscious competence or muscle memory. “Tinker thinking” interferes with the muscle memory you have carefully built into your practiced swing. With tinker thinking, you believe that by making a careful swing you can guide the shot to the place you want it to go, but this carefulness interferes with your free, full swing - and worst of all, often produces a poor shot.