You’ve probably experienced the disappearing golf syndrome if you have played more than one round of golf. This happens regardless of your skill level.
Bobby Jones’ masterful book Secrets of The Masters, which I quote from Bobby Jones:”one always feels that he is running from something, without knowing exactly what nor where it is.”
Sound mechanics and consistent practice are key ingredients in most sports. There are however no guarantees in golf.
Accepting that you cannot control the results is the first step towards consistency. You can control your attention to reduce the impact of the disappearing-swing syndrome.
My experience working with more than eleven thousand students has shown that most golfers who play once a week assume that their memory problems are due to faulty memories. You must have forgot to lock your left elbow, shift your weight, or cock your wrists.
Although beating yourself up can provide some relief from the masochistic tendency (which is common to all golfers), this only adds to the problem. It is common to try to justify the collapse by blaming others and correcting errors, which leads to a never-ending cycle of blame-finding and corrections that eventually lead to the “blow up hole”.
Contrary to what many believe, it isn’t a lack memory that causes the problem, but rather a failure to remember every detail of correct technique. You can quickly recover by refocusing your attention on the things that are important. FeelYour best shots.
Everyone knows that golf is about how you feel. Your attention is what determines how you feel. Your attention will affect how you feel. The better your mood, the higher the chances of you creating the best swing.
Walking/riding in between shots takes up at least one third of a round. You can mentally replay your past successes and recall what the dominant feeling was.
Are you a student and have been stuck behind one? Ever wonder what makes them go so slow? Student is trying to be attentive to all things, including traffic lights and oncoming cars. The student isn’t able to differentiate between awareness and attention.
No matter what level you are at, any golfer can be consistent and play well. This is because they focus on their desired outcomes instead of dwelling on past failures. One of the biggest mistakes in traditional instruction for golf is to ask students to recall past errors instead of trusting their ability to hit the damn ball.
Thank you for reading.