IT'S GOOD FOR YOUR GAME
Legal mulligan
By T.J. Tomasi
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Tour pro Heath Slocum cues up his swing by emphasizing his weight transfer with his left knee flexed over his foot. First he creates a swing image, then he matches the image with an actual rehearsal swing guided by a swing key. Finally, he steps to the ball with a fully developed swing image as his guide.
Here's Slocum's actual downswing a few seconds later, with the exact same position he cued up during his rehearsal swing. The only difference is that this time the marshal behind him is paying attention.
Everyone creates images on their mental screen. It's a power as natural as breathing, but only champions have it on call, waiting in the wings to use as the ultimate deciding factor during
competition.
One way the power of imagery has proven itself is its use during two transition periods -- entering and coming out of sleep. These are periods when the brain is most conducive to producing multisensorial images so powerful that they can dramatically improve human learning and performance.
I suggest to my students that they can improve their golf swings by imaging the swing they learned in their lesson that day during the pre- and post-sleep periods that night. You're learning something during these special periods anyway, so it might as well be something really important -- like your golf swing.
But you can also use imaging while you're playing. If you do it right, imaging can be like a "legal mulligan" on every shot. Your central nervous system (spinal cord plus the brain) can't tell the difference between a perfectly imaged rehearsal swing and a real one, so instead of rehearsing with an absentminded flick that bears no relationship to your actual swing, create a perfect replica of the swing you intend to make.
And make sure it's complete, with all the elements and sensations that are a part of your real swing. This full-blown dress rehearsal provides a powerful link to the target by cueing up the correct muscles and their firing patterns.
In effect, your mental command post says that there's a golf shot on the runway, clearance has been granted, and you are about to taxi into position for takeoff with all systems focused on the task at hand.
Since it is imaging that cues up motor responses, prior to ignition, you must fill your brain with the image of the shot,
then highlight the one thing you want to accomplish in your actual swing -- a swing key.
Insider Takeaway: Before you fall asleep and just after you wake up, while you're taking a lesson and before every shot on the golf course, use the power of imaging as the key to a better golf game
.