On the heels of Vision54...best practice session ever

Disclaimer: it occurs to me that Vision54 is probably most applicable to players with a solid overall game, but I think anyone can benefit to a significant degree.

So, I read Every Shot Must Have a Purpose , and I felt like Bill Gates must have felt when he saw the first version of Windows. It really struck a chord in me. I've been an athlete since I was ten years old, playing football, baseball all the way through college, other sports recreationally (tennis, golf, basketball) and just generally always being active. However, I take a lot of pride in my intellectual self, too, which is what I think has led me to golf so enthusiastically, that challenge of meshing the two. Up to now, I've never really had a mental guide, though, other than "try to picture the shot" or some such, which was frustrating, as I felt like my intellectual self was really being of very little help to me, and that shortcoming was holding me back from really taking the next leap of progress in my game. Every Shot has changed that, though.

Beyond the simple notions of THINK BOX and PLAY BOX , things like CONTROLLABLE GOALS , ideas which smack of "duh, of course," have really shifted my mindset. One of their key suggestions is, practice like you play, specifically avoiding the "scrape and hit" driving range sessions. I thought I was more meticulous than most, but figured I was likely guilty. So, today at lunch, I decided to try a new approach.

I got a small bucket (45 balls or so) instead of a medium. I took my 6, 8, PW and 56 out of my bag. I changed clubs on each shot. Before each shot, I stood back and selected a target and a shot. In my head, I selected a shot: e.g., "at that bunker, easy fade," NOT a destination (e.g., I want it to land there , a "non-controllable" goal). I selected an alignment point on the ground, crossed the DECISION LINE and took my stance. I then forgot, essentially, about anything, except to believe that I was aligned properly, ball position was correct, etc.... Then, I just swung.

I should also note that I came up with kind of a funky procedure for my pre-shot routine. While behind the ball, I held the club in my right hand and tapped the clubhead on my shoe, like a metronome. As I was picturing my shot/goal, I would think in my head, "tick...tock...tick...tock," and kept that same rhythm in my head as I approached the ball and, ultimately, through my swing.

In the end, I made more good swings today than during any large-bucket-session in my life. I felt in control, I felt smooth and I felt focused. Though I tinkered with one or two little swing things, I generally forgot about the minutiae of my mechanics. Moreover, the session would have been just as productive with half the balls I had. I learned more with each swing and feel like I accomplished more actual real-golf practice than in any other ten range sessions.

My next real test will be playing this course at my dad's. The last few times I've gone to visit him, I've started up with "I'm going to break 80 there." Needless to say, I never have, and the two times I've shot 80, it's been 45/35. The conclusion? I focused too much on the score - again, non-controllable - and not my shots. Only after blowing up the front, did I forget the score and torch the back.

This is only one man's experience but, I have to tell you, I really believe that anyone who needs to - not sharpen, per se, but - GET a solid mental game together, oughta to read this book and try it out.

Quoted for truth.

I can see how some of the book can be construed as corny or "touchy-feely," perhaps a result of having female authors. Or maybe it's just a result of their having a few really good ideas, then having to figure out how to make those concepts fill up 150 pages! I will seek out some Rotella stuff, as the community here seems pretty unanimous on their benefits. In the end, like I said, I feel like I'm finally firmly on the road to having an actual mental approach, whereas in the past, I basically just tried NOT to breakdown mentally.

Oh dear! Vision 54 is coming to Spain in November and I was really looking forward to it until I read your post. It's a 3-day course (10am-6pm) for 550 Euros. Seriously, is that all you took away from it?

I'm a great Rotella fan too and re-read his books constantly.

Their new book, Play Your Best Golf Now, is much better than their first book and actually seems to be a compilation of their first two books. The book covers what they consider the Eight Essential Playing Skills

They are:

1. LEAVE YOUR MIND BEHIND and enter the Play Box
2. DECIDE AND COMMIT to your shots
3. FIND YOUR BALANCE both physically and mentally
4. FEEL YOUR TEMPO on the course and dance to its rhythm
5. TAME TENSION to improve your swing
6. BUILD EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE
7. STORE MEMORIES and learn from the past to make a better present
8. DROWN SELF-TALK IN USEFUL THOUGHTS

There are two essential practice skills with it. They are:

1.  SIMULATE GOLF on the practice range to maximize your time and effort
2. INTEGRATE SKILLS and practice with a plan

I've found a lot of benefit from their work. Lots of good info for free on their website as well.

Thank you, this is most useful.

If you go to their 3 day seminar I would be really curious to hear about your experience.

I have never been able to pick up a book like this and keep myself even close to awake.

It sounds like a Hippie's Guide To Golf to me.

Mental game is important but really what all of these books come down to remaining comfortable, calm, confident and consistent. Which is the best way to do just about anything.

Just as Jobs and Wozniak were when they saw the Alto and their first mouse at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center.