The next ten “Tip of the Day”s are being taken from an article by Dr. Bob Rotella for Golf Digest, titled “Inside the Golfer’s Mind.” We’re paraphrasing, changing the language a little, and condensing his typical three to four paragraphs into one or two. This is tip seven of ten: get into the target.
If you think about it, a properly struck ball flies through the air, lands, and rolls very little. It’s inconsequential to the ball whether there’s water two inches or two hundred yards right of its target: it lands where it lands, rolls where it rolls, and then stops. The same is true of golfers playing well: they don’t see a pin tucked just over a huge bunker and a water hazard – they merely see a pin.
Good players develop tunnel vision: they see the target, they fire at the target, and nothing else matters. In fact, they don’t even see it. The further you get “into” your target, the more your body will do to help you hit it there. It’s a bonus you get just for concentrating, just for being into the target and into the moment, the shot, the swing.