A New Paradigm of Golf Instruction - Mindfulness and awareness training are creeping into athletic coaching [Psych. Today]

[nevets88]

This article is 2 years old, but found it in a recent tweet and it doesn't seem to have been posted here before. Even though it says not to smirk, I'm kind of did. Not sure whether this is just a "mental" approach rather than getting to the nuts and bolts of the swing. I looked on YT for vids, and the one I found makes it seem more mental. Each time I hear new paradigm, shift in way of thinking, I'm more wary. Dunno, maybe he has something, I'm not buying into it yet.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-is-he-thinking/201305/new-paradigm-golf-instruction

Quote:

Though people mistake Shoemaker’s emphasis on awareness with teaching the mental game, the opposite is true. Shoemaker’s aim is to help students distinguish between being in their heads and being fully present in their bodies. He coaches them to explore five crucial dimensions of the golf swing through direct physical experiences:

The presence of center-face solid contact (perhaps the most important)

The exact position (open vs. closed) of their club head through the entire swing

The precise path (inside vs. outside) of the club through impact

the alignment of their bodies and club at address and throughout the swing

Professionals, according to Shoemaker, are far more present to each of these dimensions of the swing than are amateurs. In fact, he argues that the biggest difference between professionals and amateurs lies in the depth of their awareness. The former’s blind spots are small while those of the latter can be huge. Professionals can feel where the club head is throughout almost all of the swing. They rarely hit behind the ball because their psychophysical awareness, their center of gravity, invariable makes it almost impossible. They are connected to the target, while amateurs are connected to the ball.

[Abu3baid]

Watched the video and I don't get it.. Maybe someone much smarter than I can explain. Thanks

[SavvySwede]

Watched the video and I don't get it.. Maybe someone much smarter than I can explain. Thanks

I tried to watch it but had turn it off around 0.57. Shoemaker is just another schmuck pretending to be profound.

[natureboy]

The packaging of the video comes across as slightly guru-ish, which does not appeal to me. Perhaps, though, it's intentionally meant to convey the experience of the resulting mindset that someone struggling with a negative (or any) running commentary in their head while playing or practicing golf might think, "I've never had that sense of calm or enjoyment in my game...let me check it out."

We are all essentially the same, but individuals do differ so it may not be an approach that works for everyone. Some may do better with a strictly mechanics based approach. This type of training may help many amateurs who approach the game with tension, apprehension, and anxiety. The advice to "Don't press!" goes back to PG Wodehose's days and probably earlier. But how do you tell yourself to 'not press' without thinking about pressing and compounding it? Don't think about an elephant. Mindfulness practice can be a constructive method / approach to the challenge.

The mental aspect has always been a significant part of the challenge of playing good golf. The burden of self expectations and consciousness of outcomes affects mindset, which affects hormones, which affect muscles. I would agree with the video that lots of mental 'chatter' common in us amateurs can drown out proprioception signals from the body. I became a much better (but still terrible) golfer, when I understood through experience that muscle tension destroys both swing speed & coordination. I think to be an excellent golfer you still need a good base of technique knowledge, but some may become so immersed in technique that they don't integrate that information well physically. This type of approach could help.

Moe Norman's quote (may not be original to him) of 'an alert attitude of indifference' makes me think of the concept of Shoshin (also flow , Mushin , and equanimity in some aspects). I like it so much, because the contrast of 'alert' and 'indifference' the way we might typically think of them is almost its own inclusive Koan or meditative paradox.

That these concepts are common themes in religion, spirituality, and philosophy across many cultures and spans of time underscores their potential significance and value. In many ways the standard golf instruction emphasis of a ritual routine and focus on 'process' before hitting shots is intended to cue the conscious mind to relax in a sort of mini-meditation to sharpen the focus.

[Blackjack Don]

Found this topic on a Google search of "mindful golf." Before coming back to golf this summer, I have spent the last ten years in a meditation practice, which led me to spending nearly a year as a Buddhist monk. I have a little experience with this, so maybe I can explain for anyone who finds this helpful.

Quote

Shoemaker invites students to simply let these thoughts appear, note them, and simply return over and over again to the only reality that matters—their body, ball, club and target. “Be present to everything,” he suggests, “without judgment.” The thoughts seem to come up on their own, and they will likely disappear on their own if we don’t confuse them with reality.

Two things here which come directly from mindfulness meditation practice, or vipassana, as we Theravadans call it. In meditation, when thoughts come, we see them (or hear them), note them, and let them go--without judgment. We do not get involved with our thoughts, we simply let them go. How does this help our golf game?

Quote

 It’s that the development of awareness and presence in relation to the process is the only sure way of improving the outcome, namely, lowering one’s scores. 

That's what mindfulness meditation training does; it develops awareness. In golf, I'm finding that it's not only the feel of the club hitting the ball, but the sound, the feeling of the body, the awareness of the nuances of the swing. This awareness, for me, goes on throughout my whole day. In golf, I am aware of the swing, and my emotions, too. When I hit a bad shot, I react like everyone does. I feel the anger swell. But my training stops me from becoming angry. I acknowledge it--note it, above--and smile. That's my reaction. Even when I swear a blue streak, it ends with a smile. Then, on to the next shot. I don't remember the last hole, or the front nine, or last week. Just the present. The next shot.

A golfer doesn't need to sit on a cushion in the forest to achieve this. Just practice noting, and letting go. Bring your mind back to the object of focus, whatever you are working on at the moment, the ball, the next shot. Pay attention, without judgment. And don't forget to breathe. :)

It works.

Namasakan, peace and good luck,

Don

[Buckeyebowman]

This has been much explored in golf literature over the years. It is highly present in books such as Golf in the Kingdom and The Kingdom of Shivas Irons, as well as Bagger Vance. However, what this thread brought to mind was something I read in Harvey Penick's Little Red Book. It's in a chapter titled "Maxims" that was written in 1943 by Jack Burke Sr.

Maxim #9 states: "Let the ball get in the way of the swing instead of making the ball the object."

This is just another way of saying "Swing your swing" or "Be your swing".

I think there is some validity to the notion. Who knows? Maybe Jack Burke Sr. was an olden day golf ninja guru!

[Vinsk]

On 4/19/2015 at 10:48 AM, nevets88 said:

This article is 2 years old, but found it in a recent tweet and it doesn't seem to have been posted here before. Even though it says not to smirk, I'm kind of did. Not sure whether this is just a "mental" approach rather than getting to the nuts and bolts of the swing. I looked on YT for vids, and the one I found makes it seem more mental. Each time I hear new paradigm, shift in way of thinking, I'm more wary. Dunno, maybe he has something, I'm not buying into it yet.

 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-is-he-thinking/201305/new-paradigm-golf-instruction

 

 

Quote:

Though people mistake Shoemaker’s emphasis on awareness with teaching the mental game, the opposite is true. Shoemaker’s aim is to help students distinguish between being in their heads and being fully present in their bodies. He coaches them to explore five crucial dimensions of the golf swing through direct physical experiences:

 

The presence of center-face solid contact (perhaps the most important)

 

The exact position (open vs. closed) of their club head through the entire swing

 

The precise path (inside vs. outside) of the club through impact

 

the alignment of their bodies and club at address and throughout the swing

 

Professionals, according to Shoemaker, are far more present to each of these dimensions of the swing than are amateurs. In fact, he argues that the biggest difference between professionals and amateurs lies in the depth of their awareness. The former’s blind spots are small while those of the latter can be huge. Professionals can feel where the club head is throughout almost all of the swing. They rarely hit behind the ball because their psychophysical awareness, their center of gravity, invariable makes it almost impossible. They are connected to the target, while amateurs are connected to the ball.

 

 

 

 

I just don't agree with the pros knowing where the club face is throughout the entire swing as being a main difference. Maybe some of them, the tech guys like DeChambeau. But I think guys like DJ, Beef and Weekly just know that when they 'swing like this' they hit the ball long and straight. And they are naturally able to repeat it with great accuracy. Just like me and a shank. I can out shank any one in the world. My natural, thought free swing is a glorious shank which I can repeat with deadly accuracy any time I want. I don't have to focus on anything, I just grab a club, swing, and shank it. Every. Single. Time.

[natureboy]

On 9/27/2016 at 11:47 PM, Blackjack Don said:

Then, on to the next shot. I don't remember the last hole, or the front nine, or last week. Just the present. The next shot.

I would disagree with the implication that your memory becomes a blank slate. I think maybe you'd dwell less on good or bad shots on prior holes vs. the shot that is right there in front of you, but it's not like your memory of events become a blackout fog. I would argue that being mindful might actually increase the strength of memories and the ability to recall them vs a mind that is distracted by 'other things'.

Edited September 30, 2016 by natureboy

[boogielicious]

On 4/19/2015 at 10:48 AM, nevets88 said:

This article is 2 years old, but found it in a recent tweet and it doesn't seem to have been posted here before. Even though it says not to smirk, I'm kind of did. Not sure whether this is just a "mental" approach rather than getting to the nuts and bolts of the swing. I looked on YT for vids, and the one I found makes it seem more mental. Each time I hear new paradigm, shift in way of thinking, I'm more wary. Dunno, maybe he has something, I'm not buying into it yet.

 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-is-he-thinking/201305/new-paradigm-golf-instruction

 

 

Quote:

Though people mistake Shoemaker’s emphasis on awareness with teaching the mental game, the opposite is true. Shoemaker’s aim is to help students distinguish between being in their heads and being fully present in their bodies. He coaches them to explore five crucial dimensions of the golf swing through direct physical experiences:

 

The presence of center-face solid contact (perhaps the most important)

 

The exact position (open vs. closed) of their club head through the entire swing

 

The precise path (inside vs. outside) of the club through impact

 

the alignment of their bodies and club at address and throughout the swing

 

Professionals, according to Shoemaker, are far more present to each of these dimensions of the swing than are amateurs. In fact, he argues that the biggest difference between professionals and amateurs lies in the depth of their awareness. The former’s blind spots are small while those of the latter can be huge. Professionals can feel where the club head is throughout almost all of the swing. They rarely hit behind the ball because their psychophysical awareness, their center of gravity, invariable makes it almost impossible. They are connected to the target, while amateurs are connected to the ball.

 

 

 

 

This approach reminds me of:

[Blackjack Don]

13 hours ago, natureboy said:

I would disagree with the implication that your memory becomes a blank slate. I think maybe you'd dwell less on good or bad shots on prior holes vs. the shot that is right there in front of you, but it's not like your memory of events become a blackout fog. I would argue that being mindful might actually increase the strength of memories and the ability to recall them vs a mind that is distracted by 'other things'.

Yes, it's true we don't really "forget," but I put something in boldface that I do remember: without judgment. A bad shot can cause so much suffering that it ruins the next shot, or perhaps a similar putt on a later green. When I hit a good shot, I smile. When I hit a bad shot, I swear. Then I smile, because I get to practice a recover? Not a bad question, mate.

Thanks for replying.

Don

On 9/27/2016 at 9:31 PM, Buckeyebowman said:

This has been much explored in golf literature over the years. It is highly present in books such as Golf in the Kingdom and The Kingdom of Shivas Irons, as well as Bagger Vance.

Agreed, and in a whole lot of other places, too, besides golf. It never works. All the advice I've read, going  back over 40 years, never, ever works...just like one lesson doesn't work. Doing it well depends upon much more than remembering one of a hundred aphorisms. This is a long-term fix, and when most golfers don't even hit a practice shot before they play on Sat, I think we can safely assume these books on the "mental game" are never read through twice. (You can't count the Little Red Book, lol.)

One of the things I hope to accomplish before I die is being able to see how golfers who are really trying to improve can use some sort of mindfulness to save a shot or two or twenty. Not just on the course, but the range, the practice green, and even watching TV.

Unlike "gurus," I believe in science and data. I'm a poker player, formerly an online pro, who used DATA to improve my game. In fact, enough to be a rare bird, an actual winning poker player. There is now a TON of data that is available for me to study. How does my improvement compare to someone who doesn't have the practice of awareness? I hope I can find out.

Best wishes,

Don

[Buckeyebowman]

On 9/30/2016 at 0:45 PM, Blackjack Don said:

Yes, it's true we don't really "forget," but I put something in boldface that I do remember: without judgment. A bad shot can cause so much suffering that it ruins the next shot, or perhaps a similar putt on a later green. When I hit a good shot, I smile. When I hit a bad shot, I swear. Then I smile, because I get to practice a recover? Not a bad question, mate.

Thanks for replying.

Don

Agreed, and in a whole lot of other places, too, besides golf. It never works. All the advice I've read, going  back over 40 years, never, ever works...just like one lesson doesn't work. Doing it well depends upon much more than remembering one of a hundred aphorisms. This is a long-term fix, and when most golfers don't even hit a practice shot before they play on Sat, I think we can safely assume these books on the "mental game" are never read through twice. (You can't count the Little Red Book, lol.)

One of the things I hope to accomplish before I die is being able to see how golfers who are really trying to improve can use some sort of mindfulness to save a shot or two or twenty. Not just on the course, but the range, the practice green, and even watching TV.

Unlike "gurus," I believe in science and data. I'm a poker player, formerly an online pro, who used DATA to improve my game. In fact, enough to be a rare bird, an actual winning poker player. There is now a TON of data that is available for me to study. How does my improvement compare to someone who doesn't have the practice of awareness? I hope I can find out.

Best wishes,

Don

Interesting comment, especially the part about remembering "without judgement". It seems to me that animals do much the same thing. Like a dog will sniff a pile of crap and not recoil from the stench. They simply search out the odors in order to remember them for future reference. No judgements involved.

However, your comparison of playing golf vs poker is laughable. Playing poker involves next to no physical activity. And one does not "shave shots" on the range, the practice green, or watching TV! Golf involves joining the mental with the physical.

I've played some of my best golf in what I'd call a "mindless" state. However, that would not have been possible without countless hours on the range, getting things honed down to such a point where I could let the mind take over!

As far as studying data goes, good luck with that. You might be one king hell of a poker player, but I notice that you're a 30+ HI in golf.

Better study hard!