I disagree Kieran.

I think the mind functions best when concentrating on one thing but the body works best when it is left to the subconcious.

If you think back to the four stages in learning a new skill you will see where I am going.

Stage 1 - Subconciously incompetent or 'you're s**t and don't even know it'

Stage 2 - Conciously incompetent - 'you know you're s**t!'

Stage 3 - Conciously Competent - 'You know how to do a thing'

Stage 4 - Subconciously Competent - 'You do a thing well without thinking about it'

If we take the example of person learning to drive a car, it is very easy to see the 4 stages in action. When I first learned to drive I had to take quick looks at the gearbox when selecting a gear, now I don't look at all. Ditto with music. A top musician isn't thinking of where their fingers go, they read the note and let their fingers go where they need to go.

It is a common misconception that in golf or other sports one must concentrate hard to achieve optimal performance. Think back to when you played at your very best - either a drive, or a long putt for example. The most common response when someone is asked what they were thinking was 'nothing'. If you have ever been 'in the zone' you will know that is the absence of thought or anxiety that 'gets' you in the zone.

This is why I firmly believe that clear keys are the simplest way to achieve optimal performance on a consistent basis. A clear key should be unrelated to the matter in hand so there should be no instructional aspect to it at all because it gives the concious mind an opportunity to try and steal control.

Me too!
 

Exactly my point GP. That is pretty much what i said also.

k

Apologies Kieran, I thought you felt that you needed to concentrate harder during a golf shot rather than switch off the mental chatter with a distraction.

Are you familiar with Dr Carey Mumford?

Np
 

No problem....

Yeah i came across him a while ago when I was reading some NLP stuff and found his research very interesting. I think we've got similar thoughts on how the brain swings while the body swings, but prob both agree it'd be better if we only swung one! :golf:

:laughing9

No matter how many books I read or specialist I speak with, I always seem to find my way back to NLP. This is really great stuff.

This is the 2. time. Spamming or something even worse?

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We prefer english particularly if it makes sense

i've played some ok golf thinking of nothing much & also plenty of rubbish, & i've played some ok golf when grinding like a madman & also plenty of rubbish. I think concentrating hard is preferable to trusting the subconscious for all but the elite. If we have become intensely familiar with a good sound swing motion then we might be able to go auto pilot, but the challenge to my mind is that most of us don't have sound technique & don't know our motions well enough & so concentrating hard becomes thinking about one or two elements of the motion & hoping the rest falls into place, sometimes it does & more often not, but the poor result is not necessarily the fault of the focus.

how we focus might be important, to my mind visualisation is probably the big skill to do with high quality focus & is something that can be worked on & improved, visualisation is subtle & fluid & may be the best way for the conscious mind to direct the subconscious ?