Concentration - finding it & keeping it
 

the subject of concentration has been brought up recently on a couple threads

i'll offer up a definition that occured to me.... 'the crystallisation of intent into detailed mental imagery'
& that keeping it might be to do with 'the clarity of intense familiarity' - hey if you can get it to rhyme that has to be a bonus - no ? :-)

this might be complete bollocks, but there you go :-)

I like it. It includes "Focus".

Difficult topic for sure.

I believe it is important to have a tidy mental house. A ball striking knowhow that is well organised, so that you can use all your knowledge and skills to strike the ball the way you want to without thinking about more then a handful of things. Like ball flight and pressure point pressure in the hands. While the rest runs on auto pilot and is monitored in the back ground.

Good pre shot routines help.

You're probably right.

So far I haven't been successful with it. The times I've tried to follow a routine it is as if I loose focus on the task at hand. I am wondering whether a good routine can be created by design or if it has to evolve naturally.

I had this whole concentration thing brought home to me yesterday. It was 70 here in Ohio and I thought (silly me) that I'd get to the course at 3:00 and it wouldn't be crowded. Anyway, it worked out that I got started right behind a threesome and in front of a foursome. By the 3rd hole, I joined the threesome. I was par-par on one and two and made par on three despite the very thinly struck shot on that par-3.

I then proceeded to get really fast with my swing, which put me places I should have been. I then duffed a few chips along the way, couldn't put a darn and made double, triple, double.

Finally got myself together and finished par, bogey, par.

BTW, pace of play was very, very slow and I've gotten used to walk/hit/walk/hit/walk/putt.

My focus just left me for three holes (and easy ones at that). My inner voice was full of doubt once the first less than well struck ball. Easy chips got very hard. Distance control just shot.

Valuable lesson for me about not getting ahead of myself, playing one shot at a time, etc. See the shot, check alignments, feel and maintain the lag and listen for the rifle shot of compression.

Mental imagery is not concentration but it can be the subject of concentratIon.

Concentration is the capacity to bring the mind onto something and to bring back the mind back to that focus when It wanders. It is an exclusionary action which filters awareness exclusively on the object of focus.

Your mind is always focused, the only problem is that it might not be focused where you want it.

Focusing the mind onto the inner voice reduces the ability to be mindful of the senses. When you're lost inside your own mind we call that dreaming. It's up to you but perhaps you could try to concentrate your focus on reality instead.

Pre-shot - planning, visualising, collecting your required action to get the job done.
Execution - allowing your skills to execute the pre- planned action
Post- shot - enjoying the result and or comparing the plan to the resultant effort.

If you are over thinking, you are likely to choke your actions via being too controlling of skills you really own to a non-concious level.

Over concentration for an entire round is energy sapping. So save that energy for focusing on what is required in 2 minute bursts - walking to your ball, assessing the situ, working out the shot, making the shot and assessing the result....then back to the bag, chat, walk, drive up to the next mini focus session.

We can all tie a shoe lace and talk at the same time. We can do the same with our golf swings. Plan, execute. Yoda says fill up your cup with the good stuff....then you have to execute without being mind cluttered.

Focus- knowing what to focus upon - is a result
Concentration - knowing how to focus on the important things going on - is a process.