How to improve your focus - A putting exercise
by Robin Sieger

I have described focus as the ability to pick a precise target and then allow the brain to lock on to it. This allows the subconscious mind to make the calculations required for the shot at hand. The problem I encountered with students in the early days was that, like many people, they thought they were focused before the shot when in actuality they were really thinking "anywhere on the fairway," and not actually being specific with a desired outcome. It is like saying, "I want to be rich," but not being specific as to how you will create your wealth.

You need to have a focus on every shot. Curiously, most of us do have focus when it comes to putting. Before you putt the ball, you always pick up a point relative to the hole right or left where you think you must take aim and then attempt to get the pace just right.

The first exercise to help you develop a keen sense of focus in your subconscious mind is a putting exercise.

The purpose behind this exercise - pictured with the help of up and coming Ladies European Tour player Breanne Loucks - is to allow your imagination to clearly see and visualise the shot (or the putt) you want to hit in advance of you actually doing it physically. By looking only at the hole as you rehearse your stroke you are creating a target and focus point for yourself. By practising without looking at the clubhead, you're allowing your subconscious mind and muscle memory to create what it believes is the correct swing for the putt.

As always, knowledge without action is just knowledge With action, it is outcome. The more you practise developing your ability to not only focus but to trust your outcomes as being better than taking a random swing, the sooner you will see measurable results.