Golf is really hard sometimes huh? We have it then not so much. What the heck happens? Even after teaching and coaching golf since Lincoln was president, I’m comfortable saying I don’t know for sure. No one really does. That’s because it could be about a zillion things. I’m also not going to list a bunch of things having to do with why it gets hard – you probably know most of them anyway.

What I can do though is remind you that golf is in front of you and not on the ground. Golf shots mostly go up in the air so that’s where you should be looking. Nicklaus popularized the idea of “visualizing” a shot and I think he was mostly right.

Look, hitting a golf ball towards a target is a hand-eye thing. It’s not really visualizing, it’s a biological system that uses your senses to accomplish a task: kinda’ like when you play catch or ride a bike. You’re brain already has a great IDEA of what’s supposed to happen and you “just do it.” This is where the term “get out of your own way” came from.

When things go south I think the best idea is to stop looking at the ground and start looking in front of you because that’s where you want the ball to go! You’ll feel more free, make a better swing, and save a few shots along the way.