Episode #114: Q&A - How Do I Stay Focused During the Round?

Do you struggle to stay focused every round? If so, just know you're not alone!

This is something I've struggled with in the past and want to share my best tips in this Q&A episode of Wicked Smart Golf. 

When you listen you will learn:

• The two types of focus.
• How to finish strong every round. 
• Why you need to know your personality type to optimize your energy levels. 

Here's an excerpt from my book, Wicked Smart Golf (chapter 93): 

Golf is an exhausting sport, both physically and mentally. 

The game requires four-plus hours of chasing a little white ball around the course, all while fighting the demons in your head, navigating the course, battling the weather, playing against competitors, and everything else; therefore, you get home after a day on the course and are completely exhausted. While it might not require the physicality of football or basketball, golf requires tremendous mental energy.  

Think about your focus to help you maintain high energy levels and not leave the course feeling like you just went to war. Many players think they must focus hard for every minute of the round. So many players think if they didn’t focus from the moment they arrived at the course to the moment they left, they didn’t try hard enough. 

While this is a good intention, it’s why you might feel so exhausted by the final hole. Don’t get me wrong; you need to focus on every shot to play your best golf. Focus on every shot, not every second of the round. As you get to the tee box or ball for your approach, it’s important to analyze and go through your pre-shot routine. But between shots, you need to give yourself a break. 

You need two types of focus during a round of golf; narrow and wide focus.

Narrow focus refers to when you’re walking up to your ball and assessing your shot. For me, this starts as I Velcro my glove. Securing my glove has become a subconscious signal to my brain that it’s time to focus on the shot at hand. This is when I look at the distance, lie, wind, etc. 

After creating a plan and going through my pre-shot routine, I give the shot my best effort and accept the result. Then I undo the Velcro of the glove and switch to wide focus.

Wide focus is when you quit thinking about golf or the next shot you face. Between shots, think about anything other than your current round. Try to think about non-golf things like friends, family, gym routine, etc. 

Not thinking about golf isn’t zoning out or lacking focus either—it’s intentional to recharge, so you’re 100% ready for the next shot. You only have so much energy and focus, so you want to make the most of it, so you don’t waste it all early in the round. This is necessary during a round of golf—otherwise, you will drain your battery if you’re trying to focus for every minute of a four-plus-hour round.

Don’t try to focus like a robot for the entire round; it won’t make you play better. It will just wear you down sooner. Give it maximum effort on each shot by focusing when you need to and taking a mental break between shots.