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The Mental Game: Go Beyond SMART Goals

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In my last article, I discussed how to kick-start your focus and create positive actions through the use of goal setting. Due to the positive reception and requests for more details about SMART goals, I would like to follow it up.

SMART is an acronym that stands for:

Specific — Measurable — Attainable — Realistic — Timely

It’s a fantastic guide for how to write powerful goals that we use daily with all of our students at The Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy.

Goals should be written in a specific manner, as opposed to general. For instance, it’s better to write the goal, “I want to practice my short game” rather than something general such as, “I want to improve.” Saying you want to “improve” gives no specific direction, but focusing on short game provides more detail.

The conscious and unconscious mind is like a missile. If the mind is launched with no parameters, then your thoughts can end up going in any direction, just like a stray missile. If you provide a specific target, however, the launch is all but assured to hit its target. Giving a specific direction for your mind and body to focus on is critical to setting goals.

The goal of “I want to practice my short game” can be taken further by adding a measurable component. Writing “I want to practice an hour a day,” provides even more detail and is a great way to measure your progress. At the end of every day, you can ask yourself, “Did I or did I not practice for an hour today?” You will be able to easily tell if you accomplished your task. On top of this, you can have a calendar at home and check off every day that you practice your short game for an hour, making it easier to track your progress.

Goals can be made both attainable and realistic with two simple questions: Can I? and Will I?

  • Can I accomplish this goal? If yes, the goal is attainable.
  • Will I accomplish this goal? If yes, the goal is realistic.

If you can answer: “Yes! I will practice my short game an hour a day.” Then your goal is both attainable and realistic.

The final and perhaps most important component to SMART goals is making sure the goal is timely and/or having a timeframe, also known as a deadline. To add a dimension of time to this goal, write something like: “I will practice my short game an hour a day each day this week.” You can also add another time frame and actually schedule a specific time to complete your goal, which I highly recommend! Simply saying from 5:30 p.m. t0 6:30 p.m. will provide a complete direction so your mind knows exactly what you need to do!

  • Specific: “I want to practice my short game.”
  • Measurable: “I want to practice my short game an hour a day.”
  • Attainable: “I can practice my short game an hour a day.”
  • Realistic: “I will practice my short game an hour a day.”
  • Timely: “I will practice my short game every day this week from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.”

While SMART guidelines are a great concept for structuring your goals, you can do even more.

Two tips I tell our juniors and pros are:

  1. Make sure your goals are written and stated positively.
  2. Make sure your goals are moderately difficult.

Writing a goal like, “I don’t want to get angry during today’s round” is not a positive goal. It keeps the mind focused on what to avoid. When the mind is focused on what to avoid, it makes that idea more likely to happen. Saying or thinking, “Don’t get angry” tells the brain, “get angry, get angry, get angry.” Therefore, the goal must have a different focus, such as: “stay focused” or “keep calm.” This simple shift in language is very powerful for your goals, mindset and success.

Writing a goal, which is easily attainable, does not motivate a golfer. A scratch golfer may write a SMART goal like, “I will shoot 80 or better today.” But, it likely doesn’t make that golfer excited and passionate. As we discussed in one of my previous articles, “Goals are the fuel of greatness,” goals should not only keep you focused, they should also drive you. Therefore, golfers will benefit by making goals that are attainable and realistic and also challenging.

Consistently writing SMART, positive, challenging goals is one of the most sure ways to continue to progress in golf. Get into the habit of doing this weekly, and you will be on your way to personal greatness.

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Dan Vosgerichian Ph.D. is owner of Elite Performance Solutions. Dr. Dan earned his doctorate in Sport Psychology from Florida State University and has more than 10 years of experience working with golfers to maximize their mental game. His clients have included golfers from The PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Web.com Tour, PGA Latin America, as well as some of the top junior and collegiate players in the country. Dr. Dan has experience training elite golfers on every aspect of the game. He served as The Director of Mental Training at Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy, as well as a Mental Game Coach for Nike Golf Schools. He’s also worked as an instructor at The PGA Tour Golf Academy and assistant golf coach at Springfield College. Dan's worked as a professional caddie at TPC Sawgrass, Home of The Players Championship, as well as an assistant to Florida State University's PGA Professional Golf Management Program.

3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. Pingback: The Mental Game: Go Beyond SMART Goals - GolfWRX | SmartphonesSmartphones

  2. Bill Schmedes

    Jul 4, 2014 at 2:03 pm

    Another great article by Dr. Dan!

  3. Pingback: The Mental Game: Go Beyond SMART Goals | Spacetimeandi.com

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Instruction

Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!

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Not the dreaded headcover under the armpit drill! As if your body is defective and can’t function by itself! Have you seen how incredible the human machine is with all the incredible feats of agility all kinds of athletes are accomplishing? You think your body is so defective (the good Lord is laughing his head off at you) that it needs a headcover tucked under the armpit so you can swing like T-Rex?

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How a towel can fix your golf swing

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This is a classic drill that has been used for decades. However, the world of marketed training aids has grown so much during that time that this simple practice has been virtually forgotten. Because why teach people how to play golf using everyday items when you can create and sell a product that reinforces the same thing? Nevertheless, I am here to give you helpful advice without running to the nearest Edwin Watts or adding something to your Amazon cart.

For the “scoring clubs,” having a solid connection between the arms and body during the swing, especially through impact, is paramount to creating long-lasting consistency. And keeping that connection throughout the swing helps rotate the shoulders more to generate more power to help you hit it farther. So, how does this drill work, and what will your game benefit from it? Well, let’s get into it.

Setup

You can use this for basic chip shots up to complete swings. I use this with every club in my bag, up to a 9 or 8-iron. It’s natural to create incrementally more separation between the arms and body as you progress up the set. So doing this with a high iron or a wood is not recommended.

While you set up to hit a ball, simply tuck the towel underneath both armpits. The length of the towel will determine how tight it will be across your chest but don’t make it so loose that it gets in the way of your vision. After both sides are tucked, make some focused swings, keeping both arms firmly connected to the body during the backswing and follow through. (Note: It’s normal to lose connection on your lead arm during your finishing pose.) When you’re ready, put a ball in the way of those swings and get to work.

Get a Better Shoulder Turn

Many of us struggle to have proper shoulder rotation in our golf swing, especially during long layoffs. Making a swing that is all arms and no shoulders is a surefire way to have less control with wedges and less distance with full swings. Notice how I can get in a similar-looking position in both 60° wedge photos. However, one is weak and uncontrollable, while the other is strong and connected. One allows me to use my larger muscles to create my swing, and one doesn’t. The follow-through is another critical point where having a good connection, as well as solid shoulder rotation, is a must. This drill is great for those who tend to have a “chicken wing” form in their lead arm, which happens when it becomes separated from the body through impact.

In full swings, getting your shoulders to rotate in your golf swing is a great way to reinforce proper weight distribution. If your swing is all arms, it’s much harder to get your weight to naturally shift to the inside part of your trail foot in the backswing. Sure, you could make the mistake of “sliding” to get weight on your back foot, but that doesn’t fix the issue. You must turn into your trial leg to generate power. Additionally, look at the difference in separation between my hands and my head in the 8-iron examples. The green picture has more separation and has my hands lower. This will help me lessen my angle of attack and make it easier to hit the inside part of the golf ball, rather than the over-the-top move that the other picture produces.

Stay Better Connected in the Backswing

When you don’t keep everything in your upper body working as one, getting to a good spot at the top of your swing is very hard to do. It would take impeccable timing along with great hand-eye coordination to hit quality shots with any sort of regularity if the arms are working separately from the body.

Notice in the red pictures of both my 60-degree wedge and 8-iron how high my hands are and the fact you can clearly see my shoulder through the gap in my arms. That has happened because the right arm, just above my elbow, has become totally disconnected from my body. That separation causes me to lift my hands as well as lose some of the extension in my left arm. This has been corrected in the green pictures by using this drill to reinforce that connection. It will also make you focus on keeping the lead arm close to your body as well. Because the moment either one loses that relationship, the towel falls.

Conclusion

I have been diligent this year in finding a few drills that target some of the issues that plague my golf game; either by simply forgetting fundamental things or by coming to terms with the faults that have bitten me my whole career. I have found that having a few drills to fall back on to reinforce certain feelings helps me find my game a little easier, and the “towel drill” is most definitely one of them.

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Instruction

Clement: Why your practice swing never sucks

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You hear that one all the time; I wish I could put my practice swing on the ball! We explain the huge importance of what to focus on to allow the ball to be perfectly in the way of your practice swing. Enjoy!

 

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