Visualization In the Short Game

A few summers ago I hit my tee shot short of the green on a par-3 hole. This green sits on a shelf that slopes sharply downward in front. The ball was five feet below the level of the green and about 30 feet from the pin.

I looked the situation over and through no conscious decision-making process, absorbed it, and thought, “Sand wedge, two feet.” My mind and body shared the knowledge of what to do and performed as one. As I hit the shot, a feeling of calmness and confidence was strong from address through follow-through. It was that simple.

Visualization is allowing what you see between yourself and your target to create an impression in your mind that spreads through your body. The impression carries the exact feeling of what shot to hit, and how to hit it, that will get the ball where you want it to go. The process takes only a few seconds once you get used to it.

When you plan a shot by drawing on your experience in a logical way, you’ll be off the mark. Every short shot is different, and generalizing from the past will prevent you from seeing what is there now. There might be bumps and rolls in the ground to account for, meaning you would have to fly the ball to the hole instead of running it there. You might usually hit this particular shot with your sand wedge, but now a 9-iron would be a better choice. And so on.

After acquiring a basic grasp of how to hit different short shots, it all comes down to feel, because each short shot situation has unique demands. If you spend a few moments just looking at what lies in front of you, without pre-judging how you’re going to deal with it, the right solution will present itself to your mind and body, every time.

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