In Mr. Steve Yellins first Fluid Motion Factor (FMF) post for CGC he discusses “The Big Paradox”

Enjoy the read and keep improving.

Follow Mr. Yellin on Twitter @Steve_Yellin and his FMF website www.fluidmotiongolf.com

The Big Paradox

Tiger produced a DVD called Tracking the Tiger. In it he said something very cryptic, something that gives you pause and makes you think about his statement for a minute or two. He said:

‘There have been key shots in major tournaments when I took the club out of the bag and didn’t remember anything until I saw the ball land on the green.’

That experience certainly doesn’t correlate with the commentary on TV when Johnny Miller or Nick Faldo start gushing over Tiger’s focus, determination and concentration after he hits a great shot. What is Tiger saying about that shot? He is saying; ‘guess what folks, I am not remembering much of anything out there when that occurs.’

But this is not an uncommon experience for super-star athletes. After Bubba won the Masters last year, they asked him what his game plan was on the back nine on Sunday. His response? ‘I don’t remember anything about the last four holes.’

Again, a response that goes against the grain of no pain, no gain. Now think about the best you ever played? Would you characterize your best ball-striking days as ones that had more focus, concentration and determination than other days or would you say that the whole round felt so ridiculously simple, easy and effortless that you wondered why it couldn’t feel like that all the time? I think I know your answer.

Golf is about motion, motion is about the muscles and the operating system of the muscles is located in the mind. When any players gets locked in and plays well, there is one process in the mind that allows them to be more consistent. This is not from a sports psychology perspective, but on how fluid motion is produced in a golf swing. The main aspect of that process is the part of the brain responsible for thinking, known as the pre-frontal cortex, goes off-line. It shuts down. It takes a long siesta for the 18 holes out there. That is why no one has outstanding rounds, walks off the course and says they were thinking a lot out there. They say the opposite; they weren’t thinking much at all.

The question is how do you not think out there when everything you learned about golf is moving you in the direction of thinking more and more? It’s quite a paradox, isn’t it? You play your best golf when you don’t think too much, yet you are taught how to play golf with the understanding that you do have to think a lot and pay attention to every detail?

Ideally, you should practice what occurs when you play your best golf. How do you do that? What does that entail? If you could practice something like that, you would have an excellent chance of reaching your potential as a golfer. In my next blog, I will go over the dynamics of how fluid motion is produced in the body and what you can do to start thinking less and producing fluid motion more often.

thanks,

Steve