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Phil's thoughts on committed shots

C

Carolina Golfer

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On the Golf Channel interview yesterday, it was cool to hear Phil's post game thoughts. He attributed the victory to playing committed shots. Not worrying about direction, but, be committed to each swing and focus on swing feels prior to the swing. Also, earlier in the week, he spoke about seeing images on the ball flight and landing before he hit shots. Most of his comments were on the mental side. Focus was another word he used a lot. Of course, he plays a different game than us hacks. But, there were a few words of wisdom in his comments on the mental side of the game this week.
 
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I did find it interesting. He even gave a great explanation of what he considers a committed shot. Also, I liked how he said he's been playing 36-45 holes a day to work on his focus. We all know that can be hard for us hackers to do let alone stay in an intense focus like a pro for that long. Phil said playing 18 and staying focused is relatively easy compared to 36-45...
 
I do find that when I plan out my shot, release my swing path, etc I tend to have better results vs when I just line up, practice swing, and hit. So it definitely makes sense
 
He was really interesting to watch this weekend. Very committed to pre-shot routine, visualization, having the right mental picture. Definitely something that I have been working on, maybe not as effectively as Phil!
 
Yeah, it was interesting to watch him visualize and get locked in on each shot throughout the tournament. Slow, agonizingly so on occasion, but interesting. I do a lot of visualization and I think it helps. Same with backing off if you lose sight/confidence in it. Wipe, picture it and how you want it to happen again, hang onto it, and do it. If I can't see it in my head, I can't do it.
 
I couldn't agree with that more. Yesterday I missed 3 fairways. On all 3 of those swings I was either a bit distracted or wasn't fully committed to the swing. I find that when I make bad swings when I think back I either wasn't committed to the process or the target. I try not to have many technical thoughts during my swing. I am very focused on target, alignment and making sure I swing freely to the finish.
 
OldandStiff said:
Yeah, it was interesting to watch him visualize and get locked in on each shot throughout the tournament. Slow, agonizingly so on occasion, but interesting. I do a lot of visualization and I think it helps. Same with backing off if you lose sight/confidence in it. Wipe, picture it and how you want it to happen again, hang onto it, and do it. If I can't see it in my head, I can't do it.
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Its tricky to back off shots when playing “normal” golf. It def has that slow play element to it. I try not to do it more than a few times a round. Hopefully not at all.
 
The pro's mental games are alot stronger than most amateurs are. It was interesting hearing him on course when the mics would catch him talking about shots.
 
Snickerdog said:
The pro's mental games are alot stronger than most amateurs are. It was interesting hearing him on course when the mics would catch him talking about shots.
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That was the best thing about no crowds. I loved hearing their thoughts and discussions with the caddie. Now, sadly, we're back to a bunch of bozos screaming and mobbing the golfers.
 
I seem to play my best golf when I'm mentally committing to things and visualizing things. I can practice technique until I'm blue in the face, but it won't matter if my head isn't in it.
 
I definitely agree. I think Bob Rotella's book and another interesting one Golf Tough both emphasize a strong mental game, visualization, etc. and try to dispel the myth that a pre-shot routine takes time and slows down play. I notice a really strong correlation between a pre-shot routine and my game. One day last fall, I couldn't stop hooking my irons and kept trying unsuccessfully, to correct this during the round. The one time I seriously focused on my routine and visualizing a straight ball flight, I actually hit one with only a tiny draw to it.
 
Carolina Golfer said:
On the Golf Channel interview yesterday, it was cool to hear Phil's post game thoughts. He attributed the victory to playing committed shots. Not worrying about direction, but, be committed to each swing and focus on swing feels prior to the swing. Also, earlier in the week, he spoke about seeing images on the ball flight and landing before he hit shots. Most of his comments were on the mental side. Focus was another word he used a lot. Of course, he plays a different games than us hacks. But, there were a few words of wisdom in his comments on the mental side of the game this week.
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This is the hardest thing to teach young golfers, but one of the best things ever got them to learn.
 
Stare at the target , glance at the ball.

Just listened to what Phil said in post match interview and this is quite interesting about a 'Committed golf swing' which he defined below

"Where you don't allow in thoughts of where you want the ball to go but to keep the feel of what you want to do throughout the swing"

So external focus is not just visualising the target in your minds-eye but actually feeling that intention to achieve the task from start to finish.
 
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I tried this in my round today. Once I picked the club and pictured the shot I wanted to hit, I committed to it totally - tried to put all doubt out of my head, quiet the mental noise and just commit 100% to hitting the shot I had envisioned. Not thinking about what had happened before, or what might happen after, just total focus on that one shot. Of course it didn't completely eliminate bad shots from my game, but it did seem like the quality of my shots was better than usual - especially the ones off sketchy lies or with trouble in front of me where I'd normally be doubting what I was doing and/or worried about the outcome. I'm going to try to make this more of a part of my game going forward, because I do lack focus and tend to overthink things a lot.
 
OldandStiff said:
Yeah, it was interesting to watch him visualize and get locked in on each shot throughout the tournament. Slow, agonizingly so on occasion, but interesting. I do a lot of visualization and I think it helps. Same with backing off if you lose sight/confidence in it. Wipe, picture it and how you want it to happen again, hang onto it, and do it. If I can't see it in my head, I can't do it.
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Good points, OldandStiff. Phil was purposely moving slowly during the round and backing off shots when needed.
 
Snowman said:
I tried this in my round today. Once I picked the club and pictured the shot I wanted to hit, I committed to it totally - tried to put all doubt out of my head, quiet the mental noise and just commit 100% to hitting the shot I had envisioned. Not thinking about what had happened before, or what might happen after, just total focus on that one shot. Of course it didn't completely eliminate bad shots from my game, but it did seem like the quality of my shots was better than usual - especially the ones off sketchy lies or with trouble in front of me where I'd normally be doubting what I was doing and/or worried about the outcome. I'm going to try to make this more of a part of my game going forward, because I do lack focus and tend to overthink things a lot.
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Thanks, for sharing Snowman. That's another thing Phil said. He admitted to a few loose shots even while staying focused. But, he was happy that they were all committed swings. I guess he knows in the long run, it can only be helpful to stay mentally sharp.
 
I think he did the whole pre shot routine to get under Brooks skin.
I think in the end it helped Brooks to make some mistakes on that final round

we have to remember that we are talking about the PGA tour player that is suppose to be the best money game player
 
It was discussed on the telecast that Phil felt he had been having issues with concentration and losing focus, so he engaged help in order to improve that. I watched all day Saturday, and caught the second 9 on Sunday because we went out and played. Phil seemed different. He was "the great stone face". And it seemed when he needed to pull off a really great shot, he did so time and time again! Consider that on 18, Koepka cranked out a drive of 360 yards with the wind behind them. Mickelson steps up and bashes one out there 365!

I'm sure having the fans in his corner didn't hurt, but that carries it's own emotional load. Thoughts like, "What if I blow up and disappoint all these people? What will they think of me?" Stuff like that.

It will be interesting to see what happens at Torrey Pines in June!
 
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