Any tips to help me tell my brain to shut the h**l up during my swing?

When I am ready to hit the ball, I think about a blank piece of paper, then exhale, then "turn off" the music/noise that is going on in my head.

It takes practice to be quiet and to get the mental nonsense that is going on to either stop or to ignore. Start on the putting green, then have it roll into full shots.
 
Any tips to help me tell my brain to shut the h**l up during my swing?

I make sure I'm not standing over the ball at address for too long. Also try to ignore or mute any thoughts I have (easier said then done). I pretend my thoughts are background noise, similar to a tv show playing in another room.
 
Sing a song that you struggle remembering the lyrics to. Thats my go to, although that usually accompanied by awful dance moves and air guitar
 
My biggest hurdle was this exact this. I would always stand over the ball and think "Ok, light grip....not too tight, don't slouch your shoulders, how's my spine angle...oh no! Is my weight on my heels, I need to fix that, ok here we go....no wait, the ball is too forward...ok here we go.....no wait...I'm too far fromo the ball...OK....don't move your head! SWEET JESUS DON'T MOVE YOUR HEAD AGAIN! ...ok here we go..." and so on...my instructor would look at me like "What the **** are you doing??? Swing already!" Only through repetition will you eliminate it. When you Grip, posture, ball placement and target line all become second nature, then you'll work on your takeaway....when that feel good it'll all be one smooth sequence. A good preshot routine helps as well.
 
Next time you are golfing with someone have a conversation about non golf why you are addressing the ball, look down and swing then carry on the conversation.
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Sing a song or find a calming phrase to recite

Non golf thoughts or conversation, sing a song, etc...One of the issues is probably that you are now thinking about not thinking about it which actually means your thinking about it...lol

I use to (and still at times do) sing or hum songs even the friggin ABC's in my head. Hey, Whatever works.

Its not easy though. The subject of over thinking comes up a lot and imo its like the chicken or the egg riddle. Which came first? I mean you can have a clear head as you wish but if playing poorly you eventually at some point start to think of why and when and what is going on. Anyone who says they never think or says that "non thinking" is the key to good ball striking is only imo holding true to that so long as they are playing well enough. But start to falter and keep faltering and eventually anyone is going to think. You would have to think at some point regardless because you need to fix the ball striking.

I honestly think there needs to be a happy medium between no thinking and over thinking. There must be a comfort zone where one thinks just enough to place a collective full swing thought about his upcoming swing and make a confident one regardless of results but not too much thinking about any one specific thing. My thought is a collective full swing thought during my preshot swing and then after that its all about tempo. That is sometimes where the humming of a song comes in...lol
 
All good suggestions. Thanks to all for the input so far.

Boston_golfer, you cracked me up with that.
 
I had gotten to a point last season where I would just set up and say to myself "Hit Ball!" Needless to say, it was a crap shoot whether it resulted in a good hit or not.
 
Sounds like you're used to hearing yourself during the swing. Try this, hum just loud enough to hear yourself and during the swing you want the hum to stay the same volume and tone. You don't want the hum to increase in volume or tone during the swing. If it does you're swinging too hard. Swing smoother (think Fred couples) and keep the volume and tone the same during the swing.

I was going to say the same thing. But I do it while going to the ball, not on my pre-shot routine.

In my pre-shot routine, I look at ball, then target, then ball, then target, all the time swinging while my body finds the correct swing path. Then I pull the trigger. I leave no space for extra thoughts.

Also, in my pre-shot routine I'm busy listening to my body. Is my swing to quick? Am I getting the correct release? Am I moving my body towards the target? I think it's okay to be thinking. I think it's so noisy up there for you because you have doubts and there are conflicting thoughts. I've learned to step back and figure out something I like before hitting. These days I can almost tell when my shot isn't committed and I am unsure.

I've been known to be chatting away with my buddies, and just shut up seconds away from hitting the ball.
 
I can't believe nobody has said it yet. Alcohol. It gets me to stop thinking and just swing.
 
I guess I've been lucky to not be an over thinking when addressing the ball. I play golf not golf swing.
 
Turn on the radio on your way to the course.

New annoyingly catchy song goes into your head and you get to sing it while swinging. Can't think of much when you're humming stupid Taylor Swift.
 
I wish I knew a trick. I'm curious to see some of the "secrets"
 
Any tips to help me tell my brain to shut the h**l up during my swing?

I'm no expert but I suffer from this. What I've done early in the season is to come up with a solid preshot routine including my focus. It seems to be helping. I focus on the feeling of my practice swings and accept the results.
 
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I can't believe nobody has said it yet. Alcohol. It gets me to stop thinking and just swing.
Definitely smoothes out my swing!
 
I guess I've been lucky to not be an over thinking when addressing the ball. I play golf not golf swing.
And this is the corner I am trying to turn. I don't want to play golf swing any more.
 
Turn on the radio on your way to the course.

New annoyingly catchy song goes into your head and you get to sing it while swinging. Can't think of much when you're humming stupid Taylor Swift.
Hmmm....Taylor Swift ear worm, or raucous swing thoughts running rampant.......that's a tough one.
 
Hmmm....Taylor Swift ear worm, or raucous swing thoughts running rampant.......that's a tough one.

Golf is part Jedi mind game. Like practicing the swing, the mental part needs practice too. At first it will be mentally exhausting, but as time goes by it will be easier.
 
I try to think of just one (maybe two) things about my swing when I play. I only focus on those one or two things, nothing else. It tends to keep the "voices" out of my head.




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Turn on the radio on your way to the course.

New annoyingly catchy song goes into your head and you get to sing it while swinging. Can't think of much when you're humming stupid Taylor Swift.

I do this exact thing! Although I have a few "go to" songs and NONE of them include Taylor Swift...
I've found I play my best when I focus on where I want to hit it, visualize the shot happening and then start jamming out to Final Countdown, Bon Jovi or Journey
 
Having a trigger for your downswing works for me. Also I stand 5ft behind were swing thoughts happen. As soon as I step towards the ball they stop. Only alignment.
 
I suffer from this issue sometimes. Confidence and having a good time is the best for me
 
is this the same as the voices in my head
 
I've settled on today's swing thought.

For the driver: "Put it in play." I'm going to paint "P.I.I.P" on the top of my driver head so every time I'm getting ready to hit, that's what I'll see.

For the other clubs: "Keep it in play." Since there's no room on the irons, I'm going to use a sharpie to put "K.I" on the top of my left shoe, and "I.P." on the top of my right shoe. So every time I set up, I'll see it.
 
Part of my pre shot routine is picking a very small target i.e. a leaf on a tree. After I'm set up the last thing I look at is that target and try to visualise it, then I gently squeeze my right trigger finger and that starts my swing. At the moment the song that is in my head most rounds is "Live Forever" by Oasis. I hum or sing it to myself after I'm set up and also after a bad shot which seems to help forget that shot as I cannot remember all the words.
 
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