Here at THP, we try to review anything and everything that a golfer could want. Sometimes it’s conventional and sometimes it’s unconventional. With the explosion of smart phones, tablet computers and portable mp3 players it was only a matter of time before the golf industry took advantage of this portable technology. The latest item to go portable is the Visulax golf app for the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch. The app’s goal is to aid the golfer by helping their game via improvement in the mental side of golf. I for one have been interested in the mental side of golf for some time and believe in certain techniques. Will this app continue to improve my outlook on the mental side of golf and be a ‘birdie’ or will it cloud my mind and be a ‘bogey?’ Check it out.
Key Features
• Improve your golf mind
• Blocking out distractions
• Improve your course management
• Help focus on the target
• Achieve perfect balance and timing
Initial Thoughts and Functionality
I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect from this app once I downloaded it to my iPhone. Maybe some coaching? Meditation techniques? Maybe some calming music? Who knows, maybe all of the above? Well once I tuned it on I was greeted by a soothing male voice telling me to ‘get into a comfortable position, put on some comfortable clothes, and to visualize my favorite golf hole. To feel the warm sun on my skin, see the green grass, hear the birds and to experience the positive feelings of the hole.’ While this is going on, there’s some sort of Gregorian chant music being played in the background that all works together in an attempt to calm and relax you.
After this introduction you move into a meditation stage where you are asked to focus on relaxing your jaw muscles, temples and the back of your neck all while you deeply inhale and exhale. Next you concentrate on relaxing your arms, your hands, your fingers, your legs, and your toes. This is designed to create a relaxed state that you can hopefully take to the course with you. A sense of peace, positive feelings and relaxation are your goal here and once you establish that you can visualize your shot. Once you achieve this mental state you can begin to visualize yourself swinging the club in perfect tempo. Whether it be your driver, your irons, your wedges the emphasis is on your calm, relaxed tempo while being in perfect balance. Visualization of your shots, the feeling of a well struck shot and the feeling or being in complete balance and tempo are just one of the goals of this app. It all sounds good in theory but is it practical to take to the course? Let’s see.
Testing
I decided to listen to this session prior to heading out on the course to see if I could apply any of the techniques or tips that are contained within the app. I have to say that the techniques were hard to apply on the course under actual game conditions. When you’re focusing on yardage numbers, club selection, weather conditions or even what you opponent or playing partner is doing it can be a little hard to fully remember what you were listening to prior to teeing off. At least in my case, once the competition starts your mind can get very focused on other tasks. However, for shots that required greater concentration (a tee shot that needs to be in the fairway, an approach shot that needs to be on the green or a putt that would give me a birdie I did find myself remembering to be in tempo, visualize the shot, feel the ball come off the club and to see the shot go through the air. Did this help me? Yes and no. With anything, execution does not always mimic preparation.
Overall
I found the app to be helpful in terms of relaxation and visualization techniques but for my game I’m not sure if this was overly helpful. Golf is a game that requires certain swing thoughts and certain focus points in order to be successful. Golfers have a lot to think about already so some golfers may find an app like this to either be really helpful or not at all. I think I’m somewhere in the middle where I can see the merit of this app’s application but don’t think it’s the missing piece to my golf puzzle. But see for yourself and check out the Visulax app which is available on iTunes for $6.99. It only takes 30-35 minutes to listen to the app’s contents so it’s not overly time consuming. Perhaps you are only 30-35 minutes away from unlocking your full potential or maybe you’re just looking for something different to speed up your learning curve? You won’t know unless you give it a try right?
T. Hanks
