Most golfers think visualization means picturing a good shot. According to Mike Bender, that's only half of it.
Mike says, “When you picture yourself hitting the shot you want, your brain begins to program your muscles to feel and replicate the results.”
This goes deeper than most discussions on visualization. In your pre-shot routine, you’ve considered the shot conditions, distance, target, and club selection.
Now hold the club as you visualize the shot. Mike says, “You begin to transfer the mental images for the shot into a physical feel through your fingers, hands and arms.”
In other words, as you see the shot in your mind, your subconscious creates the feel of the shot in your body.
Mike defines two basic types of visualization: Complete and Intermediate.
Let’s start with intermediate and the player who made it famous: Jack Nicklaus.
The 1972 U.S. Open was held at Pebble Beach. Jack came to the challenging 17th hole. Long par three, 209 yards. A sprawling bunker wrapped around the front of the green, plus six more bunkers behind. And beyond that, the biggest water hazard of all: the Pacific Ocean.
Jack stood on the tee, squinting into a stiff wind. Normally, he’d play a 2-iron, but he clubbed up to a 1-iron. He picked a distant target left of the flag. Then he found a spot on the grass, a few yards in front of the ball, that lined up with his target.
Jack used an intermediate spot because it helped with alignment. He visualized the ball flying over that spot, through the air, bouncing on the green and rolling to the pin.
Which is almost exactly what happened. The ball cut through the wind, bounced, hit the flag, and dropped inches from the hole. Jack went on to win his third U.S. Open.
The other type of mental rehearsal is called Complete Visualization. The only difference is: there’s no intermediate spot.
Pick a target area, visualize the ball’s flight, watch it land, bounce and roll into that area. If you need a refresher on target areas, check out yesterday’s lesson.
For most golfers, Mike recommends the Complete Visualization method. It’s simpler, and he found that an intermediate target can prevent you from creating a full movie of your shot.
“Don’t get me wrong,” he says. “If you have success using the intermediate method, then don’t fix something that’s not broken.” But you should test both methods to find what works best for you.
Motivational speaker Earl Nightingale said, “Visualization is our vehicle to the future.”
Many golfers don’t really take visualization seriously. If that’s true for you, I hope today’s lesson will encourage you to experiment with Complete and Intermediate visualization.
Remember, it’s not just about imagining the shot. It’s about taking all the factors that went into your careful shot selection and downloading that image. It’s subconscious programming: the swing you see in your mind becomes the swing you feel in your body.
That’s all for today. Tomorrow, we’ll learn how a practice swing can be a bridge to lower scores. Until then, keep imagining what’s possible.
