I picked up golf when I was 11. In the back corner of the garage sat a dusty old set of Wilson clubs that were at one point my Grandpa’s, but were now my fathers. My dad didn’t golf though, so they just sat in a corner of the garage gathering dust. One day my friend Scott and I grabbed those clubs and we walked down the street to the park and started hitting balls, or at least trying to anyway, towards the sandbox on the other side. As the years went by I got better. I thought I was pretty good, shooting rounds in the mid 90’s. Then when I was in my mid-teens I had a breakthrough and I didn’t know how I did it. I had the perfect round of golf. I didn’t know how I did it that day, but I have since come to learn how I was able to accomplish such a feat.

I went up to watch the Pro’s play at the PGA Championship at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. They were flawless, controlled, and consistently executed shots I thought were impossible. I remember Mark O’Meara with a bad lye under a canopy of trees without a clear shot to the green. I stood there behind his ball looking at the potential shots. I thought man he is going to have to punch out and then hit up. When he got there and surveyed the environment he did something different. He took his time. He was methodical. He then stepped up to his ball and did the exact same routine I saw him perform on the tee. He was aimed directly at the pin on the green with the trees directly in between. He took the shot and it flew flawlessly through a hole in the canopy of trees up onto the green and next to the pin. I stood there in awe for many moments after Mark and the crowd had moved on. I moved up to where Mark stood and looked at the green and the hole in the canopy that couldn’t have been more than 3-5 feet wide. How did he do that? I couldn’t figure it out.

A week after seeing Mark O’Meara make that shot and after seeing all the other pro’s make flawless shot after flawless shot. I went to play a round at a rather difficult, and rather expensive, course named Pelican Hill. I knew I would shoot in the 100’s that day. The course was on a level I was not used to playing, but something amazing happened, I broke 90 for the first time. To this day, even though I have shot much much much better than that, I consider that day my best round of golf ever. I had channeled the pro’s and I didn’t know how I did it. 100’s of rounds and thousands of shots later, I finally have figured it out. The cool thing is, the technique can be applied to anything. From Golf to free throws to that speech at Toastmasters next week. It applies everywhere and the beauty of it is it’s easy. Just be consistent and follow these 4 simple steps:

Step 1: Repetition.

Rinse and Repeat. Rinse and Repeat. In the wide world of sports, that means hitting the driving range playing game after game. Understanding the mechanics and then drilling those mechanics into you. For speeches, it means knowing the subject inside and out. Top to bottom. No matter the activity the point is you need to repeat the action until it becomes automatic.

Step 2: Forget it.

In sports they call it a pre-shot routine. You perform the same motions leading up to taking the shot every time. The point is to turn your head off. Don’t think about the mechanics. Forget about the target. Forget the exact words for the entire speech. Just let go.

For me, in golf, I always take two medium strength swings. I step back hold the club up at the target and find my line. I step back up to the ball. Take another practice swing. Set the club behind the ball. Line up with my target. Lift the club. Set my feet. Bend my knees. Press my hands forward just a bit. Glance at the target and just when my head gets back into position without thinking I take the swing. If my head is truly turned off, the shot is flawless. If I force it and think about the target or where I don’t want it to go or try to kill it, I’ve lost before the swing even starts.

Step 3: Stop thinking about it.

Stay detached. Don’t get wrapped up in the perfect shot you just made and how great you are. Don’t get distracted by the shot you just shanked. I perfect shot and a bad shot are no different once the shot is made. The only thing that matters is to forget it all and just do it. Resist the temptation to get carried away. “When you know you’re in the zone, you’re [already] out of it,” says Dr. Benson. “Back off and ignore the highs and lows of the moment. You’re just doing your thing.”

Step 4: Trust yourself.

Never discount what you have accomplished. What you did, wasn’t just luck or a great day. Instead take it for what it was. It was you getting out of your own way and as such prepare yourself for the next time by knowing that you can in fact let go and get out of your own way and always ace it.

For more information on this topic check out the following two sources:

1. “The Science of Swish“, Men’s Health. p132-138. September 2008.
2. “Mastery” by George Leonard. Penguin Group. 1992. 

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