The wandering mind and performance routines in golf
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14687/jhs.v18i4.6189Keywords:
golf, pre-shot routine, performance enhancementAbstract
The past decade of research has brought about new understandings in the study of pre-shot routines, with multiple researchers advancing the field of knowledge surrounding the usage of pre-shot routines as a performance enhancement mechanism. Across golfers of novice to expert skill-levels, the results of peer-reviewed studies have clearly presented the potential benefits of incorporating pre-shot routines for all golfers in improving their play. However, with the current state of research serving as an indicator as to how far we have come in our learning of pre-shot routines in golf, researchers and practitioners in the field understand that there is still a long way to go in expanding our knowledge base on pre-shot routines and their role in the golf performance spectrum. The paper reviews the concept of the wandering mind, attentional control theory, performance routines in general, and more specifically, pre-shot routines in golf.
Downloads
Metrics
References
Beauchamp, P. H., Halliwell, W. R., Fournier, J. F., & Koestner, R. (1996). Effects of cognitive-behavioral psychological skills training on the motivation, preparation, and putting performance of novice golfers. Sport Psychologist, 10, 157-170.
Beilock, S. L., & Carr, T. H. (2001). On the fragility of skilled performance: What governs choking under pressure? Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 130, 701–725.
Beilock, S. L., Carr, T. H., MacMahon, C., & Starkes, J. L. (2002). When paying attention becomes counterproductive: impact of divided versus skill-focused attention on novice and experienced performance of sensorimotor skills. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 8, 6-16.
Bernier, M., Codron, R., Thienot, E., & Fournier, J. (2011). The attentional focus of expert golfers in training and competition: A naturalistic investigation. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 23, 326-341.
Boutcher, S. H. (1990) The role of performance routines in sport. In J. G. Jones & Hardy (Eds.), Stress and Performance in Sport (pp. 221-245). New York: Wiley.
Boutcher, S. H. (1992). Attentional and athletic performance: An integrated approach. In T. S. Horn (Ed.), Advances in Sport Psychology (pp. 251–266). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Boutcher, S. H., & Crews, D. J. (1987). The effect of a preshot attentional routine on a well-learned skill. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 18, 30-39.
Boutcher, S. H., & Rotella, R. J. (1987). A psychological skills educational program for closed-skill performance enhancement. Sport Psychologist, 1, 127-137.
Boutcher, S. H., & Zinsser. N. W. (1990). Cardiac deceleration of elite and beginning golfers during putting. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 12, 37-47.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper & Row.
Cohn, P. J., Rotella, R. J., & Lloyd, J. W. (1990). Effects of a cognitive-behavioral intervention on the pre-shot routine and performance in golf. Sport Psychologist, 4, 33-47.
Cohn, P. J. (1991). An Exploratory Study on Peak Performance in Golf. Sport Psychologist, 5, 1-14.
Coombes, S., Higgins, T., Gamble, K., Cauraugh, J., & Janelle, C. (2009). Attentional control theory: Anxiety, emotion, and motor planning. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23, 1072–1079. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2009.07.009
Connor, S. (2010, July 19) Psychology of sport: how a red dot swung it for open champion. Independent. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/psychology-of-sport-how-a-red-dot-swung-it-for-open-champion-2030349.html
Corbetta, M., Shulman, G., & Corbetta, M. (2002). Control of goal-directed and stimulus-driven attention in the brain. Nature reviews. Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn755
Cotterill, S. (2008). Developing effective pre-performance routines in golf. Sport & Exercise Psychology Review, 4(2), 10-16.
Cotterill, S. (2010). Pre-performance routines in sport: Current understanding and future directions. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 3, 132-153. 10.1080/1750984X.2010.488269.
Cotterill, S., Sanders, R., & Collins, D. (2010). Developing effective pre-performance routines in golf: Why don't we ask the golfer? Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 22(1), 51-64.
Cotterill, Stewart & Collins, Dave & Sanders, Ross. (2014). Developing effective pre-performance routines for golf: Implications for the coach. Athletic Insight, 6, 53-64.
Crampton, J. (1989). Establishing pre-shot routines for tournament golfers: An example of the use of micro-computers in performance planning. Sports Coach, 12, 9-12.
Crews, D. J., & Boutcher, S. H. (1986a). An exploratory observational behavior analysis of professional golfers during competition. Journal of Sport Behavior, 9, 51-58.
Crews, D. J., & Boutcher, S. H. (1986b). Effects of structured preshot behaviors on beginning golf performance. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 62, 291-294.
Crews, D. J., & Landers, D. M. (1993). Electroencephalagraphic measures of attentional patterns prior to the golf putt. Medicine in Sport and Exercise, 25, 116-126.
Davies, T., Collins, D., & Cruickshank, A. (2014). So what do we do with the rest of the day? Going beyond the pre-shot routine in elite golf support. International Journal of Golf Science, 2, 163-175.
Diekfuss, J., & Raisbeck, L. (2017). Attentional focus in NCAA division 1 golfers. Journal of Motor Learning and Development, 5, 240-251. 10.1123/jmld.2016-0025.
Douglas, K., & Fox, K. R. (2002). Performance and practise of elite women european tour golfers during pressure and non-pressure putting simulation. In E. Thain (Ed.), Science and Golf IV (pp. 246-256). London: Routledge.
Eysenck, M., Derakshan, N., Santos, R., & Calvo, M. (2007). Anxiety and cognitive performance: attentional control theory. Emotion (Washington, D.C.), 7, 336–353.
Foster, D. J., Weigand, D. A., & Baines, D. (2006). The effect of removing superstitious behavior and introducing a pre-performance routine on basketball free throw performance. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 18, 167–171.
Gayton, W. F., Cielinski, K. L., Francis-Keniston, W. J., & Heanes, J. F. (1989). Effects of preshot routine on free-throw shooting. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 68, 317-318.
Gould, D., & Udry, E. (1994). Psychological skills for enhancing performance: arousal regulation strategies. Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise, 26, 478–485.
Hackfort, D., Duda, J., & Lidor, R. (2005). Handbook of research in applied sport and exercise psychology: International perspective. Morgantown, WV: Sheridan Books.
Hardy, L., Mullen, R., & Jones, G. (1996). Knowledge and conscious control of motor actions under stress. British Journal of Psychology, 87, 621–636.
Harle, S.K. & Vickers, J.N. (2001). Training quiet eye improves accuracy in basketball free throw. The Sport Psychologist, 15, 289–305.
Holder, T. (2003). Concentration Training for Closed Skills. Pre-performance routine. In I. Greenlees, and A. Moran (Eds.), Concentration Skills Training in Sport (pp.67-75). Leicester: The British Psychological Society.
Jackson, R. C. (2001). The preshot routine: A prerequisite for successful performance? In P. R. Thomas (Ed.), Optimising Performance in Golf (pp. 279-288). Brisbane, Australia: Australian Academic Press.
Jackson, R. C. (2003). Pre-performance routine consistency: temporal analysis of goal kicking in the Rugby Union World Cup. Journal of Sports Sciences, 21, 803–814.
Killingsworth, M., & Gilbert, D. (2010). A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science (New York, N.Y.), 330(6006), 932.
Kingston, K., & Hardy, L. (1994). Factors affecting the salience of outcome, performance, and process goals in golf. In A. J. Cochran & M. R. Farrally (Eds.), Science and Golf II: Proceedings of the 1994 World Scientific Congress of Golf (pp. 144-149). London: E & FN Spon.
Kingston, K. M., & Hardy, L. (2001). Pre-performance routine training using holistic process goals. In P. R. Thomas (Ed.) Optimizing Performance in Golf (pp.264-278). Brisbane: Australian Academy Press.
Kirschenbaum, D.S., & Bale, R.M. (1980). Cognitive-behavioral skills in golf: Brain power golf. In R.M. Suinn (Ed.), Psychology in Sports: Methods and Applications (pp. 334-343). Minneapolis, MN: Burgess.
Last, J. (2014). Tracking research. Presentation at the 2014 Pace of Play Symposium, Far Hills, NJ. https://www.usga.org/content/dam/usga/images/pace%20of%20play/trackingresearch.pdf
Lobmeyer, D. L., & Wasserman, E.A. (1986). Preliminaries to free throw shooting: Superstitious behavior?. Journal of Sports Behavior, 9, 70–78.
Lonsdale, C., & Tam, J. (2008). On the temporal and behavioural consistency of pre-performance routines: An intra-individual analysis of elite basketball players’ free throw shooting accuracy. Journal of Sports Sciences, 26(3), 259–266.
Mack, M.G., (2001). Effects of time and movements of the preshot routine on free throw shooting. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 93, 567–573.
Marlow, C., Bull, S., Heath, B., & Shambrook, C. (1998). The use of a single case design to investigate the effect of a pre-performance routine on the water polo penalty shot. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 1, 143–155.
Mason, M., Norton, M., Van Horn, J., Wegner, D., Grafton, S., & Macrae, C. (2007). Wandering minds: The default network and stimulus-independent thought. Science (New York, N.Y.), 315(5810), 393-395.
Maynard, I. W. (1998). Improving concentration. Leeds, UK: National Coaching Foundation.
McCann, P., Lavallee, D., & Lavallee, R. M. (2001). The effect of pre-shot routines on golf wedge shot performance. European Journal of Sport Science, 1, 231-240.
Moore, W. E., & Stevenson, J. R. (1994). Training a pre-shot routine for golf. Applied Research in Coaching and Athletics Annual, 161-167.
Moran, A. P. (1996). The psychology of concentration in sports performers: A cognitive analysis. Hove, UK: Psychology Press.
Moran, A. (2004). Sport and exercise psychology: A critical introduction. Hove: Routledge.
Murphy, S. (1994). Mental preparation for golf: achieving optimal performance. In A. J. Cochrane and M. R. Farrally (Eds.) Science and Golf II: Proceedings of the World Scientific Congress of Golf. London: E and FN SPON.
Nideffer, R.M. (1976). The inner athlete: Mind plus muscle for winning. San Diego: Enhanced Performance Associates.
Price, J., Gill, D., Etnier, J., & Kornatz, K. (2009). Free-throw shooting during dual-task performance. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 80, 718-726.
Rotella, R., & Bunker, L. (1981). Mind mastery for winning golf. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Pentice-Hall.
Schmidt, R. A (1982). Motor control and learning. Champaign, IL. Human Kinetics.
Shaw, D. (2002). Confidence and the pre-shot routine in golf: A case study. In Solutions in Sport Psychology, Edited by: Cockerill, I. 108–119. London: Thomson.
Singer, R. N. (1988). Strategies and meta-strategies in learning and performing self-paced athletic skills. Sport Psychologist, 2, 49-68.
Singer, R. N. (2002). Pre-performance state, routines, and automaticity: What does it take to realize expertise in self-paced events? Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 24, 359-375. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00495
Strand, B., & Craw, M. (2019). PEER Golf: A Four-Part Model for Teaching and Improving Course Management. Strategies, 32(6), 18–26.
Taylor, J., & Wilson, G. (2005). Applying sport psychology: Four perspectives. Champaign, IL. Human Kinetics.
Tenenbaum, G. (2003). Expert athletes: An integrated approach to decision making. In J. L. Starkes & K. A. Ericsson (Eds.), Expert Performance in Sports. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Thomas, J. A. (2010). Considering intervention efficacy: The effect of a pre-shot routine on competitive youth golf performance. (Doctoral dissertation: University of North Carolina at Greensboro).
Van der Lei, H. (2010). Applied Golf Research: Affective States During Golf Performance. (Doctoral dissertation, Florida State University).
Van Der Lei, H., Tenenbaum, G., & Land, W. (2016). Individual arousal-related performance zones effect on temporal and behavioral patterns in golf routines. Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 26, 52–60.
Weinberg, R. S. (1988). The mental advantage. Champagne, IL: Leisure Press.
Whelan, J., Myers, A., Berman, J., Bryant, V., & Mellon, M. (1988, October). Meta-analysis of cognitive-behavioral interventions for performance enhancement in sports. Paper presented at the 4th annual conference of the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology, Nashua, NH.
Wilson, Mark. (2008). From processing efficiency to attentional control: A mechanistic account of the anxiety–performance relationship. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 1, 184-201.
Wulf, G., Lauterbach, B., & Toole, T. (1999). The learning advantages of an external focus of attention in golf. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 71, 229-239.
Wulf, G., & Su, J. (2007). An external focus of attention enhances golf shot accuracy in beginners and experts. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 78, 384-389.
Yancey, R. (1977, November). Develop a preshot routine and play better. Golf Digest, 115-117.
Yancey, A., Czech, D., Joyner, B., Zwald, D., and Genter, N. (2011). The experience of preshot routines among professional golfers: An existential phenomenological investigation. Journal of Excellence, 14, 48-68.
Zienius, M., Skarbalius, A., Zuoza, A., & Pukenas, K. (2015). Total time taken and heart rate changes of youth golfers during pre-shot routines in on-course conditions. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 15, 560-571.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Journal of Human Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors can retain copyright, while granting the journal right of first publication. Alternatively, authors can transfer copyright to the journal, which then permits authors non-commercial use of the work, including the right to place it in an open access archive. In addition, Creative Commons can be consulted for flexible copyright licenses.
©1999 Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.