Here’s how much time you should spend on the ball
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How much time is too much time spent on the ball before hitting the ball?
You’ve probably asked yourself this question, or thought about it after watching your playing partner swing and regrip the club for 90 seconds before finally pulling the trigger.
It’s important to get the ball comfortable before you start your swing, but how long exactly does that take? Golf’s Top 100 Coach Lynn Marriott tackles this question in a recent video posted to the LPGA Professionals YouTube page, and her answers may help you improve (and maybe reduce) your pre-shot routine in helpful ways .
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According to Marriott, players should do minimal thinking after catching the ball. If you find yourself distracted and restless in front of a camera, you might benefit from Marriott’s “Think Box” and “Play Box” concepts.
The thought box is basically a space away from where you are hitting the ball where you can sort out all your thoughts about your upcoming shot. Once you feel comfortable with the task at hand (yardage, club selection, hitting strategy, aiming), go into your aiming position in the game box. From here, Marriott says, your hitting time should be less than 10 seconds.
Marriott says the “think box/play box” concept is useful because it allows you to focus fully on the task at hand.
“It’s about being present through your senses. It’s about being an athlete. It’s about making golf a sport again,” Marriott said. “Once you step in, you aim and orient, and then you’re good to go.”
If you find that 10 seconds in the Play Box is not enough, you need to reevaluate the time you spend in the Think Box.
“After nine seconds, you start having an internal dialogue,” Marriott said. “So make sure you organize every shot. Have a place to think and a place to play.
Take Marriott’s advice and try to control your wandering thoughts and start hitting more focused shots.