Eric Jones Interview on Winning the 2012 World Long Drive Championship
In my Closers Interview I discuss two things I did really well that enabled me to win my second World Long Drive Championship:
- Being present-centered, focused exclusively on the task at hand; and
- Maintaining a target focus.
If you want to play your best golf you have to have a target. Every shot.
You’ve heard this one before, right? ‘If you don’t know where you’re going any road will get you there?’ If Yogi Berra played golf he’d probably translate it into something like “If you don’t have a target you’re probably not going to hit it.”
To this day I can still picture my target with total clarity even though it’s been four years since the competition. It was a black wind-sock on the bluff in back of the grid in Mesquite. It had white lettering on it and it was leaning a little to the left, fluttering in the breeze. If I close my eyes I still feel as if I could point right at it.
The next time you play try this exercise: When you’re in your address position ready to hit your shot, close your eyes. Ask yourself how well you know where the target is. Can you picture it with clarity? Could you point right at it with your eyes closed?
If not, take another look at the target. Memorize it. Then try again.
If you are purposeful about focusing on a specific target you will hit better shot with more consistency. That’s because images are the best way for your Thinking Mind to communicate with your Athletic Mind. Your Thinking Mind picks the target; your Athletic Mind executes the shot. The better these two centers in the brain can communicate the better the results.
These are drills I train on specifically as I prepared for the long drive competition. I talk about how I trained in the interview with Dr. Glen Albaugh. It’s part of the Clutch Golfer Podcast Interviews course.
This interview, and many more with stars from the PGA, LPGA, and Senior Tours will help you learn to hit clutch shots and become a clutch player. They are pure gold for any golfer who wants to improve.
Please take a moment to enroll in the course or at least try listening to the first few interviews. They are well worth your time.
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