Attention to detail could be your secret sauce

Anyone who has served in the U.S. military understands the meaning of “attention to detail.” From keeping shoes shined to following instructions and obeying orders – details are paramount.

Airline pilots go through their checklists in meticulous detail with good reason. Failing to pay attention to details is one reason so many high-handicap golfers don’t score the way they think they should. Even pros sometimes have lapses due to inattention.

In golf the littlest things count. For example, it may have looked like the exact same ball in the grass, but you just played someone else’s ball. You wrote down a 5 for your score on the par-five ninth hole, but you really made 6, signed the card for the wrong score and were disqualified.

Stuff happens – if you don’t pay close attention. “Brain fog” can blur attention, like pulling the wrong club out of the bag; and 8-iron and a 9-iron look almost alike when the heads are lying on the grass, but the 9 will leave you short and in the pond. In a similar manner looking at the wrong hole on your GPS watch can mean a shot that goes out-of-bounds and ruins a great score for the day.

Taking care of your equipment is also an important golfing detail. We should clean the grooves on our clubs after each use and regrip them before they begin to slip in our hands. Likewise use new or fresh gloves before they get slippery and worn. Play with new or unblemished golf balls; it makes a difference. Stealing range balls is bad form and bad luck.

On the golf course pay close attention to the lie of your ball in the grass. In many cases how the ball is lying in or on the grass will dictate the type of shot you need to hit. Examples are uphill lies to a tight pin location, deep rough for a lay-up, a ball sitting up but on a bare lie in dormant worn Bermuda.

We also need to factor the location of the hole on the green when we are deciding what to hit and where to aim. Knowing where to miss a shot is as important as where to aim.

Be aware of where the hazards (i.e. penalty areas) are so you steer clear of them, especially the water.  And follow your shot visually so you don’t waste time looking all over for it. Be sure to notice the direction and intensity of the wind during your round, while it changes hole by hole and hour by hour.

When playing on the course it should be automatic for you to pay attention to your grip, stance, tempo, target, balance, swing speed and focus. If you struggle with some of those things, spend time on the practice range getting those variables in place before your next round.  

Don’t forget to practice your specific routine and use it flawlessly on every shot. If you tend to get nervous when strangers are nearby on the tee-box, focus intently on your usual routine but don’t rush it. That way you will also minimize distractions.

The putting green is where we especially need to pay attention to details, and the details in putting are more exacting than out on the fairway. It’s the difference between fine motor skills and gross motor skills. Most recreational golfers tend to generally grasp the break on putts but neglect the speed. That means the most important attention should be on the speed.

What good would it do if you spend most of the time figuring out the break and then race your putt 15 feet past the hole? Pay attention to the putts that other players in your group hit and learn from the way their ball behaves.

Attention to detail also means nutrition and hydration. Notice how the pros on tour eat plenty of snacks throughout the course of their golf round. Take a lesson from how they hydrate often and properly. If you pay closer attention to the many details involved with golf, you will be able to clean up those frustrating errors that are holding you back.