57. It’s a fact that whilst most players are disappointed when they miss a makeable putt, they aren’t surprised. The truth is they never really expected to hole it

Link to book purchase. The Winning ball

Want to hole more putts? Of course you do, don’t' we all? Here is a great tip I read from a well recommended book called the "Inner game of Golf" written by an ex-tennis pro by the name of Tim Gallwey. As the title implies, the author is keen to promote the flexing of the "Grey muscle" rather than the more widely used physical muscle. As is often the case with psychological drills, they can appear to be some what bizarre but if you reserve judgement long enough, I am sure you can experience some positive benefits.

The drill is based upon a principle that runs through all aspects of life which is,” What you focus on, you usually attract". Most players whilst not aware of it actually focus on the ball not going in the hole. You will perhaps be thinking that this statement is rubbish but just for a moment look at the following list of thoughts that invade 98 % of player’s minds whilst on the green.

• Here is the reason why
• Don’t' leave it short!
• Don’t' hit it long!
  Don’t' miss it on the low side!
• Get it up to the hole!
• That spike mark is on my line!
• I never hole any this length!
• ..... and finally, in desperation, have we all not prayed to heaven ..... Get it close!
  

It’s a fact that whilst most players are disappointed when they miss a makeable putt, they are not surprised. This is before we begin filling our heads with distracting thoughts of mechanical instruction during the execution of the stroke.

All the above thoughts have one thing in common, they all focus on the ball not going in rather than going in. In fact, we focus on the ball finishing elsewhere. It is as though we delete the hole from the equation. To hole more putts, we need to focus on the hole more than anything else. The problem is that a four and one quarter inch hole on a putting green stands out like a needle in a haystack. The hole becomes lost in a sea of green. Gallwey's solution is simple. We have to use our imagination to make the hole become more significant and as one example, he proposes that we see it as a "Cosmic Black hole". If you do not know about the characteristics of a Black hole, they are incredibly powerful remnants of collapsed stars that suck in any matter that just happens to get to close. They are so powerful, they even capture light. Gallwey says that if you can imagine, vividly enough, a mini black hole in the cup, it draws your attention to the hole. The more you focus on the hole, the more it will feature in your putting as the ball is drawn toward it more often.