The Death Star(e) and How It Can Help Your Golf Game

Sure – I just used that headline as a cheap trick to attract all the Star Wars Fanatics to read a golf blog.  I’ll admit it.  How many of you came here hoping to see me compare the relative merits of the X-Wing vs. the TIE Fighter?  That’s a blog for a different day, people.

I’m a huge fan of Jason Day.  His demeanor on and off the course is exemplary and the quality of his play over the last year matches that demeanor.  So naturally I would try to copy him in my own game where I could.  No, I don’t quite hit an iron 300 yards (yet) and I certainly haven’t won a major (yet) so I had to choose something slightly easier to copy.  I honestly don’t know why I started copying the one thing that I am – maybe I thought the chicks would dig it.  What is absolutely crystal clear, however, is that this has knocked 3-5 shots off of every single one of my rounds.

I’m talking about the Jason Day death stare.  The visualization that occurs before each and every shot that Day hits.  I started doing this a couple of months ago before every tee shot and it has worked wonders.  While I still occasionally knock the ball into the woods, gone are the tee shots that dribble into the thicket right in front of the tee box.  Gone are the complete shanks into the parking lot.  Every one of my tee shots now produces solid contact and while, as I said, every shot is not perfect, even a tee shot that I mishit and goes a paltry 150 yards into the middle of the fairway beats looking under the Chevy Tahoe for your (insert ball of choice here – I’m all about reader interaction).

So what actually do Mr. Day and I think about while we’re standing there?  I can’t speak for the expert completely, but what I do in my routine is based on what I’ve gathered from his interviews:

1. Stand behind the ball and face the direction you will be hitting.
2. Hold the club up and point it directly at a point that I want the ball to head towards.  Pick a tree, pick a flagstick, pick a Chevy Tahoe, just pick a spot.
3. Trace the projected path of the ball with your eyes.  Not just once.  Or Twice.  Take a third long stare at exactly how you want the ball to travel.  NOT necessarily the point that you’re aiming – the WHOLE path.  SEE the ball.  Be the ball.
4. Walk up to the ball with that ball flight in mind, setup, waggle once or twice and smack the crap out of it.

Everybody has their own pre-shot routine and that’s fine.  What this one has done for me is the following:

• Provides a constant pre-shot routine that gets me ready to hit the ball.
• Stops all the pre-shot chatter (both from myself and from my playing partners) that used to distract me and prevent full concentration.  My playing partners whom I’ve been playing with for years now KNOW that when I’m in the moment not to break the concentration.
• Gives me full confidence in my driver.  Do I still hit bad tee shots?  Yes.  But I now hit 50%-75% more tee shots that get me in good position than I used to.

At this point, I only use this technique on tee shots.  There is no reason I should not be doing this for EVERY shot but I’ll have to work up to that.  It doesn’t take any longer than anyone else’s pre-shot routine if done correctly and does nothing but give you consistency and confidence.

The same confidence that Luke Skywalker felt shooting his torpedoes down the exhaust vent.

Cover Photo via YouTube