Three steps for using imagery in sports

Incorporating imagery, or visualization, into your game is more than just entertaining a pretty picture. It involves three steps:

First, stand behind the shot, that is, looking down the path of the shot with the ball between you and the target. For example, in bowling, stand at the back of the approach area with the ball in front of you, looking down the alley at the pins. In golf, it would be at the back of the tee, looking over your teed-up ball and down the fairway. From these vantage points, vividly visualize the shot as you intend it to go.

Next, walk into the shot and position yourself to execute it. Then take one last look down the path of the shot to visualize it again.

Finally, and most importantly, execute the shot and visualize it very intently one more time, this time before you look to see the result. So if it were a tennis serve, you would still be looking up at where you saw the racquet hit the ball, while your mind’s eye would already be seeing the ball going to its intended destination inside the service box on the other side of the net. This is all happening before you let your head come down to check on the actual result.

This last visualization is all-important, even though it happens in a split second. In golf, for example, it happens in the moment after you have struck the ball, before your shoulder turn naturally brings your head up. It happens in about the amount of time your brain can say, “I see it,” that is, the perfect shot in your mind shaping toward the target.

This visualization should be so vivid that you are shocked if it has not actually happened when you ultimately see the result. Indeed, an Olympic softball pitcher once said that she saw the ball in the catcher’s glove before the ball ever left her hand.
Jack Nicklaus said that he went to the movies in his head before each shot, while Tiger Woods said he “putted to the picture.” Amy Alcott looked the line back from the hole and then, without delay, putted her ball back into that line.

Visualization is not for everyone. A dominant right hemisphere of your brain is the main mental component you need. You see, the left hemisphere is analytical, breaking things down into parts and paying attention to details. In contrast, the right hemisphere is more integrative, putting things back together and seeing the big picture. Therefore, this “picturing” right hemisphere is where imagery occurs.

However, even if you are left hemisphere dominant, it might be worth trying to exercise your right hemisphere as much as you can. It is not as though you are totally without a right hemisphere; you are just more inclined to use your left hemisphere. And it seems that some of the best athletes in history have developed their right hemisphere to create visualization.

Dr. Tom Dorsel is Professor Emeritus of Psychology and a clinical/sport psychologist on Hilton Head Island. His best-selling book is “GOLF: The Mental Game.” Reach Dr. Tom on Facebook or at tom@dorsel.com.