Little red dot

My focus on course needs improving and so I have turned to a technique used by Louis Oostuizen at last year's Open. To improve his focus before each shot he drew a red dot on his glove and used that as a mental trigger prior to executing each shot. It certainly worked for the plucky South African as he surprised everyone to hold his nerve and secure a maiden Major victory.

I've noticed that while I hit the ball well on the practice hole, I struggle on the course. I think this is about how I approach each shot. Tension, lack of focus, bad set up, a sneaky peek before I've completed the swing, these are all things that an contribute to a poor shot for me. So I've drawn a red dot on my glove and created a mnemonic from an acronym of the word 'dot'.

Direction - this is to get me to identify my target in the distance, my target six inches in front of the ball and then align myself so the clubface and stance are directing the ball to my target.

Object - quite simply this is the ball. I am guilty of moving my focus off the ball prior to impact so this phase is to remind myself that I will look from target  to ball and then remain focussed on the ball till the swing naturally pulls me through

Tempo - I can get a little thrashy with tension on the course. I need to stay relaxed and swing at about 70 or 75%

Here's hoping it helps me in my medal on Saturday. It's not quite the Open at St Andrews but it's still a competition I want to win.