Golf Flow

neural circuitry. The myelin has insulated those circuits so that they will fire efficiently and effectively. The various regions of your brain work in harmony and become synched up through the myelination of nerve fibers. When you actively try to control the motor pattern (skill) that you are trying to execute, you interrupt the cohesion between the regions and undermine their habitual manner of functioning.
    After reading this section, you should now have an understanding of why golfers sometimes experience a sense of the mind turning against itself. In reality the mind doesn’t so much turn against itself as it falls out of sync when energizing a different module in the brain—the
thinking
part of the cortex. Focusing on the cluttering details of scores, outcomes, and mechanics energizes the cortex, which is pretty good at reading and doing math but is clueless about hitting a golf shot.
    The actual hitting of the golf shot is primarily located in a different brain module, but the key factor isn’t really which module is being called upon to what extent (just as it isn’t left brain versus right brain, as some psychologists erroneously preach). Rather, it is the cohesion between the modules and across the regions that constitutes mental efficiency and leads to flow. Consciously thinking about and trying to control your golfing motor patterns interrupts the efficiency with which your brain communicates with itself—with your body and your perceptual channels. Simply stated, trying to exert conscious control over your game interferes with your brain’s ability to control it for you!
    So when Adam Scott is effortlessly making nine birdies and is demonstrating total control over his game, he is gaining that control by not trying to control his shots. What is he giving up control of? In short, he is actively giving up trying to control the unconscious—and uncontrollable—region of the brain that learns and executes motor processes such as those used to play golf. When golfers express that they need to get out of their own way, what they are really expressing is the need to quiet their cortex, to allow neural efficiency, and to let the myelin-wrapped neurons do their thing. One phrase that universally resonates with golfers is “Trust it.” Translation: Trust your habits, trust your feels, and, most important, trust your myelin.

A quiet mind and a sense of letting go pave the way for good control. Adam Scott regularly demonstrates admirable control on the course.

    © PA Photos
    So far we’ve established that practice myelinates neural networks to sharpen skills and that the quickest way to interrupt those skills is to think about controlling the movements—the backswing, the putting stroke, grip, posture, aim—that are ultimately beyond our control. In golf the events that lead to the flow-killing overcontrol typically revolve around results. When golfers are not scoring well, they tend to begin thinking and trying to overcontrol their thoughts and golf swings, which is impossible. They begin fighting themselves in the sense that their brain regions are in conflict with one another. The quality of their golf then typically goes into a free fall. For that reason, the mantra of many sport psychologists is “Process, process, process.” We have to let go of the things over which we have no control.

If the Buddha Played Golf
    Thinking about the paradox of control invites us to cross the bridge from neuroscience to philosophy because as much as modern-day empirical scientists want to measure and quantify everything at a structural level, a great deal of debate continues in academic circles about the relationship between materialism, spirituality, and belief. Indeed, research shows that a person’s mind-set and beliefs about controllability influence the syncing up of his or her neural efficiency. Research has shown, for instance, that spirituality plays a strong psychological role in helping people control their behavior and overcome their dependencies (Dingfelder 2003). MIT, known as the most research-intensive university on the planet, has sponsored conferences and symposia at the Mind & Life Institute, which explores the relationship between Western science and Tibetan Buddhism. Through such collaborations, researchers are beginning to report that many monks are able to avoid the typical startle reflex and emotional jolts that most Westerners demonstrate when they hear loud noises. Beliefs serve as the