3 Good Shots...

Many mental game coaches recommend a shot diary, a journal where a player records details of all of their finest shots, the best three of every round, in sufficient detail to be able to put themselves back into the same situation and visualise the shot when they read it back. Thus the player develops their selective memory, celebrating the good and relinquishing their hold on the disappointing shots. This in turn increases confidence, and as we all know, Golf is a game of Confidence.

I got an @ mention on Twitter from @3GoodShots, asking me to have a look at his website. Intrigued (and I must admit not a little flattered to be asked ;-) I toddled along to 3GoodShots. and very much liked what I saw.

I do try to keep all of my best shots in my memory, but even with as good a memory as I have I know there's shots that I want to keep hold of that I have for about 24 hours after the round, and then a lot of the detail's gone. A fellow golfing geek, Nick, kept a shot diary following a Jamie Edwards seminar, but found he never got around to looking it up and rereading it.

An enterprising chap, Nick then designed a website, where one enters the details of ...3 good shots (see what he did there? ;-) and you're sent a daily email with one of your good shots. You then read it, close your eyes and visualise the shot. You add a bit of background to set the scene. Like many excellent ideas, it's the fact that it's blindingly obvious as soon as someones thought of it that strikes you. Ever ready to innovate, Nick's added a "par 18" scorecard, and this uses 9 balls for either long putting or up & down practice, allowing you to chart progress. He's also I believe looking at other ways of recording other aspects of practice, making this site both helpful and unique. I'm keen to see this site do well, as I think I'll find it really useful.

Please check it out- I think you might just like it ;-)


Addendum: I've now had the daily emails for nearly a week, and think that they may be helping; Today's one reminded me of a chip-in, two rounds ago, and I visualised it I felt all the elation, and opened my eyes to find myself doing what can only be described as a "wee fist pump" much to the amusement of Mrs Geek. Joking aside, anything that takes you back so vividly into a moment of good golf can only be a good thing. I'm impressed.