Fulton: Commitment leads to better play, enjoyment

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Watching Brandt Snedeker is refreshing -- almost immediately after he's over the ball, he's hitting a shot.

When you look up the word "commitment" in the dictionary, chances are you might see a picture of Brandt Snedeker. Even six shots back heading into the final round of The Heritage, Snedeker stayed committed to what he was doing and shot an impressive 64 on Sunday to win the title on Hilton Head Island.

If everyone in the world played golf like Brandt Snedeker, slow play would never be a topic of discussion. In many ways, it is refreshing watching players like Snedeker as when they get over the ball, it is one look and here it comes. Now I am not saying you have to play fast to be committed when playing golf, however it seems there is something to learn from players like Snedeker who arguably don't take enough time to start second-guessing what they are doing.

Two weeks ago when Charl Schwartzel won the Masters, I talked about the importance of how he uses his practice swings to help take what he is working on at the practice facility to the golf course. Practice swings are a good idea for so many of us as it allows us to match the feel of the swing to what has been visualized. Once these two are blended together behind the golf ball, it is then time to line it up and stay committed to what it is you just pre-loaded.

Take the putting green, for example. We have all been there where we read the putt, went through our pre-shot routine and then got over the ball and starting asking ourselves questions like "Am I playing enough break?" "I wonder if the grain is going the other way?" "What happens if I miss this putt?" "Where's the dog?" Etc., etc. It's funny how things start to creep into our mind and challenge what is that we have set out to do. As a result, rather than playing instinctive golf we begin to manufacture a motion that doesn't resemble what we decided ahead of time during our practice swings and overall pre-shot routine.

At the TOUR Academies, we like to use something that's referred to as the "Mental Score" card. The mental score card is a great way for a player to score their commitment level alongside their "Actual Score" during a round of golf. The actual score is fairly straightforward as each shot regardless of the outcome counts as one, whereas each shot concerning the mental score card can count as one or two. Here is how it works.

For each shot you face on the golf course, no matter if it's a 260 yard drive or a two-foot putt, the question you must ask yourself after each shot is "Did you stay committed to what it is you were trying to do?" The answer to this question should not be outcome-based. For example, going back to above the situation on the putting green, you may have made that putt even though you didn't trust it. Somehow you manufactured a motion where the ball happened to go in, however due to the lack of commitment you would record two on the mental score card even though on the actual score card you would only record one stroke. This of course can work the other way where you may have stay committed over that putt and it just didn't go in, however on the mental score card you did your job and would only record stroke just like on the actual score card.

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The mental score card versus the actual score card is a great way to grade your commitment level. I would bet on Sunday, Brandt Snedeker's two score cards would be very close to the same as this is when golf becomes enjoyable. At this time as a player you are being instinctive and trusting your skill set rather than constantly second guessing your ability and manufacturing results.

So learn from Brandt Snedeker and look at this week's blog as a continuation from two weeks ago with Charl Schwartzel. Take your practice swings and pre-load what you are about to do like the Masters champ and then go up and be committed to this like this week's champ at The Heritage -- Brandt Snedeker.

Just Because

You know there are not many stops on the PGA TOUR where you get the backdrop we were all treated to on Sunday when Luke Donald was putting on the 72nd hole at The Heritage. It was just a spectacular view on the 72nd hole with the ocean in the background with all the boats countered with big galleries and, of course, lots of suspense coming down the stretch where Donald needed par to force a playoff.

Over the years I have spent lots of time on Hilton Head Island as we have a TOUR Academy at Port Royal, which is another great spot. It really is a great place and a spot that has certainly grown on me over the years.