SMARTWAY CLASSES

Concentration Test:

This is a brief, yet very powerful, section. Its' purpose is to test and
develop your concentration. Your ability to concentrate intently on a
given task is a doorway to the state of “flow”. The very act of placing
your attention on a single moment/object, at the exclusion of
everything else, is itself a heightened state of awareness.
This isolation of attention magnifies the state you are in and
intensifies it. Exactly what creates optimal performance states.
This is the foundation of personal excellence in your game. Work with
this simple test and your ability to concentrate will expand
proportionately. Well, it is simple but it's definitely not easy!
Practice with this until you reach a high degree of proficiency. I
assure you this will take time but the payoff will be noticeable.
The following process is designed to test and increase your focus. It
is a great way to test yourself as to how developed your attention is
relative to other peak performers. On the following page you'll find a
grid filled with numbers beginning with 00 and going to 99. What
you'll do is begin crossing off the numbers in the grid starting at 00
and continuing in order until you are finished with crossing off number
99.
The numbers are arranged randomly.
Yet you have only "one minute"! So grab your watch and time yourself.
I'll show you what top performers results are later. I want you to focus
on your own efforts first before comparing your results with them.
Print several copies of the number grid for your use. Then grab a
pencil. After you've used a sheet once, toss it away and use a fresh
sheet with each subsequent test.
Concentration is a mental game skill that is acquired with practice.
Make the effort to improve your scores on this grid and you will
definitely experience increased attention, focus and reduced mental
distractions in your golf game.
Time yourself and make sure to stop at exactly 1 minute. Then count
how many numbers you were able to cross off the grid, in order,
starting with 00 through to 99.
84 27 51 78 59 52 13 85 61 55
28 60 92 04 97 90 31 57 29 33
32 96 65 39 80 77 49 86 18 70
76 87 71 95 98 81 01 46 88 00
48 82 89 47 35 17 10 42 62 34
44 67 93 1 107 43 72 94 69 56
53 79 05 22 54 74 58 14 91 02
06 68 99 75 26 15 41 66 20 40
50 09 64 08 38 30 36 45 83 24

03 73 21 23 16 37 25 19 12 63
Reprinted with permission from the Athlete's Guide to Sports
Psychology (Leisure Press, 1984) by Dorothy V. Harris and Bette L.
Harrisl p. 189. Reprinted with permission from Human Kinetics
Publishers.
See next page for top performer's results.
Individuals with a high degree of concentration completed upwards of
30 numbers in one minute. Impressive to say the least. The “average”
number of completions for top performers was around 20.
Don't feel bad if your numbers don't match theirs. These are the
best of the best! Keep practicing. Then set the entire exercise aside
for several days to a week. Return to it and do it fresh with no “memory”
of any number placement patterns. You don't want to attempt to try and
memorize “where” each number was the last time you did it in order to
speed the process up.
The outcome of the exercise is to test your concentration and focus.
Ultimately they will both improve.
Mental drills that increase your acuity are a useful addition to your
mental game arsenal. Another step along the road toward personal
mental game mastery...