Instruction
Sleep for better a better golf lesson?
Have you ever practiced a golf drill one day and were about to give up, but the next day you tried it and you had a breakthrough?
I have noticed this sometimes with my clients and also myself. I remember when I was studying the mathematics in college I often needed some sleep before solving a difficult equation.
Now, Brown University professors Yuka Sasaki and Masako Tamaki have discovered that during your deep sleep, also called slow-wave sleep, the newly learned skills are confirmed by the brain. The big news from this discovery was that the brain processed the new information in another place than what had previously been thought.
The research based its findings on a test group of 16 volunteers (eight male and eight female), who were set up for a motor-learning task.
People who had the habit of taking a nap, consuming alcoholic beverages before sleep or smoking were excluded. All volunteers had to follow the same schedule (see chart below) before the training and the retest. The first three days for the group was only preparation and initialization before the actual training session of a motor task on the fourth day.
PSG (polysomnography) and MEG (magnetoencephalography) are technique for mapping brain activity.
During Day 4, the volunteers had to learn a sequence of finger tapping on their non-dominant hand. Then the test group had to sleep for four hours (post-training sleep). After their sleep they were asked to play the sequence again. Meanwhile another group had also done this finger-tapping training but without any sleep. The result was that the group that slept always did a faster and more accurate result than those who did not sleep.
There are many similarities with ordinary golf lessons. The golf coach gives you some swing thoughts that you try to accomplish. The brain processes these swing thoughts during your training session. According to the research, the primary motor cortex in the brain processes this kind of learning. During your sleep the next phase of your learning takes place. This time the supplementary motor area (SMA) seems to anchor what you learned into your memory.
So what can golfers take advantage from this discovery?
The most obvious answer would be that you should sleep enough before you attempt to learn some new motor skill. However, the research did not tell us if the time difference between the finger tapping until they slept made any difference on the result. What I am aiming at is this: should our golf training sessions be performed close to bedtime for the best results?
So I turned this question back to Masako to see if it has been included in their research. The answer I got was this:
“With regard to the time interval, previous studies show sleep-dependent improvement in visuo-motor learning, such as golfing, in both training in the morning and at night. Thus, the time of the day of training may not matter, as long as you are fully awake during the training, and sleep in the same day of the training (sleep deprivation will harm learning).
However, there is also a stage that seems not sleep dependent but could be important for visuo-motor learning. Suppose there are two types of learning, very similar but different (training A and B). If you train A first, then B immediately after A, they will interfere to each other, and you will not be able to see learning effect for either or both of the training types. If you have a certain time period between each session (10 minutes to six hours), this interference effect will not be shown.
To summarize, memory will be stabilized first within 10 minutes to six hours after training, when a memory becomes more resistant to interference from a competing memory. After the stabilization period, memory will be enhanced during sleep.”
I think this answer clarified my question without a doubt. There is no need for booking your golf lessons just before bedtime.
Another interesting thing that Masako mentioned was the possibility for interference between two training sessions (A and B). According to the research done by Masako and others, the best way to avoid mix up in your golf training was to separate the sessions, such as swing technique and short game training, with at least 10 minutes and at most six hours (without intervening sleep). Then the brain can remember and also separate the newly learned motor skill from each other. Under subsequent night the brain can then enhance the speed and accuracy of these motor abilities.
I imagine that many of you have participated in full days of golf training. Often this school includes training with the driver, irons, wedges, putter, etc. With the knowledge we gained from the research, maybe it’s just the last thing that you trained on that day that the brain could remember and improve until the next day. The other parts from that days training could even be worse than before.
My suggestion to you for better learning:
- Avoid sleep deprivation before your training.
- Take at least 10 minutes breaks between different training sessions, such as swing-related training and short game training.
- Always perform your golf shots with a goal in mind.
Thanks to professor Masako Tamaki for answering my questions regarding this topic.
There may be no more painful affliction in golf than the “yips” – those uncontrollable and maddening little nervous twitches that prevent you from making a decent stroke on short putts. If you’ve never had them, consider yourself very fortunate (or possibly just very young). But I can assure you that when your most treacherous and feared golf shot is not the 195 yard approach over water with a quartering headwind…not the extra tight fairway with water left and sand right…not the soft bunker shot to a downhill pin with water on the other side…No, when your most feared shot is the remaining 2- 4-foot putt after hitting a great approach, recovery or lag putt, it makes the game almost painful.
And I’ve been fighting the yips (again) for a while now. It’s a recurring nightmare that has haunted me most of my adult life. I even had the yips when I was in my 20s, but I’ve beat them into submission off and on most of my adult life. But just recently, that nasty virus came to life once again. My lag putting has been very good, but when I get over one of those “you should make this” length putts, the entire nervous system seems to go haywire. I make great practice strokes, and then the most pitiful short-stroke or jab at the ball you can imagine. Sheesh.
But I’m a traditionalist, and do not look toward the long putter, belly putter, cross-hand, claw or other variation as the solution. My approach is to beat those damn yips into submission some other way. Here’s what I’m doing that is working pretty well, and I offer it to all of you who might have a similar affliction on the greens.
When you are over a short putt, forget the practice strokes…you want your natural eye-hand coordination to be unhindered by mechanics. Address your putt and take a good look at the hole, and back to the putter to ensure good alignment. Lighten your right hand grip on the putter and make sure that only the fingertips are in contact with the grip, to prevent you from getting to tight.
Then, take a long, long look at the hole to fill your entire mind and senses with the target. When you bring your head/eyes back to the ball, try to make a smooth, immediate move right into your backstroke — not even a second pause — and then let your hands and putter track right back together right back to where you were looking — the HOLE! Seeing the putter make contact with the ball, preferably even the forward edge of the ball – the side near the hole.
For me, this is working, but I am asking all of you to chime in with your own “home remedies” for the most aggravating and senseless of all golf maladies. It never hurts to have more to fall back on!
Over the last couple of decades, golf has become much more science-based. We measure swing speed, smash factor, angle of attack, strokes gained, and many other metrics that can really help golfers improve. But I often wonder if the advancement of golf’s “hard” sciences comes at the expense of the “soft” sciences.
Take, for example, golf instruction. Good golf instruction requires understanding swing mechanics and ball flight. But let’s take that as a given for PGA instructors. The other factors that make an instructor effective can be evaluated by social science, rather than launch monitors.
If you are a recreational golfer looking for a golf instructor, here are my top three points to consider.
1. Cultural mindset
What is “cultural mindset? To social scientists, it means whether a culture of genius or a culture of learning exists. In a golf instruction context, that may mean whether the teacher communicates a message that golf ability is something innate (you either have it or you don’t), or whether golf ability is something that can be learned. You want the latter!
It may sound obvious to suggest that you find a golf instructor who thinks you can improve, but my research suggests that it isn’t a given. In a large sample study of golf instructors, I found that when it came to recreational golfers, there was a wide range of belief systems. Some instructors strongly believed recreational golfers could improve through lessons. while others strongly believed they could not. And those beliefs manifested in the instructor’s feedback given to a student and the culture created for players.
2. Coping and self-modeling can beat role-modeling
Swing analysis technology is often preloaded with swings of PGA and LPGA Tour players. The swings of elite players are intended to be used for comparative purposes with golfers taking lessons. What social science tells us is that for novice and non-expert golfers, comparing swings to tour professionals can have the opposite effect of that intended. If you fit into the novice or non-expert category of golfer, you will learn more and be more motivated to change if you see yourself making a ‘better’ swing (self-modeling) or seeing your swing compared to a similar other (a coping model). Stay away from instructors who want to compare your swing with that of a tour player.
3. Learning theory basics
It is not a sexy selling point, but learning is a process, and that process is incremental – particularly for recreational adult players. Social science helps us understand this element of golf instruction. A good instructor will take learning slowly. He or she will give you just about enough information that challenges you, but is still manageable. The artful instructor will take time to decide what that one or two learning points are before jumping in to make full-scale swing changes. If the instructor moves too fast, you will probably leave the lesson with an arm’s length of swing thoughts and not really know which to focus on.
As an instructor, I develop a priority list of changes I want to make in a player’s technique. We then patiently and gradually work through that list. Beware of instructors who give you more than you can chew.
So if you are in the market for golf instruction, I encourage you to look beyond the X’s and O’s to find the right match!
Most pros take months, even years, to win their first tournament. Lottie Woad needed exactly four days.
The 21-year-old from Surrey shot 21-under 267 at Dundonald Links to win the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open by three shots — in her very first event as a professional. She’s only the third player in LPGA history to accomplish this feat, joining Rose Zhang (2023) and Beverly Hanson (1951).
But here’s what caught my attention as a coach: Woad didn’t win through miraculous putting or bombing 300-yard drives. She won through relentless precision and unshakeable composure. After watching her performance unfold, I’m convinced every golfer — from weekend warriors to scratch players — can steal pages from her playbook.
Precision Beats Power (And It’s Not Even Close)
Forget the driving contests. Woad proved that finding greens matters more than finding distance.
What Woad did:
• Hit it straight, hit it solid, give yourself chances
• Aimed for the fat parts of greens instead of chasing pins
• Let her putting do the talking after hitting safe targets
• As she said, “Everyone was chasing me today, and managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots”
Why most golfers mess this up:
• They see a pin tucked behind a bunker and grab one more club to “go right at it”
• Distance becomes more important than accuracy
• They try to be heroic instead of smart
ACTION ITEM: For your next 10 rounds, aim for the center of every green regardless of pin position. Track your greens in regulation and watch your scores drop before your swing changes.
The Putter That Stayed Cool Under Fire
Woad started the final round two shots clear and immediately applied pressure with birdies at the 2nd and 3rd holes. When South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim mounted a charge and reached 20-under with a birdie at the 14th, Woad didn’t panic.
How she responded to pressure:
• Fired back with consecutive birdies at the 13th and 14th
• Watched Kim stumble with back-to-back bogeys
• Capped it with her fifth birdie of the day at the par-5 18th
• Stayed patient when others pressed, pressed when others cracked
What amateurs do wrong:
• Get conservative when they should be aggressive
• Try to force magic when steady play would win
• Panic when someone else makes a move
ACTION ITEM: Practice your 3-6 foot putts for 15 minutes after every range session. Woad’s putting wasn’t spectacular—it was reliable. Make the putts you should make.
Course Management 101: Play Your Game, Not the Course’s Game
Woad admitted she couldn’t see many scoreboards during the final round, but it didn’t matter. She stuck to her game plan regardless of what others were doing.
Her mental approach:
• Focused on her process, not the competition
• Drew on past pressure situations (Augusta National Women’s Amateur win)
• As she said, “That was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win. So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this”
Her physical execution:
• 270-yard drives (nothing flashy)
• Methodical iron play
• Steady putting
• Everything effective, nothing spectacular
ACTION ITEM: Create a yardage book for your home course. Know your distances to every pin, every hazard, every landing area. Stick to your plan no matter what your playing partners are doing.
Mental Toughness Isn’t Born, It’s Built
The most impressive part of Woad’s win? She genuinely didn’t expect it: “I definitely wasn’t expecting to win my first event as a pro, but I knew I was playing well, and I was hoping to contend.”
Her winning mindset:
• Didn’t put winning pressure on herself
• Focused on playing well and contending
• Made winning a byproduct of a good process
• Built confidence through recent experiences:
- Won the Women’s Irish Open as an amateur
- Missed a playoff by one shot at the Evian Championship
- Each experience prepared her for the next
What this means for you:
• Stop trying to shoot career rounds every time you tee up
• Focus on executing your pre-shot routine
• Commit to every shot
• Stay present in the moment
ACTION ITEM: Before each round, set process goals instead of score goals. Example: “I will take three practice swings before every shot” or “I will pick a specific target for every shot.” Let your score be the result, not the focus.
The Real Lesson
Woad collected $300,000 for her first professional victory, but the real prize was proving that fundamentals still work at golf’s highest level. She didn’t reinvent the game — she simply executed the basics better than everyone else that week.
The fundamentals that won:
• Hit more fairways
• Find more greens
• Make the putts you should make
• Stay patient under pressure
That’s something every golfer can do, regardless of handicap. Lottie Woad just showed us it’s still the winning formula.
FINAL ACTION ITEM: Pick one of the four action items above and commit to it for the next month. Master one fundamental before moving to the next. That’s how champions are built.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” on RG.org each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more Tips!
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headymonster
Sep 8, 2013 at 2:59 pm
Interesting article. Two things 1) Sounds like one should take it easy on the celebratory drinks that taste so good after a breakthrough round/practice session. 2) What keeps me going on the bad days, is knowing that it usually “clicks” the next time out. As long as you keep a level head and pay attention to what you dont want to repeat, bad swings offer as good a learning opportunity as the good ones.
NaFlack. You’re a tryhard and your comment isn’t even relevant to the article. Just stop. I find it highly unlikely that if you actually had a 4 handicap you would make such an ignorant comment since you would likely understand how challenging a game it is to learn. Ben Hogan – secret is in the dirt.
naflack
Sep 9, 2013 at 2:00 am
whatever the hell a “tryhard” is aside…
i had been playing golf for 3 months and had just broke 90 for the first time when i came across a guy in the club house. he asked me what i shot and proudly stated 88! i then asked him what he shot and he blandly stated 78. i said no way, what did you really shoot?
he pulled me aside and asked me what right i had to assume that he could or couldnt shoot a score? we agreed to play together and he showed just how someone could shoot such a score and not be jazzed about it. he explained as we walked to our cars that putting my assumed limitations on ohers doesnt do me any good and it makes me look like a jerk. then he asked why should it matter how someone else does…?
torracar
Sep 11, 2013 at 1:38 pm
We should all encourage everyone to continue to play no matter what the score. This is a great game and if too many people dont support golf, the local muni and even the semi’s will struggle to stay in business. Then we will all be left without a place to play unless your plunking down a good chunk of change.
naflack
Sep 11, 2013 at 4:51 pm
We should respect people enough to let them decide for themselves. No one should be encouraged to play golf by golf marketing firms or people whose concerns have noting to do with the individual playing. If they want to, let them, if they don’t want to, let them. It isn’t anyones responsibility to worry about the industry. It really chaps my behind to know that the entire equipment industry is propped up by people who struggle with this game and are promised art every turn that this piece of equipment or swing theory will fix it all. I take comfort in knowing that the day I can no longer shot the score “I” deem acceptable I will give up the game. That decision is my business to make and should have no influence on anyone who is truly secure in their relationship with the game of golf.
naflack
Sep 7, 2013 at 5:23 pm
being a self taught 4 index, which i know is not great but good enough to “enjoy” the game…i just cant understand why anyone would bother with this game if they needed to do so much just to learn it.
if i took a few lessons and with one season under my belt still couldnt break 90 i would find something else to do with my time and money. life is too short as it is.
shannon
Sep 8, 2013 at 2:26 pm
Maybe you are a natural talent. Not everyone is born with great hand eye coordination or natural athleticism. I’m a scratch holder and used to be a pga apprentice so I have seen the habit of golfers out there and you are lucky sir.. at the same time you are probably a cynical douche tgat none of your friends really want to play with. Golf is hard there’s no need to put people down the wsy you did by saying you woukd kill yourself if you didn’t break 90.
naflack
Sep 9, 2013 at 1:21 am
the people i play with regularly like to play with me, some are scratch and some dont break 100. they give me a hard time because i dont play with them as often as they want me to. i never say anything critical about any shot any of my friends play. i am well aware that some take to things better than others. what does my take on breaking 90 have to do with anyones ability or enjoyment? not to mention suggesting i would find something else to do is nothing close to suggesting i would kill myself. if you knew me you would know first hand i am anything but lucky…
Jack
Sep 11, 2013 at 5:00 am
Wow. There are not that many 4 indexes out there. Is this your secret ploy to clear up all the public courses?
naflack
Sep 11, 2013 at 12:59 pm
This is becoming comical…a 4 is nothing special!
I am the 4th or 5th best player in the group of roughly 10 guys I regularly play with. They tease me for only being able to bunt it out there 260. Are the guys better than me also liars because there is just no way anyone could be that good? Rhetorical, I already know most of you would clearly say yes, lol.