Golfing experts make putting look effortless, but what’s really going on in their minds? A new study by my team used modern neuroscience techniques to investigate the mental processes behind expert golfers’ putting skills. We found that successful putts were associated with distinct patterns of brain activity.
Our study involved 28 amateur golfers (20 men) who each made 140 putts while wearing an EEG head system to record their brain activity. We analyzed their brain activity using two methods: time-frequency analysis and movement-related cortical potentials.
The results showed that successful putts were characterized by changes in beta and theta brainwaves in the final three seconds before putting. Successful putts also had a more pronounced decrease in beta activity during preparation, indicating better preparation.
Based on our findings, we recommend that golfers commit to their stroke and have a clear plan in mind before putting. Avoiding last-minute adjustments can improve putting success. Additionally, lower theta activity in the frontal region of the brain was associated with successful putts, suggesting less hesitation or motor planning adjustment.
Our analysis also found that successful putts were associated with more efficient processing and less energy expenditure compared to unsuccessful ones. This supports the “neural efficiency” theory in sports research, which suggests that experts have less neural activity when completing a task related to their profession.
In summary, expert golfers’ brains reveal a secret to consistent putting success: commitment to their stroke, clear planning, and efficient mental processing. Practicing these skills can help you improve your putting game and activate different parts of your brain.
Source: https://www.psypost.org/golf-new-neuroscience-study-reveals-the-secrets-of-better-putting/