About Blackout Mode
Planning for moments of pure magic.
Get to know Blackout Mode with the Fairway Wedges.
Developing Feel for distance control is the 'must have' skill in golf and will lead you down the path to shooting lower scores, for sure. But maybe more important, it will lead the seasoned player down the path of improving a golf swing that you spent decades over-thinking.
You know the phrase, “It’s just like riding a bike.” How is it that you can go years without riding a bike, then you’re able to get on and ride it effortlessly? They say it’s because of implicit memory which involves remembering how to complete tasks that do not require conscious thought.
When you hop on a bike for the first time there is zero implicit memory to fall back on, you first must learn the fundamentals, ingrain them to memory, then and only then can you ride a bike properly without conscious thought.
With Blackout Wedge Training we’re not going to fiddle too much with a golf swing that has been useful for decades. This is a crucial point because many of us have spent years on the practice range trying to fix our golf swing. When you’re in Blackout Mode there are no swing thoughts, no mechanical thoughts, and no thoughts about right or wrong.
Just like with riding a bike, the seasoned player must install implicit memory into their golf swing. That is, you must learn to strike a golf ball without conscious thought. This starts at home where we’ll introduce the fundamentals of the pre-shot routine, then the movements of the three stock wedge swings used for distance control inside 100-yards.
We’ll follow that up with the fundamentals of how to change speeds to the three stock wedge swings. You’ll learn to trust yourself before you step on the range for the wedge drills. This is necessary to build your Feel for distance control.
Once on the range, we’ll start the process of hitting golf balls without thoughts of backswing or finishing positions, allowing your mind to communicate with your body without your conscious thoughts getting in the way.
Tiger Woods said:
“Avoid getting caught up in technical thoughts. Trust your muscle memory and let your body execute the swing naturally. Keep it simple!”
Imagine a world where you can hit balls on the range, have no worries about results, no grinding over swing thoughts, in fact, no thoughts exist about trying to fix your golf swing.
This is a world where you can find your Feel for distance control, where you can hit a golf shot the correct distance without thought. Imagine entering Blackout Mode in the moment just before you pull the trigger.
As my member guest partner likes to say, "LETS GO!"
Get to know Blackout Mode Putter Training
Golf is hard, at times we have too much to think about. With the elements, mechanics, body movements, positions of the arms and hands, our mind is active processing all this information. The problem is we are processing this information in the seconds just before we pull the trigger. Then we are left with trying to diagnose what went wrong and how to fix it.
Blackout Putter Training will focus on this very issue. We’ll focus on building Feel into your Putting stroke, and how to eliminate all that thinking.
Developing your Feel for the speed of the greens will improve your distance control and put you in position to make more Putts, for sure. But maybe more important, it will make your confidence soar like no other club in the bag.
The Putter is the last club you use on virtually every hole you play. It can make or break your attitude for the next hole. When you walk to the next hole feeling good about making Putts, your tee ball improves by default.
How is it you can type on a keyboard effortlessly, without thought of where your fingers are going? Skilled typists rely on implicit muscle memory to locate letters on the keyboard without conscious thought of where the letters are located.
In Putting terms, implicit memory involves remembering the fundamentals of how-to set up to the ball and roll it without conscious thought, without thinking about how to do it.
When you try to type for the first time there is zero implicit memory to fall back on, you first must learn the fundamentals, ingrain them to memory, then and only then can you type on a keyboard properly without conscious thought.
To build Feel into your putting stroke, we must install implicit memory. That is, you must learn the fundamentals before you can Putt the golf ball without conscious thought.
This starts at home where we’ll introduce the fundamentals of the pre-putt routine, then the fundamentals of the Putting Setup and Stroke. We’ll follow that up with the fundamentals of how to change the speed of your stroke to add or subtract distance. You’ll ingrain the Putting fundamentals to memory, so you’ll learn to trust yourself before you step on the practice green for the Putting drills. This is necessary to build your Feel for speed and distance control.
Once on the practice green, we’ll start the process of practicing without the thought of how hard to hit the ball, allowing your mind to communicate with your body without your conscious thoughts getting in the way.
Imagine a world where you’re Putting on the practice green, have no worries about results, no grinding over miss or make, in fact, no thoughts exist about trying to fix the mechanics of your putting stroke. This is a world where you can find your Feel for distance control, where you can hit a Putt the correct distance without thought.
Imagine entering Blackout Mode in the moment right before you pull the trigger.
You hear announcers talk about it all the time; how good their Feel is. The common denominator of the best putters in the world is that in the moments right before they pull the trigger, they’re not thinking about anything.
Top players and teachers have different names for it, separate ways to get into that mode:
Harvey Penick (Little Red Book) called it “Take Dead Aim.”
Brian Hepler (Tathata Golf) calls it “Looking Out in Front.”
Jordan Spieth calls it “Blackout.”
Tiger Woods calls it “Take a Picture.”
Simply, it’s about rolling a golf ball without thought, with the image of the target fresh in your mind. The target represents the distance while the mental image feeds valuable information to the brain.
What does Jordan Spieth see when he steps into a putt?
“The blur of the ball’s path and that path alone burns in my mind – nothing else. My stroke is simply a reaction to make that path come alive, to come to be, with the roll of the ball.”
Jordon also said that “it takes Work and Preparation to get in this mode,” a mode he calls “BLACKOUT.”
Jordon Spieth (with Max Adler, Golf Digest) June 20, 2017
When Jordon Spieth steps into a putt, the only thing he is thinking about is the blur of the ball’s path. The important part is it’s the only thing, and nothing else. Jordon talked about how it takes work and preparation to putt this way.
The work and preparation will start at home, where you’ll ingrain the putting fundamentals to memory.
Tiger says:
“Every look I take from the ball is a picture. First look I take a picture of the hole, get up over the ball, look at the hole, take another picture, another look and take a last picture. Then I Putt to the picture. That really helps free my mind. Don’t have to worry about distance because all I’m doing is Putting to the picture. It really helps me late in the round when I’m under pressure.”
Once the correct putting fundamentals are committed to memory, you’ll know it, you’ll be able to Feel it, when done correctly. You’ll be able to perform the drills without conscious thought of right or wrong. You’ll know when you’re ready for on course drills, this is where practice becomes fun.
There is nothing like this feeling in golf, to stroke a putt the perfect distance without thought.
This is where you’ll discover your own way of getting into Blackout Mode in the seconds right before you pull the trigger.
It Changes Everything!
Meet the Moment of Truth behind Blackout Mode.
A while back, ok it was over 20 years ago, I was reading an article in Golf Digest about how Phil Mickelson practices distance control with his wedges.
Phil would work on 1-yard intervals, yes, I said 1-yard. He would have his caddy stand at say 85 yards, with a baseball glove. Phil would hit his wedge shot so his caddy could catch the golf ball without moving his feet.
My interest was piqued!
His caddy would take one step back and Phil would hit 86-yard shots. He would go through all yardages; each time feeling the difference at 1-yard intervals.
Incredible!
Then it hit me, “I’m practicing the wrong things.” Phil was not working on his swing, most likely no swing thoughts were dancing in his head. His only thought was to hit the golf ball to his caddy 86-yards away.
Think about that for a moment, we are grinding on the range, shot after shot, trying to fix our golf swing.
Then here’s Phil Mickelson, hitting little wedge shots 85-yards, then 86-yards, then 87-yards, his only thought was the distance to the baseball glove?
I had questions.
How does he do that?
What’s the difference between 85-yards and 86-yards, in the golf swing?
Does he consciously change the mechanics of any part of his swing?
This was the decisive moment for me, it changed everything. It changed how I practice on the range, how I practice at home, and most importantly, how I prepare for game day.
Blackout Golf
Blackout Mode Training Bundle
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Here's the truth: you don't need to grind on the range over-thinking your golf swing.
Imagine a world where you can hit balls on the range, have no worries about results, no grinding over swing thoughts, in fact, no thoughts exist about trying to fix your golf swing. This is a world where you can find your Feel for distance control, where you can hit a golf shot the correct distance without thought. Imagine entering Blackout Mode in the moment right before you pull the trigger.
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Feeling Distance is a Practice Habit
How do you learn to Feel a wedge shot? If the truth be told, Feel is not something that you learn, it's discovered or found within yourself. You might not have discovered it yet, but it will become clear once you learn to control distance with your wedges. Why is Feel so important? When your Feel is good, you're free to play a confident shot. In other words, you trust it, you trust yourself. The important thing is, the Inside 100-Yard Game is all about the Feel of distance. When you trust yourself, it clears your mind to focus on the target, ‘take dead aim,’ and pull the trigger without any other thought.