Throughout the history on the PGA Tour, a single-minded focus has been exhibited in the eyes and mannerisms of great players such as Ben Hogan, Raymond Floyd, Jack Nicklaus, and today in the form of Tiger Woods. In fact, one of the best at creating a singular focus on what they want to execute at a precise moment in time is Tiger.

If you watch Tiger Woods in person or on television, the first thing you notice is his attention to the moment. No one in the world is better than Tiger at facing a crucial shot and having the self-confidence at being able to successfully complete the task with mental and emotional composure.

But what creates this unbelievable focus and emotional serenity? What does Tiger know that we could benefit from?

The answers may surprise you, but I have included five key components of achieving a great mindset. I like to use the acronym of FOCUS for achieving this effective mental and physical state.

Five separate, yet interrelated aspects, all help to create a mental state for great shot execution. Allow me to explain the five elements of a single-minded focus.

I. The Concept of Fun

The first letter in the word FOCUS stands for fun. When we first started playing golf as youngsters, we think of the freedom we had of just getting out on the course and hitting the ball as hard and straight as we could to our intended target. There was no worry of score, swing judgments or overanalyzation of the shotmaking process. The game was just about looking at the target and firing. After the shot was hit, we simply walked to the next shot and started the process all over again. The concept was simple: Hit it and go chase it. What a carefree mindset!

That same childlike quality is still true of the top players in the world, although they have perfected their craft and their shotmaking ability. But the same value of fun and having a feeling of ultimate joy of simply looking at the target and firing creates a sense of movement happiness and satisfaction. When the top players in the world confide in me that they aren't having much fun on the course anymore, what inevitably has happened is that they have gotten too serious. The game itself becomes a lot more like work than play.

Keeping the sense of fun and lightheartedness is what separates the winners from the losers on the professional tours and also will make your recreational experience more enjoyable as well. Sometimes, it just helps to let go of the worry about hitting perfect shots and low numbers and simply adopt a mindset of "just hit it and chase it." The results will be liberating!

II. The Concept of Optimism

The second letter in FOCUS stands for Optimism. Optimism is about hope, excitement, and the anticipation about what is possible. Even the PGA Tour's slogan "Anything's Possible" accentuates the optimistic philosophy. However, optimism is not a common word or way of golf for many players wanting to achieve success in this game. Many rounds of golf are sabotaged long before players tee off with thoughts of worry and self doubt about how they will swing the club or what their final score will be.

Today's most successful professionals such as Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Charles Howell III, are always talking of the possibilities of "what can be" going into a round versus the doom and gloom of pessimistic or negative thinking. Top players do not allow themselves to dwell in the world of negativism or limited thinking because they know that if they do, they are only limiting their talent. It is no wonder that the legendary teacher Harvey Penick told his two star pupils, Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite, to go out to dinner with good putters. Harvey's words of wisdom provided Ben and Tom a chance to interact with players with optimistic attitudes and mindsets that would influence their own belief systems about the importance of being upbeat and emotionally consistent.

No where was having an optimistic mindset more vital than when the US Ryder Cup Team was down heavily in 1999 going into the singles matches the next day against a powerful European Team. The night before the singles matches at the daily Ryder Cup press conference, Captain Ben Crenshaw chose to remain optimistic and predicted an eventual United States victory. The next day, the United States squad rallied for an emotional come from behind win that epitomized the virtue of remaining faithful and optimistic.

The choice to be optimistic will always provide an emotional foundation for developing your talent and seeing how good you can truly become.

III. The Concept of Commitment

The third level of FOCUS is C as in Commitment. Commitment is defined as the ability to commit or to pledge oneself to complete a task. It is also synonymous with persistence and dedicating oneself to do what one starts out to do. All great players of the game commit to their decisions, commit to their swing thoughts, and most importantly, commit themselves to the shot and know that the ball is going to the target.

The true value in being committed is validated when you step into the ball and you have the inner security of knowing that everything will turn out okay. In this sense, your commitment leads to a sense of security and trust. If you watch any of the great players execute their pre-shot routines, you will notice that just before they step into and address their ball, they are usually behind the ball a few feet looking down the target line. In this position, the issue of commitment is established.

When a tour player is standing behind his ball looking at his target, he is committing to the shot, the trajectory, the distance and the feel of his swing that he is about to execute. The notion that he is fully committed will allow him to step into the ball with a feeling of trust and assurance that his planning will be successfully executed.

The commitment process provides a player to be totally in the now and allows him or her to swing at their target with trust. All golfers must learn the essential component of commitment and make it a priority in their pre-shot routine.

IV. The Concept of Undivided Attention

The fourth letter in FOCUS is U. The U stands for undivided focus or undivided attention to the process. Another way of saying this is to stay on task and adhere to the necessities of this particular golf shot. Players on every tour tell me that the toughest mental issue they face while playing competitive golf is to stay in the moment and not to get ahead of themselves or the situation. When you are thinking of your score or you are thinking about what the next hole will play like, you are not in the present moment.

You have allowed your mind to drift and wander about aimlessly into the past and the future. The main task of every golfer is to stay in the present moment and to execute the shot that they are currently facing. Thinking ahead or in the past destroys many golf rounds.

When Tiger Woods steps into his ball, we can marvel at his attention to the present moment. His steely gaze and attention to detail can be observed by everyone. It is probably a safe bet to say that he is into that shot and nothing but that shot. Very rarely will Tiger ever admit that he was guilty of not staying attentive to the process of playing one shot at a time. Neither should you.

A great quote that many coaches have used and you should remember the next time you play is this: "I have no future, I have no past. My main goal is to make this moment last." Doing this little mantra should help you stay attentive to the present shot and allow you to focus on proper execution.

V. The Concept of Simplicity

The fifth and final letter in FOCUS stands for Simplicity. Ask any tour professional or the club champion at your course if they desire a more complex game or a simple one, the majority would answer: Give me the simple game. Simplicity in golf does not mean lacking genius or having a simpleton mindset, but it means to keep things as basic as you can and not allow any situation to overwhelm or upset you. Golf simplicity is consistency and repeatability in movement form. All golfers are looking for more consistency and the simpler you can keep your swing and your thoughts, the better off you will be.

Simplicity also means that a player will keep his thoughts and swing as uncomplicated as possible and not force the situation or create a miracle shot to happen. In its most basic form, simplicity for any golfer is knowing that you have prepared yourself for the present situation and that you will allow yourself to just go and do it!

Simplicity does not mean that the playing of the game should be or is easy, but that in keeping things uncomplicated, the ball seems to find its way into the hole a bit easier.

A Final Word

Achieving a single-minded focus is paramount for developing your golf game. Knowing that the goal of golf is to hit the ball from one spot to another in the most efficient and effective method possible is vital for golf progress.

The concepts of having fun, being optimistic, committing oneself, having undivided attention to the process and keeping things simple work for players such as Tiger Woods and Ernie Els and they will certainly work for you!

Make an effort to implement these key components into your golf game and watch how your scores and overall golf game will improve. May you always keep your focus single-minded!

You can learn more about Dr. Robert K. Winters at www.MindPowerSports.com.

Original content copyright © 2006-2007 Dr. Robert K. Winters & David Leadbetter Golf.