Effects of Instructed Attention Focus on Accuracy in Golf Pitch Shot

Nutpiboonmongkol P, Benjapalakorn B. Effects of Instructed Attention Focus on Accuracy in Golf Pitch Shot. JEPonline 2022; 25(3):60-69. All athletes desire to perform at a high-performance level when practicing and during competition. Coaches and athletes apply a variety of techniques, including psychological techniques to improve the quality of practices and competitions. Attention focus is one of the psychological techniques that is used. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of locus of attention on accuracy in golf pitch shots at 50 yards. Twenty-four male golfers performed three blocks of 10 pitch shots in each attention focus condition. Three attention-focusing conditions consisted of internal focus, external focus, and control, which were randomly assigned with a counterbalance design. Between each condition, the participants had a 7-day rest. The shot accuracy and the smash factors were used to measure task performance. The data were analyzed using a One-way Analysis of Variance with Repeated Measures. Then, the differences were compared in pairs by using the LSD method at a statistical significance level of P[less than or equal to]0.05. The statistical results revealed that the shot accuracy was greater with an external focus, but there were no significant differences when compared to an internal focus and the two previous conditions were significantly greater than the control condition. As to the smash factor, there was no significant difference between the 3 conditions. According to the findings of this study, coaches and athletes should apply the proper attention focus technique to achieve high-performance levels during practice and competition. Key Words: Locus of Attention, Pitch Shot, Shot Accuracy