The Effects of Attentional Focus and Skill Level on the Performance of Golf Putting

The purpose of this study was to examine the distance of varying focus of attention for experienced and novice golfers on a golf putting task. Forty-eight experienced and 48 novice golfers were randomized into four attentional focus conditions: control (no instruction), internal (i.e., focus on the arm movement), external proximal (i.e., focus on the golf club), and external distal (i.e., focus on the target) conditions. Performance outcomes (the perceived level of confidence and number of golf putts made) were recorded. Experienced golfers had better performance outcomes than novice golfers. The external proximal focus was specifically beneficial for novice golfers, while experienced golfers had an advantage in both external focus instructions. The external proximal focus might enable a perception-action process for novice golfers to compare the relationship between action planning and the surrounding environment. In addition, the transition to expertise might result in no difference between both external focus instructions for experienced golfers.