Tommy Snell: Playing by faith

I try to read my devotional every day, but I must admit the rigors of the morning circumvent my commitment at times. At this time when believers celebrate their special day or times, spiritual and motivational verses seem to jump from the page to the heart, as 2 Corinthians 5:7 did for me.

"For we walk by faith, not by sight."

So what does this have to do with golf? Golfers must visualize what they can't see in order to purge the analytical glitches from their tournament rounds. Nothing new. Fred Couples once told mental guru Bob Rotella that he thinks about the best shot he's ever hit with the club he's about to hit. Rotella was pleased.

Jason Day couldn't finish a major championship. Before his 2015 PGA Championship dominant performance, the Aussie had 9 Top 10s in majors without a win. Frustration 101. Doubt 101. However, this year's win proved that he has a doctorate in perseverance with a minor in visualization. Anyone who watched the fourth major knows that Day closed his eyes and imagined each shot.

While doing a little research on the subject, I ran across an article by David MacKenzie whose website -- golfstateofmind.com -- focuses on the mental side of the game. He wrote, "Jason uses a system involving a wireless EEG (electroencephalogram), which is able to detect left and right brain activity. The right brain (the holistic, visual and creative side) is the side you want to be 100 percent engaged in a golf shot. The left (analytical) side, needs to be completely quiet, which is what Jason has trained himself to do."

Think about that, or should I say, don't think about that. Wouldn't it be nice to let the creative side control golf shots? Day visualizes each shot, but according to MacKenzie, he has visualized his career and his goals since he was 14. That's impressive.

Joan Kings suggests that golfers should "imagine an airplane taking off and banking left" if they want to hit a draw. A "Psychology Today" article suggested that "visualization has been popular since the Soviets started using it back in the 1970s. Now, many athletes employ this technique, including Tiger Woods who has been using it since his pre-teen years."

By the way, Jack Nicklaus did too, in practice and during tournaments.

Yes, we walk by faith, and not by sight, both in our spiritual life and golf rounds.

Tommy Snell, golf coach at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, writes a regular column for the Sun Herald.

This story was originally published December 15, 2015 at 3:24 PM with the headline "Tommy Snell: Playing by faith ."