The GolfinG Brain

Computational neuroscientist Professor John Milton put elite and amateur golfers into an MRI machine and scanned for differences in their brain activation. Here’s what he discovered.

What prompted you to do the study?

At the time I was working as a neurologist at the University of Chicago and involved in teaching people with disabilities how to play golf. I was interested in how the brain becomes expert in a skill like golf, the US Women’s Open was taking place in Chicago at the time so I suggested we put some of the competitors and some novice golfers in an MRI machine.

Why did you put them in an MRI instead of wiring them up while they played?

There aren’t any methods that allow us to study the brain while the person is moving, as movements create artifacts in the results.

So how did the study work?

It featured five LPGA Tour professionals, one former LPGA Tour professional and seven novices and focused on a shot of 100 yards. We put the participants in an MRI scanner and informed them that we were going to project two different images into their line of vision. When they saw a golf flag, they were instructed to plan a 100-yard wedge shot. And when they saw a birdhouse sitting on a stick they were instructed to look at it, but not plan a golf shot. This enabled us to see the parts of the brain that were activated during each of the situations. And this helped us see which parts of the brain were activated when the participants were thinking about golf.

What did your findings reveal?

We assumed the brains of the elite players would light up more when they saw the golf flag, as their ability would allow them to compute more possibilities. But the results showed the opposite. The professionals performed the task with a focus that enabled the brain to work efficiently. The novices were all over the map because they were not really focused on what they had to do. This lack of focus is key as it hinders the brain from efficiently working on a problem. If you give your brain one problem at a time it will work well. Give it 50 at the same time it is not going to excel in the same way.

So what did you conclude?

From a mental perspective, the best golfers are goal directed rather than method directed. They have gone beyond all the other stuff and are just focused on getting the ball in the hole.