Temporal framing of external focus instructions enhances golf putting accuracy in novices

A plethora of studies have investigated internal and external foci of attention effects on motor performance. However, few studies have considered the temporal aspects of these foci. Within the present study, 26 novice participants (22 males, 4 females; Aged 18–21 years) were instructed to focus their attention either on maintaining a square clubface at impact (i.e., swing-impact condition) or maintaining a square clubhead throughout the swing (i.e., throughout-swing condition). Although both conditions were external foci, it was hypothesised that the swing-impact would provide more task-relevant information and facilitate movement automaticity during the backswing and follow-through. Participants who focused on maintaining a square clubface at impact demonstrated significantly better putting accuracy than those who focused on maintaining a square clubface throughout the swing (p = .047). These findings highlight how subtle changes in instructional language, particularly those that affect temporal components, affect motor performance. Instructions may be optimal when they focus attention for a short temporal duration and only on the most task-relevant point of execution (e.g., impact). Future studies are encouraged to explore the interaction between temporal and task-relevance features of instruction.