U.S. Amateur contender was in ‘swing prison.’ This pre-shot mental strategy unlocked his game

SAN FRANCISCO — What is your last thought before you hit the ball? “Nothing,” said Tennessee rising sophomore Jackson Herrington after his Round of 64 victory in the U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club. A simple answer to a simple question, but don’t be mistaken—Herrington’s pre-shot quietness is the conscious result of a larger mental strategy that has transformed his game.

A few years ago, as the Dickson, Tenn., native was beginning to be recruited by universities, Herrington was in a slump. The issue was not so much his swing technique as it was a busy mind over the ball. He struggled to turn off technical or negative thoughts over the ball. Don’t hit it left. You can’t miss long. There is trouble on the right. “I was in a swing prison,” he recalls.

That’s when Herrington began working