Free How to Develop a Perfect Memory by Dominic O'Brien

miraculous second shots on the seventh fairway or twenty footers at the fifteenth green.
    What's going on here? Are people suddenly being embued with wonderful
    powers of recall every time they play a round of golf? If you were to ask any club player how he or she approached the third shot on the seventeenth, or how many putts they took on the fourth, they could probably tell you. In fact, they could probably take you through an entire round, recalling 80 to 100 shots in perfect sequence. It's all beginning to sound familiar. Isn't this exactly the sort of memory trick I perform, except with playing cards and numbers rather than golf shots?
    So why do we have such a problem remembering eight to ten road
    directions, when we can recall 80 to 100 golf shots in a trice? If you have understood my approach to memory, you already know the answer. A logical journey around a golf course, with each stage sequentially numbered, is bound to give order to an otherwise ramshackle set of memories. It's exactly the same technique you learnt for memorizing lists and appointments. Even if you're not interested in golf, it is a perfect example of the hidden potential our memories possess.
    DIRECTIONS
    Imagine you are given the following instructions to remember. You don't have the time or wherewithal to write them down; besides, it's hazardous trying to read and drive at the same time.
    1. Left into Western Avenue
    2. Right into Cannonsgate Road

3. Third exit off the roundabout
4. T-junction: right into Station Road

5. Pass Red Lion Pub on the left
6. T-junction: left into Braintree Road

7. Straight on for four miles
8. Second set of traffic lights: turn right

9. First exit off roundabout into Warren Way
10 Sixth House on the left: Blacksmith
    It's a daunting challenge, but you were meant to be at Blacksmith Cottage half an hour ago for an important supper engagement. Let me tell you how I would memorize these instructions, using a golf course as my journey.
    I relate each direction or signal to an imaginary strike of a ball and its subsequent position. Turning left, for instance, is represented by a ghastly hook shot; turning right is a slice; straight on is a satisfying drive plumb down the middle of the fairway; a roundabout is a green; and a T-junction is the next tee.
    I translate names of roads, pubs and other landmarks into memorable images
    — exaggerated, colourful, bizarre - which are then incorporated in my round.
    As I said earlier, I personally imagine myself standing at the first tee at East Herts golf course.
    1. Left into Western Avenue
    To remember 'left', I imagine driving a wild hook off to the left-hand side of the first fairway (not unusual for me). To remember 'Western Avenue', I picture a hostile, action-packed scene of cowboys and Indians engaged in mortal combat on the spot where the ball has landed.
    2. Right into Cannonsgate Road
    This time I imagine slicing the ball way over to the right-hand side. It's going to be a tricky one to play: the ball has disappeared straight down the shaft of an old cannon that is leaning on a gate.
    3. Third exit off the roundabout
    Roundabouts are always represented by greens, and I remember the exit by the number of putts it takes to sink the ball. My putting has always let me down and today is no exception: I three putt at the first. Alternatively, I could imagine myself standing handcuffed to the flag. Handcuffs are the number shape for 3.
    4. T-junction: right into Station Road
    The T-junction automatically takes me to the next tee, where I promptly slice the ball again to the right. Unlike most slices, however, the ball doesn't disappear into thick undergrowth. I imagine it landing on a station platform and bouncing mercilessly through the crowd, scattering terrified commuters in all directions.
    5. Pass Red Lion Pub on the left
    My next shot lands in a nasty bunker to the left of the green. As I approach, I see a ferocious red lion guarding the ball. He is prowling round and