626 ORIGINAL RESEARCH Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 2015, 37, 626 -636 http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2015-0166 © 2015 Human Kinetics, Inc. The quality of mental regulation can differentiate superior from inferior performance in precision sports activities such as golf putting. In golf, the putt is consid- ered one of the most important parts of the game, represent- ing on average 43% of all shots taken during a single round (Pelz & Frank, 2000). From a technical perspective, putting is the simplest skill used in golf. However, mentally, put- ting is the most stressful and demanding activity in the game (Nicholls, 2007). The mental challenge of putting is refected by previous psychophysiological studies showing complex brain processes during putting perfor- mance (Babiloni et al., 2008). Hence, the maintenance of a mental state conducive to skilled execution is critical for ideal precision sports performance. Superior performance in precision sports can be characterized as an automatic process as opposed to a controlled process, which is typically observed in less skilled performers (Fitts & Posner, 1967). An automatic process is by nature refexive, whereas a controlled pro- cess is an intentionally initiated sequence of cognitive activity (Schneider & Shiffrin, 1977). Achieving auto- matic process in action execution is the primary goal of mastery (Logan, Hockley, & Lewandowsky, 1991). Dif- ferences between these two levels of cognitive processing are refected at the neurophysiological level: participants who were in the automatic stage exhibited weaker activity of the bilateral cerebellum, presupplementary motor area, premotor cortex, parietal cortex, and prefrontal cortex compared with novices (Wu, Chan, & Hallett, 2008). In addition, the somatosensory cortex has been related to conscious perception of somatosensory stimuli (Nierhaus et al., 2015), such that lower activity in the somatosensory cortex might be a signature of reduced conscious involve- ment in movement execution, as is frequently observed in highly skilled performers. Although previous studies of the brain function underlying superior golf putting performance have provided insights into adaptive mental states and their cortical processes, few studies have examined the cortical processes that are more directly associated with somatosensory activity. For example, Babiloni Ming-Yang Cheng is with Center of Excellence “Cognitive Interaction Technology” (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Biele- feld, Germany. Chung-Ju Huang is with the Graduate Institute of Sport Pedagogy, University of Taipei, Taipei City, Taiwan, Republic of China. Yu-Kai Chang is with the Graduate Institute of Athletics and Coaching Science, National Taiwan Sport University, Taoyuan County, Taiwan, Republic of China. Dirk Koester is with the Center of Excellence “Cognitive Interaction Technology” (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Ger- many. Thomas Schack is with the Center of Excellence “Cog- nitive Interaction Technology” (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany. Tsung-Min Hung is with the Department of Physical Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei City, Taiwan, Republic of China. Address author correspon- dence to Tsung-Min Hung at ernesthungkimo@yahoo.com.tw. Sensorimotor Rhythm Neurofeedback Enhances Golf Putting Performance Ming-Yang Cheng, 1 Chung-Ju Huang, 2 Yu-Kai Chang, 3 Dirk Koester, 1 Thomas Schack, 1 and Tsung-Min Hung 4 1 Bielefeld University; 2 University of Taipei; 3 National Taiwan Sport University; 4 National Taiwan Normal University Sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) activity has been related to automaticity during skilled action execution. However, few studies have bridged the causal link between SMR activity and sports performance. This study investigated the effect of SMR neurofeedback training (SMR NFT) on golf putting performance. We hypothesized that preelite golfers would exhibit enhanced putting performance after SMR NFT. Sixteen preelite golfers were recruited and randomly assigned into either an SMR or a control group. Participants were asked to perform putting while electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded, both before and after intervention. Our results showed that the SMR group performed more accurately when putting and exhibited greater SMR power than the control group after 8 intervention sessions. This study concludes that SMR NFT is effective for increasing SMR during action preparation and for enhancing golf putting performance. Moreover, greater SMR activity might be an EEG signature of improved attention processing, which induces superior putting performance. Keywords: precision sports, attention, EEG, sensorimotor rhythm, automaticity