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I signed up for the premium membership against my better judgement because I’m a wonderer and have become a tinkerer. I need things to be simple and need to be kept on task. The one thing I want to know about my swing is why? Why it’s so steep, why the club face gets shut, why I flip, why I stand up, why I early release, etc.… Once I know it helps me learn. I worked with rotaryswing.com and for 3 years never played worth a shit. I never took lessons growing up as I was into everything sports wise, but eventually I fell in love with golf. I grew up in upper Michigan and seasons were short and good instruction was nonexistent. I learned to play the best I could. I’ve had a hard knock life and golf has probably saved it and ruined it to some extent. I won the South Carolina match play in 2012 and a few other local tournaments playing the game I built. All I ever practiced was wedge play and short game and didn’t know an open club face from closed. The one thing I knew is when I won the SC match play I stood on every tee in that final match not having a clue where it was going, but I was so fierce a competitor I could get by in match play. Stroke play I can win locally but not regionally and have never qualified for a USGA event. My best handicap was +5 working on wedge play only by suggestion of a sports psychologist. In 2012, as accolades accumulated locally there were always people who asked the question are you going to turn pro? I knew I wasn’t nearly good enough but I thought maybe I could get good enough. I was willing to risk it and go down the rabbit hole. I knew if I could make ball striking an asset I could become dominant as an am. I was already playing for money with tour players and holding my own. But that was with the old grooves and the belly putter. When the groove rule changed I lost my ability to flight the wedges for at least a year. My swing is so steep I just used spin for everything. When that went away oh man, the magic was gone. Then the belly putter. BOOOOM the next missile hit. Was it magic? No but it was consistent so I never had to practice my putting and I got really good with it. So I had time to rebuild my golf swing right???…. I don’t have to tell you when I’m competing I’m alive, time stands still and life’s problems disappear, but the last three years have been brutal. I’m a 75 shooter, my attitude has become so negative as I’ve played like shit and I know my swing can’t win unless we play at the airport. I’ve become Seve with a bad short game. I want to win again so bad I can’t even explain but I know my golf swing is a mess and need you to tell me if this is even worth it… You’ve seen a million swings and your knowledge is obvious. I know guys who’ve played with you and your resume speaks for itself and what I need from you more than anything is the truth. Can I fix this disaster, and can I get better? If you tell me it’s going to be 2 more years before I might play good again I need to hear that and consider it but I need you to just give it to me straight….
Ah, golf. What it does to us all, at least those of us who have this insane desire to control the ball and to beat everyone we are playing with. It is my firm opinion that all mental issues with the game start with technique that doesn’t work. Notice I didn’t say “bad” technique, because lots of stuff that you would think would be bad functions marvelously, but technique that doesn’t work. Some players can seemingly make anything work. They are the ones that avoid any technique work, as knowing what they are actually doing could be a detriment to their play. The rest of us have no choice but to try to keep figuring out better ways to go about it. Why would anyone be all out of sorts if every part of their game was solid and they played well every round other than the odd shot or two? The answer is “no one”, every normal person would be confident over any shot and any situation they faced. But when the execution fails and disappointment becomes the standard emotion the technique problems turn into mental problems. In doing these online lessons, or any lesson in fact, I feel that it’s my job to diagnose and offer positive solutions. When considering the emotional baggage, the student has accumulated over time I feel that it is not my job to try to rid the student of that: I’m available to improve the technique to the point where the player can hit good shots under pressure and rebuild the confidence that slips away in the face of constant failure. I really don’t like the idea of “coaching” golfers: I have always felt that the qualities of a great player come from the inside, and no one can “coach” those qualities into someone. I always know there is a problem when a player asks me “how much should I practice?” or “how long is this going to take to get it?” Matthew has taken the step to get some new information and now he just has to apply it and see what happens. It really is a cold-hearted game: there is no “justice” in golf. There may be luck and good fortune, but 99% percent of what a player gets out of the game has to be earned. People used to be genuinely surprised that I could teach 8 hours a day, 6 days a week, and still compete at a high level and win golf tournaments. I had no idea what they were getting at. You simply do what you have to do to get better. I will say this, however, and this applies directly to Matthew, if your home life is bad your golf will suffer. Everyone who is bitten by the golf addiction needs to be sure that they don’t lose sight of the things that are really important. Getting better is never an emergency. If you miss a day of play or practice, it’s not going to kill you. My wife had to get on me constantly to take a breath and to spend time with the family. She, of course, was right, and as I look back on it I am lucky she was so persistent.
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