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Each of our golf swings function as a unit, a whole item built around practiced and somewhat grooved feel that requires a minimum of thought. The swing you use when you think the least can be termed your “natural swing’. In almost every case (unless you’ve won a couple of U.S. Opens) the natural swing is one the golfer would like to improve. As good as a touring pro’s swing might seem to be, one trip to the range at a tour event should be enough to convince anyone that few in golf are ever really satisfied with what they have, and most of the time for good reason, since it is a given that no one has achieved the “perfect swing”. Everyone wants to strike the ball better, to lower their stroke average, and will do almost anything towards this goal.
In order to improve there must be change. One of the lessons a golfer must learn is that any change, be it one in concept, position, or motion, will affect almost every other part of the swing in some manner. It must further be learned that making a change does not guarantee that any other part of the swing will change as a result. Errors at any point in the swing require multiple compensations which must be analyzed, understood, and also changed. This goes a long way to explain why it is so incredibly difficult to change one’s golf swing successfully.
Every change we make, whether we like it or not, takes us away from our “natural” swing because change requires conscious thought. If we decide that our natural swing is not good enough and we set out to affect a change, be it through reading books and magazines or taking a series of lessons, then it would be a good idea to learn a bit about how to learn, and, since all change is eventually measured by performance, find specific ways to take new thoughts and feelings out onto the course.
The first absolute of golf learning is that any attempt to learn and change is a long term commitment. It takes some time to develop a decent golf game, and if you think that new ideas, positions, or motions will manifest themselves immediately, you are mistaken. When I help someone in a lesson and they experience a major improvement very quickly, I always caution them not to get too carried away with their success. Problems built and grooved over time just don’t go away very quickly. If you let your guard down for even a moment the old habits creep right back in. The sooner you realize the foolishness in uttering the phrase “I’ve got it”, the less times you’ll find yourself lamenting “I lost it”. Chances are, whatever initial change brought you to your short term success actually depended on a number of other things occurring before or after in the swing which in this case just happened to work out right. You are definitely moving in the right direction, and it is not accidental that you are doing so much better, but don’t expect that level of success to stick around for too long. Count on the fact that it’s never that easy.
Let’s say that you come to me for a lesson, and, after analyzing your swing on video and asking you to explain your ideas on how certain parts of the swing should work, I decide to alter your grip, make an adjustment in your posture, give you a new concept concerning how the club strikes the ball when the ball is on the ground, then explain basic pivot motion and proper weight shift during the swing. If I organize the lesson properly, and explain the details of the instruction simply but concisely, then use the video and mirror while pushing and pulling you through the positions and motions so that you get a feel to go along with your new knowledge, you will usually be able to make a much improved swing through the ball by the end of the hour. But the lesson certainly hasn’t ended there. I must explain to you how to go about working on all this new stuff over the next week or two, and leave you with a good idea of how to go out and play with these new thoughts.
During the lesson you have received quite a bit of new information; your swing problems have been explained, new ideas have been introduced, you have been put into the correct positions and moved through the proper motions (which all feel odd, to say the least), and have been given two or three drills which when performed slowly and carefully help you feel the correct motion on your own. It is now up to you to go back over these same items in your mind, jot down a few notes, spend some quality time in the mirror, and repeat the drills along with your full swings. Focused practice familiarizes you with the new feelings and enables you to form detailed images in your mind, sort of a running video of how you would like to look as you swing. You are always trying to eliminate the need for detailed mental instruction, and practicing correct movements repetitively is the best way to accomplish this. Don’t be afraid of practicing incorrectly. As long as your thoughts are running in the right direction, no practice is bad. No one swings perfectly, so of course no one practices perfectly. If you did, why would you need to practice at all?
As you practice, keep in mind just when you are going to go out to play, because you must give yourself time to gear down from your specific swing practice and get into playing mode. If you are working hard on new items, don’t make the mistake of accepting spontaneously any invitations to play. Politely decline and keep practicing, perhaps going out onto the course by yourself later to see how it feels in a real situation.
You should know exactly when you are going to play, and you need to prepare yourself the way all good players do, by condensing all your specific swing thoughts into no more than two key thoughts, preferably one for the backswing and one for the through swing, with each thought represented by no more than three words. In practice, you can think as much as you want, testing different keys in different combinations. But when you play, by making your mental instructions simple, short, and rhythmical, you allow your body to function in a free but focused manner. If you have been working on four or five different things, you must tie them together as best as you can, relying on a word or two to suggest multiple ideas. I won the Maryland Open last year with the thoughts, “turn level, hands close”, which were all I allowed myself even though I had been dissatisfied with my swing and was working on all sorts of things to improve it. When it comes time to tee it up for real you need to get out of your own way and let it go as best you can. You cannot force your body to execute new movements which haven’t been practiced enough, but you can guide your body by using the main thoughts you have been working on condensed into simple keys. Remember: allow yourself to play, don’t force it. Every round is a learning experience which helps you to organize and focus your future practice. This is the true process of improving; working, testing, and working some more.
As I said before, any change requires other changes, and the sequence of different motions and feelings must be allowed to blend over time. Be specific when you practice, then gear toward the more general as you approach a round of golf, be it your weekend game or a major tournament. I think you will find that your practice will be more focused and productive, and, as you prepare better to play, your play will be freed up from the burdens of over-thinking and will improve as a result.