Menu
As a teacher I would measure the level of my expertise by my ability to get a problem case (Justin’s swing would qualify) to change and evolve into something that looks and functions like a good player’s swing. That would essentially mean a total reworking, something that the “no technique, just swing naturally and hit shots” crew would think was not only impossible but unwise to attempt. Of course, if you ask Justin, who was ready to give up the game after receiving no meaningful help from teachers who espoused just such a theory (just swing the club, don’t think about it so much, just feel your hands, etc.. and blah, blah, blah) he is feeling pretty damn good about his swing, which now at least looks like, and sometimes functions like, the type of player he longs to become.
Is this mechanical work? You betcha. Is it technical? Do you have to apply your intelligence to understanding what you are trying to do? Do you have to practice religiously without much thought of results in the short term? Is this all completely counter to what Bubba Watson would tell Justin? Absolutely. Justin’s “natural” swing was that of a 90 shooter. He is an athlete who competed at the highest level and can play any number of sports better than you, whoever you are. But when he picked up a golf club the game was not apparent to him, and his swing is evidence of that. He sucked at golf, and it ate at him like an ulcer. How could dweebs and geeks regularly outdrive him and beat him handily at a game at which he was expending vast amounts of time and effort? The answer is simple. He didn’t understand the underlying concepts of how to swing the club properly and produce power and accuracy, and thus all his practice was misguided and ultimately a waste of time.
What you see here is a complete re-tooling of his swing that came about from hours of lessons and hundreds of hours of practice. This type of transformation is not possible without the type of instruction that I and others like me practice, no matter what the knuckleheads on TV proclaim. Without this type of focused technique work Justin would have been doomed to be a mediocre golfer at best, and that is something that a competitor like he is cannot abide.
Join the forum discussion on this post