Practice
09/05/12 11:17
How to practice and work on your golf game
Knowing what to practice and how to practice are crucial factors to understand for the golfer who wants to improve the fastest. When working on swing mechanics during a lesson I expect the golfer to be able to demonstrate the new mechanic almost immediately with the corresponding change in ball flight being apparent. This does not mean, however, that this new mechanic is immediately fully acquired. New thoughts and ideas tend to need to spend time in the golfer’s incubator before being fully understood and applied. I am very keen for golfers to clearly understand the function of any changes that are made. If a player doesn’t truly understand why a change is being made it will be much harder for them to commit and work on the change diligently. This will result in them making a quick return to swinging the club in their accustomed manner with no change and progress having been made.
Once the correct mechanic has been identified and nothing has been lost in translation, make sure you make your practice stroke while you “look, look, look” at the new piece you are incorporating into your swing. Do not rely exclusively on feel. If the technique being worked on is a stationary head and you are used to swaying away from the target during your backswing you may well need to feel like you are tilting your spine to the left only during your backswing without turning. This will of course, not be the reality of what you are doing but will be the feel required. Every golfer will experience a slightly different feel and even from day to day a golfer’s own feel can change. As a result of this it is important to learn feel from mechanics rather than vice versa.
Don’t waste your time by putting in inordinate amounts of effort if you are not going to use that effort to apply the relevant technique. Deliberate practice should be mentally very demanding, the result of every shot needs to be carefully analysed and the feedback used for the next stroke. Because it isn’t always fun, only a few will be prepared to do this, use that to your advantage.
One final note, there are by and large two categories of golfers, those who spend all their time on the range working on their swings and those who spend all their time on the course. Both of these are only half correct, so make sure you do both.
Knowing what to practice and how to practice are crucial factors to understand for the golfer who wants to improve the fastest. When working on swing mechanics during a lesson I expect the golfer to be able to demonstrate the new mechanic almost immediately with the corresponding change in ball flight being apparent. This does not mean, however, that this new mechanic is immediately fully acquired. New thoughts and ideas tend to need to spend time in the golfer’s incubator before being fully understood and applied. I am very keen for golfers to clearly understand the function of any changes that are made. If a player doesn’t truly understand why a change is being made it will be much harder for them to commit and work on the change diligently. This will result in them making a quick return to swinging the club in their accustomed manner with no change and progress having been made.
Once the correct mechanic has been identified and nothing has been lost in translation, make sure you make your practice stroke while you “look, look, look” at the new piece you are incorporating into your swing. Do not rely exclusively on feel. If the technique being worked on is a stationary head and you are used to swaying away from the target during your backswing you may well need to feel like you are tilting your spine to the left only during your backswing without turning. This will of course, not be the reality of what you are doing but will be the feel required. Every golfer will experience a slightly different feel and even from day to day a golfer’s own feel can change. As a result of this it is important to learn feel from mechanics rather than vice versa.
Don’t waste your time by putting in inordinate amounts of effort if you are not going to use that effort to apply the relevant technique. Deliberate practice should be mentally very demanding, the result of every shot needs to be carefully analysed and the feedback used for the next stroke. Because it isn’t always fun, only a few will be prepared to do this, use that to your advantage.
One final note, there are by and large two categories of golfers, those who spend all their time on the range working on their swings and those who spend all their time on the course. Both of these are only half correct, so make sure you do both.
What determines the Club path?
20/04/12 09:35
NB: Please note that between the shoulders is the centre of the pivot but that the low point of the swing is situated underneath the left shoulder (for a right handed golfer)
Rear Leg Straightening
13/03/12 09:34
Here is a catalogue of LPGA Tour golfers all demonstrating that during the course of the backswing the right leg (for right handers) is losing some of the flex it held at address. When the right leg straightens this allows the hips to turn, a major power move in the golf swing. Many times golfers are led to believe that they are not flexible enough in order to play golf and that they cannot make a full shoulder turn. The reality is that during the course of the backswing the hips turn 45˚ while the shoulders also turn 45˚. This enables the golfer to reach a full 90˚ shoulder turn with the back facing the target. The straightening of the right leg will also allow the golfer to maintain their inclination to the ground better as the right hip will raise and the left hip will lower (very much like what happens with the shoulders). If the golfer did a more level turn of the hips then the body would start to move off the ball to the right leading to a myriad of issues. ALLOW YOUR REAR LEG TO STRAIGHTEN, restricting your ability to turn is not a good idea.
