There is a secret society in golf. This secret society is a society of accomplished golfers. This group of golfers is what all golfers aspire to: have a consistent golf swing. A lot of the members of the society learned the game of golf early in their lives so it is difficult or impossible for them to describe how or what they do to become a member of this secret society of consistent and skilled golfers. There is reluctance by members to reveal the secrets, so these secrets are rarely revealed. The secrets are sometimes hinted at. This blog article reveals the secrets that are shared by all members of this secret society.
The biggest secrets are: attitude, visualize, focus, and feel, how to feel rhythm, how to use the fingers, and feel an efficient down swing.
Hints from Society Members
Here are some quotes from two great ball strikers and my interpretation of their quotes.
Moe Norman
“Come on now, let’s not be a ball beater, let’s be a mind beater.” – This means that golf is a mental game. It is not about hitting the ball, but about being mentally strong enough to focus on the swing.
“I’m not ball oriented. I’m divot oriented. Swing past the ball.” – Again, the focus is on the swing (taking a divot) and not the ball.
“Everyone swings around their body except Hogan, Trevino, and me. We swing under our body.” – The down swing is a vertical motion. The top of the left arm pit snaps up and the right hand snaps down under the left side.
George Knudson
“It’s not what you do that matters. It’s what you attempt to do.” – Focus on making a consistent and balanced swing and the flight of the ball will be a reflection of the swing.
“Golf is a stationary ball game in which we make a motion towards a target. The ball simply gets in the way of the motion.” – The focus is on the motion, not the golf ball.
Attitude
The biggest secret is to adopt the attitude that hitting the ball is not the objective of golf. Members of the society understand and embrace the fact that a repeatable motion is the objective. This sounds illogical, but if you want to become a member of this secret society, you must be willing to suspend logic. The secrets that are being revealed are not logical. If you suspend logic, you will be open to embracing the secrets.
Visualize, Focus, and Feel
“Do not think.” This is a common advice on what to do if you want a repeatable golf swing. It should be “Do not think, just visualize, focus, and feel.” Do not think about swing mechanics, do not think about the ball, do not think about the past, do not think about the future, do not think about results, and do not worry. All of this “thinking” is “natural” but creates distractions.
In order to block distractions and don’t think, you must develop a pre-shot routine that you do without thinking. Part of the pre-shot routine is to focus. Focusing is not thinking. Focusing on a swing thought is not thinking. Focusing on feeling your motion is not thinking. If you do not focus, you will think and get distracted.
Your pre-shot routine must include the visualization of the shot, the focus on the motion, and the feel of the motion.
Members of the society feel the golf swing. They visualize what they want the ball to do and execute the required motion. The focus is on feeling the motion.
How to Feel Rhythm
The secret is that rhythm is the most important part of the golf swing. Every member of the secret society has their own rhythmic swing. The secret to creating a rhythmic swing is to take the time to feel the pause that occurs between the back swing and the down swing. The pause must feel longer than it actually is. The pause may feel like one-half second but the pause will not be visible to onlookers. The noticeable difference will be a rhythmic swing. My blog article “How to Feel Rhythm” describes how to develop and feel your rhythm.
How to Use the Fingers
The members of the secret society know how to use the fingers to prevent the hands from destroying the down swing motion. If the fingers are not engaged during the down swing, the hands will naturally overtake the motion of the body and destroy the down swing. The secret is to engage the right ring and middle fingers to snap down along the right side of the body in the down swing. My blog article, “How to Use the Fingers” describes how the fingers are used in the golf swing.
Feel an Efficient Swing
Members of the secret society of accomplished golfers all have a rhythmic swing, know how to use the fingers, and have an efficient golf swing. An efficient golf swing builds and releases energy efficiently. “There should be no tension in the golf swing” is the common advice. What is really meant is “there should be no tightness in the golf swing.” If there is no tension created between the lower body and upper body there energy is not efficiently created and released. If there is no tension created between the fingers and the upper body, energy is not efficiently created and released.
Most golf instruction teaches swing motions and swing positions, but there is no focus on feeling the tension that is built and released. The secret in an efficient swing is to focus on creating vertical motion by feeling the back inside of the ball of the right foot snap up and the right upper arm snap down. My blog article, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” describes the secret swing moves and what to feel in the down swing.
Breaking the Silence
I am not concerned about ramifications from revealing these secrets because one of the hardest things to do in golf is to embrace these secrets and it is even more difficult to remember these secrets. Now that you know the secrets of the society of accomplished golfers I hope that you can embrace and remember the secrets so they can help you become a member of this elite society.