Golf’s Secret Society

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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.

 

There is no Violence in Golf

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The golf swing needs to be rhythmic and efficient.  Most golfers want to hit the ball hard which results in a violent motion.  Also, in the attempt to hit the ball hard, there is no rhythm to the swing.

One only needs to look at the LPGA golfers to see rhythmic golf swings.  Their rhythmic swings result in drives of 250 yards or longer.  There are no violent swings on the LPGA.  Their power comes from rhythm and efficient power.  It is amazing to see women who are a little over five feet tall hit those long drives.  The key to hitting the ball farther is to have great rhythm.

It is a myth that one should learn to try to hit as far as you can first and then learn to hit it straight later.  One should learn to develop a rhythmic swing first.  Rhythm is the most important part of the golf swing, yet it is seldom taught.  A rhythmic swing provides the best chance to make solid contact with the golf ball.  When a golfer tries to hit the ball as far as possible, the natural tendency is to only use the arms to swing the club.  Using only the arms is the most inefficient way to swing the club.  This also results in a violent and jerky action instead of a rhythmic and explosive swing.

Attitude

A proper attitude is crucial to making a rhythmic, non-violent swing.  This is where a consistent pre-shot routine is required.  Instead adopting an attitude of “I am going to address the ball and hit it hard,” The pre-shot routine is a reminder to focus on executing a rhythmic swing.  The swing thought is the final part of the pre-shot routine.  So finding and using an effective swing thought that results in a rhythmic swing should be a priority.

Focus on the Change of Direction

When the focus is on trying to hit the ball hard instead of making a rhythmic swing, the transition time from back swing to down swing is extremely fast.  Focus on making the transition time much longer than you feel is necessary.  The transition time feels like a pause during the swing.  This pause should feel like almost one second.  When the pause feels like almost one second, the actual transition time is only two-tenths of a second.  The brain slows down time because of the “oddball effect.”  When the brain experiences something unusual, it focuses harder on this “odd” detail.  The sharper focus seems to take longer than it really does.  The pause is the “oddball” of the golf swing.  This is the most difficult part for most golfers to grasp.  What feels like a long time is actually a very short time.

Swing at 70% of Maximum Effort

Trying to swing using maximum effort always results in a violent action.  The focus should be on using only 70% of maximum effort.  Professional golfers, who have swing speeds over one hundred miles an hour, only swing at 80% of maximum effort.  If the focus is on using less effort, the result will be much better.  This concept is also difficult to grasp by most golfers.  It is natural to believe that trying harder will produce better results.  We have been told this all of our lives, but in golf trying harder never works.

Golf is a long journey.  Eliminating violence in the golf swing will make the journey more enjoyable.

How to Feel Rhythm

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Rhythm is the most important component of a golf swing.  A golfer may do all of the correct motions, but if the motions are not executed in rhythm, the golf swing will be inconsistent and jerky.  So what does a rhythmic swing feel like?  I will describe what must be felt and when it must be felt during the golf swing.

It is important to know that what is felt during the golf swing is not what is seen by someone watching the golfer swing the club or what is captured on video.  One of the most common swing thoughts is to “go low and slow” to start the back swing.  When this swing thought is successfully implemented, the back swing feels slow, but the actual motion is smooth and not slow.  It is hard to believe that what feels so slow is in fact not slow. This concept of fooling the brain in order to achieve the desired rhythm is crucial to develop a rhythmic golf swing.

An important part of the golf swing is the transition or change of direction from the back swing to the down swing.  In my blog article, “Feel and Efficient Swing ,” I describe the Stretch – Snap part of the down swing.  This article provides additional information on what I believe must be felt in the down swing to create a rhythmic swing: the pause.

Feel the Stretch

Feel the bottom of the front right hip bone stretch up against the resisting top of the front right hip bone, and feel the stretch up of the hands mature.

Feel the Snap

Feel the bottom of the front right hip bone “bounce” up and feel the hands “bounce” up.  This causes the left side to snap up to the left and causes the arms to snap down, with abandon, and up to the finish. It is important to feel the back of the right upper arm snap down with abandon and not care where the ball is going.  The Snap automatically triggers the snap down of the right forearm and the snap of the club toward the target.  The Snap is an efficient method to produce an explosive release of energy.

Feel the Pause

The time it takes to feel the end of the Stretch and the start of the Snap creates the pause.  Be patient to feel the “bounce” of the front right hip bone and the “bounce” of the hands in the Snap.  This time period of the pause must feel the same for every swing.  This time period will actually be much shorter than it feels.  It is difficult to believe that the pause happens so quickly when it feels like it takes much longer.  Neuroscience calls this the “Oddball Effect.”  The theory is that when something unusual happens, the pause, your brain devotes more neural resources to it.  As a result, it feels like it takes a longer period of time.  Start by feeling a one millisecond pause.

The proper pause is the key to creating a rhythmic swing.  The pause is used to complete the gather of energy.  The last millisecond of the pause builds the last 20 percent of the force used to swing the upper arm down and up to the finish.  If the pause is too short, not enough energy will be created by a little more coil of the upper body and a little more loading of the right leg.  The result of not creating the additional energy with the proper pause is to add more energy using compensating moves of the arms and hands and the swing will not be rhythmic.  No patient pause, no rhythm.  No rhythm, no chance for a good shot.

There may be times when feeling the pause for the specific time period does not result in a good shot.  In such instances, increase the pause time by one millisecond or more.  It is better to err on feeling a longer pause than having a shorter pause.

If feeling a one millisecond pause is not possible, feeling the additional stretch of the hands as the upper body continues to stretch creates an automatic pause.  Usually, when a rhythm is too quick, the stretch was not done.

The pause is really a part of a continuous sequence of motions that make up the back swing and the down swing.  The pause cannot be seen, but must be felt.

The “natural” reaction to the back swing coil is to uncoil.  But the Stretch – Snap of the down swing is a more efficient method to build and then release energy during the down swing.

Practice the feel of the pause before the “bounce” of the front right hip bone and the “bounce” of the hands.  The tendency is to omit the pause.  A rhythmic swing is not possible without feeling the pause.  A successful golf shot is not possible without a rhythmic swing.  A poor golf shot is always the result of not feeling the pause for the correct amount of time.  Golf is a mental game and remembering to feel the pause for a precise period of time during the swing is another example of the mental challenge of golf.

 

Being in the Zone

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What does it mean to “Be in the Zone”?  You have heard that athletes who are in the zone accomplish great things.  There are many definitions about what constitutes “Being in the Zone” and they are all mental reasons and have nothing to do about swing mechanics.  The important thing is that “Being in the Zone” is a mental state.

Even though “Being in the Zone” is mental and is not about swing mechanics, the “Zone” is not a substitute for learning and developing proper swing skills.  But if you are in the “Zone” during practice, the learning curve can become very short.  Realistically, the physical skills you need to learn and execute a golf swing are very minimal.  It is all the distracting thoughts that hinder the development of a consistent swing.

Become a Different Person

Golf is a mental game and what a lot of successful golfers do mentally is to focus and pretend.  By this I mean that you may have a hard time visualizing positive outcomes and pretending because it is not your nature mentally (it is not me).  In that case, you need to become a different person. Use your alter ego to become your “other” persona who put you into the “Zone.”  Now you see why golf is a mental game.

Be in the Zone

The operative word is “Be”.  You need to consciously “Be” in the zone.  If you can focus and block out distracting thoughts, then you will “Be in the Zone”.  The first step is to develop a pre-shot routine.  A routine means you are doing the same physical and mental procedure repetitively without thinking.  Thinking is the gateway for distractions to enter your mind.  When you are in the “Zone”, distracting thoughts have a harder time to ruin your golf swing because your focus is so strong and vivid.  Keep it simple and discover the best way to get into the “Zone”.  The following tips are mental mechanisms that can be very effective to help you to “Be” in the zone. Try the following suggestion to see if one of the suggestions will help you get into the zone more often.

Put Yourself in a Safe and Comfortable Environment

Execute your pre-shot routine and pretend you are in an environment that produces confidence and blocks out any distractions.  This could be pretending you are on the driving range, pretending you are where you made a fantastic shot, or even in a room with no windows.

Visualize the Shot

Incorporate into your pre-shot routine a procedure where you have analyzed the required shot and then visualize yourself executing the shot and visualize the ball flying in the planned trajectory, landing, and rolling towards the target.  Now go ahead and execute the shot.

Use a Rhythmic Swing

The golf swing from the start of the back swing until the club returns back to the ball is approximately one second.   Each golfer has their own natural rhythm and this rhythm should be used in the golf swing.  When you focus on executing your rhythmic swing, you are blocking distracting thoughts.

Focus on the Swing

Most golfers think that golf is about hitting the golf ball.  In fact the golf ball is the biggest distraction that keeps you from being in the “Zone.”  If you are going to focus on executing a rhythmic swing, you must first learn to focus on your swing instead of the ball.

Practice “Not Caring”

Most golfers care about the quality of their shots: the result.  Caring too much about the result is a distraction.  When you care, it is natural to worry and to have doubt.  Worry and doubt are two big distractions.  If you want to be in the “Zone,” you need to practice not caring.  What you should not care about is where the ball goes.  What you should care about is executing a rhythmic swing.

Trust the Swing

If you are in the zone, you have no doubt and no worry.  A good way to block worry and doubt is to enter a zone of trust.  Trust is a big part of being in the “Zone.”  Trusting your swing is something that you must practice.  You need to build confidence in your swing if you are going to trust it.  A big part of trust is to believe in “muscle memory.”   You need to trust that your body knows how to execute a rhythmic swing and will execute that swing.

Focus on the Target

If golf is not about hitting the ball, then golf is about making rhythmic swing towards a specific target.  When you focus on the target, the other stuff fades away.  When most people get on a tee, the first thing they focus on is the water, trees, rough, out of bounds, and barranca.  When you are on the tee, focus on the fairway.  When you are on the fairway, focus on the green.  All of the other things are stuff.  Do not even give them a name.  They are shiny stuff, green stuff, brown stuff, etc.  This stuff is just a “frame” around the fairway and green.  Focusing on the target is a big part of being in the “Zone.”

Commit

When you are in the “Zone,” you can easily commit to the swing that is required.  If you do not commit to the swing, it means you are distracted with fear and doubt.  Practicing not caring and practicing trust is a key part of committing to the swing.

Give Yourself Permission to Let Go

Just do it.  Tell yourself to “go ahead and execute.”  If you worry or have doubt, give yourself permission to let go of worry and doubt and just do it.

Become a Magician

Become a magician who will do a magic trick that will show how the proper focus, trust, commitment, and a rhythmic swing will produce a great golf shot.  As a magician, you are doing what is not natural and logical to most golfers.  Your objective is to amaze your audience by making it look easy to do such a difficult task.

I hope these suggestions will give an idea of what it takes to be in the “Zone.”  As you can see, what is required is mental activity, not physical activity.  It is difficult to be in the “Zone,” but you need to discover what works for you.

Developing Feel in Putting

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Sinking a putt requires that the ball roll the precise direction and speed.  Of the two putting categories, direction and speed, speed is more important.  The direction of the putt may be one or two degrees off, but if the distance is correct, the next putt will be a one or two foot putt.  When the focus is on direction, the putt is usually left short.  A putt that goes past the hole has a chance of going in.  A putt that is left short has no chance of going in.

I am not saying that determining the proper direction is not important.  It is, but this blog article is focused on how I make the ball travel the proper distance.  A future blog article will cover how to determine the proper direction.

The correct distance of a putt should roll about one foot past the cup if the ball misses the hole.  The circumference of the golf ball is approximately 5.25 inches.  So a correctly struck putt will go past the hole by a little over two revolutions.  That shows that putting is an extremely precise activity.

Spend the Time

The best way to develop feel in putting is to adopt the proper attitude that elevates the priority of improving your putting.  Lower scores are a result of reducing the number of putts per round.   When I play a hole, I would rather make a one-putt instead of hitting a 300 yard drive.  I know I do not have a chance to drive the ball 300 yards, but I do have a chance to make a one-putt.  Most golfers spend a vast majority of their practice time trying to improve their driving rather than spending their practice time trying to improve their putting.  It is a mental challenge to make  it a priority to spend the time to improve putting skills, but the time must be dedicated in order to develop the proper feel in putting.

Feel the Force

The objective of developing feel in putting is to discover the proper amount of force that is required to roll the ball a distance where the ball will stop approximately one foot beyond the hole. The first requirement is to determine how to generate the force to roll the ball.  There are various ways you can use to generate force:  use the wrist, use the shoulder, or use the upper body.  I have tried all of the methods and I find that using the upper body provides the best way for me to apply the precise amount of force.  I use the bottom rear of the right arm pit to stretch up the precise amount in the back swing.  In the down swing, I feel the bottom rear of the right arm pit snap down with the force that I feel will create the desired acceleration of the ball.  I also feel the tip of the left little finger snap up with the force that I feel will create the desired acceleration.  For me, the snap of the tip of the left little finger “validates” the snap of the bottom rear of the right arm pit.

Whichever method you use, it must provide you with complete confidence that the proper amount of force will be generated.  It takes a lot of trial and error to finally settle on a method that will work consistently to generate the proper amount of force.

I define the proper amount of force as the force needed to accelerate the ball to so that the ball rolls the precise distance.  I divide the distance that the putt travels into two parts: acceleration distance and deceleration distance.  Developing feel in putting is about producing the precise acceleration distance.  The distance of acceleration can be thought of as an absolute distance in inches, feet, or yards.  The distance of the acceleration can also be thought of as a percentage of the total distance.  I focus on creating an acceleration distance that is a specific percentage of the total distance.  For example, I want to accelerate the ball one-third of the total distance.

Developing the Feel

The speed of the putting greens varies from course to course.  When I am putting on the practice green before a round of golf, I am trying to determine the percentage of acceleration distance I need to create in order to putt the ball a foot past the hole.  I find a level part of the green and stroke putts of six feet.  I feel how much force it takes to make a putt of six feet.  I am aware of how much force I am using to create acceleration.  Am I creating two feet of acceleration or one and one-half feet of acceleration?  When I create a specific acceleration distance, then I make a note of how much deceleration distance is created.  For example, if I create two feet of acceleration and the ball rolls a total of six feet, then I know the base line percentage for a level putt is one-third of the total distance is for acceleration and the remaining two-thirds of the total distance is used for deceleration.

I try putts of different lengths to eventually settle on the percentage of acceleration distance versus deceleration distance.  Establishing this base line is the objective when I am on the practice putting green.  I also hit putts uphill and downhill to get a feel for the ratio in those situations.  This will help me make the proper adjustments when I am on the course.  I will use less force on downhill putts and more force on uphill putts.

The key is to be able to precisely create the acceleration distance that I decide is needed to roll the ball the required distance.  That ability is what I am looking for when I am trying to develop a feel for the green.

The Putter

Another component of developing feel is to use a putter that will translate the force that you use to create a precise acceleration distance.  You will have to try a lot of different putters before you find a putter that provides the precise feel.  This is the magic that you need to feel in choosing a putter.  The current putter that I am using provided that magic when I was trying different putters at a golf store.  For me, this putter is able to create the acceleration distance that I decide is needed and the ball will consistently travel the precise distance to the hole.  I tried other putters that were the same length and same model but they did not have the same magic.  So even though putters may look the same, they do not perform the same.  This magic is not permanent.  When the magic is gone for my current putter, I will need to find another putter.  Sometimes the “new” putter will be a putter I already own and is stored in my garage with other putters I have used in the past.

I hope this post will give you an idea on how you can develop the feel that will help you make more one-putts and eliminate three-putts.

Chain of Command in the Down Swing

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When I speak of the chain of command in the down swing, I am using the military command structure to describe what must happen in the down swing.  Most golfers only use their arms and hands in the down swing and usually create very inefficient down swing.  When the down swing is inefficient, the shots lack power and consistency.  So my contention is that most golfers need to maintain the chain of command in the down swing.

I believe that an efficient and repeatable down swing has the body leading.  The body is much stronger than the arms and hands.  Swinging the club using only the weaker arms and hands is not efficient.  Using the body to lead the swing is much more efficient.   In my chain of command analogy, the upper body is the General.  In the military chain of command the General is the leader.  Everyone follows the General.  I view the lower body as providing support for the upper body.  I will designate the lower body as the officers in the chain of command.  The lower body supports and facilitates the action of the upper body.

I designate the hands as the Privates in the chain of command.  The hands are the lowest ranking members of the command structure.  The duty of the Privates is to follow the General.  But most golfers allow and even encourage the hands to dominate the movement in the down swing.  When the hands move independent of the upper body, the upper body slows down or stops moving.  This break down in the chain of command is the reason for poor or weak golf shots.

When the down swing chain of command is maintained, the lower body, (the officers), provides a platform of support for the upper body (the General) to stretch up and then snap down as described in my blog post, “Feel an Efficient Swing.”  The hands (the Privates) respond to the action of the upper body (the General) to be snapped to a balanced finish.  Any attempt by the hands (the Privates) to hit or lift will destroy the chain of command.

It is important in any military organization that the lowest ranking members do not interfere with the operation of the military unit.  To carry the analogy to the down swing it is imperative that the hands do not interfere with the upper body stretch up and then snap down.  Maintain the proper chain of command in the down swing in order to ensure that the ball will go straighter and farther.

 

Be a Magician on the Golf Course

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My blog post, “You Must Believe in Magic,” states that you must believe in magic in order to have the proper mental attitude for developing a consistent swing.  In addition to believing in magic, you must be a magician on the golf course.

Why a magician?  A magician does magic tricks that amaze your friends and family.  That is how you should view your golf swing.  It is a swing that will impress your friends and family.  In order to perfect a magic trick, the magician must spend many hours practicing before the magic trick is perfected.  The magician must be very precise, have a rhythm in the banter and timing of the moves, and do it the same every time the trick is performed.  When the trick is successful, you wonder how it was done, it is magic.  To the magician, the satisfaction is not the final effect that amazes the audience.  Instead it is the satisfaction of executing the intricate and precise process that results in the desired effect.

This is how you should approach your development of your full swing.  Your magic trick is an effortless looking golf swing that makes the ball go far and straight.  But the focus should be on executing the motions that result in the desired effect: a good golf shot.  This approach defines what you are doing on the practice range.  Instead of just beating the balls as hard as you can, your objective is to make your swing look effortless.  You must practice being focused on being precise.

You must practice to develop a precise:

  • Setup
  • Rhythm
  • Efficient Swing

A magician does not do the magic trick in a haphazard fashion.  You may not be aware of it but the magician is highly focused on the precise execution of the trick.   Precise focus is required every time the trick is performed.  The golf swing has the same requirement for precise focus.  When the golf swing is successfully performed, it is like magic.  The ball goes straight and long and the swing feels and looks effortless.  Magic!!!

The reason you need to be a magician is to override the logical and natural thoughts that interfere with executing a consistent golf swing.  When you focus on producing magic, your focus is extremely precise.  Thoughts of avoiding hitting into the water, bunker, canyon, or rough are blocked if you focus on performing your magic.

Golf is a mental game.  You need to adopt a mental attitude and focus that allows you to avoid distractions and execute your swing.  Adopting the approach that magicians use can help you develop your mental game.  Magic asks you to suspend your belief in the logical and embrace the possibility that anything is possible.  When you focus on the process to execute precise motions, you will block out doubt or worry about executing your swing.

One of the easiest magic tricks to do on the golf course is to show how you can hit the ball farther and straighter by not swinging very hard.   It takes some practice, but the trick is to be rhythmic and smooth.  This is a secret that nobody will notice.  Only you will know how you are creating the magic!  Your secret is safe with me.  I won’t tell anybody.

Another trick is to show how hitting down makes the ball travel up.  This is not as impressive, but still a good trick to show.  It is not as easy as it looks.

The hardest trick is to show how to make the golf club swing towards the target by not trying to push the club towards the target with the right hand.  The secret to this trick is to focus on what I have described in my blog posts: “Feel an Efficient Swing,” “How to Use the Fingers,” and “How to Feel Rhythm.”   Mastering this trick will show that you are a true magician on the golf course.

Be a magician on the course and you will amaze your friends and family.

You Must Believe in Magic

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Golf is a mental game.  You need to embrace this concept in order to reach the level of skill that you desire.  A major aspect of embracing that golf is a mental game is to believe in magic!!

Why magic?  You need to believe in magic in order to suspend logic and believe that anything is possible. This attitude is the adopted by all highly skilled golfers.

You need to suspend logic because golf is not a logical game.   Everything about golf that you think is logical or natural is not true.

What you think is logical and natural about golf are:

  • Try to lift the ball into the air
  • Try harder to achieve better results
  • Do extra motions to get better results
  • Use the arms to hit the ball or help the ball into the air
  • Keep your eye on the ball
  • Swing as hard as you can

Most golfers who struggle with their golf game think the above concepts are important in order to become a good golfer.  Unfortunately, the above approaches to golf do not work.

Some examples of the illogical nature of golf are:

  • Swing down to make the ball go up
  • Trying harder never works
  • Do less to get better results
  • Swinging the arms is the least efficient way to move the club
  • The objective is not to try to hit the ball
  • The golf swing is about rhythm and balance

Very few people embrace the above concepts, but all highly skilled golfers embrace all of the above concepts.

If you believe in magic, you will have the appropriate attitude to let go of doing what is logical and natural. You will trust doing what is important for success in golf.

If you believe in magic, you will embrace the following concepts:

  • Golf is not about hitting the ball
  • Commit to develop one full swing
  • Swing in rhythm and finish on balance
  • Swing down to make the ball go up
  • Develop a pre-shot routine
  • Use the big muscles to swing the arms
  • Develop an efficient swing

Believing in magic is a big change in attitude.  Adults have been trained to only believe what they can understand logically.  We have also been trained to be cynical of information that sounds illogical. Golf requires that you adopt an open and accepting attitude in order to feel free to “try it and see what happens”.  Most adults try to logically predict, unsuccessfully, what will happen if they are asked to execute a specific swing motion.

If you believe in magic, you can become a magician who can do things that do not appear to be possible.  These impossible things include:

  • Swing down to make the ball go up
  • Use less force to make the ball go farther
  • Swinging in rhythm and balance makes the ball go farther and straighter
  • You can focus to block distracting thoughts
  • You can produce shots that you visualize

If you really are serious about improving your golf game, you will believe in magic and become a magician.  You will be able to create magical moments on the golf course and amaze not only your friends, but yourself.

Focus in the Down Swing

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The big difference between golfers who can break 90 and those who cannot is the focus in the down swing.  The most difficult motion to do in the golf swing is to snap the right upper arm down along the right side of the body during the down swing.  Accomplished golfers focus on the right side during the down swing while inconsistent or struggling golfers focus on the ball in front of the body and try to help the ball up in the air or swing at the ball during the down swing.

Being able to snap down during the down swing requires focus at this crucial point in the golf swing.  Without an effective focus, the golfer is doomed to always wait to swing up in order to help the ball in the air.  Focus is a mental discipline that must not be taken lightly.  As with any discipline, focus requires practice until focus is always done without thinking.  Focus becomes a natural way of being.

What should be the focus?  The focus should be on the feel of club being forcefully snapped down along the right side during the down swing.  Unfortunately, most golfers focus in front of the body to hit the ball or lift the ball.  Their focus is on the ball.  Their focus should be on the downward motion of the club.  When the focus is on snapping the club down along the right side, the energy is released much sooner than when the focus is on hitting the ball.  When the focus in on hitting the ball, most of the energy has dissipated by the time the club is at the ball resulting in a poor golf shot.

An alternate focus is to feel the arms synchronized with the upper body to control the club instead of using only the arms to swing the club.  Poor shots always result from trying to only use the arms to swing the club.

Every golfer already knows what to focus on.  Every golfer who takes a practice swing or two before addressing the ball executes a fairly rhythmic and free golf swing with the proper timing of the release of energy.  Whatever focus is used in the practice swing should be used when the golf ball is present.  Most golfers change their focus when the golf ball is present.  The focus is most often the golf ball.

It takes a lot of practice to focus on the proper motion when the golf ball is present.  It should be the goal of all golfers to find a specific swing thought that will make the focus to be on the proper motion instead of the golf ball.  When you look at golfers on the driving range, it is apparent that the focus is on the ball and not on executing the proper motion.

Practice focusing on the motion by executing a short stroke such as a chipping stroke.  Do this using your rhythm and focus on letting the right upper arm control the club and feel the Snap make the club swing down along the right side.  It is the Snap that causes the arms to swing down and the body to uncoil which causes the club to move toward the target.

Changing the focus to the motion instead of the golf ball is very difficult.  If it were easy, every golfer would be able to do it. Since very few golfers can break 90 means that focusing on the motion is the most challenging part of golf.

Focusing on your swing so that the club is snapped down the right side of the body in the down swing is the best way to develop a consistent swing.  Let the momentum of the right upper arm snapping down to cause the upper body and the club to move towards the target. This takes a lot of practice, but this focus is essential to becoming a better golfer.  My blog, “Feel an Efficient Down Swing,” describes what to focus on during the down swing.

How to Use the Fingers

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The fingers are used to do more than grip the club. It is important that the fingers work correctly in order to create an efficient and consistent golf swing.  The fingers have more of an effect on the golf swing than most people realize.  Inappropriate action of the fingers will cause the hands, arms, and body to execute an improper golf swing.

The little fingers provide 50% of hand strength.  Thus, subtle changes in the engagement of the little fingers can have a significant effect on the golf swing.  The little fingers control the tightness of the grip on the club.  When the little fingers grip the club with too much force, the wrists and forearms become too tight and immobile.  The best way to see if the golfer’s grip is too tight is to keep the elbows against the side of the upper body and bend the elbows until the club’s shaft is parallel to the ground   Have someone gently pull the club head away from the golfer and notice if the wrists are bending.  Loosen the grip of the little fingers until it feels like the pressure of the little fingers are providing a pressure of only 1 where the maximum pressure is 10.  Now when the club head is gently pulled away from the golfer, the wrists will move up.  This movement in the wrists indicates the correct grip pressure of the little fingers.

The little fingers barely do anything; they just lay there.   The friction of the middle fingers, ring fingers, and the thumbs on the club provides sufficient pressure to control the club.

Ben Hogan’s Secret

OK.  Everyone has said they know Ben Hogan’s “secret” to his golf swing.  You may have heard things such as:

  • Cupping his left wrist at the top of the back swing
  • Driving his right knee in the down swing
  • Manipulating his arms or hands in the back swing or down swing
  • It was his strong mind and mental strength

Now, I will tell you about my version of Ben Hogan’s secret.   Well, it is really not a secret, because it is in his book “Five Lessons the Modern Fundamentals of Golf.”  Ben specifies that supination of the left wrist is the most important action for the best ball contact.  On page 104, Ben states that “Every good golfer supinates his left wrist. It is a ‘must’.”  Ben spends five pages (101 – 105) discussing the benefits of supinating the left wrist.  Unfortunately, he does not specify what causes the left wrist to supinate.  I would like to describe how to efficiently create supination of the left wrist.

The Secret is in the Right Index Finger

Ben Hogan mentions in his book when describing the grip how the fingers of the last three finger of the left hand press up.  That is part of the secret but not the whole secret.  What is omitted is what he describes in this video:

The key words are “at all times.”  This means the fingers are engaged throughout the whole swing!  Feel the inside of the tips of the little fingers stretch up to cause the other fingers to apply the pressure that Ben Hogan describes.

In the following video, Bobby Jones states: “here’s a thing about the hands that is very important.”  He shows how the left little finger has a light touch so that the grip of the club moves freely in the left hand.  Feeling the grip press against the tip of the left little finger allows the back swing to mature.  This creates the pause that results in a rhythmic swing.

Feeling the inside of the tips of the little fingers stretch up allows the grip to move freely and is not a forceful feeling.  Rather, it is a constant engagement.  The stretch of the inside of the tips of the little fingers creates supination in the left wrist.  The constant stretch keeps the hands in the proper orientation during the swing, and prevents the hands from trying to hit or help the ball.  This engagement of the inside of the tips of the little fingers provides the best chance to make solid contact with the golf ball.  When I feel the vertical stretch, I am able to achieve a “smash factor” of 1.5 with my driver.  The smash factor of 1.5 means the ball was hit on the sweet spot of the club face and results in the optimal ball speed for a given swing speed.

My blog post, “Feel an Efficient Down Swing,” states to feel the hands stretch up in the back swing created by the momentum of the upper body.

During the Stretch, feel the stretch up of the inside of the tips of the little fingers.  Feel the grip press against the tip of the left little finger.  Feel the stretch in the arms.

During the Snap, feel the bottom of the pelvis “bounce” down, feel the top of the right abdominal “bounce” up, and feel the inside of the tips of the little fingers stretch up.  This causes the right elbow to snap down in front of the body and causes the right upper arm to quickly snap down and up to the finish.  This action creates the supinating left wrist and makes it difficult for the right hand to overpower the left hand.  This is why Ben Hogan wished he had “three right hands.”

During the down swing, as the hands reach the level of the right hip, the “power zone,” feel the inside of the tips of the little fingers “bounce” up.  This adds more club head speed and makes the club head “shallow out” at the bottom of the swing which creates a more consistent contact.

This is what, in my opinion, is Ben Hogan’s secret.  At least this is the first explanation of how to create supination of the left wrist and what to feel in the fingers during the swing to produce a shot that is straight and long.  The average golfer does not know how to engage the fingers to produce consistent shots.  Accomplished golfers do so unconsciously.

My blog articles, “Chipping” and “Basic Bunker Shot,” describes the additional use of the right index finger.

 

Ben Hogan Video Shows Efficient Down Swing

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I saw this Ben Hogan video on YouTube. He is 66 years old.

I noticed that Ben:

  1. Starts the swing using the same pre-shot routine (grip the club, aim the club head, stand to the butt end of the club, and good posture “GASP”)
  2. uses the same rhythm
  3. finishes in balance
  4. creates an efficient down swing using vertical motion

He deliberately executes slow motion swings that show the efficient release of power in the down swing (the outside of the right latissimus dorsi stretches up as the front of the right thigh stretches down.  The bottom of the back inside of the ball of the right foot snaps up, the right upper arm and the right forearm drops down, while the little fingers engage up). Great stuff.

Multiplication is Better than Addition

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This article is not about math.  This is about the golf swing and how the best golfers use multiplication to create effortless power while the less skilled golfers try to use addition to generate power.

Addition of Power

When I say less skilled players use addition in order to generate power, I mean that power is mainly seen as something that is provided by the hands and arms.  This thinking is only natural because most golfers think of the golf swing as trying to hit the ball or trying to help the ball into the air.  The most natural reaction to this thinking is to only use the arms and hands. Using just the hands and arms is a very inefficient way to generate power.

The use of the hands and arms only is what I define as “adding” force to the swing.  This “addition” of force happens as the club gets near the ball.  Addition is seen as a jerky stroke that uses much effort that results in poor golf shots.  The focus is mainly on the ball and not the swing.  In order to become a better golfer, the focus should be mainly on the swing.

Multiplication of Power

Professional golfers and skilled golfers use multiplication to generate power.  Golfers who use multiplication to generate power have smooth, rhythmic, and balanced swings.  Multiplication of power is an efficient building and releasing of tension while using your rhythm and swinging in balance.

Creating tension efficiently is accomplished by using resistance to build tension.  This starts in the back swing with the upper body coiling around a resisting lower body.  The down swing does not just release the power built up in the back swing.  In fact, more power is built up during the down swing.

Multiplication of power in the down swing starts from the ground up.  The lower body provides a solid platform to support the upper right arm and the upper body to efficiently build and release tension.  The resist of the right hand also provides efficient tension.  As the upper right arm is snapping down with abandon, the upper body efficiently builds and releases tension.  This tension is felt in the left side and across the upper back.  The multiplication of power in the down swing, starting with the upper right arm and moving to the upper body, happens in a very short period of time.

This multiplication of power results in the arms, hands, and club being whipped down and towards the target.  The difficult part is to resist ADDING power as the hands are being whipped towards the target.  The less skilled golfer will try to add power as the club approaches the ball, while the skilled golfer surrenders to the multiplication of power and does not try to add power at the ball.  The skilled golfer actually releases the power when the club is snapped down on the right side of the body.

In order to create the multiplication of power and surrender to the multiplication of power, the focus must be on the swing motion and not the ball.  To hit the ball straighter and farther, multiplication is better than addition.

 

Down Swing Flaws

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How can a poor down flaw create bad shots?  I will explain various flaws in the down swing.

Bad Rhythm

Rhythm is the most important part of the golf swing.  When the rhythm is too fast, the result is always a poor golf shot.  The pause during the transition from back swing to down swing must be long enough to create a good golf shot.  If the pause is too short the rhythm will be too fast.  It is better to feel a longer pause than it is to feel a shorter pause.

Trying to Hit the Ball

This is the most common cause of a bad shot.  Golf is about making a motion towards a target and the ball gets in the way.  Any attempt to try to hit the ball or try to help the ball up into the air will always result in a poor golf shot.  The most natural thing to do is to try to hit the ball.  That is why golf is so challenging.  Very few golfers embrace the concept that golf is about developing a repeatable and efficient golf swing.  Golf is not about hitting the ball.

Doing Extra Motions with the Hand or Arms

This is what we are taught to do from the time we are young.  We are taught to do the extra credit problem in tests or to go the extra mile in all that we do.  In golf, the extra effort results in a poor golf shot.

My blog post, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” describes how critical the proper sequence of motions or Multiplication of Power is to making a good shot.  Good shots will result from a proper Multiplication of Power while poor shots will result from improper sequence of motions.

Finally, the Multiplication of Power should be the integral part of a rhythmic swing as I describe in my blog post, “How to Feel Rhythm.”

So the most common down swing flaws are a too short pause, trying to hit the ball, or trying to add extra motion.

 

Famous Golfers Swing Videos

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Here are some videos of great professional golfers.  I present these videos to show that even though their back swings look different from each other, they all have common motions in the down swing that must be incorporated to be consistent and efficient.

Common traits:

  1. Precise Setup
  2. Personal Rhythm
  3. Swing in Balance
  4. Efficient Swing Motion
    • Loading the right side with the snap down of the back inside of the ball of the right foot down
    • Snapping down of the top inside of the right latissimus dorsi
    • Snapping up of the front outside corner of the ball of the left foot
    • Snapping down of the right upper arm that results in circular and horizontal motion

Ben Hogan

Amy Yang

Mickey Wright

Jack Nicklaus

Lee Trevino

Sam Snead

Bobby Jones

Byron Nelson

Rory McIlroy

Lydia Ko

Inbee Park

Bryson DeChambeau

Jin Young Ko

Lorena Ochoa

Tiger Woods

Attitude: Do the Same

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Same is a word that is seldom used in describing the golf swing.  If you want to be a good golfer, you need to focus on doing the same. Same is not the goal of the poor player.  The obvious discrepancy occurs when comparing the practice swing and the swing used when the ball is present.  Most poor golfers have a much better practice swing.  When the ball is present, poor golfers use a different swing, not the same swing that was used for the practice swing.

Same starts with a consistent pre-shot routine.  The pre-shot routine should put you in the mind set of doing the same routine.  If you use a practice swing, focus on using the same swing when the golf ball is present.  Poor golfers have smooth swings for their practice swings but use a jerky swing when the golf ball is present.

Same is the focus in using the same rhythm during the golf swing.  Most poor golfers are not even aware of their rhythm or if they are, they are not using an effective rhythm.  Good golfers have an effective rhythm and they repeat the same rhythm with every swing.

Same is the focus when building and releasing energy during the golf swing.  A big trap is the driver swing.  Good golfers swing the driver using the same swing that they use to swing the wedge.  Poor golfers use a harder swing to swing the driver.

One way of focusing on the doing the same is to take the person out of the swing.  Poor golfers relate their swings to something very personal such as “I need to make a good swing”, “don’t hit it into the water”, “I need to make a par”, etc.  All of these thoughts and all other similar thoughts focus on what the golfer must do.  Good golfers have a different attitude.  Good golfers focus on executing the same swing.

Taking the person out of the swing is not easy.  You must look at yourself not as a person, but as a machine, platform, or robot that is built to swing the golf club.  A swing machine is expected to do what it is designed to do the same way every time: produce good golf shots.  Your focus is to only do the same thing and not let distracting thoughts make you to swing differently.

One tip that helps to take the person out of the swing is given by Ben Hogan in his book Five Lessons.   In his book, Ben Hogan says to visualize a pane of glass resting on your shoulders that slants from your shoulders to the ball.  The objective is to keep your back swing and down swing below this pane of glass.  If you lift your arms too soon you will break through the pane of glass.  The “engine” of the golf swing is the right side that controls the arms and hands.  On the down swing feel the right side, or “locomotive”, pull the arms and hands “the caboose” down and through the “tunnel” formed by the imaginary pane of glass.  Now you have an image of a tunnel formed by an imaginary pane of glass and a train locomotive pulling a caboose down and through a tunnel.  It is no longer about the person needing to accomplish a goal.  Your focus is about making that locomotive go through the tunnel using the same for each swing.  Ben Hogan called the movement of the hips, upper body, arms, and hands as “the machinery”.  Ben Hogan is telling you the secret on how to develop a repetitive swing.  Think of machinery swinging the club instead of a person swinging the club.

The best way to become a good golfer is to not get distracted and to do the same for each swing.  The best chance to not get distracted is to take the person out of the swing.  The best way to take the person out of the golf swing is to think of a machine swinging the club.  One way to take the person out of the golf swing is to use Ben Hogan’s tip to have the machine swing the club back and through while keeping the arms beneath the pane of glass.

If you are serious about improving your golf swing, develop one swing that you can focus on doing the same.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do More by Doing Less

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Do more by doing less.  This concept is so foreign and so difficult to embrace by the average golfer.  If you want to be a better golfer, you must understand the concept of doing more by doing less.  The final step is to fully embrace and practice this concept.  Just talking about it will not work.  The true reflection of how much you accept this concept is seen in the improvement of your golf shots.  When you actually do less, your golf shots will improve.

In my previous blog, “Channel Adult Training in Golf”, I discussed how the training to become a successful adult interferes with playing golf. We are trained that trying harder (doing more) will result in better outcomes.  We are also trained that doing a little extra (doing more) will give more benefits.

The most important concept about the golf swing is that, in golf, trying harder never works.  We also know that even though doing the extra credit problem on a test will give you a higher grade on the test, but doing a little extra in the golf swing will give you a failing grade in golf.

When I talk about doing less I am talking about the amount of force and motion that is used in the golf swing.  The average golfer “just swings” and is not really aware of the amount of force of the swing.  In most cases the force of the swing is the result of a violent swing instead of a rhythmic and efficient swing.

I want to bring up the business concept of The Law of Diminishing Returns. This is a concept that states that as you add more resources to a project, the returns will improve proportionally.  But a point is reached where additional resources will actually result in diminishing returns. This applies to how much force you use in your swing.

The length of the back swing controls the amount of force in the down swing.  Being aware of the length of the back swing is foreign the average golfer.  In order to do determine your maximum back swing length, you must be precisely aware of the length of the back swing.  You want to find your personal point of diminishing returns.

The best way to do this is on the driving range.  Go through your pre-shot routine, use your rhythm, and swing in balance to make a swing that uses about what you feel is 40% of your maximum back swing length.   The ball should go straight.  Note the distance the ball travels in the air.  Swing at 40% of maximum back swing length for five to ten shots until you hit shots that are fairly consistent.  I determine the length of my back swing by focusing on how I raise the right upper arm and the hands.

Now increase the length of the back swing to what you feel is 50% of maximum.  The shots should still be going straight but a little farther in the air.  Again, swing at 50% of maximum back swing length for five to ten shots until you hit shots that are fairly consistent.

Keep increasing the length of the back swing you use by what you feel is 10% more back swing until you reach a point where the ball does not travel further in the air or is no longer going straight.  You have reached the point of diminishing returns.  Now drop back down to the previous back swing length and your shots should now be going straight and about the same distance.  This is the length of back swing you should be using for your full swing.

You will feel that the length of back swing that produces the best result is a lot less than their “normal” swing.  This drill will show the concept of “do more by doing less.”

The most difficult part is to embrace the concept to do less is a requirement of an efficient golf swing.  As soon as your shots get worse, it is because you tried too hard.  You reached and went past the point of diminishing returns.  You will do more by doing less.

The reason the ball travels farther when the length of the back swing is increased is because the muscles are increasingly stretched.  The reason for reaching the point of diminishing returns is because the stretch in the back swing transforms from the stretching of the muscles to tightening of the muscles.  Once the muscles tighten, the energy dissipates.  What is thought to be building more energy by increasing the length of the back swing is nullified by the tightening muscles.  Tight muscles result in shorter distance.  What feels like 50% of your maximum back swing length is your maximum back swing length.  Just because the back swing is increased does not necessarily mean that more distance will be gained.  Golf is a crazy game.

 

Putting

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There is an old saying in golf:  Drive for show, putt for dough.  It means that most golfers are attracted to the long drive but golf is really about making a putt.  Look at which club brings the most revenue to the club manufacturers:  the driver.   People will pay hundreds of dollars to buy a new driver and will spend countless hours on the driving range trying to hit the ball farther.  Most amateurs would rather drive the ball farther, but all the professional golfers make their living by being great putters.

Very few amateur golfers embrace the fact that if they want to score better, they must putt better. When you go to the driving range, the range is crowded with golfers banging away with their full swings.  The practice putting green is usually uncrowded.  This is why golf is such a hard game. Most golfers would rather drive the ball 300 yards instead of making more one-putts.

Why is putting so important?  You will become a better golfer if you eliminate three-putts and make more one-putts.  The “old” Tiger Woods was an amazing putter.  When the old Tiger Woods needed to make a putt to save par or make a needed birdie, he would make the putt.  It got to the point where we would expect him to make a crucial putt.  Tiger Woods can dominate again if he regains his putting skills.  If he does not, he is like the rest of the professional golfers, we hope that he will be able to make the crucial putt!  Tiger lost his dominance when he lost his dominant putting.  Jack Nicklaus is the only other professional golfer that I know of who would always make a putt that mattered.  When you look at the wining Ryder Cup teams, the one common trait is that the winning team made the most putts that mattered.  When you look at the dominance of the Korean LPGA golfers, they are all great putters.  I believe that in Korea they choose the golfers who can putt and then they teach them to develop consistent full swings.

The goal of putting is to get the ball into the hole.  But that is not the focus of all great putters.  All great putters do not focus on the outcome.  The focus of great putters is to read the green correctly, start the ball on the desired line, make the ball travel the precise distance.  They focus on the process of precise read, line, and distance.  That is the only thing that the golfer can control.  There is a story that after Jack Nicklaus missed a crucial putt in a tournament a reporter asked Jack how he missed the putt.  Jack looked at the reporter and said “I made the putt. The ball didn’t go into the hole”.  That shows you where Jack’s focus was; the process, not the outcome.  It also shows the confident attitude that Jack has in his putting.

Putting is all about creating confidence and belief.  You need to take the time to experiment and to be open to try anything to develop a technique that gives you absolute confidence and belief that the ball will travel the precise direction and distance and fall into the hole.  There is no right or wrong way to develop confidence and belief.  Whatever method is used does not have to be pretty or logical.  It just has to make putts.  It is very personal and you are the only one who can say what works and what doesn’t.

PUTTER

You must take the time to find a putter and a putting technique that gives you confidence.  The putter must look good to you and must also feel good to you.  When the putter is placed behind the ball, the putter must be square to the target and look like it will roll the ball on the desired line.  The putter should feel that is a natural extension of the hands and that the face of the putter will be remain square to the swing arc.  The putter must also feel that it will transmit the appropriate force to roll the ball the desired distance.  The appropriate force is the force needed to make the ball roll twelve inches past the hole if it does not go into the hole.

The look and feel of a putter that inspires confidence is almost like a magic wand.  This “magic” putter should immediately start to make putts and also provide a sense of confidence that every putt will go the desired distance and direction and into the hole.

All putters have torque when the putter is swung.  This means the face will open and close as the putter swings.  The “magic” in a putter is one that allows the golfer to confidently manipulate the putter head during the swing so that the face stays square to the swing arc.  This is the “feel” and the “magic” that differentiates one putter from the next and is what the golfer is looking for in a putter.

Over time, this “magic” will go away.  Then you must either find another magic wand or find another technique that will make putts.  Usually, it is better to find another putter than to try to change the putting technique, but nothing is immune to being changed.

One putter technology that has the potential to change the putting landscape is the Lie Angle Balanced (L.A.B or LAB) technology.  This technology is designed to automatically keep the face of the putter square to the swing arc.  With the LAB putters, it is no longer necessary to manipulate the putter to keep the face square.  In order to use the LAB putters, it requires the golfer to abandon the manipulations that were used with the conventional putters and just let the grip rest in the hands and feel the putter just swing.  This concept of “letting the putter swing itself” may be too challenging for some golfers to change.

Here is a link that demonstrates the L.A.B. technology:

https://labgolf.com/

The L.A.B. technology shows that when using conventional putters, manipulating the putter, however slight, is required to putt well.

TECHNIQUE

The putting technique should also evoke complete confidence.  A confidence that you believe that the putt will travel the correct direction and distance.  The goal of an effective putting technique is to have the putter face strike the ball with the face of the putter pointing down the target line.  Experiment with different putting techniques until a technique is found that provides complete belief.  A technique that creates belief produces a confident stroke that makes solid contact with the ball to roll the ball the desired distance and direction.

The putting technique should be simple.  It needs to be simple in order to be precise.  A complex technique is not precise.  The technique should take the putter back and forth in a rhythmic motion.

Whether the putter moves straight back and forward, inside to inside, or inside to straight, the putter head should be square to the target line at impact and accelerating through impact.

Jack Nicklaus said “Acceleration through impact is a must, both to reach the hole and to keep the ball online.”

Golfers have used many different putters and techniques to keep the putter face square: left hand low, claw, saw, arm lock, long putter, etc.

Just as in the full swing, you must use a pre-shot routine in putting.  The pre-shot routine must include an effective green reading technique.  Green reading is crucial in putting because you may have the best putting stroke, but it does not matter if you cannot determine the correct distance and direction to putt the ball.

The basic green reading technique uses the bottom of the feet to feel the slope of the green as you walk around the green.  The bottom of your feet will tell you if you are walking uphill, downhill, or on a side hill.  You should start by looking at the putt from below the hole, the low part of the green, to determine if the putt is uphill or downhill.  Look at the putt from the side to determine the distance of the putt.  Stand half the distance to the hole and look at the last half of the putt.  Look from behind the ball to determine if the putt will break left or right.

MIND SET

Once you have determined the direction and distance the ball should roll, you must confidently make a pure stroke.  The attitude to adopt before making the stroke is the belief that the ball will go into the hole.  No worry or doubt.  Here is a drill to feel no fear:

  1. Place a ball six inches from hole. While using your rhythm, stroke the ball into the hole. Be aware of what it feels like to confidently accelerate the putter so that the ball travels the precise distance and direction.  It is this confident feeling that is needed for every putt regardless of the length of the putt.
  2. Keep moving back one foot at a time and see if you can keep the same confident mind set.
  3. When you get to a distance where you begin to worry or doubt, go back to six inches from the hole and start over.
  4. The objective is to learn what it feels like to adopt a confident mind set for every putt and believe that the ball will go into the hole.

It is better to use a confident mind set than to use a fearful or doubtful mind set.  Using your rhythmic stroke helps to maintain the confident mind set.  No worry or doubt.

For short putts, from three feet or less, confidence is the key.  This means the focus is to confidently roll the ball so it bounces off the back of the cup or hits the flag stick if you leave the flag in the hole.  When you tap the ball into the hole from six inches, you have complete confidence.  Tap a putt over a virtual hole on the green six inches in front of the ball and notice how far the ball rolls.  The ball will roll two to three feet.  So, on short putts, just aim at a virtual hole six inches in front of the ball in line with the cup and confidently tap the ball into the virtual hole.  Nine times out of ten the ball will roll two or three feet and into the hole.

Another way of creating a confident mind set is to use mind games.  Good putters use mind games.  The objective of using mind games is to create confidence and to take pressure off of the putt.  When Stuart Appleby shot a 59 at the 2010 Greenbrier Classic, he said that when he was putting, he knew the putt was going in the hole before he made the stroke.  When Vijay Singh won the FedEx Cup, he told himself that he was the best putter in the world.  When Tiger Woods needed to make a six-foot putt to tie Bob May in the PGA Championship, he told himself that the putt was so easy his mother could make it.  When Tiger Woods needed to make a twelve-foot putt to tie Rocco Mediate in the US Open, he said he did not care if he made the putt or missed the putt; he only cared about making a pure stroke.  Another mind game is to pretend you have just missed the putt.  When you actually execute the putt, you pretend you are practicing the putt you missed.  The pressure is off because you “know” this is just a “practice” putt.  If professional golfers can use mind games, you can use mind games.

Even though you are not on the PGA tour, you must adopt a confident mind set, have an effective routine, and just execute a confident stroke.  You must TRUST your stroke and BELIEVE the ball will go in the hole.

MY TECHNIQUE

I focus to always make a putt with the precise amount of acceleration.  Even on a one-foot putt, my focus is the appropriate length of the back swing and making a stroke that will produce a stroke that accelerates through impact to eliminate any chance of deceleration.  I am aware of the length of my back swing so I can feel the buildup of the appropriate amount of force that is required for that particular putt.  The feel is one of being rhythmic and continuous.

My current putter is the red L.A.B. Mezz.1 Max Custom.  The specifications are:

Length: 35”, Lie Angle: 63 degrees, Shaft: L.A.B. Golf x TPT, Grip: Press Pistol 2 degree, Alignment Mark: Dot.

I place the left hand at the butt of the grip and the right hand below with the palms facing up.  I place the back of the grip across the base of the middle fingers with the fingers wrapping lightly around the grip.  I place the left index finger across the back of the fingers of the right hand.  The thumbs are positioned up and off of the grip.  The grip pressure is just enough so that I can feel the club swing in the fingers.

To determine the direction of the putt, I visualize the curve of the putt and I pick a point on the target line that will give me a straight putt.  I pick an intermediate target two feet in front of the ball.  I start behind and to the inside of the ball and feel the weight of the putter in my fingers as I approach the ball.  I place the putter so that the ball is at the center of the putter face.  I feel the tips of the little fingers barely touching the grip as I aim the face of the putter at the intermediate target.

I stand so the ball is opposite the left big toe and that my eyes are positioned inside the ball about two inches.  The left foot is placed a couple of inches inside to create a slightly open stance.  I keep the shoulders square to the target line with the butt of the putter on top of my left thigh.  I stand so when my head turns 45 degrees to look at the intermediate target, the left side of the bridge of my nose is in line with the intermediate target.

I stand with a little bend at the waist with the inside of the left upper arm parallel to the left side, the right arm fairly straight, and the hands relaxed.  This allows me to look down the target line.

Once I have “locked in” the direction, I focus on the distance.  I focus on the amount of force I want to use.  I consider the “appropriate” amount of force to be the amount of force required to make the ball accelerate a specific distance and then roll to the hole.  I divide the distance the ball must travel into two parts: acceleration distance and deceleration distance.  My view is when the ball stops accelerating it is decelerating.  I use the length of the back swing to determine the amount of force that is released in the down swing.

I use the right hand to swing the putter.  I feel the tiny stretch up of the inside of the tip of the right little finger and I feel the outside of the tip of the right little finger stretch up to swing the putter back the required distance to produce the acceleration distance.  I allow the shoulders to move as required.

When I feel the length of the back swing has reached the desired distance, I feel the tiny stretch up of the inside of the tip of the right little finger and I feel the outside of the tip of the right little finger “bounce” up to swing the putter toward the intermediate target.  I trust that the swing of the putter will cause the ball to roll down the target line the desired distance.

My focus is to feel putter swing back and forth.  There is no need to use the hands to manipulate the putter to keep the putter square to the swing path because the L.A.B. putter automatically stays square to the swing path.

For me, this technique keeps the ball on the target line and the amount of force I use is very precise.  It takes a lot of practice to create the trust and belief that it will make putts.  The bottom line is that this method currently works for me.  Once it stops working, I will need to find something else that works.  No one ever said golf was easy.

 

 

 

 

 

Swing Thought

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There are a lot of distracting thoughts in golf.  One of the best ways to block distracting thoughts is to use a swing thought as you make your swing.  If you consciously put something in your mind, you have a better chance of blocking distracting thoughts.  The swing thought becomes an integral part of the pre-shot routine. Essentially, the pre-shot routine reminds you to use the swing thought. Remembering to use your swing thought is the last part of the pre-shot routine. This makes using the pre-shot routine even more important.

You must spend time on the driving range to find and effective swing thought.  The swing thought is not only used to block distracting thoughts, the swing thought also stops you from thinking too much about swing mechanics. When you find an effective swing thought, your swing will just happen without thinking and the ball will do what you envisioned.

Here are a few examples of swing thoughts that golfers use in order to block distracting thoughts.

Start the Back Swing

Low and slow – This is a swing thought for the golfer whose tendency is to jerk the club back on the back swing.  Start the back swing coil low and slow will make the swing more rhythmic.

Very slow – This is another swing thought for the golfer who has a quick back swing.  The intent is to change a quick and violent swing into a rhythmic swing.

Push back with the left arm – This swing thought promotes a one-piece take away to start the back swing.  This means the upper body will start the swing instead of using the arms to start the back swing.  Using the upper body to control the swing has a better chance of keeping the right side and upper right arm synchronized.

Establish a Rhythm

Use a song – Find a tune that matches your personal rhythm.  This swing thought is a good way to focus on a rhythmic swing.  Use the tune to begin the back swing and continue to use the tune to a balanced finish.  A suggestion is the first few notes of the Blue Danube waltz: dah dah dum dum.

Use a word – This swing thought is a word that you can repeat to block distractions and to make the swing automatic.  Think of the word once to start the back swing and use the word a second time to start the down swing.  Think of a name like Sean Connery.

Enhance the Focus

Watch yourself swing – This swing thought requires strong visualization skills.  Just before you start the back swing, the golfer feels an out of body experience where the golfer leaves the body and is watching the golfer make the swing.

Be in a comfortable and confident space – This swing thought takes a strong mind to visualize a place where the golfer feels confident and comfortable in order to execute the swing.  This space could be a non-descript place or a real place where the golfer feels comfortable and safe.  In the golfer’s mind, the current environment disappears and is replaced by the comfortable environment.

Replay a favorite shot – This swing thought requires the golfer to remember a shot in the past that had a great result.  The golfer visualizes the past shot and just uses the same swing for the current shot.

The above examples show that the swing thought can be any thought that blocks distractions, prevents thinking about swing mechanics, and promotes a rhythmic and balanced swing.  It can take a while to find a thought that works.  Also, a swing thought can suddenly stop working and another swing thought must be found that is effective.  Golf is a mental game and an effective swing thought can help win the mental game.

How Many Swing Thoughts

The discussion of this blog article has been about developing a swing thought.  Most golf instructors say one or two swing thoughts are enough for the average golfer.  Jack Nicklaus has said that “most golfers can think of one, maybe two things during the golf swing.  I can think of five or six and do ‘em!”  That is coming from the golfer that has won 18 majors and has been runner-up in 19 majors.  Jack also said this in a Golf Channel documentary that was produced in 2019, when Jack was 79.  This means that the golf swing is so unnatural that even the best golfer of all time needs to always focus on the swing thoughts.  The swing does NOT become a habit, the mind focusing on the swing thoughts become a habit.

So, is Jack Nicklaus so exceptional that only he can have more than one swing thought?  That is certainly possible.  Or, should the average golfer have more than one swing thought?  Have the teachers of golf minimized our mental capacity?  In fact I have six swing thoughts, and I consider myself an average golfer.  Here are my swing thoughts:

Back Swing Thoughts

  1. The back of the right ear stretches up to trigger the start of the back swing
  2. The middle of the right triceps stretches up to coil the upper body over the lower body
  3. The stretch up of the area of the right index finger, just above the palm, creates the momentum to finish the back swing.

Down Swing Thoughts

  1. The area in front of the right ear stretches to the right to trigger the transition from the back swing to the down swing
  2. The right front hip bone stretches down while the left front hip bone resists.
  3. The slight snap up of the left front hip bone snaps the right front hip bone up

I make sure I “do ‘em.”  It may seem like a lot, but the swing motions are not done at the same time, they are done sequentially like a dance choreography.  Although the time it takes to do the motions is less than one second.  I feel this sequence of swing thoughts gives me the best chance focus on the swing motion and execute a consistent golf swing.

I encourage the average golfer to find a series of swing thoughts that will allow the mind to focus on the swing motion instead of being distracted by what is in front of the body.

What Causes a Missed Shot?

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Golf is a game of misses.  Ben Hogan said that in a round of golf where he had 36 full swings, he only hit two perfect shots.  A perfect shot means the shot went the desired distance, direction, and trajectory.  Two out of 36 shots is less than ten percent!  More than ninety percent of Ben Hogan’s shots were misses.  Similarly, Tiger Woods said that he had two to four perfect shots per round.  Again, that is approximately ninety percent of his shots were misses.  Of course, the misses of Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods are much better than our misses.

What causes a missed shot?  The answer to that question is actually very easy.  Here is the answer that you have been waiting for:

A missed golf shot is caused by a swing rhythm that is too quick.  

That is it.  It is not more complicated than that.  Now when you hit a bad shot, you can be certain that your rhythm was too quick.  What happens when the rhythm is too quick?  The result is the incomplete gathering of energy.  The body will react subconsciously to try to make up for the less energy by moving the body, the arms, and hands in a jerky motion.

A quick rhythm is caused by pause at the top of the back swing that is too short.  A quick rhythm does not allow the upper body and the right upper arm to completely gather the energy that is required for a good shot.  My blog article, “How to Feel Rhythm,” describes how to feel the correct pause.  A rhythm that is too quick by even one millisecond will result in a bad shot.

If you have a rhythmic swing and still have a bad shot, the cause is allowing the right hand to try to hit the ball or to try to lift the ball in the air by using diagonal or horizontal motion.  My blog post, “How to use the Fingers,” describes how to engage the fingers to prevent the right hand from trying to hit the ball or trying to lift the ball in the air.

My blog post, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” describes how to use vertical motion to snap the right upper arm down and feel the club snap down and up towards the target.  Using diagonal or horizontal motion means the golfer is focused on hitting the ball which prevents the focus of executing a graceful golf swing.

Correcting a bad shot is not about focusing on what you did but instead about focusing what you did not do.  When you hit a bad shot, ask yourself:

  1. Did I feel the pause?
  2. Did I feel vertical motion of the right upper arm?
  3. Did I feel the constant engagement of the fingers?

The answer will always be NO to one or more of the questions.  Not doing any one of the above actions will cause the loss of synchronization between the right side and the right upper arm.

One of the good aspects of the game of golf is you will have a chance to create a good shot on the next swing if you can focus on feeling the pause, the engagement of the fingers, and feeling the vertical motion of the right upper arm.

Patience is the key to allow yourself the time to do the correct motions.   My blog article, “Patience in the Golf Swing,” describes the patience required to execute a successful golf shot.

The cause of a bad shot is no longer a mystery.

 

How to be in the Moment

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Golf is a mental game.  You hear people say that in order to be mentally strong you need to “be in the moment”.   What does it mean to be in the moment?  What do you need to do to be in the moment?

Being in the moment means you are totally focused on the current shot. You are so focused that distracting thoughts are blocked.  This is easy to say, hard to do.  We have been taught to think of the bad outcomes and try NOT to do the wrong thing.  The most common distracting thoughts are Don’t Hit it in the Water, Don’t Hit it in the Bunker.  There are also positive distracting thoughts (I need this to win the club championship, I need this to make birdie, I need this to break 80).

A consistent pre-shot routine is an effective method to consciously focus on the shot. The pre-shot routine is a process that is done automatically before each shot. When done correctly, an effective pre-shot routine puts into the mind the precise motions that you must do before you execute your shot. When I say automatically, I don’t me unconsciously.  The mind consciously focuses on doing the same routine. When you focus on the routine, it becomes automatic. But this takes practice.  Very few people have a pre-shot routine and even fewer people practice their pre-shot routine. The driving range is the place to practice the pre-shot routine, but you rarely see anyone practicing their pre-shot routine.

Assuming you have a consistent pre-shot routine, what else can you do to be in the moment?  You can play mind games to block distracting thoughts. The mind game is a way of removing pressure from a shot. Playing in a tournament has more pressure than playing a non-tournament round of golf.  Teeing off on the first tee has more pressure than hitting on the driving range. Trying not to hit it in the water or bunker carries a lot of pressure. Attaching meaning to the golf shot puts tremendous pressure on the shot.  You must play a mind game with yourself to take the pressure off of yourself.

The most amazing mind game was played by Tiger Woods in the 2008 US Open.  He needed to make a twelve foot putt to tie Rocco Mediate.  He took the pressure off by telling himself he did not care if he made or missed the putt!!  He only cared about making a pure stroke.  This is what being in the moment means.  He did not care about the goal (to tie Rocco); he cared about the process (hitting the putt the desired speed and direction).

Lydia Ko a 15 year-old amateur won the Canadian Women’s Open on the LPGA.  She was leading after three rounds and was paired in the last group with Jiyai Shin and Stacy Lewis.  She did not think about being in the lead or winning the tournament.  She said she just wanted to “keep my rhythm”.

Here are some suggestions on taking the pressure off of your shots.

  • Visualize you hitting the shot and visualize a positive outcome.  Since the shot was successful, your execution of the shot is just a replay of the shot.  Like rewinding a recording and replaying it.  The pressure is off because you already made it.
  • Pretend you are in an environment where you have hit great shots.  When Tiger Woods teed off on the first tee in the British Open, he said he was hitting it really well on the range so he pretended he was still on the range.
  • Tell yourself it is an easy shot.  When Tiger Woods needed to make a six foot putt to tie Bob May in the PGA Championship, he told himself, “This putt is so easy my mother could make it”.

As you can see using a mind game to take the pressure off of your shot requires a disciplined mental approach.  But it takes as much mental energy to use a mind game as it does to think about all the things that put pressure on the shot (I need this to break 80, don’t hit it in the water, I hope I pull this shot off).  It is your choice on how you use your mental energy.

Top Four Distractions in Golf

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Golf is a mental game.  Distractions are an integral part of Golf.  When a golfer stands on the tee box and looks at the hole, more than likely the golfer is thinking about the hazards (sand bunkers, water, rough, and trees).  Any time a golfer is distracted, the chance of a successful shot is virtually zero.  A distracted golfer is not in the zone.  A distracted golfer is not being in the moment.

From the myriad of distractions in the game of golf, I  am going to discuss what I think are the top four distractions in golf.  Two of the distractions is associated with the golf ball.  Two of the distractions are associated with our upbringing.

Golf Ball Distractions

Why is it that a golfer’s real swing is so different from a golfer’s real swing?  I see this all the time on the golf course and the driving range. The reason is the golf ball is a big distraction.  Golf is the only game that we play with a ball where the objective is not to hit the ball. George Knudsen, one of the greatest ball strikers, said that “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”.  This concept is easy to say, very hard to do.  Why?  Because any time a golfer sees the ball the natural tendency is to either hit the ball or lift the ball up in the air.  These two tendencies, help the ball and hit the ball, are two of the top four distractions.

“Keep your eye on the ball” is the worst thing a golfer can do because the golfer  will be distracted to either try to help the ball into the air or try to hit the ball.

Distractions from Our Upbringing

What we have learned in order to be a successful adult does not work in golf.  From the time we enter school, we are taught to “try harder”.  When you want to get the best grade on a test, you did the extra credit problems.  “Trying harder” and “do a little extra” is very natural for us adults. We do this automatically.  Unfortunately, trying harder in golf never works.  When you do the extra credit problems, you get a higher grade.  In golf, when you do a little extra, you get a failing grade.  Trying harder and doing a little extra are the two distractions that are learned from our upbringing.

These four distractions are very powerful and prevent golfers from executing proper golf swings. This is why a consistent pre-shot routine is so important.  Focusing on your pre-shot routine will focus your mind so you can block distractions.  If you do not consciously put something in your mind you will be distracted.

Focus on your pre-shot routine.  Focus on your rhythm.  Focus on a balanced swing. Focus on an efficient swing. This is the best way to minimize the top four distractions.

The Mental Game

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Golf is really a mental game.  Very few people realize this and that is why they struggle to learn to make a consistent swing.   The golf swing is not a complex motion.  In fact, most children can execute a good swing.  If an eight year old child can execute a good swing, how complicated can the golf swing be?

Golfers who learn the swing when they are young children have the best chance to make a consistent swing.  Golfers who learn the game as adults have the hardest time.  This is because everything you learned in order to be a successful adult does not work in learning to make a consistent golf swing.  Things that a successful adult does naturally are: try harder, do a little extra, worry about what can go wrong, try to hit the ball or help the ball into the air.  All of these things do not work in trying to make a consistent swing.  In fact, they prevent the adult golfer from ever being successful in making a consistent swing!

Golf legend Gary Player said that golf is about the mind and putting.

If you accept that golf is a mental game, you have taken a big step towards learning to focus on your rhythm and making an efficient swing.  This is easy to say, but mentally hard to do.

A good example is the fact that the majority of golfers do not focus on developing a precise setup: grip, aim the club, stand to the club, and posture.  Most amateurs take lessons on improving the swing, but not much attention is given to the setup.  Most professional golfers focus on the setup much more than amateur golfers.

Along the same line, very few amateur golfers have a consistent pre-shot routine.  The pre-shot routine is intended to stop the thinking and focus on the doing.  You rarely see anyone on the driving range practice their pre-shot routine.  When you watch professional golfers’ pre-shot routine, you can tell they are focusing on the doing.  When you watch amateur golfers, you can tell they do not have a consistent routine and they are focusing on the worrying.  Developing a consistent setup and pre-shot routine is all mental.

One concept that is not taught is the word “same”.  You rarely hear this word used when taking a lesson or read about it in a golf magazine.  When golfers want to create a more consistent swing, they rarely focus on doing the same.  When you find something that works, focus on doing it the same way.

“Easy to say, hard to do.”  This saying is a common hurdle in trying to become mentally strong in golf.  We all know what we should do, but executing it is not as easy as it seems because of the mental distractions that exist in golf that prevent us from mentally focusing on the easy and effective behaviors.  Here are just a few golf concepts that are “easy to say,” but mentally “hard to do.”

  1. Be in the present. Don’t let the past or the future distract you from focusing.
  2. Swing smoothly
  3. Ignore the hazards and focus on the fairways and greens
  4. Focus on your rhythm
  5. Focus on your balance
  6. Feel your swing
  7. Swing down
  8. Bring your swing from the range to the course
  9. Do less and you will get better results
  10. Practice your pre-shot routine
  11. Be very precise
  12. Focus on executing the same swing
  13. Practice your short game (chipping, putting, pitching) if you want to lower your score
  14. Use more force on uphill putts or on slow greens

This shows how mentally challenging the game is. The key to making the “hard to do” easy, is to let go of your “natural” thoughts and fears and focus on the effective behaviors.  Unfortunately, that is easy to say, mentally hard to do.  But you must let go of your “natural” thoughts and fears and focus on adopting effective behaviors if you want to develop a consistent swing.

Being logical interferes with developing a consistent golf swing.  The things that you need to do to achieve a consistent swing are not logical.  Here are some true but seemingly illogical concepts regarding the game of golf.

  1. Most people think golf is about helping the ball into the air or hitting at the ball. But, the golf ball really indicates where to make the swing and how well you executed your swing
  2. You will never miss the ball if you focus on making an efficient swing
  3. Bad shots come from forgetting to focus on rhythm, balance, or efficiency
  4. Golf is a very precise game. Consistent means the same, not similar.  Your setup, rhythm and efficiency must be the same, not similar.
  5. Trying harder never works
  6. The pre-shot routine gets you into the “zone” and the routine must be the same.

If you embrace and remember the illogical concepts presented above, you will have the proper mindset to develop a consistent swing.

Now you know why golf is really a mental game.  Very few golfers know this.  Now you also understand why golf is so challenging.  Are you mentally strong enough to accept the challenge of golf?  If so, enjoy the never-ending journey that is the game of golf.

My blog post “The Most Important Focus in the Golf Swing,” describes what your mind needs to focus on to produce a consistent golf swing:  rhythm, the little fingers, and vertical motion.  I’m sure you are thinking “that makes no sense!”  But if you are ready to begin the proper way to develop a consistent golf swing I urge you to be open to the challenge of focusing on the illogical.

 

Timing of the Hands in the Down Swing

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One of the differences that I notice when comparing a consistent golf swing and an inconsistent golf swing is the difference in the down swing motion.  A consistent down swing looks smooth and balanced.  An inconsistent down swing looks jerky and unbalanced.

A key reason for a jerky motion is the improper timing of the release of the energy that is built in the back swing.  For this discussion I will assume that the energy is released in the proper sequence: starting from the ground up through the feet, hips, upper body, arms and hands.  I would like to cover the correct timing of the release of the hands.

I am writing this when the London Olympics has just started.  In the spirit of the London Olympics, I will use a sprinter as an analogy to discuss when the hands must release the energy in the down swing. The sprinter accelerates out of the starting blocks when the starting gun is fired and reaches maximum velocity that is maintained all the way past the finish line.

In the down swing, the starting gun is the right upper arm.  The snap down of the right upper arm is the firing of the starting gun.  As soon as the right upper arm snaps down, the right forearm will automatically snap down and the hands will automatically accelerate down past the right hip.  This acceleration of the hands feels like a snap.  After the snap of the hands, the hands reach their maximum velocity that is maintained twelve inches past the ball.  The hands must not stop at the ball.  You must think that the ball just gets in the way of the swing.

An inefficient and jerky down swing occurs because the hands snap too late: at the ball.  The hands snap too late because the golfer is focused on the ball instead focusing on snapping the hands at the right side of the body.  Focusing on the ball causes the golfer to use the hands in order to hit or lift the ball.  When the hands snap too late, the snap really becomes an inefficient jerk of the hands.

Using the sprinter analogy, snapping the hands too late is like being left in the starting blocks when the starting gun fires.  A smooth and efficient down swing is created when the hands snap down as a result of the snap down of the right upper arm.

Don’t be left in the starting blocks.

Efficient Swing

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In order to improve your golf swing, you need to need to be efficient on how you build and release energy during the swing.  The secret for creating good golf shots is efficient build up and release of energy.  Inefficient motion creates poor golf shots.

Before discussing efficient energy build and release, you should have a precise setup.  This means you need to have a proper grip, a proper aim, a proper stance, and a proper posture before you start your swing.   This should not be minimalized or ignored.  In fact, most golf “problems” are attributable to poor setup.  It is very easy to develop flaws in your setup.  In fact, when PGA Tour professionals need to fix their swing, it is usually something in the setup that needs attention.

Once you have established a proper setup, an efficient golf motion will improve your golf swing.  The most important part of an efficient golf swing is to ensure that the right upper arm is precisely synchronized with the movement of the right side.  The efficient swing should begin from the ground up.  This means the feet start the back swing and the down swing.  The term “from the ground up” refers to motion starting from the bottom of your feet continuing up through your ankles, hips, upper body, and upper arms.

The lower body supports the movement of the upper body which in turn supports the swing of the arms and hands.   The lower body supports the upper body and responds to the efficient movement of the upper body.

An efficient swing creates tension in the muscles of the legs, upper body, arms, and hands.  You may have heard or read that tension is bad for a golf swing.  In fact, it is tightness that is bad for your swing.  If your muscles get tight, the tightness restricts movement.  Consider the bow and arrow.  If there is no tension built up in the bow and bow string, the arrow does not travel very far or straight.  Another analogy is when you snap your fingers.  If the fingers do not press against each other to create tension, there is no snap.  You feel tension build up quickly in your fingers and the most tension is felt just before the snap or release.

The upper body and arms coil in the back swing while the lower body supports the coil. The tension is felt in the hips, upper body, arms, and hands.  The tension is the feeling of the muscles being engaged and stretched.  Creating this tension is the result of a resisting or counter motion.  Just as opposing resistance during a tug-of-war creates tension in the rope, opposing motions creates dynamic tension that you feel in your muscles.  When the upper body is coiling in the back swing, the firm right ankle and supporting lower body provides resistance to create the stretch that is felt in the hips and upper body.

What about the hands?  Most golfers use the hands to “flip” the club at impact.  This tends to add loft to the club head.  This is a very inefficient way to use the hands.  A more efficient method is to try to “do less” with the hands.  What you should feel in the fingers of the hands is tension created by the engagement of the fingers as described in my blog, “How to Use the Fingers.”  As your hands are moving down past the right side during the down swing, the fingers should feel the centrifugal force and the force of gravity.  This little stretch in the fingers will prevent the hands from lifting at impact.

Focus on executing an efficient swing instead of trying to hit the ball.

 

 

Balance

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If you focus on using your pre-shot routine, your rhythm, swinging in balance, and being efficient, you will improve your swing. You should not do anything with your swing that will negatively affect your balance. When you are off balance during the swing, the chance of making solid contact is very low, if not impossible. George Knudson, one of the best ball strikers on the PGA tour in the 1960’s and 1970’s, said “Never do anything at the expense of balance”. Most golfers rarely focus on a balanced swing. Their focus is on hitting the ball. The better golfers swing in balance. This is one of the biggest differences between a consistent ball striker and an inconsistent ball striker.
Balance should come from bottom up. You must feel that the bottom of your feet and your ankles support your body. When you coil in the back swing, the bottom of the right foot and a firm right ankle must support the coiling of the upper body. When you start the down swing, you must feel the bottom of the left foot and a firm left ankle support the transition from the finish of the back swing to the start of the down swing.
Work to make your rhythm and balance to be your primary focus. This means you will always use your rhythm to swing in balance. Once the rhythm and balance are consistent, the task of achieving efficient build up and release of energy is straight forward. Being efficient is not easy because the moves are counter intuitive. But if you are using your rhythm and are balanced, the feel of the efficient swing will be easier to learn.

Rhythm

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Rhythm is the most important component to improve your golf swing.  When PGA Tour professionals have a good day, they say had good tempo.  When the PGA Tour professionals have a bad day, they say they struggled to find their rhythm.  If you have good rhythm, the swing becomes automatic.

What is a good rhythm?  The best rhythm is measured as the time it takes for the club to start moving away from the ball in the back swing and return back to the ball on the down swing.  This time period should be approximately one second in duration.   When they measured the rhythm of professional golfers, they found that the time period varied from 0.9 seconds to 1.3 seconds depending on the person being measured.  Each professional had their own rhythm and was very consistent in using their rhythm.  Each professional golfer had a rhythm that took about one second.  The book, Tour Tempo, discusses this in detail Tour Tempo on Amazon.

How to you find your personal rhythm?  It is easy.  Start by snapping your fingers at a rhythm of one second between snaps.  Try going a little bit slower and then a little bit faster until you settle on a rhythm that you feel is just right, not too fast and not too slow.  You should feel that you can maintain this rhythm for an extended period without thinking.  That is your personal rhythm.

How does your finger snapping relate to the golf swing?   Start snapping your fingers at your rhythm and the first snap is the start of the back swing and the second snap of your fingers is when the club hits the ball.  About 80% of the time of your rhythm is taken up by the back swing and the remaining 20% of the time is used for the transition and the down swing.

It takes patience to develop a good rhythm.  Patience is needed at the end of the back swing before the start of the down swing.  There should be a one-tenth second pause at the end of the back swing before the start of the down swing.  This pause will feel like a one-half second pause, but in reality it will only be a one-tenth second pause. This pause is where the most energy is created for an efficient down swing.  This increase of energy is felt in a slight increase of the stretch felt throughout the body.  It requires patience to feel this increase in energy.  My blog post, Patience in the Golf Swing, describes how to create an automatic pause.  If the pause is not felt, the down swing will not be rhythmic.

When you are having a good day, you are using your rhythm.  When you are having a bad day, your rhythm is just a little bit off.  In the 2012 US Women’s Open, the winner Na Yeon Choi had a couple of bad swings that cost her some shots.  She said she got back to playing well by deciding to focus on her rhythm.  Knowing your rhythm and focusing  on your rhythm can help you improve your swing.

Channel Adult Training in Golf

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We know that our adult tendencies interfere with our quest to become consistent golfers.  How can we use these characteristics, try harder and do above and beyond, to help us improve our swings and be more consistent?

Try Harder

Instead of trying harder to hit the ball, you need to channel the try harder characteristic to try harder to focus.  Focus on your rhythm, balance, and being efficient.

Since this is easier to say than do, it is appropriate that you really try harder to focus.

Do Above and Beyond

The characteristic to do a little extra can affect your consistency because it can cause you to lose your rhythm.  In most cases, it will cause you to slow your rhythm.  Instead, use extra effort to be more precise.  Be more precise in your setup, rhythm, balance and being efficient.  This takes increased awareness of your swing, going above and beyond to be precise.

Law of Diminishing Returns

The Law of Diminishing Returns is definitely in the realm of adults. The definition is “A law affirming that to continue after a certain level of performance has been reached will result in a decline in effectiveness.” This law can be applied to the golf swing.  The next time you are at the driving range, try to swing with what you feel is approximately 50% of your maximum force.  You should be able to have the ball go straight while you finish in balance.  Next increase the amount of force to what you feel is approximately 60% of your maximum force.  If you have a decrease in performance (worse distance, direction, or balance) then you should settle on using only 50% of your maximum force, because 50% of your maximum force gives you the best results. You need to find what your point of diminishing returns is.  It will definitely not be 100%.  It is commonly believed that professional golfers only use 80% of their maximum.  For amateurs, 50% – 70% would be more realistic.

 

It is a Challenge for Adults to Learn the Golf Swing

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If you are like me, you have taken many golf lessons.  You have also spent countless hours on the driving range trying to improve your swing.   Why is it so difficult to develop a consistent swing?  It is my contention that learning how to be a successful adult actually sabotages our quest to develop a consistent golf swing.  How does this work?

Extra Credit

In order to be successful as an adult, we had to do well in school.  This means we did well in tests. If we wanted to do well in tests, we did the extra credit problems.  As an adult, doing “a little extra effort” is natural to who we are.  But in golf, doing the extra credit problem will result in an “F”: a failing grade!

Instead of just doing only what is required to produce a good golf swing, it is natural, as successful adults, to embellish or add a little extra motion with our arm, hands, or body to ensure a good result.  In fact, doing a little extra always results in poor results.  It is difficult to go against what is natural and only do the minimum to produce a good golf swing.

The Ball 

So here we are with a golf club and a golf ball.  Naturally, we know what to do. We have done our homework.  We know we want to hit the ball with the golf club.  We also know we want to hit the ball in the air.   Well, the golf swing is making a motion with the club towards the target and the ball just gets in the way.  That is easy to say, hard to do for adults.  The big distraction is the ball.  The reality is that golf is not about hitting the ball! This is a lot easier for an eight-year-old to grasp, but is beyond adults.  You have seen how golfers execute the practice swing with a rhythmic and efficient motion, but then use a different swing when the ball is present.  This is because the ball is now the focus instead of a free and rhythmic motion.  Now the focus is to try to hit the ball and try to help the ball in the air and we wonder why we don’t have a good swing.  All golfers have a good golf swing but they only use it in the practice swing!

Try Harder

Another thing that adults do is to try harder.   When we did not do well in school, we were told to try harder next time.  Trying harder is what successful adults do naturally.  But trying harder never works in golf.  This is another example where our natural instincts, as adults, prevent us from making consistent golf swings.

The Trap

The biggest trap in golf is the thinking of “I need to keep up with the competition.”  When a golfer is successful, the next thought is not “I’ll continue to do what got me here,” the thought is usually “I need to drive the ball farther.”  It is the trap of I need to keep getting better so I need to change my swing.  This has happened so many times to professional golfers that they get lost and never regain their swing that initially made them successful; that got them there.  Examples are Ian Baker-Finch who won the Open Championship and tried to get more length.   Lydia Ko, who won professional tournaments at the age of fifteen and became number 1 at the age of eighteen and tried to get more length.  Tiger Woods won major championships by 10 shots and made at least four swing changes.

The really great golfers, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Byron Nelson, Gary Player all kept using the swing that brought them success.

Even weekend golfers who finally break 80 decide to tinker with the setup or ball position the next time they play and barely break 100.  It is difficult for adults to leave well enough alone.  If you are playing well, then try to keep doing the same thing for one year.  If you want to improve something, spend the time to improve your chipping and putting.

What should we do?  We need to be mentally strong to go against what are natural tendencies:  hit the ball, do a little extra, try harder.  We need to consciously change who we are.  We need trust that if we focus on making a motion towards the target, the ball will get in the way and go towards the target.  That is easy to say, hard to do.  But that is the challenge for golfers who are learning the game as adults.

 

Feel the Golf Swing

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What should you feel in the golf swing?   What I mean by feel is the senses that you feel in your body.  If you are walking, you feel the pressure of the bottom of your shoes on the ground.  You feel the pressure of your feet in the shoes.   You feel the movements in all parts of your body: ankles, calves, knees, hips, body, and arms.  You also feel your body moving forward.  The golf swing is no different.

The feel of the golf swing starts with the setup.  You need to feel the proper grip as your hands are placed on the grip and the grip pressure is enough to control the club but still allow your wrists to move.  Feel how far you stand from the ball so you can aim the club head behind the ball and perpendicular to the target line.  You feel the stance that you make in relation to the end of the club.  Your posture has your hips pushed back to allow your spine to tilt forward and allow your arms to hang from your shoulders.  You feel the weight distributed along the bottom of your feet with your ankles supporting the structure of your body.  Creating the feelings in the setup is the function of your pre-shot routine.  The pre-shot routine must be the same for every full swing shot.  Practicing your pre-shot routine should be a major part of the time you spend on the driving range.  Yet, very few golfers practice their pre-shot routine.  No wonder they have problems being consistent.  You must practice your pre-shot routine until you can feel your setup without thinking.

The golf swing back swing and down swing starts from the ground up.  This means you feel the back swing begin by engaging the bottom of your feet up through your ankles to the rest of your body.  Also, you must feel the bottom of your feet initiate the down swing by providing a solid base through a firm left ankle to unwind the right hip, right upper body, arms and hands to whip the club towards the target.

In order for you to create the whip of the club, you must first build up energy by feeling the upper body rotate around your spine while you feel your lower body resist the coil.  As your right hand raises the club, feel your left hand resist.  This resistance by the left hand creates a feeling of your left arm and left side being stretched.  As soon as you feel the maximum stretch, initiate the down swing.

The amount of time, starting when you feel the start of the back swing until you feel the club contact the ball, is a period of approximately one second. This is a rhythm that you should feel.

As you can see, the golf swing has a lot of feeling associated with it, more than the feeling of walking.  Whether you are walking or swinging a golf club, you must feel the motion and not think.

High Percentage Golf Learning System

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I am Sidney Wong, a long time golf student.  I have been taking golf lessons for 30 years and this is my opportunity to share, online,  what I have learned about this great game.  I wrote a book, High Percentage Golf, which describes the basic golf skills, mental and physical,  that a golfer needs to develop in order to be a consistent golfer.  An e-book version is on this web site.

I am now on a journey to develop a High Percentage Golf Learning System to help golfers quickly improve their golf game and enhance their focus on the golf course.  The system will be a series of videos on the full swing and the short game.  The system is based on my book with additional items that I have developed since I published the book.

The following is a high level description of the High Percentage Golf Learning System:

Full Swing

  1. Setup
  2. Rhythm
  3. Balance
  4. Efficient build and release of energy

Short Game 

  1. pitching
  2. chipping
  3. putting

The High Percentage Golf Learning System teaches what you must feel and what you must focus on instead of positions and swing mechanics.

The intent of the High Percentage Golf Learning System is to teach golfers the process required to develop a basic  set of skills.  I consider  taking golf lessons on the driving range the same as learning how to ski on the bunny slope. Skiers want to learn the basics of skiing on the bunny slope so they can go up on the mountain and really learn how to ski.  Golfers should quickly learn the basics on the driving range so they can take playing lessons on the golf course and really learn the game of golf.

High Percentage Golf Learning System will quickly provide the basics so the golfer can enjoy the game and move on to the next level.