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I wish I had a dollar for
all the times I’ve heard someone say something about the
golf swing not feeling NATURAL. As I have said many times,
‘other then gravity, I don’t know of anything really NATURAL
about the golf swing and what we are asking our body to do?’
Think of so many other things that we have done over the
years that has been difficult for us to learn. For those
who have taken piano lessons, I can only imagine the first
time you had your fingers in the proper position on the
keys. Did it feel NATURAL? I doubt it. My guess is that
your mind was working overtime to get any one of ten fingers
to move properly to a key. But, when applied with solid
MECHANICS and the desire to practice you started to play.
Years later the flow to your music was smooth and beautiful,
NATURAL.
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We can all remember
this one, you are in first grade, what do you learn?
AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaa, BBBBBBBBbbbbbbbb, CCCCCCCCcccccccc.......What
did your hand writing look like then ? Three years
later? Six years later? The formula is simple, you
learn the MECHANICS, these fundamental positions, you
PRACTICE & PRACTICE & PRACTICE and then they become
NATURAL. The hard part is doing the repetitions of
these MECHANICS and keeping it simple.
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I truly believe that
very few golfers, if any, when shown the proper way to grip
a golf club, walked away feeling comfortable with it. I
know I didn’t, I left that initial lesson asking myself, how
am I going to even make contact with the ball let alone get
comfortable with this new grip, I hate what this feels
like. Yet, I knew the grip that I was shown was correct and
I worked on making it feel NATURAL and here I am, 27 years
later and I don’t even think about the grip. It is as
NATURAL to me as eating. And boy, do I love to eat :)
None of us need to
be a victim of what we feel. We need to understand and then
trust the MECHANICS in all areas of this great game and then
make them feel NATURAL. That is why the great tour players
practice so much, so they can get onto the golf course
knowing they have good MECHANICS and free their minds up to
play.
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Four times a year
Experienced Golf Center Teaching Academy
takes students to our Florida Golf Schools at the PGA
Golf Club. This school gives us the ability to play
four rounds of golf with our students and see how they
perform on the course. This is powerful for both
student and PGA Professional. We get to see how they
play the golf course from MECHANICS, alignment, club
selection, course management, rules etc....... How do
they handle tension and anxiety? Will MECHANICS hold up
during the round? One thing is for sure, if your
MECHANICS are poor or you have not put in the proper
amount of time practicing, tension and anxiety will
surly win that battle. |
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Over the years I have found
in giving a playing lesson the number one fault with
students is their alignment. Think about this, you are on
the range hitting the ball toward your target with the
correct MECHANICS. Now you get to the course and not
knowingly you are aimed twenty yards right of your target.
Are you going to make a solid swing or are you going to look
at your target and then try to hit the ball to it. If you
make that solid swing you are going to miss your target by
twenty yards. If you attempt to hit to your target, not
knowing you are aiming right, you will have to make a bad
swing to possibly get the ball to the target. Did you know
you were aiming right or did it just feel NATURAL to you?
Because it felt NATURAL does that mean it must be right ?
I am about to make a
statement and this one may be hard for some to believe, but
here goes, “I don’t swing to the target, I don’t physically
react to the target, I only aim at the target.” Once I have
evaluated the shot at hand I choose the club I feel will get
the job done and then I aim myself to the intended target.
(See railroad picture) I have decided what size swing I am
going to make and the only thing left to do is execute.
When I am ready to fire, looking down at the ball,
everything decided a head of time, I trust my MECHANICS and
swing. There is nothing out there, it is a blank sheet.
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Now I swing and look
up to the reality of the picture that is now again
in front of me. You know what I am talking about,
the fairway, green, bunkers, water, OB stakes,
trees, etc..... Some of these visuals I have just
mentioned seem to create tension and anxiety. Try
blocking them out with this formula and see what
happens for you. |
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This winter think about your pre-shot routine. Is it
consistent? Do you have a sure-fire way of lining
yourself up to the target? Are you sure? At our
Academy we have video of Tiger Woods going through his
pre-shot routine in 1997, 1999, 2001, & 2003 and in all
the swings he makes his pre-shot routine is simple and
consistent which helps to keep tension and anxiety to a
minimum. |
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If you would like to learn
more about the MECHANICS of your golf swing and making them
feel NATURAL I would be happy to personally work with you
this winter at our indoor academy. I would like to thank
you for taking the time to read my article and I wish you a
safe and happy Holiday Season and an even happier New Year
filled with lots of solid golf shots. |
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