The Interactive Golf Swing Book Newsletter
Volume 1
Introductory Issue
First I'd like to welcome you and thank you for your interest in my Golf Swing Book project. I will do my best to give you the most accurate information that I can. I look
forward to your feedback. I hope to help golfers achieve their dream scores and enjoy the golf game more. In the process, I'll try to make it entertaining and fun.
The theme of my newsletters is the golf swing and golf instruction as it pertains to the swing. My students will tell you that my instruction is not the type that just tells you how to do something.
I like to explain how things work and what key points tie it all together. In the first newsletter I will be talking about ways to make the best use of this golf instruction. I will also give you an
overview of the subjects we will cover.
There are lots of good golf books out there that teach you the basics. If you're reading this, you probably already own one or more of these books. I have a library full of them. They all have good
golf instruction but I noticed that each book has one or two points that differ from other books. These are points that the particular author believes are his special discoveries on the golf swing.
If you put all of these special points from all of the authors together you get...more confused.
What I have done is researched to find a common thread to all of these special ideas. What I will be showing you is how to make all of that golf instruction out there work for your golf
swing.
There are certain principles; laws of nature that have to be followed in order to swing the golf club with any efficiency. Apply these laws to a bad golf swing and it gradually becomes a good swing
without picking it apart and trying to fix the pieces.
The most important law is that of dynamic balance, which basically is balance during movement.
People get lost in the balance area because of a lack of understanding of what determines if you are in balance. I will also talk about simple ways to check your balance as you swing without taking
away from your attention to the golf swing.
A poor swing in balance will often yield better results than a good golf swing that is out of balance.
The mental game is not a separate entity from the physical side of golf. Many authors will tell you that positive outlook and all sorts of psychological gobbledygook can get you through those bad
rounds. I've tried it all. Then I went through the US ARMY's Interrogation School and learned how to push people's buttons. With this information, I went further to discover that we subconsciously
push our own buttons on the golf course!
The key to the mental game of golf is to be conscious of your subconscious thoughts and to take control of them. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? It's not. Start by listening to the things you tell
yourself on the golf course.
What do you tell yourself on the first tee? I bet its not,"Stay in balance and stay with the golf ball until it leaves the tee."Did you notice that I didn't say,"Watch the
ball?"
It's not only what you say to yourself, it's how you word your thoughts to yourself.
Telling yourself to watch the golf ball gives your eyes a command. Unfortunately the mind doesn't realize that it is supposed to stay and process the information from the eyes.The mind
thinks that it free to do other things...things that will ultimately detract from your swing.
On the other hand, telling yourself to stay with the golf ball until impact occupies the mind with the ball and what will happen up until impact. It's a simple trick but a very effective one that
won't cost you hundreds of dollars to see a psychologist.
Let's start with mistakes made during the swing. Most people seem to remember their apparent mistakes. This is a cause for some out of control separate thoughts on the golf course.
One of the biggest mistakes made on a golf course is thinking about mistakes after you have made them.
Usually after a bad shot, the next thought that creeps into your mind is, "What did I do wrong?", and "How do I fix that?" These thoughts also assume that the mistake will happen again unless it is
stopped immediately.
Can you see how this can snowball? This is why Pro golfers have a golf swing routine. If something is wrong it has to be in the routine, not the golf swing.
What did Tiger Woods do after he won his first Masters? He went to his teacher and changed his swing! Why? After all he just won the Masters! He didn't think that his golf swing was good enough to
consistently win on tour. Remember, he had seven wins at the time. He won seven times with a bad swing. HOW? He had a good swing routine, and until he had time to do something about it, he never
questioned his swing.
Where do most mistakes happen? They happen before you ever move the club from address.
Most mistakes can be corrected with a good balanced setup.
The only way to get yourself into a good grip and setup is with a routine. A routine is designed to allow a golfer to do a physical task without thinking.The setup routine is broken down
into two parts: the grip and the stance. One leads to the other but, the grip and the stance do not happen at the same time.
I used to like to watch Jack Nicklaus go through his setup routine. His golf instruction on the setup routine is probably the best. If you have one of his earlier books, read about how he goes about
getting his grip and stance. Remember, the actual details of what he does may not fit your body physiology but we'll adapt this golf instruction to you as we go.
How many theories are there for where the golf club should be during the backswing? It's confusing if you read them all. It would be easy to find the "slot" if you could bring a mirror with you to
see your club position at the top of your swing when you played golf.
Instead, we practice with a mirror or a device that is supposed to help us build muscle memory.
So, what in the world is muscle memory? We know that we don't have memory cells in our muscles, so where did the term come from? Well, the idea is that when we practice something long enough, our
brain will automatically remember what that movement feels like when we get to the golf course. I don't know about you, but my brain usually forgets by the third or fourth hole.
To understand why the concept of muscle memory doesn't work, we must understand the basics of balance. Every muscle in the body has an opposing muscle. Muscles, and therefore the body, are in
balance when opposing muscle groups act equally upon the forces acting upon those muscles.
Remember that our goal is dynamic balance during the swing. That would mean that all of our muscles are balanced by their opposites, and they all pretty much feel the same. If there are no
outstanding feels, why and how would the brain make a point to remember them?
The only time the brain would be engaged in muscle memory is if certain muscles were working too hard, meaning that the brain was remembering a swing that was out of balance! Can you see where this
is leading?
There is a use for muscle memory but it is not on the course. It is best used on the driving range. It should be used as "short term muscle memory" to re-run a golf swing in your head and to check
if any muscle groups were working too hard. This will tell you if you were out of balance.
If we can't remember where the golf club should be with muscle memory then how can we know when it is in the right position? Once again the answer is balance. Not only must you balance
yourself during the swing but you must keep the club in balance as well. Keep the club in balance and it will find the "slot" on its own.
How can you tell if you are in balance. Balance is felt in the bottoms of the feet. This is one of the reasons Sam Snead's habit of practicing in bare feet brought good results. Sam Snead's fluid
movement was due to his excellent balance. One of the reasons to grip a club lightly is to feel if it is in balance during the golf swing. Golf club balance is felt in the fingers and the bottoms of
the feet.
Ben Hogan advocated keeping the weight on the arches of the feet. If the weight gets to the outside halves of the bottoms of the feet, balance and any power you may have built up are gone.
At this point, we've only scratched the surface on balance, but I hope you can see that it is essential to the golf swing and that good balance can correct many of the mistakes most golfers make.
LESSON #1 AWARENESS
If there is one place where a good golf swing starts, it's self-awareness. This means that you should be aware of your tendencies during the swing. This includes what
you think and what muscle groups seem to work more.
EXERCISE
The easiest way to find your true balance is to take your eyes out of the picture.
Find a comfortable location to practice your stance and swing. At this point you won't be hitting balls. Set up a ball or tee or some kind of mark to set up to as if it were a ball on the course.
Take your setup to your mark. Next. look as if you were lining up to a target down range.
Here's the key: Do not look back at the golf ball. Move your feet in small steps while looking down range until you feel comfortable.
Again: Do not look back at the golf ball until you feel comfortable. This means that no muscle group is working harder than the next, including your arms, shoulders, and neck.
The arms should hang freely at address.
Only when you are relaxed and comfortable, look down at the ball. You will probably find that the club is no longer centered on the ball.
Keep your position and move your whole body (in small steps) to line yourself up with the ball
Repeat this process until you are lined up properly on the ball on the first try.
This setup position may feel odd to you because the usual tension you are used to feeling is gone.To swing in balance you must start in balance.;
Once you have a balanced stance, start slowly taking the backswing (I mean real slow!) Try to feel the weight of the club on the bottoms of you feet as it moves through the golf swing. If you
grip the golf club lightly you will be able to balance it so that each hand works equally to hold it.
If the weight goes to the toes, heels or outside bottom of your back foot, you are out of balance. The weight should build up in the arch just behind the ball of the back foot on the backswing and
slowly shift to the arch just behind the ball of the target side foot as you swing through.
Only when you are finished your swing will you be on the outside bottom of the target foot.
Practice this slowly until you can feel what I am talking about. This awareness can keep you in the fairway or at least make your shots consistent on the course.
Our objective is to end up with consistent golf shots; where ever they go. Once we have a consistent problem, we correct that and you're golfing!
Later, we are going to talk at length about starting the forward swing. Although this should be a natural movement, it took me a long time to consistently change directions during the swing. I feel
that with a solid setup and a balanced back swing, this is where most golfers lose their shots.
Learn more about to get the rest of these golf instruction articles, click The golf swing
