Golf Is Hard
Golf, it’s probably one of the most difficult sports to play, and there are more people trying to peddle solutions for your problems then you can shake a stick at. If you don’t believe me flick on the golf channel for an hour and see how many commercials you see for the next greatest training aid.
Some of these training aids work, I can’t argue that. However, I’ve often wondered if we need to have this perfect swing in order to enjoy the game and shoot a half decent score.
Golf Swing Realities
While we all want to critique everyoneโs golf swing, or at least I do, the reality is all the little things we talk about in not lifting your head, turn your hips in your backswing, lead with them in the downswing, keep your lead arm connected to your body etc, are all to ensure two things occur.
That your club path and plane is optimum, and that the club face is square at impact so that the ball goes straight (or at least, where you want it to).
Now I’m not suggesting that you don’t need to pay attention to keeping your head down, feet straight or toed out, and all those other finer points of a swing.
There are a myriad of ways that you can get those two things -path/plane and square face at impact – to happen. You only have to watch any tournament to see a variety of swing styles and shapes, yet they all compete effectively.
However, what I am suggesting is that you don’t always need the perfect swing to play a half decent round of golf. Spoiler alertโฆ there is no such thing as a perfect swing.
What is perfect for one person wonโt necessarily be for some one else. There is huge variety in individual body size, shape and dimension. And this will always affect golf swing mecahnics and dynamics.
You have to optimise your swing for your body type. And although many will instruct you to compensate and or adapt for any short comings your body may have, I will remind you of my constant caveatโฆ. Fix your body first then develop the best swing for it. Better body. Better golf is my mantra after all. So, with that being said what does it take to develop a good swing?
Facts about the Swing
Okay so it’s not so much facts plural as it is a fact. While your buddies on the course will be very quick to tell you that you lifted your head or you’re not aimed correctly there is really only one key thing that must happen to make that ball go straight. You must have the face of the club square to the ball at time of impact.
Of course, all those other points your buddies continually bug you about are important but they are all spin offs of that one key point – we must ensure the club face is connecting with the ball square on to make sure it goes straight, and as far as possible. So. if all of those points we scrutinize over about the golf swing aren’t as important as we thought what does it take to develop a good swing.
The Bare Minimum to make it go Straight
There are five points I am going to mention that I think are the โlazyโ way to hitting the ball straight.
Knees: This might not seem all that important but when you’re addressing the ball you should have your knees slightly bent. No so much that your knees are interfering with your swing, but ever so slightly to give you perfect balance โ so that you weight is over the centre of your feet to very slightly forward.
If you stand too tall in your swing you will limit mobility, and you will more than likely swing over the top and so push or slice it. Conversely if you bend them too much you jam your self up and lose the ability to access all the power you have stored up in the elastic tissues of you body and your joint range of motion.
Image courtesy of golfmagic.com
Back: I see a lot of golfers when I’m out on the course hunched over the ball and trying to whack away at it with no success. With your knees being slightly bent as mentioned in the previous point, bend at the hips and keep your back straight. The pivot point should be your hips and you should maintain approximately the same height through your back swing.
Only as you commence your down swing will you compress a little so you can use your legs and hips to draw power and speed up from the ground -vertical movement โ generating further club head speed, that you deliver at impact
Arms: This is another difficult one, many of us want to swing the club like a baseball bat or a hockey stick depending on the other sports we play. Baseball is actually a good analogy. A baseball swing is in the horizontal plane.
Essentially a golf swing embraces all the power and speed elements of a baseball swing but in a different plane i.e. slightly bent forward. But as well, keeping and your feet in the same spot and your head still over the ball i.e. no body sway.
Itโs kind of a combination of a baseball swing and skipping a stone across the surface of a body of water.
Golf is a game of finesse in the fairways and around the greens but is about power off the tee. When you take your club up in the back swing try to think about keeping your lead arm (left for right-handed golfers) straight and connected to your body. Donโt lose the connection in the downswing. This will help keep the club head on the same plane as it comes through the down swing to impact.
You can only go so far in the backswing with your arms, the rest comes from hip turn and shoulder rotation.
Head: We already touch on this, but keeping your head still, so that it doesnโt travel forward or backward in your swing is important. You often hear people being advised to keep their eye on the ball. Not entirely helpful.
Better to keep your head down and still. Try and see your club connect with the ball. Often the blur of the club you can see at contact can give you feedback about the path of your club i.e. inside to out, outside to in, or straight.
One point to note here is that you shouldn’t have your head turned down so much that your face is parallel to the ground. Tilt the head forwards and look downwards at the ball, but keep your chin up enough so that your arms and shoulders can come through as you swing.
Hips: This is where you’re going to generate the power in your swing. And often the hips are the initiating or first movement in the different components of your swing.
Even just getting your hands level with your trail leg/hip in the backswing, and to the point where you club is parallel to the ground, requires your lead leg to bend and translate forward at the knee. Even though you may not feel it or be aware of it the hips have to turn to allow this to happen. ย
Ideally, your hips should turn at least 45 degrees (but up to 60), and combine with shoulder rotation so that the label in the back of your shirt is pointing at your target and your lead shoulder is over your trail leg, your lead arm is straight, still connected to your body, and your hands are at about ear level ( your wrist hinge should take care of the rest of your backswing).
That is where all the power comes from in your swing. Itโs all coiled up in your body through the elastic tissues and joint range of movement, ready to be unleashed.
If you need to lift your lead heel a little and bend your lead knee a little to accomplish thatโs ok. In fact itโs quite usual. Just keep you head still and donโt sway. The very first move in your downswing should be from your legs anyway.
That slightly raised lead heel can be pressed down and the knee thrust forward slightly as the initiating movement. This also helps with club plane and path so you donโt swing over the top. Keep lead arm connection throughout the swing and aim to have your club head follow through to about 11 oโclock, as you are looking at the target, and then continue to bring you shaft through to contact with the hairline at the nape of your neck.
So, these are the โfinerโ points we’ll say about helping to achieve a consistent golf swing. You’re not going to be swinging the club like Tiger anytime soon, but as this article has tried to get across do you really have to? As you improve your game, you’ll enjoy it more.
Remember though, itโs better to optimise your body to maximise your swing. Fix your body first, whether it needs strength, mobility and/or fitness. Better body, better golf.
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My tips to overcome block
1) Environment. It’s important that the environment you write in is consistent and set up correctly. Ideally it is the same place each time and an area or place you’ve designated for writing. All distractions need to be removed. Phone on silent and not in view. All notifications turned off etc. I’m sure you get the gist. This way your brain knows you mean business.
2) Time constraints. I think Ivan mentioned time constraints earlier. Again, signals your brain you mean business and provides a target that it likes too. Plus, it knows there is an end-point coming so it can relax and focus
3) Do a 50-minute focus finder. Set timer for 50 minutes. With pen and paper NOT on keyboard and word processor, commence writing. Write everything that is on your mind or that you can think of. What you need to do, what you want to do, tasks needing to be done, calls to make, things that you like. Anything and everything just write. DO NOT stop or lift your pen from the paper. If you get a blank write about that i.e. “I can’t think of anything to writeโ. Your brain will supply more stuff quickly.
If you are like most people you’ll start off in a flurry and about 20 minutes in you start to get thin with thoughts for 5 minutes or so and then the flood gates open again. The 50 minutes will be finished and you’ll still have more to write. However, do not. Stick with the time constraint. Your brain will love you. It unblocks you.
You should be able to return your key board with clarity and purpose. Plus, when you revisit your scribblings the next day (give them 24 hours to percolate) you’ll find a treasure trove of interesting things to write about and stuff to put on a to-do list and check off.
P.S. not a fan of to-do lists. Kan Ban boards are much more effective ( go into some depth regarding Kan Ban and the copywriting process in my e-book, 30 Day Content Marketing Rescue Plan. You can check this out at https://copywritingalchemy.com/transformula/#marketing-rescue-plan
Happy writing
Brad