During a talk last night at Bedford Golf Club I was asked by one player that if 'practice makes perfect' why wasn't he a better player than he was five years ago. This is a great question because it emphasises how habit can rob a player of learning to play better golf. I sometimes refer to habit as the 'great unknown' because, paradoxically, the more you perform a particular task the less you're aware of what you're doing. Yes it sounds a contradiction but a good example is your preparation for a swing. You'll all sorts of actions you include as part of your habitual set-up but because they are automatic habits you'll invariably be unaware that you're doing them. For instance, many golfers tighten their jaw as they concentrate on the shot ahead. Sounds fairly tame but did you know the act of tightening your jaw will impact on your neck and shoulder muscles, that in turn, will interfere with your coordination. So at a time when you need to get all your muscles working as one to execute the swing, you'll be putting on the brake.Unfortunately, your habits feel absolutely the right thing to do because you're used to the feel of these actions and therefore you won't start your swing until all the usual feelings are in place. So every time you play or practise you could be consolidating poor habits that are preventing you from becoming a better player. As the wise sports coach said, "practise makes permanent, not necessarily perfect!" Have a go at the experiment in my ultimate golf fitness test to get an idea of what's involved. Also see Overcoming Problems With Your Golf Technique
Oh dear, it's been a while since I've posted anything here but something came up in a session with a golfer today that I thought would be worth putting here. We were looking at his swing preparation when he said he'd been practicing hard to get his stance and everything right before he started the swing. Unfortunately, everything he did in the set up wasn't actually helping his swing, and the more he practiced this, the better he got at preventing a free-flowing action. Basically, he concentrated so hard on getting everything right that he tightened up - he clenched his jaw, fixed his eyes on the ball and stiffened his neck. All these actions prevent free movement but because he'd done it like this for several months it felt right. So when he tried to do the right thing it led him down the same path every time. So how did I get him to free up a little? I got him to everything so it would feel wrong! Sounds nuts but it helped him to stop doing his habitual set up that was jamming up his muscles. The result? He swung more freely, gained a few extra yards - but get this, it felt so much easier :0) Less is more!Also see Are You Trying To Fail At Golf?
Jack had played golf for over 20 years and was suffering from lower back pain – especially after 18 holes. I went with him to the driving range and saw he was putting far too much effort into his swing. He just couldn’t relax during his swing and would regularly pull the ball off the tee. We looked at his preparation and managed to free up his neck and shoulders, get him a good stance and move freely during his practice swing. However, as soon as the ball was brought into the equation he would tense up during his back swing and try to hit the ball hard. He just could not accept that he didn’t need to swing hard to hit the ball 300 yards. Later, sitting in the bar, he told me he was demolishing an old brick building in his garden and enjoyed swing the sledgehammer to knock down the walls. I asked him to try an experiment and not try to hit the wall hard but let the weight of the hammerhead (around 7 pounds) to do the work. He rang me later to say he’d tried the experiment and was amazed that with less effort he could dislodge more bricks – he’d figured out that anything he added to the swing of the hammer actually slowed it down. So away from the golf course he realised all he needed to do was to get the momentum going and then let the hammer/club do the work. After this experience he was able to swing more freely the next session at the driving range and saw the ball go slightly further with less effort! Also see: A Simple Golf Swing Tip
How many times have you said to yourself on the range that you're really going to get to grips with your swing? Maybe you'll focus on your stance, grip or the mental side in order to correct what you think is wrong or missing. However, have you ever stopped to thing that maybe you need to stop doing something to improve your swing? If something is not quite right it could be due to something unnecessary you're bringing to you swing. When we try new things we can end up adding layer upon layer of bits and pieces that take us further away from our 'natural golf swing'. You could be adding something on top of a faulty movement; if you don't remove the faulty bit first you'll be wasting your time and complicating your technique further. So when you're next on the range try doing something less instead of adding something new and see if it doesn't help :0) Also see The Ultimate Golf Fitness Test to appreciate where you may could be over-complicating your te
I took my children wakeboarding today (it's sort of waterskiing but you're pulled around a lake by a pulley system) It looks great fun and I'm tempted to give it a go myself next time. One thing that fascinated me was how some people can do exactly what the instructors told them to do - whilst others were at a loss to carry out the instructions. The hardes part is the 'take off' - if you can stay on your board for a few seconds the rest is a lot easier. One man in his 40s spent a total of about 10 seconds out of two hours on his board. He literally could not stay on it for 1/2 a second simply because he did the exact opposite of what the instructor asked him to do. He just had to keep his legs relaxed and his arms straight - sounds pretty straight forward but he tensed his legs and relaxed his arms. This means he stood up as soon as the board was launched making the board dip below the water and stop dead whilst he was hanging on to a handle at the end of a fast-moving rope - end result, you fall flat on your face. He wouldn't be human if he didn't become frustrated -especially as his kids soon got the hang of it! But the harder he tried the more he did exactly the wrong thing. He just simply could not carry out the instructions. Before we get all superior I know I'm capable of exactly the same behaviour and I'm sure there'll be instances when you do the same. The problem is we can't see it for ourselves. So when you follow your pros advice or instructions from a book how do you know you're doing what you should be? A video can be quite an eye-opener! Many players don't initially recognise themselves on the screen because it doesn't look how if feels. For example, when you think you're keeping your back straight you may be slumping. So if you're struggling with your swing or putting but think you're doing exactly what you should be - you may in fact be doing something completely different! Also see Overcoming Problems With Your Golf TechniqueThe Ultimate Golf Fitness Test - It's Not What You Think!
One of the most annoying things for any golfer is inconsistency. One day you play like a dream and the next you're dreadful. It doesn't even have to be on different days. How many times have you blown hot and cold on the course during the same round? Whilst there are many reasons why you may play like this I believe there is one thing you can do to improve consistency, and that is, to improve your awareness skills. The more you're aware of what you're doing when preparing to play, the more you'll be able to control. I coach many golfers who unknowingly tighten this or that muscle during their preparation. They might do it for one shot, and then not for the next. This brings an inconsistency to their preparation and therefore to the shot. The important things here is that they're unaware they're doing it. If they don't know they're doing it they can't control it! Using simple techniques such as being aware of your breathing or the ground under your feet can help to get you into a quiet state of mind to notice more of what you're doing. When you can do this you'll have more control over your actions and give you a better chance of playing the shot how you really want to. See how you can apply this teon the course at a simple golf swing tip.
Are you doing what you think you're doing? This may sound like a daft question but you may be doing something very different to what you think you're doing when you prepare to swing, putt etc. Actually, watching yourself in the mirror would be difficult but taking a video of yourself preparing to play your shot could be quite an eye-opener. Many golfers Ive worked with have a tendency to lift their shoulders when they think they're relaxing them. Others pull in their lower back when attempting to keep a straight back! Many people won't initially recognise themselves on a video - as what they do and how it looks can be very different. So why not try it - talk yourself through your preparation as you video it, then watch it back and see how your thoughts translate into actions - it can be quite an interesting experience. Also see Executing The 'Perfect' Golf Technique: Is Yours Lost In Translation?
The very first question I'm usually asked by a new client is 'how can you help me if you're not a golfer?' This is obviously a reasonable question to ask seeing as they'll be paying for my services so I'm careful how I answer. I reply, 'as an expert in movement and coordination I can break down any sporting technique into the basic building blocks and reconstruct it based on sound, efficient movement to improve the end product.' But the best way to convince them is to give them a practical experience straightaway and 99% of the time they will see the logic almost instantly. All sports involve developing skill through learning techniques but if your ability to rotate, bend your knees or hold an object are suspect you're success at golf is always going to be limited. Where I can help is to improve these basics, For example, I don't advise players on their swing, I show them how to get into a poised stance by eliminating unnecessary muscular actions that many players unknowingly bring to their technique. They will instantly feel the difference and notice how much easier it is to perform the rest of the technique. I can't tell players how to read a green but I can help them to get into the right state of mind to remove any distracting thoughts, tension in their neck or shoulders so they can better judge just how to execute the shot they have in mind. I don't know much about football but I can see when a player isn't running well and restricting their speed by holding tension in the wrong places. There are many such examples of where players are their own worse enemy by doing things that make executing their techniques harder. The sad thing is, they don't realise they're holding themselves back because its become a habit. Players can dramatically improve their game by learning how to break free from their performance-limiting habits and the process starts once you become comfortable with getting it wrong! If that sounds a bit odd you might want to read my article, When Right Is Wrong: Overcoming Problems With Your Golf Technique.
If your golf swing isn't quite there, what do you do? Do you look for what's missing? Are the top golfers doing something you're not? Many of the golfers I work with really need to turn this around and ask the question - am I doing something the top golfers don't? When you see a golfer hit the ball way further than you can with what appears to be an effortless swing, it's because they're better coordinated. One thing that prevents good coordination is excessive muscle activity - brought about by, oddly enough, trying to hit the ball too hard! The more effort you put into any activity the more likely you'll interefere with your body's reflexes for coordination. Muscles will contract when they should be letting go and stop your free-flowing rotation and developing the power when you need it. So when you're standing over the ball preparation to unleash hell, check you're not clenching your jaw and revving up those muscles. Stay relaxed and let it flow and see how little effort you need. Read more here.
I've completed the ebook version of my forthcoming book 'Golf Sense' having just finished recording the audio files. As a sweetner for those who want to be amongst the first to try the program online I've included a swing analysis for a limited period before the book is published in a few weeks time. For more information please see The Golf Sense Program.
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