Converting practice swing to real swing

[Krt22]

In hindsight, what I should have named this topic was "How to get rid of the hit impulse."

 

When I take a practice swing, I can get a forward divot pretty much every time, I am scuffing abut 6 inches of ground forward of where I had my clubhead was at address. So I can visually see this. This doesn't happen with a real swing. My divots are always further back and sometimes as much 3 or 4 inches behind the ball.

 

 

However, like Monte says, I really have no idea what my clubface is doing on the practice swing. I have never video taped my practice swing w/o a ball. So the clubface could be wide open for all I know and my path could have deviated tremendously from my real path.

 

So I might just have go video tape myself w/o a ball and see WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING to get those decent divots with my practice swings.

 

Well, I hope I didnt open up a can of worms with this one.

 

If you are hitting 3-4inches behind the ball you need to fix the flaw that's causing your low point to be that far off. Analyzing a practice swing without a ball likely won't be all that fruitful in figuring out what that flaw is.

[jbw749]

As long as there's a ball there, it'll never be the same.

 

Yes it will. Eventually if you work at it you can easily eliminate concern for the outcome of the shot. That is by definition making your real swing like your practice swing. And they will look almost identical.

See the meta-awareness thread and dive in.

[jbw749]

How many of you out there have a practice swing that has the same tempo as their real swing?

 

I was trying to get that same tempo and tension-free feel into my real swing.

 

Is this a worthwhile venture?

 

I mean I want my practice swing to be IDENTICAL to my real swing if I can pull it off.

 

I was trying this recently.. and I have to fool my mind to believe there is no ball sitting to try to get a real swing to feel like a practice swing.

 

Any thoughts?

 

The better way to look at it would be to figure out what your real swing looks and feels like using Meta-Awareness to eliminate fear of failure and anxiety, with a ball there.

 

Then reproduce this with your practice swing. The two should match.

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

After a little research, listening and watching how the greats like Ben Hogan believed in taking meaningful, diligent practice swings. To say no one person has even been happy with their clubface where impact would have been is just wrong, especially with the driver. I understand some people take a practice swing to exaggerate feels and some may just as a accented waggle. The some that can not match the two swings because their subconscious takes over their tempo and sequencing with a ball in front of them, maybe could use learning to match their practice swing with their real swing as a gauge for eliminating their swing faults. I do not always agree with Martin Hall, but when watching School of Golf: The Perfect Practice Swing I could not help but notice how Sara brown's practice swings are identical to her ball contact swings.

 

 

 

So what youre saying is, Im a liar?

 

Every single person who has come to my lesson tee with the perfect practice swing myth has agreed their clubface was well out of position where impact would have been.

 

You know folks, I have no problem with people disagreeing with my analysis of a swing and having an honest debate. I have no problem with other instructors disagreeing with my take on swing philosophy, that promotes learning on both sides.

 

What I am tired of is mid handicappers who have never given a lesson calling me out on what does or does not happen on my lesson tee.

 

I dont try to get into too many phallus measuring contests here, but an honest question. How many practice swings have you taken high shutter speed videos of and studied impact with the person in question? Im somewhere around 500...and its 493 for 493 deciding their practice swing wasnt as good as they thought.

Many instructors teach that the practice swing should try to be repeated.

I spray painted a white line in the grass and worked on hitting in front of the line while picturing the face square up with the line making sure to take a shallow divot. Low point and face control drill with the practice swing.

 

I would do this drill using my practice swing, then walk over to a different section of grass with a ball there and just swing. Sometimes I'd have so much forward shaft lean it would shift the path to the right, but it is an extremely helpful venture.

I got the idea from Adam Young. I think Fred Shoemaker devotes half of his book to the benefits of repeating the practice swing.

Shoemaker goes into why the swing looks so much better when there's no ball there or when the intent is to throw the club rather than hit a ball. Ridiculously good information to have.

 

You and jur80 are saying something completely different than what Im saying. Make the practice swing good or do a drill to make it better, then try and emulate that....that may be helpful to many.

 

The discussion is about the people who say, My practice swing is so pure, why does my swing stink?

 

In every one of those types of cases, their practice swing was not good. Its easy to be smooth and rhythmical when you dont have to hit the ball solid and straight.

 

In the discussion I joined into the OP said that he wanted his practice swing to be IDENTICAL to his real swing. He did not state that his swing stunk. Perhaps you misread.

 

A couple posts above he said his swing stinks. :-)

[Hackinator]

Lincoln,

 

I didnt say I thought my practice swing is a tour level swing by any means. I hope I did not imply that.

 

And regarding if my real swing stinks, ha ha .. that's up for debate. I can pull off some really nice shots but also have my fair share of stinky shots.

 

My main point was getting a smooth, uninterrupted motion that I have in my practice swing into my real swing.

 

Anyway, I feel like we are now beating a dead horse, but appreciate everyone's input.

[Hackinator]

I can't believe what video I stumbled upon tonight by accident.

 

Chris Ryan "Why you can't take your practice swing to the golf course" uploaded 6 hours ago.

 

I wonder if he was reading this thread and decided to create the video or just coincidence.

 

[media=]

[/media]

[Krt22]

Lincoln,

 

I didnt say I thought my practice swing is a tour level swing by any means. I hope I did not imply that.

 

And regarding if my real swing stinks, ha ha .. that's up for debate. I can pull off some really nice shots but also have my fair share of stinky shots.

 

My main point was getting a smooth, uninterrupted motion that I have in my practice swing into my real swing.

 

Anyway, I feel like we are now beating a dead horse, but appreciate everyone's input.

 

So what is your take away from the thread?

[GeneralTsoTso]

 

You and jur80 are saying something completely different than what I’m saying. Make the practice swing good or do a drill to make it better, then try and emulate that....that may be helpful to many.

 

The discussion is about the people who say, “My practice swing is so pure, why does my swing stink?”

 

In every one of those types of cases, their practice swing was not good. It’s easy to be smooth and rhythmical when you don’t have to hit the ball solid and straight.

 

Monte- what are your thoughts on the hit impulse that jur80 referenced? Is the hit impulse okay after transition?

[Krt22]

I'd sincerely hope he ignores that guy completely, given his two posts in this thread are pretty trollish.

[Hackinator]

Lincoln,

 

I didnt say I thought my practice swing is a tour level swing by any means. I hope I did not imply that.

 

And regarding if my real swing stinks, ha ha .. that's up for debate. I can pull off some really nice shots but also have my fair share of stinky shots.

 

My main point was getting a smooth, uninterrupted motion that I have in my practice swing into my real swing.

 

Anyway, I feel like we are now beating a dead horse, but appreciate everyone's input.

 

So what is your take away from the thread?

 

Not sure...

I do agree w/ Monte and other folks that a perceived good practice swing doesn't guarantee better contact.

 

 

But I I feel like the tempo from a practice swing is worth emulating.

 

As an aside, I did actually try this on the course, and had a one of my best rounds .

In fact I was hitting straighter than before.

 

Unfortunately, I played the following week, and was kind of hitting a lot of shots close to the heel.

Ugh.. So it didnt work so well the 2nd time out.

 

 

So my final amateur analysis is : Try to swing with the same tempo as a practice swing.. BUT don't forget you still need structure in the swing. A practice swing w/o structure is probably not going to work.

[oikos1]

After a little research, listening and watching how the greats like Ben Hogan believed in taking meaningful, diligent practice swings. To say no one person has even been happy with their clubface where impact would have been is just wrong, especially with the driver. I understand some people take a practice swing to exaggerate feels and some may just as a accented waggle. The some that can not match the two swings because their subconscious takes over their tempo and sequencing with a ball in front of them, maybe could use learning to match their practice swing with their real swing as a gauge for eliminating their swing faults. I do not always agree with Martin Hall, but when watching School of Golf: The Perfect Practice Swing I could not help but notice how Sara brown's practice swings are identical to her ball contact swings.

 

 

 

So what you’re saying is, I’m a liar?

 

Every single person who has come to my lesson tee with the perfect practice swing myth has agreed their clubface was well out of position where impact would have been.

 

You know folks, I have no problem with people disagreeing with my analysis of a swing and having an honest debate. I have no problem with other instructors disagreeing with my take on swing philosophy, that promotes learning on both sides.

 

What I am tired of is mid handicappers who have never given a lesson calling me out on what does or does not happen on my lesson tee.

 

I don’t try to get into too many phallus measuring contests here, but an honest question. How many practice swings have you taken high shutter speed videos of and studied impact with the person in question? I’m somewhere around 500...and it’s 493 for 493 deciding their practice swing wasn’t as good as they thought.

Many instructors teach that the practice swing should try to be repeated.

I spray painted a white line in the grass and worked on hitting in front of the line while picturing the face square up with the line making sure to take a shallow divot. Low point and face control drill with the practice swing.

 

I would do this drill using my practice swing, then walk over to a different section of grass with a ball there and just swing. Sometimes I'd have so much forward shaft lean it would shift the path to the right, but it is an extremely helpful venture.

I got the idea from Adam Young. I think Fred Shoemaker devotes half of his book to the benefits of repeating the practice swing.

Shoemaker goes into why the swing looks so much better when there's no ball there or when the intent is to throw the club rather than hit a ball. Ridiculously good information to have.

 

You and jur80 are saying something completely different than what I’m saying. Make the practice swing good or do a drill to make it better, then try and emulate that....that may be helpful to many.

 

The discussion is about the people who say, “My practice swing is so pure, why does my swing stink?”

 

In every one of those types of cases, their practice swing was not good. It’s easy to be smooth and rhythmical when you don’t have to hit the ball solid and straight.

 

In the discussion I joined into the OP said that he wanted his practice swing to be IDENTICAL to his real swing. He did not state that his swing stunk. Perhaps you misread.

 

Now we know OP's swing is not so good compared to his practice swing: "My divots are always further back and sometimes as much 3 or 4 inches behind the ball." Which only furthers to validate Monte's teaching experience and intuition rather than implying he misread.

 

Players who employ practice swings in an effort to imitate full swings on the tee box or from the fairway rarely correlate to success and often contribute to slow play. Chips and pitches are the exception.

[Krt22]

Lincoln,

 

I didnt say I thought my practice swing is a tour level swing by any means. I hope I did not imply that.

 

And regarding if my real swing stinks, ha ha .. that's up for debate. I can pull off some really nice shots but also have my fair share of stinky shots.

 

My main point was getting a smooth, uninterrupted motion that I have in my practice swing into my real swing.

 

Anyway, I feel like we are now beating a dead horse, but appreciate everyone's input.

 

So what is your take away from the thread?

 

Not sure...

I do agree w/ Monte and other folks that a perceived good practice swing doesn't guarantee better contact.

 

 

But I I feel like the tempo from a practice swing is worth emulating.

 

As an aside, I did actually try this on the course, and had a one of my best rounds .

In fact I was hitting straighter than before.

 

Unfortunately, I played the following week, and was kind of hitting a lot of shots close to the heel.

Ugh.. So it didnt work so well the 2nd time out.

 

 

So my final amateur analysis is : Try to swing with the same tempo as a practice swing.. BUT don't forget you still need structure in the swing. A practice swing w/o structure is probably not going to work.

I would say (my opinion of course) the thing you need to understand is that the disruption in tempo is you reacting to the flaws in your swing such that you can actually make decent contact with the ball. It's not like the ball is there and all of a sudden you interject a bunch of weird motion without a reason. In your practice swing, there is zero consequence since there is no impact, so there is no disruption in tempo. Trying to simply match the tempo of the two swings is nearly impossible without fixing what is causing the disruption in the first place otherwise you will likely hit it worse

 

I say that as someone who was perplexed for quite some time why there was such a difference between the two. The tempo sorts it self out naturally once you start eliminating compensations. I've completely stopped taking practice swings as well.

[jbw749]

Lincoln,

 

I didnt say I thought my practice swing is a tour level swing by any means. I hope I did not imply that.

 

And regarding if my real swing stinks, ha ha .. that's up for debate. I can pull off some really nice shots but also have my fair share of stinky shots.

 

My main point was getting a smooth, uninterrupted motion that I have in my practice swing into my real swing.

 

Anyway, I feel like we are now beating a dead horse, but appreciate everyone's input.

 

So what is your take away from the thread?

 

Not sure...

I do agree w/ Monte and other folks that a perceived good practice swing doesn't guarantee better contact.

 

 

But I I feel like the tempo from a practice swing is worth emulating.

 

As an aside, I did actually try this on the course, and had a one of my best rounds .

In fact I was hitting straighter than before.

 

Unfortunately, I played the following week, and was kind of hitting a lot of shots close to the heel.

Ugh.. So it didnt work so well the 2nd time out.

 

 

So my final amateur analysis is : Try to swing with the same tempo as a practice swing.. BUT don't forget you still need structure in the swing. A practice swing w/o structure is probably not going to work.

I would say (my opinion of course) the thing you need to understand is that the disruption in tempo is you reacting to the flaws in your swing such that you can actually make decent contact with the ball. It's not like the ball is there and all of a sudden you interject a bunch of weird motion without a reason. In your practice swing, there is zero consequence since there is no impact, so there is no disruption in tempo. Trying to simply match the tempo of the two swings is nearly impossible without fixing what is causing the disruption in the first place otherwise you will likely hit it worse

 

I say that as someone who was perplexed for quite some time why there was such a difference between the two. The tempo sorts it self out naturally once you start eliminating compensations. I've completely stopped taking practice swings as well.

 

If you can hit the ground anywhere near the ball you can hit the ball itself without changing your mechanics.

[mikpga]

How many of you out there have a practice swing that has the same tempo as their real swing?

 

I was trying to get that same tempo and tension-free feel into my real swing.

 

Is this a worthwhile venture?

 

I mean I want my practice swing to be IDENTICAL to my real swing if I can pull it off.

 

I was trying this recently.. and I have to fool my mind to believe there is no ball sitting to try to get a real swing to feel like a practice swing.

 

Any thoughts?

 

So if this is your goal, what would be the purpose of the "exact" practice swing?

[oikos1]

Lincoln,

 

I didnt say I thought my practice swing is a tour level swing by any means. I hope I did not imply that.

 

And regarding if my real swing stinks, ha ha .. that's up for debate. I can pull off some really nice shots but also have my fair share of stinky shots.

 

My main point was getting a smooth, uninterrupted motion that I have in my practice swing into my real swing.

 

Anyway, I feel like we are now beating a dead horse, but appreciate everyone's input.

 

So what is your take away from the thread?

 

Not sure...

I do agree w/ Monte and other folks that a perceived good practice swing doesn't guarantee better contact.

 

 

But I I feel like the tempo from a practice swing is worth emulating.

 

As an aside, I did actually try this on the course, and had a one of my best rounds .

In fact I was hitting straighter than before.

 

Unfortunately, I played the following week, and was kind of hitting a lot of shots close to the heel.

Ugh.. So it didnt work so well the 2nd time out.

 

 

So my final amateur analysis is : Try to swing with the same tempo as a practice swing.. BUT don't forget you still need structure in the swing. A practice swing w/o structure is probably not going to work.

I would say (my opinion of course) the thing you need to understand is that the disruption in tempo is you reacting to the flaws in your swing such that you can actually make decent contact with the ball. It's not like the ball is there and all of a sudden you interject a bunch of weird motion without a reason. In your practice swing, there is zero consequence since there is no impact, so there is no disruption in tempo. Trying to simply match the tempo of the two swings is nearly impossible without fixing what is causing the disruption in the first place otherwise you will likely hit it worse

 

I say that as someone who was perplexed for quite some time why there was such a difference between the two. The tempo sorts it self out naturally once you start eliminating compensations. I've completely stopped taking practice swings as well.

 

If you can hit the ground anywhere near the ball you can hit the ball itself without changing your mechanics.

Yep, just like this playa:

 

 

[Hackinator]

 

 

 

Lol..

 

Actually Charles practice swing is awesome.. but his real swing is trash!

 

In all seriousness I hear he is great on the driving range and doesn't have the yips on the range only on the course.

 

So if he could emulate his practice swing on the course... he would be golden.

[alfriday]

Shift from focusing on your swing mechanics to skills or task. Check out a program like Adam Young's The Strike Plan.

 

https://www.adamyounggolf.com/the-strike-plan/

 

Here are a couple of reviews of the plan.

 

https://practical-golf.com/strike-plan-review-adam-young/

 

https://pluggedingolf.com/the-strike-plan-review/

 

https://golfershq.co.uk/this-product-is-differentthe-strike-plan-review

 

I want to emphasize the approach presented in The Strike Plan. Not necessarily the product itself. From the begging of this thread, the issue has been matching mechanics of the practice swing to the regular swing. Shift out of the old thinking to a results based system. As JBW749 said above, "If you can hit the ground anywhere near the ball you can hit the ball itself without changing your mechanics." By doing a skills based program like The Strike Plan, your mechanics will improve as well.

[PorscheFan]

By definition I've never hit a ball with my practice swing, so how do I know it's any good?

 

It feels great, but since I don't have to hit a ball with it I'm sure my brain lets me away with an open clubface and all sorts of other nonsense.

[Birdie Mac]

I was on the range with a friend who was trying out new clubs, and he was hitting every one of them fat. I took away the ball, set up two tees and suggested he brush the grass past them, which he was able to do multiple times with no problem. No idea if those swings would have resulted in good ball flight or not. Put the ball back in play, and he was digging taters again. Funny how the mind works.

[Krt22]

If you can hit the ground anywhere near the ball you can hit the ball itself without changing your mechanics.

Yep, just like this playa:

 

 

 

Exactly. Simply making contact isnt the goal, making solid, ball first contact, with a decent path/face relationship, somewhere close to the intended target is the goal. 120+ shooting Over the top hackers can whack somewhere near the ground all day with their practice swing. That doesnt mean they will all of a sudden hit a nice push draw if they could just match their practice swing and real swing

 

Back when I was starting and attempting this futile exercise of swinging like I do for my practice swing, I would try this out. I'd take a nice practice swing. Quickly step up to the ball without any thoughts and swing away. Every single one would shoot 60 yards dead right. Great tempo, terrible results

[Hackinator]

If you can hit the ground anywhere near the ball you can hit the ball itself without changing your mechanics.

Yep, just like this playa:

 

 

 

Exactly. Simply making contact isnt the goal, making solid, ball first contact, with a decent path/face relationship, somewhere close to the intended target is the goal. 120+ shooting Over the top hackers can whack somewhere near the ground all day with their practice swing. That doesnt mean they will all of a sudden hit a nice push draw if they could just match their practice swing and real swing

 

Back when I was starting and attempting this futile exercise of swinging like I do for my practice swing, I would try this out. I'd take a nice practice swing. Quickly step up to the ball without any thoughts and swing away. Every single one would shoot 60 yards dead right. Great tempo, terrible results

 

I was on the range with a friend who was trying out new clubs, and he was hitting every one of them fat. I took away the ball, set up two tees and suggested he brush the grass past them, which he was able to do multiple times with no problem. No idea if those swings would have resulted in good ball flight or not. Put the ball back in play, and he was digging taters again. Funny how the mind works.

 

The hit impulse is wired into our brains.

 

Although I look at the ball, I am trying to NOT focus on it.. I am even going so far as to try to blur it out in my mind.

 

Kind of like a Jedi Mind trick .. lol

[TIM929]

 

 

 

Lol..

 

Actually Charles practice swing is awesome.. but his real swing is trash!

 

 

I believe, this is what the people are saying..

 

[jbw749]

 

 

 

Lol..

 

Actually Charles practice swing is awesome.. but his real swing is trash!

 

In all seriousness I hear he is great on the driving range and doesn't have the yips on the range only on the course.

 

So if he could emulate his practice swing on the course... he would be golden.

 

Oikos,

 

As an example are using the player with the biggest mental case of the yips maybe documented in history? That would be the player I would use to prove my point that no amount of mechanics is going to fix that. This is literally the definition of irony. It's also why most people miss the point entirely.

 

 

[jbw749]

If you can hit the ground anywhere near the ball you can hit the ball itself without changing your mechanics.

Yep, just like this playa:

 

 

 

Exactly. Simply making contact isnt the goal, making solid, ball first contact, with a decent path/face relationship, somewhere close to the intended target is the goal. 120+ shooting Over the top hackers can whack somewhere near the ground all day with their practice swing. That doesnt mean they will all of a sudden hit a nice push draw if they could just match their practice swing and real swing

 

Back when I was starting and attempting this futile exercise of swinging like I do for my practice swing, I would try this out. I'd take a nice practice swing. Quickly step up to the ball without any thoughts and swing away. Every single one would shoot 60 yards dead right. Great tempo, terrible results

 

Everyone who's played for a while has done this exact same drill.

It's not the practice swing your trying to recreate. It's the mental preparation that produces the practice swing that you want to emulate.

Recreate that and THEN work on face and low point control.

Sounds simple but no one does it this way.

[Krt22]

If you can hit the ground anywhere near the ball you can hit the ball itself without changing your mechanics.

Yep, just like this playa:

 

 

 

Exactly. Simply making contact isnt the goal, making solid, ball first contact, with a decent path/face relationship, somewhere close to the intended target is the goal. 120+ shooting Over the top hackers can whack somewhere near the ground all day with their practice swing. That doesnt mean they will all of a sudden hit a nice push draw if they could just match their practice swing and real swing

 

Back when I was starting and attempting this futile exercise of swinging like I do for my practice swing, I would try this out. I'd take a nice practice swing. Quickly step up to the ball without any thoughts and swing away. Every single one would shoot 60 yards dead right. Great tempo, terrible results

 

Everyone who's played for a while has done this exact same drill.

It's not the practice swing your trying to recreate. It's the mental preparation that produces the practice swing that you want to emulate.

Recreate that and THEN work on face and low point control.

Sounds simple but no one does it this way.

 

Or you could just fix the swing flaws which improves path/face, which reduces compensations, and thus leads to good tempo closer to that of a practice swing.

 

That's what I did anyway

 

 

 

Actually I think almost everyone does it that way.... and the results are no better then if you never took a practice swing... reason is because there is no result in an air swing it has no tangible outcome to draw from you can never know if it was a good swing or a flawed swing ... you have zero outcome to compare it to your real swing/s.

 

I'm not sure why this is so far for some folks to grasp.

[TIM929]

If you can hit the ground anywhere near the ball you can hit the ball itself without changing your mechanics.

Yep, just like this playa:

 

 

 

Exactly. Simply making contact isnt the goal, making solid, ball first contact, with a decent path/face relationship, somewhere close to the intended target is the goal. 120+ shooting Over the top hackers can whack somewhere near the ground all day with their practice swing. That doesnt mean they will all of a sudden hit a nice push draw if they could just match their practice swing and real swing

 

Back when I was starting and attempting this futile exercise of swinging like I do for my practice swing, I would try this out. I'd take a nice practice swing. Quickly step up to the ball without any thoughts and swing away. Every single one would shoot 60 yards dead right. Great tempo, terrible results

 

Everyone who's played for a while has done this exact same drill.

It's not the practice swing your trying to recreate. It's the mental preparation that produces the practice swing that you want to emulate.

Recreate that and THEN work on face and low point control.

Sounds simple but no one does it this way.

 

Or you could just fix the swing flaws which improves path/face, which reduces compensations, and thus leads to good tempo closer to that of a practice swing.

 

That's what I did anyway

 

Fix the swing flaw or the swing flaw will fix you.

[Hackinator]

I was on the range with a friend who was trying out new clubs, and he was hitting every one of them fat. I took away the ball, set up two tees and suggested he brush the grass past them, which he was able to do multiple times with no problem. No idea if those swings would have resulted in good ball flight or not. Put the ball back in play, and he was digging taters again. Funny how the mind works.

 

The hit impulse is wired into our brains.

 

Although I look at the ball, I am trying to NOT focus on it.. I am even going so far as to try to blur it out in my mind.

 

Kind of like a Jedi Mind trick .. lol

[Krt22]

You can fix hit impulse by fixing mechanics. Getting into the properly position in the backswing, transitioning correctly, etc all lead to a more fluid swing

 

I too disillusioned myself into thinking it was "hit impulse" that was preventing me from striking the ball how I wanted. I was wrong

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

Lincoln,

 

I didnt say I thought my practice swing is a tour level swing by any means. I hope I did not imply that.

 

And regarding if my real swing stinks, ha ha .. that's up for debate. I can pull off some really nice shots but also have my fair share of stinky shots.

 

My main point was getting a smooth, uninterrupted motion that I have in my practice swing into my real swing.

 

Anyway, I feel like we are now beating a dead horse, but appreciate everyone's input.

 

We all have our fair share of stinky shots, and, in fact, I mostly hit stinky shots on the course. I just get them far and straight enough to get around the course.

 

The thing I get from this thread is that both practice and real swings are more or less the same. Just that the real one you get to see the consequences.

 

So, you can’t really consider them as being too different from one another. The best thing to do is assume there’s no mental game issues and improve your swing in both cases.

[jurr80]

See, I think the whole “real swing changes because your subconscious takes over “ thing is hogwash.

 

Somewhere someone came up with that. It sounded good.

Some good research could be done on the subject, because golf coaches “ain’t doing it”.

 

And I mean published studies.

 

When your subconscious is allowed to take over and you just swing, a lot of positions fall into place.

 

I had a lesson in Texas. I was making full practice swings. The coach dropped his jaw. He’d been working with me for years on the swing. Always steep.

 

The practice swings were perfect. Just like all of his player videos.

He puts a ball down. Convoluted mess. Steep.

 

10 balls later, he’s showing me on video what the ball is doing to my mentality.

No mechanical errors. I close my eyes and make the practice swing. I absolutely melt the ball. Over and over.

Then the feel eventually translated to eyes open.

 

My brain had a conscious idea of how it needed to complete a task. My subconscious could NOT override it. I let conscious control go, and it worked.

 

The joke is the guys that fight over the minutia of a swing because of the video some pro has on GEARS.

 

So ridiculous.

There’s no magic bullet other than practice a lot and learn to let go.