The Dreaded Ball how to have practice swings match contact swings?

[grantc79]

My biggest current struggle is tension in my swing.

 

The tension does not exist until I am going to hit a ball. I can make the most relaxing smooth practice swings ever, but when its time to hit the ball I could not repeat that smooth practice swing if my life depended on it. My swing gets more jerky, tense, and anxious.

 

I have been this way ever since I started playing golf. I have learned how to play with it and make it work but I would love to correct it.

 

Anyone else struggle with this or had a breakthrough?

 

 

[wkuo3]

Take a divot when you practice swing, just like you would when you swing for real.

The practice swing is supposed to imitate the actual golf swing.

[scooterhd2]

the practice swing is garbage for this reason. you dont hit the practice swing off the toe or thin. the practice swing feels great because there is a large margin for error and subconsciously there is nothing to react to. the ball is what you react to. you could swing with your eyes closed, but you may not like the results. the point of the swing is to steer the ball to the target. embrace the ball. love the ball

send it home.

 

you'll see alot of pros have a warm up routine with a partial swing or some drill to reinforce a feel. get comfortable. get the right feel and save that amazing feeling swing for the ball.

[MonteScheinblum]

> @scooterhd2 said:

> the practice swing is garbage for this reason. you dont hit the practice swing off the toe or thin. the practice swing feels great because there is a large margin for error and subconsciously there is nothing to react to. the ball is what you react to. you could swing with your eyes closed, but you may not like the results. the point of the swing is to steer the ball to the target. embrace the ball. love the ball

> send it home.

>

> you'll see alot of pros have a warm up routine with a partial swing or some drill to reinforce a feel. get comfortable. get the right feel and save that amazing feeling swing for the ball.

 

#endthread

 

Well said. Practice swings may be aesthetic, but are never as functional as the actual swing. I have proven this dozens of times to clients. Clubface is almost always wide open at impact.

 

 

[Mcgeeno]

Nobody ever likes following Monte on a comment haha!

 

I try to exaggerate feels on my practice swings. I have a severe inside out issue and so I do that Tiger over the top feel in my PS to try and find a happy medium.

 

As far as tension goes, lots of guys are smarter than me but I follow Arnold Palmer from a "shell wonderful world of golf" match many moons ago. He was asked how he gets rid of tension and grip pressure and he said he squeezes the club or putter grip as hard as he can beforehand. Its a big help. You won't be able to grip it really hard if you take a deep breath and try to cave the grip in for 3 seconds beforehand...

[LyinEye]

I'm of a mind to make a practice swing before each and every shot and the practice swing is perfect.

[oikos1]

> @grantc79 said:

> My biggest current struggle is tension in my swing.

>

> The tension does not exist until I am going to hit a ball. I can make the most relaxing smooth practice swings ever, but when its time to hit the ball I could not repeat that smooth practice swing if my life depended on it. My swing gets more jerky, tense, and anxious.

>

> I have been this way ever since I started playing golf. I have learned how to play with it and make it work but I would love to correct it.

>

> Anyone else struggle with this or had a breakthrough?

>

>

 

"My swing gets more jerky, tense, and anxious." And this has nothing to do with your practice swing. As implied above, you're looking in the wrong place if you're trying to match your practice swing with your contact swing. Besides, you've been trending down. Take your time.

 

Scooterhd2, your thoughts on embracing and loving the ball are spot on. Too many golfers make a big deal about the ball being a problem. I've never understood this as it's the essence of the game. No reason to have a cantankerous and fearful relationship. It's certainly not the balls fault.

 

 

[cadoipi]

> @grantc79 said:

> My biggest current struggle is tension in my swing.

>

> The tension does not exist until I am going to hit a ball. I can make the most relaxing smooth practice swings ever, but when its time to hit the ball I could not repeat that smooth practice swing if my life depended on it. My swing gets more jerky, tense, and anxious.

>

> I have been this way ever since I started playing golf. I have learned how to play with it and make it work but I would love to correct it.

>

> Anyone else struggle with this or had a breakthrough?

>

>

 

Learn to hit the ball without looking at it, i.e. take your normal stance, lift only your head by bending your neck so you are looking straight ahead, then swing **smoothly** and **in balance**. It can help if you mentally focus/think about some large scale movement as you swing (for example transfer weight to right foot then left foot). At first you will likely hit the ball terribly, perhaps even miss it entirely. The key here is to manage your stress level and just accept what happens to the ball, without thinking thoughts like "I suck", "that was terrible", "I will never be able to hit the ball well without looking at it" etc.

 

After a while 10-100 attempts (depending on your mental attitude and physical coordination) you will start being able to make consistent solid contact with the ball without looking at it with a swing that is smooth and without tension. Once you get to this point, you can over the course of a few practice sessions start lowering the location of your head in your setup until you are back to looking at the ball. If tension starts creeping in, then back up to where you can swing without tension and try again.

 

It sounds crazy, but it works for some people. I am not claiming this will improve your swing mechanics, only that is will help take tension and anxiety out of your swing.

[Golf Scientist]

Steve Elkington said after he learned Ben Hogan didn't take full practice swings he stopped taking practice swings.

One thing that might take the mind away from things that are the cause of the tension would be to count. Ernie Els used to count to three. One as he swing the club away, two when he got to the top, and three as he hit the ball. Annika Sorenstam used to count to six as she swung. If the mind is focused on counting during the swing it will not have time to think about making a jerky motion. A final option is to accept the tension. The writer(s) of The Four Magic Moves to Winning Golf say the need to be tension free is one of the golf myths. If I recall correctly the book advocates you want tension and that it's a sign that the muscles are active and loaded.

[SNIPERBBB]

How long are you standing over the ball at address in a static(not moving) state? Probably one of the biggest things I see with guys I play with is the practice swings are a pendulum thing so they are nice a free flowing but they get over the ball and just sit there forever and tension just builds and their swing looks like garbage from being so out of sync.

[wkuo3]

> @"Golf Scientist" said:

> Steve Elkington said after he learned Ben Hogan didn't take full practice swings he stopped taking practice swings.

> One thing that might take the mind away from things that are the cause of the tension would be to count. Ernie Els used to count to three. One as he swing the club away, two when he got to the top, and three as he hit the ball. Annika Sorenstam used to count to six as she swung. If the mind is focused on counting during the swing it will not have time to think about making a jerky motion. A final option is to accept the tension. The writer(s) of The Four Magic Moves to Winning Golf say the need to be tension free is one of the golf myths. If I recall correctly the book advocates you want tension and that it's a sign that the muscles are active and loaded.

 

Ben Hogan also hit thousands of range ball every week. His hands were like sand papers from not wearing gloves for golf.

I guess we should tell all the Tour players that they shouldn't take a practice swing because the WRX forum believed so. I'll message the players whenever I see them take a practice swing on live coverage.

[grantc79]

> @oikos1 said:

 

> "My swing gets more jerky, tense, and anxious." And this has nothing to do with your practice swing. As implied above, you're looking in the wrong place if you're trying to match your practice swing with your contact swing. Besides, you've been trending down. Take your time.

>

> Scooterhd2, your thoughts on embracing and loving the ball are spot on. Too many golfers make a big deal about the ball being a problem. I've never understood this as it's the essence of the game. No reason to have a cantankerous and fearful relationship. It's certainly not the balls fault.

>

>

 

Not so much saying it has anything to do with my practice swing as much as it is a recognition that when I'm not attempting to hit the ball I am a lot more fluid and relaxed than when I am trying to hit the ball.

 

 

[grantc79]

> @SNIPERBBB said:

> How long are you standing over the ball at address in a static(not moving) state? Probably one of the biggest things I see with guys I play with is the practice swings are a pendulum thing so they are nice a free flowing but they get over the ball and just sit there forever and tension just builds and their swing looks like garbage from being so out of sync.

 

I used to have that problem where I would be stuck over the ball for quite a while that isn't the issue anymore. I take a little bit of time but it isn't anything crazy.

[oikos1]

> @grantc79 said:

> > @oikos1 said:

>

> > "My swing gets more jerky, tense, and anxious." And this has nothing to do with your practice swing. As implied above, you're looking in the wrong place if you're trying to match your practice swing with your contact swing. Besides, you've been trending down. Take your time.

> >

> > Scooterhd2, your thoughts on embracing and loving the ball are spot on. Too many golfers make a big deal about the ball being a problem. I've never understood this as it's the essence of the game. No reason to have a cantankerous and fearful relationship. It's certainly not the balls fault.

> >

> >

>

> Not so much saying it has anything to do with my practice swing as much as it is a recognition that when I'm not attempting to hit the ball I am a lot more fluid and relaxed than when I am trying to hit the ball.

>

>

 

Oh I know. We all are. That's also why I suggested taking your time. Your progress in your other thread reflects great work and positive results. What you are talking about here may just resolve itself over time as you get better and more comfortable with your swing and game.

[MadGolfer76]

Just don't.

[b_f_c_99]

I actually hit irons pretty damn well with my eyes closed. Still doesn’t feel like a practice swing. Your brain knows when your hitting the ball.

[RobertBaron]

Practice swings are worthless except to stay loose in between shots.

[Conner Golf]

This I know if I do not take my practice swing before my shot my percentage of creating a controlled shot definitely goes down. I take my meaningfull and diligent practice swing, paying attention to square my clubface at my contact point, step into my shot and take it. I wonder if golfers that do not square up properly with their practice swing could benifit by learning to make a more precise practice swing.

 

[sprcoop]

My practice swing is a necessity as I simulate the 2 ball drill, don't move my feet, then swing away. Keeps the ball off the hosel.

 

Also, slow mo video shows my practice swing has club face mirror spine angle at P6. Real swings 45 degrees more open at P6. Go figure.