Reset Button Thought

[FormerBigDaddy]

Sometimes I think we all over complicate the swing and get lost in mechanics. I tend to get unnatural and lose sense of the most basic feels of a golf swing. I’m sure I’m not alone…

 

What is your simplest, back to basics, swing thought that help “reset” your swing?

[FormerBigDaddy]

I’ll start with a few…

 

1. Brush the grass to target. 
2. Turn away, turn to. 
3. Focus on a good finish. 
 

Not all at the same time though… lol

 

 

Edited August 14, 2022 by FormerBigDaddy

[Krt22]

Grip it and rip it, forget that other nonsense

[Valtiel]

27 minutes ago, FormerBigDaddy said:

I’ll start with a few…

 

1. Brush the grass to target. 
2. Turn away, turn to. 
3. Focus on a good finish. 
 

Not all at the same time though… lol

 

 

EDIT: Bit of rant ahead, hah.

IMO any kind of "reset" thought needs to be direct, not open to much if any interpretation, easily measurable (did I or didn't I do it), and related to whatever you tend to struggle with or what is most impactful in making solid contact. Take these with a grain of salt of course, but IMO "Brush the grass to target" is a little vague but I assume is a shallowing/path kind of idea? "Turn away, turn to" might be helpful, but again is a bit vague (what are you actively doing? Do you know when you've done it right/wrong?). "Focus on a good finish" is one of my least favorite ones, a bit of a bandaid or a "starter" idea for all but really good players. It might work for some people for a bit, but it's one of those ones that doesn't really *mean* anything and is reliant on a completely different set of actions to happen prior that, if not focused on directly, are happening subconsciously/passively which is an inherently poor thing to rely on under pressure or when things are going wrong. What I mean by that is....if focusing on a good finish causes better results, then whatever OTHER movements you're doing prior to create that better finish need to be identified and focused on directly, otherwise you're at the whim of hoping things that you're unaware of are happening like they did last time, with zero recourse if they don't. Same goes for the "brushing the grass" one. What happens when you try that and thin it? You're pretty quickly left without a solid answer. 

If I need any kind of reset I will focus on ONE very direct thing; re-centering in transition and clearing my left side quickly. Like a vast majority of players I get a little stuck in transition by not sequencing my lower body properly or quickly enough. Get that working on time and everything else is workable. If I need to focus on anything more specific than that, i'll pay attention to heel/toe weight distribution on my lead foot knowing that it needs to feel close to 50/50 as soon as possible in transition since it is naturally up towards the toe in the backswing. Look at force plate/pressure mat videos of pros online and they all do this to one degree or another, and for me it is the only thing I try to think about if things are going wrong. It does rely on other things being reasonably in place (right hip depth and pressure in the backswing, reasonable backswing position), but if you don't have either of those then you shouldn't be focusing on "reset" thoughts anyway, hah. 

[kevinmdowney]

1 hour ago, FormerBigDaddy said:

Sometimes I think we all over complicate the swing and get lost in mechanics. I tend to get unnatural and lose sense of the most basic feels of a golf swing. I’m sure I’m not alone…

 

What is your simplest, back to basics, swing thought that help “reset” your swing?

Ballard - Just start backswing with slight weight shift to right side. Arms, hands, club follow with no thought. Fire hip immediately to initiate downswing. No pulling of club with hands / arms.

 

Thats as simple as gets for me.

[mshills]

Target focus: Where do I want to hit it. Where can I miss. Where can I not miss. 
 

Alignment focus: Believe it’s the Nicklaus approach, find something just a couple of feet in front of my ball that is in my intended line of play. 
 

Reduce grip pressure and go!

 

No thinking “golf swing.” It’s target, alignment, light grip pressure, play. That clears my head. 

[anser85029]

Simple 3 word mantras I've relied on to "reset" my swing thoughts...

 

1. Driver: "maintain spine angle"

 

2. Irons: "see the divot"

 

3. Putts: "hold the finish"

[Zitlow]

13 hours ago, FormerBigDaddy said:

Sometimes I think we all over complicate the swing and get lost in mechanics. I tend to get unnatural and lose sense of the most basic feels of a golf swing. I’m sure I’m not alone…

 

What is your simplest, back to basics, swing thought that help “reset” your swing?

 

We over complicate the swing because instruction is overly complicated. A position is a snapshot within the motion. Instead of teaching how to use momentum to create motion the "experts" teach positions and they even get those wrong most of the time. 

[FormerBigDaddy]

39 minutes ago, Zitlow said:

 

We over complicate the swing because instruction is overly complicated. A position is a snapshot within the motion. Instead of teaching how to use momentum to create motion the "experts" teach positions and they even get those wrong most of the time. 

100% right on

[naval2006]

12 hours ago, kevinmdowney said:

Ballard - Just start backswing with slight weight shift to right side. Arms, hands, club follow with no thought. Fire hip immediately to initiate downswing. No pulling of club with hands / arms.

 

Thats as simple as gets for me.

This sounds so Henrik Stenson. Beautiful 

[bladehunter]

1 hour ago, Zitlow said:

 

We over complicate the swing because instruction is overly complicated. A position is a snapshot within the motion. Instead of teaching how to use momentum to create motion the "experts" teach positions and they even get those wrong most of the time. 

Thank you. No reset needed if you learn how to dance. 
 

contact is the thought. Punish the ball. 

[jomatty]

When I’m struggling I think about making a good turn and hitting a cut.  This will almost always get me around the course and get me making good contact.

[Zitlow]

Stand up straight with your elbows bent and dangle a club in front of you holding it with the thump and forefinger of each hand. The butt of the club is in front of your chest. 

 

Now rock back and forth picking up your heels like you're walking sideways, the club swings on an arc. The more robustly you go side to side the faster it swings and the bigger arc it makes. 

 

Like @bladehuntersaid, it's dancing. 

 

That's the essence of the golfswing, add the rest of the pivot and the throw, you'll have it. 

 

 

[tthomasgolfer605]

15 hours ago, FormerBigDaddy said:

Sometimes I think we all over complicate the swing and get lost in mechanics. I tend to get unnatural and lose sense of the most basic feels of a golf swing. I’m sure I’m not alone…

 

What is your simplest, back to basics, swing thought that help “reset” your swing?

Shock treatments. 

 

[tthomasgolfer605]

13 hours ago, kevinmdowney said:

Ballard - Just start backswing with slight weight shift to right side. Arms, hands, club follow with no thought. Fire hip immediately to initiate downswing. No pulling of club with hands / arms.

 

Thats as simple as gets for me.

That actually sounds too complicated.

[northgolf]

If I am in a competitive situation and my swing has gone south, I think: swing the clubhead back over the trail shoulder with my hands then swing the entire club forward with my arms in one motion through to the target.