Root Causes

[pnomm]

Although I find statistics interesting, I typically will not spend enough time to determine them with things I am involved with. However, with observation I can feel confident in saying that I would bet about 90% or more of the problems in a golf game are related to one of two things: poor swing path, or poor tension & rhythm.

Swing Path

Swing path determines where a ball will go, and the majority of players I work with tend to come "over-the-top," meaning they start the ball left of the target. A path like this leads to greater inconsistency than a proper swing path that delivers the clubhead into the ball correctly. An improper path will cause pulls, slices, shanks, topped shots, and deep heavy divots. By correcting the path, the poor shots will be reduced to slightly thin or slightly fat shots, and even those shots will be only slightly shorter than a well struck shot. In short, an incorrect swing path creates all kinds of problems, and makes your bad shots worse.

Tension & Rhythm

Tension is a killer. Tension can make a good golfer play poorly, and make a bad golfer play even worse. Tension causes all kinds of mistakes, including the above mentioned poor swing path. When the body is tight, it is very difficult to swing the club on the proper swing path, and makes it difficult to strike a solid shot. Tension also can cause us to lose our rhythm, just as poor rhythm can cause us to be tense. The clubhead is built to swing efficiently, and when we grip too tight or get out of rhythm we inhibit the club from swinging correctly. Tension will not allow the club to release through impact, and the resulting shots will be short and off line. A tension free, rhythmic swing will allow the club to work effectively, and will allow you to produce better and more powerful shots.

As I mentioned above, I would bet that most of you, if you are having problems, are doing so because of either a poor swing path, or tension or poor rhythm. No matter what the problem is, it probably relates to one of these two issues. And if it doesn't, it is probably in your head (which, incidentally, usually causes tension!). To try to fix the problem, first of all check your grip pressure. If you cannot feel the weight of the clubhead in your hands, relax your grip, and waggle the clubhead until you can. If that is okay, then look at your divots, or watch the beginning ball-flight of your shots. If the divots are deep or pointed left, or the ball is beginning left of your target (for a right-handed golfer), then your path is incorrect. Try to swing the clubhead towards the target, and let the club do the work. Remember, great golf is not perfect golf. Great golf is having fun and learning more about it each time we play. Focus on these key areas and you will see fantastic results.

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