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The Golf Channel last night showed Dr. Gio Valiante, a regular guest on the show and the man behind fearlessgolf.net.

Last night, Gio was talking about the stress response as manifested by anger over a bad shot. Anger all too frequently forces itself upon us in the form of stress. Though some great players have found ways to make anger motivational, it’s rare. More frequently, anger turns on the stress response – mentally and physically – and bad play continues.

Gio’s suggestion? Laugh. Yawn. Make a silly sound. Do something to counter the stress response with the relaxation response. Stretch. Anything – relax yourself. You’ll free yourself from the grips of stress and put yourself in a better position to focus on the next shot.

When you watch professional golf on television, you’ll see players crouch behind their ball on the green, cup their hands over the sides of their face, and read the putt. On the tees, you’ll see players holding a club on the line of their shot. In the fairway, you’ll see players take practice swings or abbreviated backswings.

They’re reminding themselves to focus.

Part of a consistent pre-shot routine is the reminder that you “kick in” to focus. The golfer cupping his hands over the sides of his face is blocking out distractions, focusing on the line of the putt. Lining your shaft up with your target may serve as the reminder visualize the shot. Taking practice swings reminds a player to focus on the sidehill lie she’s facing.

Incorporate a “focus key” – something small that serves as your reminder to focus. It may be something small – wiggling your toes in your shoes as you stand behind the ball – or something larger – revising your pre-shot routine to incorporate time for visualization. Just focus.

The right knee is perhaps one of the most misunderstood parts in a golf swing. Visit any public course and you’re bound to see golfers of all ages, shapes, and sizes doing everything they can to abuse their golf swings by changing the bend in their back knee.

Today’s Swing Tip is this: your right knee bend stays about the same throughout the swing, right up until your heel comes off the ground towards the end of the follow through. On the backswing, you load up onto a coiled right side. You don’t straighten the knee, nor do you squat. On the downswing, the left knee separates from the right knee a little to start the weight shift forward.

Practice swinging your arms back and through in your living room, focusing on keeping the right knee flexed throughout.

Many of us neglect a little known principle of golf and as a result our swing is compromised. Here’s the rule: Leave enough space between you and the ball so that you can swing through without any blockage or encumbrance. Pretty simple. Make sure that your hands aren’t too close to your body at address so that they aren’t bunched up through the hitting area during your swing. A good way to prevent this is to measure yourself at address to make sure that you have room to move. The pros do it and so should you.

Continue reading “Give Me Some Space”