Swing Thoughts

[wrx_junki]

What are some of the things that go through your mind as you step up to hit the golf ball?

I try to keep my thoughts simple when I address the ball.
Driver - Keep the swing short.
Fairway, Hybrids, Irons - Hit it solid.
Wedges - Be aggressive.
Putter - Don't baby the putt.

[Scott_K]

Interesting topic. This is my pre-shot/setup routine/reminders. During the actual swing, I focus on 1, 2, 3.

Driver - Grip it n rip it......and then wave bye bye to a TP Red. (I gotta cut this out, but it's just too much fun)
Irons - Just make contact, the club will do the rest.
Wedges - tight quick swing, head down. The body momentum will bring my head up.
Putter - Firm wrists and arms. Rock the shoulders only. fluid back and through rhythm,

[zeg]

"Oh please god no, not again."

Lately, pre-shot, I check that my stance is not too wide, that my legs are only slightly bent and that I'm not reaching. Then during the swing, I try to keep a consciously empty head while focusing on the ball, feel the turn into a wide, flat backswing while maintaining the down-the-line angle of my right leg, and finally try to feel a shift and turn through the swing. When I write it here, it sounds like a lot, but really in my head, I'm just "listening" for the feelings, not consciously giving commands. If I do it right, I basically just remember seeing the ball while feeling the right leg and the shift/turn.

Also, the "flat" is just the feeling. Left to my own devices, my backswing creeps up very steeply and I do a rock instead of a turn, so what feels to me very flat is probably just the feeling of a proper angle.

The one exception lately has been on less than full wedge pitches. On these, I have been focusing on keeping my lower body very steady and just think about pounding the ball into the turf. It's been working very well. I think this is a lot of practice on 15-20 yard chips leaking through to the pitches.

[Zeph]

One or two thoughts on the current detail I'm working on in my swing.

[JetFan1983]

"Oh please god no, not again."

"Oh Lord, why am I here, why am I here, why am I here. I'm just gonna hit it fat again. Don't hit it fat, idiot. Get to your left side. Yea, that's it, get to your left side. OK, good shoulder turn, but not too flat now. Start with the hips on the way down, yea, not the arms, that never works. No flipping either. Oh god, why am I here? I could be bowling. Or I could be with that girl from work who keeps nagging me to take her out. Yea, that'll be fun. She's nice I guess. I mean, she could be better looking, but hey, it's not like I'm a super model myself. She thinks I'm cool, so she obviously has good taste. Shit. Focus now. Hit the ball. Wait, hit THROUGH the ball, yea that's better. Grip, stance, posture. Everything's good to go now. Soft hands. Don't kill it, you jackass. That never works either. Smooth. Smooth sailing. OK, slide them hips. Left knee bends on the way back, right knee straightens a bit. Aim a couple inches in front of the ball. Maybe I should order Chinese tonight when I get-"

"DUDE! HURRY THE •••• UP AND HIT THE DAMN BALL, THIS IS RIDICULOUS." [Shanks ball 40 yards to the right] (pause) "You picked your head up."

[saevel25]

The day after i see that comedy video about the guy hitting his second shot from the woman's Tee, it was posted in another thread. Guess what, i topped my iron to the woman's tee (forward tee), were i then proceed to hook a 5 wood OB left. Oh that hole was fun ;b

Swing throughs, i got so many right now i feel like my mind needs to be defragged right now.

Ball position, alignment, back tilt, don't slouch, take the club back one piece, keep it square, don't break left arm, don't over swing, weight i forgot to transition down, slide hips, not to far, oh weight hands have to come through, not to fast, I am not sure were this ones going, i got to look up early to see were the ball will end up, DON'T LOOK UP, solid contact, no, just hooked left.

Thats prettty much me right there, probably with a few more swing thoughts that i can't think of right now because i am not standing over the ball.

[saevel25]

This is me ;b

[BallStriker]

I have myself convinced that if I start with a nice low/slow one-piece takeaway, I can't screw up the rest of the swing if I tried....so, right now it is "one-piece takeaway.....tension free and let it be"

[delav]

Haha, some good and downright funny stuff in here. Once I'm on the course, I'll think of GAP. Grip Alignment and Posture... these are the things I usually screw up when my head is elsewhere.

[nuck81]

The lyrics to Pearl Jam's "This is Not For You" Constantly ring in my head the second I put my golf shoes on...

[WUTiger]

I do a lot of practice on statics and basic swing motion between rounds.

I try to work on the static part of my game - grip, stance, alignment - in my living room. Then I do swing drills with a 5 or 7 iron. (Any longer club I hit the ceiling, and Mrs. Tiger gets grouchy).

Also do swing drill with driver out in front yard.

When I play this year (haven't done 18 yet!) I plan to focus mainly on proper alignment and smooth takeaway, and let muscle memory do the rest.

I tend to putt best when I mental-image how the ball should roll. If I start saying words to myself, I often mess up the putt.

[hollygrove]

The lyrics to Pearl Jam's "This is Not For You" Constantly ring in my head the second I put my golf shoes on...

rofl.. good song.

really I try to just think about slowing things down, because when I rush things is when things go bad. I try to keep a pretty clear mind and only focus on a few key things. I've only been golfing "seriously" for about 2 weeks and I'm making incredible progress.

[shortstop20]

Tempo.

Don't even bother with swing thoughts during a round, they're mostly useless. Trust your swing and keep your tempo.

[Dr. Strangeclub]

Learn as many as you can! If you can give one or two thousand a try, a few might actually help, who knows!?

Is a "swing thought" the same thing as a "swing tip"?

For example, I sort of like Greg Norman's tip for setting up to a driver, "Cover your left foot with your left hand." It leads to having the left shoulder higher than the left and the hands forward. Just that can generate improvements in balance and posture and all sorts of things for which there are actually standard swing thoughts available: Stay behind the ball, Keep your arms close to your body, Don't snatch the club away from the ball, etc. "It is connected they are, Luke Skywalker."

Swing thoughts/tips are passed around verbally, so it's natural to use them that way. To make a swing thought useful, it's best to translate it to what it feels like, the idea of it, the image of a position, something that doesn't need words at all. All your eye hand coordination and muscle control is dictated from the cerebellum. It doesn't speak English or any other language. It works on images and sensations relayed from the cerebrum, where all the sensor data is collected. If you think words, the cerebral cortex gets involved with that, not with sending information to the cerebellum for coordinating action. Your cerebellum doesn't make thoughtful decisions about negative images, either. Images is images. Make it so, warp 6. It's a first in, first out system, and if you don't give it the right orders right off the bat, it's too late. "Don't hit the ball in the water" will transmit to the cerebellum a picture of the ball going in the water as likely as not, unless you replace it with something better before you start swinging. Your cerebellum will make it so if it can. "You didn't WANT that!? I could not care less. I did what I was told."

The most useful swing thoughts get rid of the words entirely. See the shot in your head. See the ball taking this or that trajectory, bouncing just there, curving under the limb and out into the fairway, the putt following that line, the flop shot landing just in the fringe. Sam Snead had some interesting swing thoughts (quotes are approximate): "I like to feel oily when I need to hit a big one," "I want my feet to weigh a thousand pounds," or "I want it to feel like throwing an apple stuck on the end of a stick." Non-verbal.

[BallStriker]

Doctor, that is some good stuff.....Now that you mention it, I really use "swing images"....right now, all I think of is holding that shoulder/arms/hands triangle when starting the backswing....that is my current swing image.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Do all your thinking while you set up. When you swing, concentrate on the feeling of contentment that you have when you do your best at something, and it's easy to do.

[GaijinGolfer]

For me its, "swing easy". Im just trying to make a nice, easy, smooth, relaxed swing. If I do that, things usually go well. When I dont, I tend to either lose my timing and everything is usually a big push.