Swing techniques and the endless mumbo jumbo

[Mark5]

Once upon a time, long ago,  I was bowling my ball without a thought about taking lessons. Then an old man at the range  taught me how to swing.  In a few hours I went from 160/180 to trying to break 100. A few simple pointers did more for me then my pile of golf magazines, and  books.

At the 9 holers and muni's I now play the average player doesn't have a 18 handicap.  The average player never took a lesson. If they stopped playing Mulligans, Birthday Balls, and Gimmes they would be lucky to break 120.

You Tube and Watching Golf on TV:  I turn the sound off, music on, and watch.  That's how children learn. (Surfers too!)

Note to teachers:    Tell me what to do...... don't  tell me what not to do!    It's confusing.

Note to authors: Don't fill your book with pictures of bad swings, and "Brand X" swings. It's even more confusing.

What I find a major turnoff is instructors more intersted in defending their techniques to their critics then teaching me.  (You Tube is full of this!)

[Ernest Jones]

Originally Posted by The Recreational Golfer

But in the end, I have a good swing that works really well most of the time. I don't need a new one. I just need to learn how to make the good swing I already have, more often.

That about sums it up for me. I already know what works because when I do it I can hit a 5i about 170-180 yrds straight as I can point, the problem is that I don't always do what I know works because I'm a human and humans can be a tad dense. I don't need more swing thoughts, I need less.

[allin]

Part of this is identifying your style, learning and physical.  If you are a go  for broke person, very feel oriented, what you need is very different from a more technique oriented, break it down person.  I would like to make a point about lessons.  Often you take a lesson not because you lack knowledge, but because you need the feedback.  What I feel I am doing, especially when making changes, may not be accurate.  Filming can help for some, but the immediate feedback and the ability to try several different feels in a short time with another perspective can really shorten the process and protect you from confidence meltdowns that can come if you get frustrated trying to make changes on your own.

[Harmonious]

Having another set of eyes can be very helpful, whether it be a pro during a lesson, or just a knowledgeable playing partner.  Sometimes, when I hit a wayward shot, one of my buddies (we're all in the +2 to 6 hdcp range) will tell me that it appeared I went a little OTT, or perhaps lifted out of my posture, or was misaligned a bit. It gives me some info for the next swing on the range, or the next shot on the course.  Conversely, when I feel I have really nailed one, it's important to get feedback as well, such as "you really stayed on plane".  It helps a lot.

[zeg]

Originally Posted by Ernest Jones

That about sums it up for me. I already know what works because when I do it I can hit a 5i about 170-180 yrds straight as I can point, the problem is that I don't always do what I know works because I'm a human and humans can be a tad dense. I don't need more swing thoughts, I need less.

It can be tricky, though.  Hitting one or a few solid shots doesn't necessarily mean you have a good swing, it means you got a good result.  A good swing should give a good result, but a bad and well-compensated swing can give you a good result too.  Also, your senses can fool you about the real differences between your swings for good and bad results.  There's so many variables at play, and on top of that your feelings don't always match reality.   You may find yourself trying to recreate the wrong feeling.

I agree with the swing thoughts thing, though.  My goal is to have a swing that doesn't rely on conscious manipulation.  It's like when I throw a baseball, I don't think about details, I think about where I want to throw the ball and the experience from thousands of previous tries kicks in.  It's a bit harder to hit a golf ball accurately, but I try to play in the same way.  The best rounds I've had all came when my key swing thought was just "hit the ball" and I trusted my body to do the job.  Of course, on days when your swing is working well it's easier to have that trust, so even there it's hard to identify what made it work...