Obtaining Swing Consistency

[skillzwhogolfs]

One day I will be driving the ball straight (slight fade) the next hitting it straight left or a slice. Some days it feels the same but the outcome is different and others it just doesn't feel right.

So my question is what do you do to obtain swing consistancy? is it drills you do every day, swing thoughts on every swing, or just come naturally? (if so what drills and what thoughts do you do)

Thanks for any feedback.

[WUTiger]

Depends on how systematic you want to be. You could use Pareto Analysis, an economics tool which is used in quality control programs.

You look at an activity (such as hitting golf irons ) and measure what the biggest source of problems is....

• Fat or thin shots?
• Pull or slice?
• Push or hook?

Then you develop a plan to learn (acquire enduring change of behavior) how to overcome this performance problem.

Straighten out problem A, then start working on problem B.

You could work on this with a golf pro, or maybe an knowledgeable golf friend who can help you chart/change the behavior.

[Adam Young]

Around about 15,000 - 20,000 hours worth of practice should give you some kind of consistency, somewhere in the region of 70% fairways and greens, just like the pros. Also, your bad shots will probably be a little less worse than normal - so the overall range will get closer.

But the real challenge is mental. All movement stems from the brain - our brain basically selects a certain movement pattern. There are many many variables that go into this selection, but a lot of them are controllable.

For ultimate consistency, I would say yo have to look at both technical consistency and mental consistency together, although mental will tend to override technical, you could be limited to your potential if your technique is poor.

For technical consistency you are looking at

• strike control - all 3 dimensions (vertical, horizontal and lateral)
• face control
• path control

The first two are vital - last one, less so, although most top players had good paths. Some had poorer patterns, but they were consistent and usually lined up with the target more or less.

For mental consistency, a lot of things you work on will be in direct conflict with this.

• less mental clutter - lower the swing thoughts
• more subconscious control - let it happen
• routine - everythign consistent and rhythmical
• visualistaion - pre round, pre shot, post round
• awareness direction - less on bad shots, more on good ones
• Strategy - match the strategy with your skill level on the day - play poker, strategy should go with the hand you have if you want to stay in the game. Most pros have very high skill, yet very safe starategy. Most bad players have very low skill, but a strategy that would make Phil mickelson seem sensible. Go figure