Golf the Mental Game

[Ringer]

There is much wrong with the industry. And I'm sorry to say, taking lessons won't guarantee improvement either.

The problem is that we all have this model of learning which is not applicable to golf.

Learning the golf swing does not happen in the same type of progressions we went through in school. You are trying to learn a physical motion, and all the knowlege in the world will not make this happen. But the instruction part of the industry is built around that philosophy still. It's not really their fault either. It's what the students expect.

Students expect the Jim McLean 6 part golf swing. Learn the swing in stages...slowly at first then faster and faster. It seems like a logical way to learn. Some people do have success with it and those people get held up for all the world to see. That's good advertisement for those methods, and the belief in this system gets stronger and stronger each time it gets repeated.

But the golf swing is one motion, not 6. It needs to be learned as one motion and not in stages.

The biggest reason I can give you for this is that once the teacher is gone, the student no longer has the feedback to describe what is going wrong. From then on it's just guessing. And then what if the teacher is wrong in the first place? What if what he/she describes doesn't match your understanding of your own swing? You simply won't trust anything he/she says no matter how much you want to. Until you OWN your swing, you simply cannot change it.

The reason I came up with my 5 steps was to teach you how to OWN your swing and get rid of me.

If you can find someone who tries to do this instead of teaching you what's in their head, you'll go a lot further. It's not about what I know, it's about what YOU know. I can stand there and tell you everything wrong about your swing, but unless YOU sense it happening it will never be permenantly fixed.

And that's kind of the hook. It's a great gig for instructors. They get you fixed for a little bit, you don't OWN the fix, so you have to go back to get fixed again. It's not really their fault or your fault... we've just all be taught in a cerebral way to retain facts and figures through repetition instead of self control and kinesthetic ownership.

[itzzzberny]

Golf is like 65% mental.... cause you gotta zone out your surroundings, focus on your shots. also you have to remember to do a checklist to make sure you are set up correctly. visualize your shot and be confident in your swing, even if you just hit +2 the last hole. remember each time you set up on the ball, take the game as one shot at a time.

another golf lie is don't move your head during your swing. all the great have a little movement on their back swing. think of it as let the ball get in the way of your swing. again trust your swing...

[EGS]

Mr. Buckethead,

I was really interested in your par as a bird philosophy. I went out yesterday with that mindset, but I could not convince myself that a par was really as good as a bird. What ended up happening was that I got to complacent with not hitting a good approach. I hit 85% of fairways, however, my GIR's were terrible. This left me with a chip and sometimes a two put. I went out in 40 (36) and was in at 43(36) with no doubles on the card, which is within my normal range. I really tried to uphold the idea, but it got away from me.

I must say, the area where this thought process helped trememndously was on 5's. I realized that I would rather hit my 3 iron to be in the fair way every time that try to get on in two, and likely shoot myself in the foot in the process. Thanks for the insight.

[keygolf]

There is much wrong with the industry. And I'm sorry to say, taking lessons won't guarantee improvement either.

True words in this post. Though there is one more step. and that wraps around the question "How does one develop self-control and kinesthetic ownership?" And that's where the mental management comes into full play.

The cerebral part that Ringer mentions is very real, but that's only about 3% of what goes on mentally. To learn the kinesthetic part, one needs to understand how motor learning takes place and that is different from cerebral learning. Learning research shows that if you do something once, you lose 50% of that immediately and 25% more within 48 hours. Doing the same thing (repetition) twice or three times gives the same retention factors. But if you do something 4 times in succession (repetition) you get 90% retention. Add to that the principle that we learn best in short doses with small rest periods in between. Those two basics put together indicate that if you keep repeating after the first four, the retention factor is not gaining you anything more than the first four did - unless you give yourself a mini-break. So we use what has come to be known as the 32 swing drill. That's where the mental part becomes very important in the learning process. One must carry accurate thoughts about what is to be done and what is desired as a result. There must also be an appreciation of the role of the conscious mind for manual issues and the non conscious mind (the other 97%) for issues that players love to claim as "automatic" (and they may not really be automatic, unless one knows how the automatic principle works and how to implement it, though we do not hear a lot about that one, do we?) That's another reason what Ringer is saying needs heeding, because golfers tend to spend 99% of their time on cerebral matters and logical conclusions and that will not get you to a finished product. I was hoping Ringer would say that the swing needs to have the objective of going to a desired finish (hopefully fitting the shot one wanted to hit), and everything that precedes that is in one continuous motion. Then use the 32 swing drill to build that into habit as needed for playing, so you can move your game from manual to automatic when you play your shots.

[Ringer]

True words in this post. Though there is one more step. and that wraps around the question "How does one develop self-control and kinesthetic ownership?" And that's where the mental management comes into full play.

That is an excellent follow up post keygolf. I have heard of the 32 swing drill but hadn't really investigated it. I will have to now.

And btw, you're dead on right in your last paragraph about the finish. I should have said something about the finish being the goal of your swing.

[keb]

The reason I came up with my 5 steps was to teach you how to OWN your swing and get rid of me.

What are your 5 steps? Is this in another post?

[Leek]

There is much wrong with the industry. And I'm sorry to say, taking lessons won't guarantee improvement either.

Ringer, you are right on the money. I would add that there is a point when you have to play golf, not golf swing. In order to get consistently good, the player has to learn how to play what you have that day. If you try to fix the swing during the round (which is usually just guessing), you are just playing golf swing.

[Ringer]

The reason I came up with my 5 steps was to teach you how to OWN your swing and get rid of

1- Equipment: Get your equipment fit specifically for you. Off the rack clubs and those sold on Demo days aren't right for 99.5% of the golf population.

2- Setup: This includes everything that is needed to prepare you for the swing. Club selection, shot selection, pre-shot routine, grip, stance, posture, alignment, ball position, balance, stance width.. etc etc. 3- Finish: Learn what the END of the swing should look like. Certain characteristics of the finish will show you what you did during the swing. By the same token, trying to change how you finish will change how you swing. 4- Balance: In order to make a circular motion you need a steady axis. Balance is the key to a steady axis. 5- Relax: The second part of making a circular motion is to have a steady radius. Any tension pulls the club either off plane, or changes the radius of the swing. The first three are static and easily identifiable. You can measure them and get them specific with definitive answers. The last two are really a reverse-engineering method of fixing problems. Rather than trying to get specific with what you should do during the swing, you instead learn to identify when something is just "not working". Identifying when and what body part will fix the problem much quicker and easier than trying to learn "how" it should work in the first place.

[keygolf]

1- Equipment: Get your equipment fit specifically for you. Off the rack clubs and those sold on Demo days aren't right for 99.5% of the golf population.

Ringer has covered very well the physical/mechanical arena. It's well designed and well stated. Since this thread began on the "mental game," let's add that part.

On #1 when you get fitted, unless you have some well honed skills (and, hopefully, habits) you will need to ask your fitter to make sure that you are fitted to the way you swing naturally, not to some "ideal" like which s/he thinks you ought to swing like. If you are a novice, don't try to force yourself to be like what you think you should become. Just do what comes naturally. You can have your clubs adjusted later, if need be, assuming you get reasonably good ones. (If you know about clear keys, use them when being fitted, since that will guarantee getting only what you own). On #2 get your "grip, stance, posture, alignment, ball position, balance, stance width.. etc etc." built into habit so you don't have to give conscious thought to those areas when setting up. The first part, fine, that's all in pre-shot (and that means PRE, not during). On #3 that is so very important that you need to learn to think in terms of the finish when you consider your swing. That should become part of the way you think, not just something you think about. On #4 and #5 those are together in this way: They are both part of the automatic principle. If you work from that premise, you will never be out of balance when you set up. And if you understand how to manage anxiety, you will not have tension for the time it takes to make your shots. Anxiety (psychological) produces tension (physiological). Once you have tension you have to know how to drain it, and that is done with breathing and over-gripping (more to it than that implies, however), but you still must have a means to keep further tension out while you execute your shot. That goes back to the mental game and the automatic principle. In summary. These two forces are inseparable. They either work together or - look out - the result may not be what you wanted, no matter how clear it is in your conscious mind. Make no mistake. There needs to be a balance between the mechanical and mental parts of the game. They feed from the same trough and require active participation from both arenas. You cannot fully complete the mechanical part without the mental part and if you don't have the mechanical you don't need the mental either.

[Ringer]

Again.. good followup keygolf. I don't think we've ever been so much on the same page.

[keygolf]

Again.. good followup keygolf. I don't think we've ever been so much on the same page.

Actually, we have. It's just that written communication can be deceptive when it comes to making things as clear as possible.

Sometimes, even the most innocent words can sound like an unredeemable accusation when that was never the intention. I pledge to be more careful. Thanks

[itzzzberny]

bringing back an old post that i believe is overlooked sometimes. many of us have hit about every shot that can be made. long/straight drives, great layups, approaches leaving you w/ less than a putter distance to the cup, out of bunkers right next to the pin, out of bunkers/trees far from hole but get in good position and 1 putting from 20ft or + . Even saving par/birdie by chipping or pitching from rough/sand. now that you have done these shots once or often. now all you gotta do is remember to go through the checklist for your perfect swing.

my check list:
- proper alignment
- slight tilt away from the hole ( upper body)
- 40/60 weight distribution at set up ( 40 front 60 back)
- keep good posture
- just get good contact/ don't try to kill the ball
- remember to grip like your holding a baby bird... hold it hard enough so it won't fly away but don't crush the bird to death (grip strength).

later on you can shorten your check list cause you will begin to go into the correct setup automaticlly because you learn from repeating the steps.

mental game plays the most when competing in tournaments, playing with strangers (embarresed of your play due to lack or thinking lack of skill), skins matches or even for weekend players who have a million things running in their heads. you must be relaxed and have a confidence in your swing.

think of golf like this:
each shot take about 25 seconds -1 minute. the actual shot takes only a few seconds. make sure your set up is right, then focus on the direction/distance to the flag, focus on ball and just hit it (don't try to look at your ball fly when you make contact, keep your head down). keeping your mind off of golf sometimes between shots, will help you calm yourself and shoot better.