The Virtue of Being a Stupid Monkey (and How it can Help Your Golf Game)

[mvmac]

I never got one, then again I am not entirely sure how to......

Start a swing thread and share videos and notes demonstrating you're practicing properly and sticking with your priority piece.

[iacas]

Start a swing thread and share videos and notes demonstrating you're practicing properly and sticking with your priority piece.

Yup.

[Elmer]

Start a swing thread and share videos and notes demonstrating you're practicing properly and sticking with your priority piece.

Yup.

That seems like a ton of outside work, aside from just practicing.

However if that is what I have to do to get a fancy badge and fix my game, I will make my best effort!

[mmoan2]

Would it be worth it to post my range sessions on my swing thread where I am working on "stupid monkey" priority pieces? I find that when I try to stay very granular and focus on one thing, especially if it's a half-swing or shorter, I often feel very unathletic and clunky. I wonder at times if I'm getting worse because of it. I know "Feel isn't real," but at some point, isn't that all you have - how your body feels about the swing?

I probably shouldn't be too worried about this because today will be the first time I swing a golf club in over a month due to injury. I also just got an iPhone 6, so I have a 240 fps camera. I'll post and any comments are welcome. Thanks people.

[pumaAttack]

Would it be worth it to post my range sessions on my swing thread where I am working on "stupid monkey" priority pieces? I find that when I try to stay very granular and focus on one thing, especially if it's a half-swing or shorter, I often feel very unathletic and clunky. I wonder at times if I'm getting worse because of it. I know "Feel isn't real," but at some point, isn't that all you have - how your body feels about the swing?

I probably shouldn't be too worried about this because today will be the first time I swing a golf club in over a month due to injury. I also just got an iPhone 6, so I have a 240 fps camera. I'll post and any comments are welcome. Thanks people.

I fee the exact same way.  When I am working on a change I feel awful and so uncoordinated.  We are just so used to our old motions so we feel really awkward.

[mvmac]

That seems like a ton of outside work, aside from just practicing.

That's what practicing is

Would it be worth it to post my range sessions on my swing thread where I am working on "stupid monkey" priority pieces?

Absolutely, I've posted mine, so has @iacas

I fee the exact same way.  When I am working on a change I feel awful and so uncoordinated.  We are just so used to our old motions so we feel really awkward.

You almost have to "welcome" the uncomfortable feels, that's how you know it's different.

[mvmac]

Absolutely, I've posted mine, so has @iacas.

Here's another one. Swings posted in member swing threads don't have to be full speed swings. I could make the case that most swings people post should be practice/drill type of swings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejUkqu-exKk&feature;=youtu.be

[Torres9]

The semantics of the thread is a little different, however I agree with the premise. Playing with confidence and off instincts is premium. Thinking too much about technique while trying to golf your ball... never works..

[Big Lex]

Rather than "stupid monkey," how about "innocent child?" I think most elite golfers learned as children. They were incapable of high level thought about the swing, yet they learned, and became experts. What does this tell us? i think it tells us that the foundation of high level golf is not anything complicated, otherwise children would be incapable of becoming great. The foundation of high level golf is simple things. Swing the club freely. Point the club face correctly at the start. Hit the ball with the freely swinging club head. I think we have it backwards. You don't make good golf shots by schooling your body to execute a list of bio mechanical imperatives. You hit good golf shots by practicing hitting the ball with a free fluid swing, and you let your brain sort out automatically how to make your muscles do it. This is why there are so many different types of swings at the expert level.

[iacas]

Rather than "stupid monkey," how about "innocent child?"

Stupid Monkey is more attention grabbing, and since the term is adequately (IMO) defined in the first post, I feel like I could have called it "Pluppy Dingbat" and it would be understood to be what it is.

Besides, I come from a history of calling things "monkeys" (like "minimum-wage code monkeys"). And it has evolutionary implications, and ties in with the Golf Evolution brand.

[mvmac]

PGA Tour players function best when they're told "do this little thing and you'll play better golf" and they try to do it. They're often incredibly good at doing that thing. They don't overthink things. They're just the trained monkey.

 

[Slowcelica]

I haven't read this entire thread but I have the problem of I want to tinker, I trust my instructor because he's done something that many instructors have tried to do and I have tried to do for years. Get rid of my slice and get me to hit a fade. 

But it with that being said I have trouble staying interested in the primary piece I am supposed to be working on. I can't help but watch some YouTube videos and tinker some. Who else's has this problem and how do you avoid it and stay focused?

[saevel25]

2 hours ago, Slowcelica said:

But it with that being said I have trouble staying interested in the primary piece I am supposed to be working on. I can't help but watch some YouTube videos and tinker some. Who else's has this problem and how do you avoid it and stay focused?

First it's realizing a lot of that stuff on the youtube, thought might be sound in principle, is most likely just talking in terms of feels that might not even work for your swing. 

Real long term swing changes come from developing your own feels for the swing change you want to do. A good instructor helps you figure that stuff out. 

Bouncing around from video to video on youtube, and tinkering does nothing to help the swing because it's not real meaningful practice. 

[mvmac]

5 hours ago, Slowcelica said:

I can't help but watch some YouTube videos and tinker some. Who else's has this problem and how do you avoid it and stay focused?

I had this issue to a certain extent. I basically got over it because I got fed up with wasting my time and started to see success when I just stuck with one priority at a time.

[Slowcelica]

On November 12, 2015 at 11:42:48 PM, mvmac said:

I had this issue to a certain extent. I basically got over it because I got fed up with wasting my time and started to see success when I just stuck with one priority at a time.

Yea I think I just need to stay off YouTube, and just keep my focus on my one piece I need to work on.

[mvmac]

Stupid monkey example.

http://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2015/11/16/gmac-is-back-credits-greg-norman-with-key-tip.html

Quote

“Funny anecdote for you,” McDowell said. “I got a text message lesson from Greg Norman on Saturday night and he said he watched some of the coverage and he thought I looked a little short and a little quick. He said complete my backswing and be a bit more relaxed at address.”

The two went back-and-forth with text messages, McDowell gave his backswing extra attention Sunday and Monday, and voila.

 

[Dave325]

On November 15, 2015 at 4:21:02 PM, Slowcelica said:

Yea I think I just need to stay off YouTube, and just keep my focus on my one piece I need to work on.

I completely agree and am in the same place. I plan to stay on track with Evolvr and the swing concepts that I have been doing until I can get up to Erie for some lessons. Hopefully, tht should happen right after the holidays.

[sirhacksalot]

I just took the time to read the whole thread.  I am not a stupid monkey though I really want to be.  I have completely blew up my swing from self analysis and youtube / magazine teaching because I didn't agree with one thing that my instructor said on the course.  Now I realize I am swinging a lot worse and probably more so than if I just did what he said," always go for it. If you are between clubs, swing the shorter one harder".  I thought I was in the swing a longer club easier crowd.  Now I am thinking he may know more about my timing / rhythm then I do and was making a suggestion based on my swing and not his own preference. 

Self searching and over analysis has caused me to play to much worse level than my handicap, and the cheap used golf clubs on ebay and craigslist, has also allowed me to not stick with any club that isn't working. :face palm: