Are you a feel or mechanical golfer?

[tomvk77]

I'm a feel player for sure.

At the course you hardly see me make practice swings or measure the exact distance.

It's all feel for me, and somehow i have a good feeling i hardly miss short or long.

Even with putting i don't make practice strokes guess my head / hand coordination works fine.

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by geauxforbroke

If one of us went to a pro for a lesson and they said "Your right elbow is very disconnected in the backswing, so I want you to practice keeping less than 2.25 inches of separation between your body and elbow during the first 35* of the swing arc"

I would probably just walk out. lol

[rehmwa]

Originally Posted by geauxforbroke

I still stand behind my original post that everyone is a feel player.

by your definition, i absolutely agree

but I think the discussion is more about how one goes about choosing how to hit their shots.  not simply that actually hitting the shots is a tactile and physical thing

language is a crazy thing

[geauxforbroke]

Originally Posted by rehmwa

Quote:

Originally Posted by geauxforbroke

I still stand behind my original post that everyone is a feel player.

by your definition, i absolutely agree

but I think the discussion is more about how one goes about choosing how to hit their shots.  not simply that actually hitting the shots is a tactile and physical thing

language is a crazy thing

Yeah, quite honestly, I think it's a bullsh*t comparison.

As far as selecting shots, I think it goes back to the "creative vs. consistent" comparison.

[dbuck]

I try to be mechanical about a few of the most basic keys such as grip, stance, and alignment (I struggle with alignment). I try to be more feel with the rest. I try to think about keeping my head still or a smooth but deliberate take away and tempo, but try not to think about swing plane or hand action, or lag, etc. I am not particularly athletic, so my swing looks a little spastic to me. I have to think some, but try to limit it as much as possible. After I had been playing a few years, I did take a few basic lessons. The pro was old school, but did ground me in grip and stance and the basic swing. He taught me a drill or two that I use to this day. My swing doesn't look like I am killing my lunch, but it ain't ballet either. I have always wished to be as fluid as Freddie, but it won't happen.

[Moppy]

I try to be a mechanical player because I notice that when I am hitting them well after making an adjustment, for example, to aiming, or say the angle of my swing, if the adjustment works, the ball flies better even though the adjustment feels wrong at first. Once I have made the adjustment, then it "feels" right after some practice and positive re-enforcement from the ball flight.

[Andrew123vl]

God given talent, natural ability, a feel player.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by Slice of Life

Quote:

Originally Posted by rehmwa

I already pointed out the straw manning from before (a 'feel' player just does the same thing intuitively - maybe based on 39 years of experience, unless they are a beginner just making it up as we go along.  But the handicaps posted show there are good players that 'claim' both or either).

I'm pretty happy with what I've learned on this thread.

and there's no such thing as 'exact' distance - too many uncontrolled inputs to the game.

(do I become a 'feel' player if I say I bring my hands "about" to waist height?  )

Maybe, maybe not. I play with guys who look at the club and what it's doing on the practice shot. They know how far they have to swing to go a certain distance. I just hit a couple practice shots until it feels like the right one for the distance. If you asked me how far I bring my 60 back for a 50 yard shot, I couldn't tell you...I have no clue, I just swing until it feels like that's what it would take to go that distance. Other guys would have an exact answer.

I think THAT'S the difference. Not that one is better than the other, whichever you're more comfortable with.

This^^

I have no idea how far back I take a club to play a given shot.  I don't even look at my hands or the clubhead.  All that is likely to do is make me self-conscious, and yes, mechanical.  I can picture in my head what I want a pitch to look like, but to achieve that, I just sense what the clubhead is doing on the practice swings to get the feel which I think will give me what I envision.  It doesn't always work out that way, but more often than not I'm in the ball park.  And I can do it with an 8I, or PW or a GW for the same distance, and just sense the differences in the swing needed to make it happen.

Maybe some of you don't like the word "feel".  Call it "touch" then.  The rose still smells the same.

[Andrew123vl]

Originally Posted by tomvk77

I'm a feel player for sure.

At the course you hardly see me make practice swings or measure the exact distance.

It's all feel for me, and somehow i have a good feeling i hardly miss short or long.

Even with putting i don't make practice strokes guess my head / hand coordination works fine.

Pure feel. Gifted. Naturally talented. I could put it this way - a feel player, without ever hitting a golf ball, could grab a club and hit a decent golf shot, a mechanical player (less natural ability) could not. After much practice however, a repeatable learnt swing, and acquiring a selection of repeatable shots, can equal or surpass the natural player.

It's not fair, but some people have to work hard to achieve the same results as someone who does little to no practice. This applies to any sport which requires hand eye coordination.

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by Andrew123vl

Pure feel. Gifted. Naturally talented. I could put it this way - a feel player, without ever hitting a golf ball, could grab a club and hit a decent golf shot, a mechanical player (less natural ability) could not. After much practice however, a repeatable learnt swing, and acquiring a selection of repeatable shots, can equal or surpass the natural player.

It's not fair, but some people have to work hard to achieve the same results as someone who does little to no practice. This applies to any sport which requires hand eye coordination.

There are plenty of naturally talented world class players that are mechanical.

[rehmwa]

Originally Posted by Andrew123vl

Pure feel. Gifted. Naturally talented. I could put it this way - a feel player, without ever hitting a golf ball, could grab a club and hit a decent golf shot, a mechanical player (less natural ability) could not. After much practice however, a repeatable learnt swing, and acquiring a selection of repeatable shots, can equal or surpass the natural player.

It's not fair, but some people have to work hard to achieve the same results as someone who does little to no practice. This applies to any sport which requires hand eye coordination.

Your handicap is a 15 posted.  When you get that down to under a 5 or a 2 or so.  It'll be great to hear what you had to do and learn to complete that journey.

In the meantime, that's great for you.

but you're making a mistake in this forum equating 'less natural ability' with 'mechnical' player.  that's not what it means even a little bit.  Natural vs not natural has nothing to do with the feel vs mechanical discussion

[geauxforbroke]

Originally Posted by rehmwa

but you're making a mistake in this forum equating 'less natural ability' with 'mechnical' player.  that's not what it means even a little bit.  Natural vs not natural has nothing to do with the feel vs mechanical discussion

Agreed. I think it has a lot more to do with how the brain works and how we learn and retain a golf swing than natural ability.

[Andrew123vl]

Originally Posted by rehmwa

Your handicap is a 15 posted.  When you get that down to under a 5 or a 2 or so.  It'll be great to hear what you had to do and learn to complete that journey.

In the meantime, that's great for you.

but you're making a mistake in this forum equating 'less natural ability' with 'mechnical' player.  that's not what it means even a little bit.  Natural vs not natural has nothing to do with the feel vs mechanical discussion

I don't want to upset anyone. Peoples perception of what mechanical means will differ, as we are all different and our minds process things differently. A robot could be created that hits a golf ball perfectly, a human can also develop this ability, through practice. My interpretation of mechanical is someone who has learnt ability, over natural ability. Of course, it is on a scale. 100 percent natural will always be very unlikely, as will 100 percent mechanical.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by rehmwa

but you're making a mistake in this forum equating 'less natural ability' with 'mechnical' player.  that's not what it means even a little bit.  Natural vs not natural has nothing to do with the feel vs mechanical discussion

Agreed. Nick Faldo did okay and is often regarded (incorrectly, IMO) as one of the most "mechanical" players out there.

Every player is a feel player, period (IMO). I don't agree with the recent twists to define feel and mechanics as "how you select a shot." Especially given the rarity with which anyone hits a shot where they don't know the yardage. This line of reasoning might have a point if you never looked at a yardage from any distance, but even then it would still be weak at best.

[rehmwa]

Originally Posted by iacas

. I don't agree with the recent twists to define feel and mechanics as "how you select a shot."

I agree with what you're saying overall.

I also agree that the thread is dead.

The other day I was "feeling" it and would just walk to my ball, close my eyes, spin three times, and randomly grab a club and swing at the ball with the grip of the club - after I consulted my spreadsheet and run numbers on the calculator.

[MS256]

Does anybody remember seeing a "Test" in one of the golf magazines several years ago that was supposed to determine if you were a feel player or a mechanical player?

I was fairly new to golf at the time and I answered the questions and by my answers my score was as far to the "feel" end of the scale as it could get.

My son was also fairly new to golf and he scored as far to the "mechanical" end of the scale as he could get.

Then the magazine recommended that people as far toward the "feel" end as I was should focus on mechanics and everybody as far toward the "mechanical" end as my son was should do some things to develop more feel.

It was funny how close that test came to pegging us on the money and I still can't find fault with the recommendation either.

I would like to find the test again and have us take it again. I would bet that this time our answers would put us in the middle of the scale.

There are differences in the way we process task actions. Some of us "see" the task as an action puzzle and just perform the puzzle while others see an action as a series of checkpoints and follow the checkpoints. There are advantages to both, and both have adapt traits from the other group to excel. The ones that perform the puzzle are decent early on but are quick to get bored and move on to another thing (or another sport) and the ones that follow the checkpoints know from their life experiences that they will improve if they work at it and are likely to stay with something longer.

As a young baseball coach (that didn't have a clue about learning techniques) it drove me crazy when an outstanding athlete couldn't "just do" an easy task the first time, while other lessor athletes could perform the same action pretty well the first time. It was a relief and much less of a headache when I learned that there truly are differences and that good player that can't "just do it" will as likely as not pass that lessor player that could "just do it" with just a little bit of practice when he gets the mechanics down.

[rehmwa]

Did a search for the test.  couldn't find it.

but THIS - is what I consider feel....  and it has zero to do with the thread topic (or at least with where the thread ended up) - but might explain some of the posts

http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/sixth-sense-bubba-watson-golfs-ultimate-feel-player

[Brakkus]

I would say learn the golf swing mechanically in a conceptual way absorbing the images and movements whether from an instructor or by self coaching, and then go out and feel the actual swing. I know certain players are lauded for there unorthodox approach to the swing but did they really have the most efficient swings? They made it work because of the bodies intuitive feel but maybe they could have been better. The danger now for an amateur golfer really is information overload. There's an awful temptation to go to mechanical. Use it to an advantage but trust your feel and your body to repeat the movements you want in your swing. A fine balance but the way to go. I would also agree with an earlier post that the long game can become mechanical by nature because its more structured and strategised particularly if you hitting certain yardages, but the short game needs more instinct and personal expression as the swing mechanics are less complicated