Are you blinded by poor muscle memory?

[Mike Boatright]

I was giving advice to another member on here 20 minutes ago and I realized an important fundamental know body ever talks about and it's called Muscle memory. Essentially practicing a motion that we learn seeps into our brain we then sleep on and it's there for a while ingrained. The theory is doing only one thing set's you up into a one dimensional motion with stronger % of misses being consistent meaning your drills you practice will work for a while then all of the sudden you will start reverting back to learned misses usually the same one. I realized a while back on the range that trying to hit to wild curveballs will actually help my game a lot. When i'm hooking it I open up and slice it wildly on purpose for 10 shots then go back to normal which results in better every time. I do the same for when I'm coming out of it to the right I hit low snappers for fun then normal becomes a draw again this all works best with a driver on a tee. This does work it's real and kinda mind boggling to realize trying to hit a stock shots over and over again will result in long term failure because over time flaws creep in and the body and mind don't know how to react. The good news is it doesn't take long to reset your misses this is really like weight training over time your body plateaus and if your not challenging new muscles you will become static. Your not growing muscles here,however what you are doing is training your brain.

Edited October 7, 2015 by Mike Boatright

[TheDIYGolfer]

I am in the same boat right now!  Trying to get that muscle memory intact so that during the tournaments, I am able to swing freely without reverting back to old, bad habits.  I just talked to a psychologist who talked about something called "myelination," which is the actual term for muscle memory.  He said that the best way to ingrain something in your swing is to hit groups of 20 balls at a time, and only have 1 thing you are working on at a time.  

The only way to really "myelinate" is to do it thousands of times!

[Mike Boatright]

That makes a lot of sense just hitting 20 balls very good. I'm talking about rerouting your mind to accommodate misses somehow intentionally hitting the opposite of your misses fixes it very quickly. In the end we all hit thousands of balls most of em aren't as we intended. 

 

[nevets88]

Imho, maintaining muscle memory/a consistent swing motion, is best served by steady:

• Lessons/checkups by a pro who knows what he/she is doing.
• Mirror work/slow tempo swings/mapping.
• Videoing your swing + swing analyzer.
• Written notes on feels.

 

[saevel25]

That makes a lot of sense just hitting 20 balls very good. I'm talking about rerouting your mind to accommodate misses somehow intentionally hitting the opposite of your misses fixes it very quickly. In the end we all hit thousands of balls most of em aren't as we intended. 

it's just practicing what you need to do the right way to change what you want in the swing. With big swing changes it might something you always have to work on. If you are just hitting golf balls all you are doing is practicing the same shitty swing. 

I would take a look at this link here. I never hit a lot of golf balls with no purpose. You can do more change to your swing with this type of practice than just pounding golf balls. 

http://thesandtrap.com/forums/topic/54840-simple-specific-slow-short-and-success-the-five-ss-of-great-practice/
 

[Lihu]

I am in the same boat right now!  Trying to get that muscle memory intact so that during the tournaments, I am able to swing freely without reverting back to old, bad habits.  I just talked to a psychologist who talked about something called "myelination," which is the actual term for muscle memory.  He said that the best way to ingrain something in your swing is to hit groups of 20 balls at a time, and only have 1 thing you are working on at a time.  

The only way to really "myelinate" is to do it thousands of times!

Ben Hogan's number was 10,000 times. . .

[Mike Boatright]

I agree with all of this it takes thousands of times however you guys seem to be missing the point. It's advanced brain training doing the opposite of what you intend instead of trying for a target and ending in failure 5-10 times. By broadening the range with high slice and sharp hook to an 85 yard wide target you will develop some Fred couples and Bubba Watson into your game. From here feel will become real and when your need to hit your desired 5 yard draw 200 yards to the green it will come. When your body knows what to do and you eliminate your brain you will become very good to the maximum of your ability. I understand practicing with a target having a pre shot routine it's great and all but I have found this method far more effective because it's real golf and instinct not method target and technical actions.. Both will work I get technical but less is more for sure.

Edited October 7, 2015 by Mike Boatright