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Showing results for tags 'swing thoughts'.
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Instructor Eric Cogorno has been sharing some good stuff on social media lately and I came across this video on swing feels, check it out. I agree with Eric, the swing thought that works for you right now isn't "it". The result of the "feel" can change over time. This is why it's important to film your swing, to see what's really going on. An easy example would be what I saw from a lot of S&T golfers who were doing the swing for a decent amount of time, working on a feel like weight forward on the backswing and eventually their heads started dipping down and towards the target on the backswing. From my own experience, while I've had basically the same priority pieces for the past 3-4 years, my feels for improving those issues have evolved (below, just go through the last several pages). I think it's fine to experiment with different "feels" and run them by your instructor. Obviously I don't mean to experiment every practice session (or with what your priority piece is) Instructors are there to identify a priority piece(s) and suggest thoughts/feels/drills, golfers have to take some responsibility on figuring out the feel that works best. Let's say you slide your hips back on the backswing and you were suggested to do the wall drill. What should you feel when you're on the range practicing? I don't know, do the drill and see what you have to feel to do it properly. Some golfers might feel the left knee rotate more inward, some might feel the right hip turn back and around, some might feel it with how their left shoulder moves, some might feel something different. What's important is getting the feel to translate to the improved motion. Like I said, check in with your instructor, I send mine texts every so often with a quick video asking, "I'm feeling so-and-so, what do you think?".
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Good Morning Golfers, I've been thinking a lot about the mental side of golf these days and have realized there is not nearly enough content available on routine building, head mechanics and analytical vs. creative mental training as it relates to amateur/professional golf and pressure situations. Although golf is a passion of mine, my background is not in golf. My experiences with mental game training and weapon sports are from playing pool. Being a journey man road player for many years, mental training became more and more important as I progressed as a player. For instance, analytical thought and execution during play with regards to stroke mechanics, is a players worst enemy (at least in pool it is). It is impossible to play at a high level while thing about changes in your stroke or even thinking about your stroke period. Thats why a pre-shot routine is so important in getting your head out of the stroke while performing at a top level. Especially in competition, whether it be tournament play or other pressure situations (I.e, gambling)... My question to you is, what would be a beneficial and entertaining show on the mental game of golf? I'm not talking about speaking to mental coaches or sports psychologists (because that shit is boring), but rather speaking with high level tour pro's and mini-tour amateur's about their experiences in pressure situations where mental training, or lack there of, has either saved or killed an opportunity. Also, what could be done to avoid/ exacerbate failures or successes? What mental or physical routines have been used, whether it be eye patterns, visualization, breathing, swing thoughts and mechanical process, to bring ones mind to peak acuity during competition. What media format would be most beneficial to an amateur player or even an advanced mini-tour player when it comes to learning more about the mental side of golf while in an entertaining setting? For instance a Feherty for strictly stories on mental successes or failures in the game of golf. Let me know your thoughts on this! Maybe I'm way to far out in left field but I would find it very beneficial and entertaining to hear from guys like Kevin Na on mental successes and failures and what causes them. Thanks!! Uncle Tony
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Do you feel your swing as one motion? 2? 3?
Rainmaker posted a topic in Instruction and Playing Tips
Obviously, a golf swing is not a continuous motion - at least not in the sense that it goes back, stops, and then goes forwards. But much like drawing your arm back and then punching "Feels like a continuous motion" . .I started experimenting with trying to make my swing feel like one motion instead of 2 or 3. Does your swing feel like one motion to you? Or does it feel like a backswing and then a downswing? Or a backswing, a transition and a downswing? I guess my natural feeling is that it is a backswing and then a downswing . .but I think that needs to change to one motion. It's not really a hard change to make - although kind of hard to describe. Instead of getting to (near) the top of my backswing and then "GO" . .it's more like address the ball and then "GO". I lose external awareness in much the same way as I have always done on my downswing. -
A big part of what separates TST from other sites is the instructional content that is provided. Golfers want to get better and there are a lot of threads on here that can guide golfers in the right direction. From all these topics and member swing threads we run into these popular questions, "What should I feel?" and "I feel so-and-so when I do this, is that right?". Honestly, the answer is......we have no idea. We're not seeing the swing and not in your body to confirm whether something is right or wrong. Unfortunately there isn't one feel that will work for every player. A golfer that moves their head forward (towards the target) on the backswing is going to have to feel something much different than a golfer that moves their head away from the target. This may surprise many of you but even golfers working on the same priority/Key will probably feel different things. We all have our own tendencies and instincts. Let's stick with the Key #1 example and say you're the player that tilts the spine towards the target on the backswing (left pic) and moves the head forward. What should you feel to stop doing this? Instructors can suggest feels and manually put you in a position but it's ultimately up to you to finalize the swing thought/feel. Instructors aren't there to tell you what to feel, they're there to help identify the priority, explain the cause and effect, guide you with how the body needs to move to accomplish the motion and recommend some feels. For the example above, the instructor decided to hold an alignment stick against the player's right hip and left side of their head and has them make a slow, practice backswing. The instructor will probably share a couple feels or images. After a few swings the instructor will ask you how it feels to you. This is important and something all good instructors do. The suggested feels may click with the player or they might have felt it more with the left shoulder bending down and across or that their upper back stayed "flexed over" or something unorthodox. Even a really odd feel can produce good mechanics, just depends on what works for the player. If you get credible advice on a Member Swing thread and aren't sure what it should feel like, do the drill associated with the priority/Key. Most helpful posts include a video or a couple of pics. Do the drill slowly, make yourself uncomfortable and change the picture. Film yourself doing it, take note of what you need to do, what you need to feel to get it right and use that for when you practice. Monitor the feels by filming your swing and your drill swings. If you're the golfer in the left pic, have a friend hold a stick against your head, or make slow practice backswings with your head against a door jam/door, or make the backswings with your right hip next to a wall, etc. Do the work and learn what feels work for you to fix your priority piece. If your head still moves towards the target and you're feeling your head move a foot off the ball, go back to the wall (or drill) for a refresher. Example from a recent practice session of mine. I needed to improve my hip thrust on the downswing. From 4-4.5 I needed to make sure the hips stayed on their inclination and then I could straighten the legs and extend the arms. So I rehearsed the movement slowly a few times, asked a buddy of mine, "does that look right?" and we filmed it. I basically need to "crunch" a little before I extended. The swing thought that I came up with was the image of a small nerf ball sitting on my left hip at 4 and I had to increase my hip tilt in a way that would "crunch" the ball. It's kind of a silly feel but one that resulted in the desired outcome. Understand that feel works for me (and that I'm not actually increasing my hips slants), it could be disastrous for someone else. When you're working on your swing and making changes, take ownership of your feels, don't solely rely on others to tell you what you need to feel for your swing. Take time in understanding how those feels effect the picture, use video to confirm. For member swing threads, instead of asking if a feel is right or wrong, post a video or pic and ask if the piece is being performed correctly. Help us help you P.S. Don't get distracted by Golf Digest articles from a tour pro sharing their swing thoughts. Tour players don't have the "secret" and most of them don't know anything about the mechanics of the golf swing. The swing thought in the magazine may work for that player even if they may not even actually do what they feel. Every tour player has their own swing thoughts and feels (so who's right?) and just because Jason Day had a great year doesn't mean his quickie tip is going to fix your slice.
