But wait, there's more

Most recently, I've started to actually believe something I should have been sure about and conceded years ago - everyone must develop their own golf swing.

Different builds, different fitness levels, different mind-sets, not to mention different ambitions for our standard of golf mean that there is no 'one size fits all' in golf. Instructors who preach a certain approach are doing so, often in good faith, from their own experience based on what works for them. Sometimes they are merely fixing a 'problem' in someone's swing, but again the solution will be from their own experience, their own method for solving that problem or, quite often, the usual supposedly tried and true solution to that problem.

The reality is that these set methods and the multiplicity of quick fixes don't have a significant long-term benefits. Most players, no matter what level, will gravitate sooner or later to their own comfort level - the swing that feels most natural to them. I wouldn't go so far as to agree with the interesting Canadian instructor (not Shawn) who has a life goal of debunking the bio-mechanical approach to golf instruction, but there is a lot to question about a lot of golf teaching.

My own experience over the past ten years is that there is no one method - that is not your own - that will work for YOU. Of course, your own method may not be working for you either. The answer is not, obviously, to adopt someone else's method that still won't work. What is the answer?

The best I can come up with at the moment is that there are three objectives in hitting a golf ball that can and need to be addressed - really only three - namely, to hit the ball reasonably straight to one's target, hit the ball reasonably far so that the target can be reached and repeat these actions consistently. It's a simple as that.

Firstly, straightness is primarily achieved by squaring the clubface (most importantly) with the club approaching the ball on a reasonably effective path. There are an infinite number of ways of achieving this.

Secondly, as we all know, distance is achieved by generating clubhead speed - appropriate to the club being used and the target in question. Again, this can be achieved in many ways - and the most effective method has been argued about for generations.

Finally, consistency, probably the holy grail for many average golfers, is perhaps the most elusive and frustrating aspect of this great but difficult game. I think there are some ideas that can help with consistency, at least in some cases and for those who actually care.

I'll address these three objectives and my suggestions for how to approach them in my next post. So, yep, there's more.