Maintain the rage

The rage is there, but in fact I'm talking here about a swing thought that I've come up with that is both technically relevant and psychologically helpful.

One of the main problems with my golf game is, as one could easily guess, having too many swing thoughts, too much going on in my mind about mechanics as I try to actually play the game. For this reason I've come up with a single swing thought that I can use as I set up that should, and does, keep most of those other swing thoughts at bay.

The thought (which can be verbalised if I choose) is 'keep your height'. It's obviously related to two of the major killers of golf swings - dipping and lifting. Dipping is more common to better golfers and something that they can get away with nearly all the time because of good timing, etc. Lifting is far more prevalent in the swings of poorer golfers, particularly those trying to compensate for an over the top swing. I have, needless to say, suffered from both maladies at some time or another.

Previously, I have worried more about swaying, but since re-reading Jimmy Ballard's book, I'm now far less concerned with lateral movement, at least provided the sway back to the front foot is timed reasonably well. But dipping and lifting are definitely more damaging to the average golfer. The bottom of the swing arc is sacrosanct. Any major dip or lift will have more effect on this than a few inches of sway and solid contact and distance control will go out the window.

But the technical reasons for not dipping or swaying are no more important than the psychological reasons for using a swing thought like 'keep your height'. This single swing thought helps clear the mind of other concerns about backswing, transition, downswing, etc. etc. and seems to have the side benefit of encouraging one to swing within oneself, not try to overpower the ball, swing with rhythm.

I will definitely maintain my golfing rage, but I plan to keep my 'keep your height' swing thought for some time to come.

As a postscript, my putting woes continue, but I am moving towards a grip that I can feel comfortable with and that also minimises club face rotation and keeps my elbows in, something that helps me keep the putting swing compact and the club face square. In brief, as a right hander, I rotate my left hand (anti-clockwise) into a super 'weak' position and my right hand (clockwise) into a very 'strong' position, so that they are not palms facing, as tradition instruction suggests. This position limits the amount of club face rotation. Try it, it works. I also overlap my right pinky (Vardon grip) to slightly reduce my right hand pressure and control - not something I do on full shots anymore, given that Ballard has given me 'permission' to use as much right side 'hit' as I want - a few other provisos being in place.