A Lesson Learned

For some bizarre reason I decided to experiment with several technical ideas in my last round. I think that because it was an important competitive round that I needed to find something extra. What I found, of course, was that this was an extremely BAD IDEA.

Basically, what I tried to do was introduce a more pronounced hip bump, with the objective of getting more weight onto the front foot and creating more lag and power in the process. The problem with this, until you have worked on it for some time, is that it changes your swing plane too much and brings in the dangerous sway and dip moves that play havoc with consistency. The odd good shot doesn't make up for the three topped, heeled, whatever mishits.

I tried this for much of the round and my ball striking got progressively worse until I remembered that a connected, balanced swing was by far the more effective way to hit the ball. It seems to me that the weight transfer and lag are really a side-effect of a connected swing, mainly because of the momentum created by the forward swing of the arms. I think it's only necessary to have an awareness that you need to finish on the front foot and to be able to visualise that finish for it to actually occur.

A useful analogy for the golf swing, which has been quoted many times by many instructors, is the skipping of a stone. The motion in this side or underhand throw is very much the one that should be used in the golf swing. It is, for anyone with any athletic ability, a quite natural movement, with the arm going back, the weight moving to the front side, and the arm coming through a split second later. There's really very little thought about the movement; the focus is on the target.

In a previous blog I spoke about the benefit of a simple, single swing thought. I did stick to the single thought, but it was too big a thought. It was too much of a mechanical change to try to make during a round of golf. The lesson I've learned is 'don't take mechanical thoughts that you have not tried and tested to a golf game'. This is so obvious, so much common sense, but then again this is golf.

By the way, I also tried a new putting stance, again for half of that disastrous round, with equally poor results. What was wrong with channeling the smooth JD putting stoke, I ask myself? I should trust that I am a fairly good putter and not get caught up in crazy notions of finding the 'ideal' putting stroke. This is another lesson to be learned.