Gestalt golf

So much for my simple weight shift concept. Like many of my other ideas, it sounds good and works fine in practice swings, but doesn't translate well to actually hitting shots on the course.

My idea was to use increased pressure in the front foot at transition as the trigger for the downswing to therefore improve the sequencing of my swing. However, I found it difficult to isolate this trigger from the other movements that were in progress at the time. I needed to think again.

I'm now coming to the view, which I must admit I have heard before quite a few times, that the swing must be thought of as a single motion, not a number of isolated body positions, no matter how well sequenced.

This is in line with the idea that the full golf swing is a natural movement akin to skipping a stone or throwing a ball sidearm or underarm. It is natural because there is absolutely no thought going on about body positions, weight transfer, arm or wrist movement; in fact the only thought is about how hard to throw in order to skim the object or hit the target.

It seems to me that this is the same thought pattern that must be in place in the golf swing. I think it's important to set up correctly, squarely and in an athletic way, and with the correct grip and alignment, but then the process must, I now feel, be almost automatic, rhythmic, smooth, and target focused.

When you look at the swings of very good golfers, you see a variety of styles, positions, and methods, but you generally notice the smoothness and effortless power generated in their swings. It stands to reason that it is the rhythmic, fluidity of their swings that is the key element, rather than the positions they create.

This gestalt view (the whole is more than the sum of the parts) is one I've probably had in the back of my tiny mind for some time, but now that my golf seems to be in a downward spiral, I think I need to take a different approach - forget all of my previous theories, all of the tips and titbits of knowledge I've acquired and just go out and hit the darned ball.

By the way, I think this same gestalt concept applies to putting and chipping. It doesn't seem to matter what kind of grip or stance I adopt, I putt badly if I try too hard or putt with too many thoughts in my mind. A smooth, rhythmic stroke, much like Mr Day's, seems to work much better. It's harder to achieve this under pressure, but I think it's probably a gestalt related concept worth working on.