The Zone

It's only been ten years since I've been pursuing the 'perfect golf swing' by finding and testing a large range of golf theories and methods.

In fact, it's been ten years and one month, yet it was only last weekend that I finally concluded that I have a good enough swing to go it alone - that is, by not using someone else's swing theory or even swing thought.

This revelation occurred because I was trying to use Jimmy Ballard's idea (really one of his key moves) where the downswing begins with a conscious push off from a braced rear foot and knee. Something like this sounded so logical that I wanted to incorporate it into my swing. But it doesn't really work; focusing on this move upsets the rhythm of the total swing, which needs to happen as an organic whole. And that organic whole is one's own personal swing method or style.

This is not to say that fundamentals including, for example, a good athletic set up, good grip, good alignment, calm mind and, hopefully, some rhythm, are not important. These are things that can be developed, even taught in some respects. But each golfer needs to develop their own set up etc. and if in some respects there are faults, sort them out. Slicers, for example, can reduce the degree of curvature simply be not aiming so far left (right handers), not playing the ball so far forward, etc. It's not, as they say, rocket science.

And the reality is not everyone can drive the ball 300 yards. One has to be realistic about one's physical capabilities. If a golfer is not particularly strong or young, or both, then accuracy and short game must take over as priorities. There is a lot to be said for getting a drive on the fairway and hitting decent fairway woods or pitching and putting well.

I am now convinced that if a golfer doesn't know how to grip the club, align, set up and so forth, they should find out - there is general agreement in the golfing industry on most of these things, unlike the lack of agreement on swing mechanics and methods. Even copying the set up and pre shot routine (not the time taken) by any conventional but good golfer is not the worst approach to take. But after that, we must swing at our own speed, and with our own style and, perhaps most importantly, our own expectations for any golf shot.

Last round, I was speaking to some colleagues about this issue of having swing keys or swing thoughts and we all agreed that 'not thinking' over a golf shot is the hardest thing to achieve on a golf course. Yet, and I read this just the other day, 'not thinking' is the only way we can even get close to that holy grail of golf - 'The Zone'. Because it is only when we are in The Zone that we can play the golf we are truly capable of playing.

Years ago, I read an interesting fact in what was probably a book on the mental side of golf - possibly 'Golf in the Kingdom', but I'm not sure. The writer said that the average club golfer has over time probably parred or birdied every hole on their own course, proving that they have the potential to do this. However, apart from scratch golfers they will rarely par or birdie more than a few holes in any one round. The writer then suggested that it is this inability to find and stay in the zone that is preventing most of these golfers from reaching his/her full potential.

This reality is at once depressing and exciting. Even if we can't find and stay in that elusive zone, we can at least give ourselves a better chance of playing golf at a higher level by cutting out the intrusive and destructive thinking (and I don't just mean negative thoughts, it's ANY thoughts) that we currently do. I'm excited about my next round of golf - I'm hoping I can approach The Zone - I just hope it's not The Twilight Zone.