The pause that refreshes

I've just realised that I had almost a whole year, last year, with no posts. Did I think I had all the answers? Had I reached such a level of golfing competence that I need not explore improvement options? Was I sick of golf? Was I too confused?

No to dreams competency and no I had not lost my curiosity about the game, but yes to confusing myself with too many theories, too many tips. I had to stop for a while.

In view of these, hardly surprising, conclusions. I have decided on a couple of slightly revised strategies for my upcoming rounds. I would describe these as minor modifications to some of my other fairly firm views on how to play the game. The aim, however, is simplification, and I'll explain why.

The golf swing is fundamentally a natural turning or coiling action that would have been used by hunters, fisherman, rock-wall builders, farmers, and Uncle Tom Cobley and all (an old reference). The trouble is golfers use strange sticks with angled metal bits on the end. And they use these sticks to try to hit a small round object long distances or with sensitivity and great accuracy.

All of the above humans did and do have one thing in common, regardless of the activity they are about to perform - preparation - building a solid base with their feet, legs and torso. It's the same in golf; the set up, bracing, alignment and so forth are very important. Once you have these fundamentals (call it an athletic set up and correct alignment or positioning) in place, the rest of the action should be a natural as possible.

There are methods, commercially oriented and taught systems, that are called 'natural' or 'simple' or something of that kind, but whatever their merits, golfers can usually swing a club quite well without much help of this kind. The set up fundamentals take care of most of the mechanics of the golf swing. What's left is rhythm and timing, combined with all that goes into game or course management.

Rhythm is mainly about not rushing the swing, letting the strange implement that is the golf club to do the work it has been designed (by some evil genius) to do.

With all this in mind, my next round will include the following:

Good athletic set up and correct alignment (hopefully as usual).
A free swing, with NO thoughts about connection (a pet theory) or wrist cock (a recent theory).
Pitching and chipping to a spot - no technical swing thoughts at all.
Putting with a slightly split grip, primarily using my controlling right hand (staying with this theory).

Basically, I want to try to free myself up to score, to play the game, not work the game. If I'm right and my fundamentals are good, and I can control my mind (stop thinking so much), I might even play some decent golf. And I could then even think about taking another pause that refreshes*.

*'Pause that refreshes' is I think a Tommy Armour phrase used in his iconic golf instruction book referring to using a slight pause at the point of transition in the golf swing.

Mulberry Bush time

Here we go round, etc. because in my last round I tried to swing and putt more conventionally and realised that I actually like the less conventional swing and putting methods I had been trialling.

Connection is still a concept that I endorse, combined with an athletic set up, good posture, grip, etc. However, for some peculiar reason I've found that my best ball striking happens when I focus on wrist hinge or set, that is, maximising wrist cock at the completion of the backswing.

Not only does a full wrist hinge help to generate good clubhead speed, for any length of backswing, but it seems to provide the tiny pause that aids timing (reduces rushing) during the transition.

My backswing is very short, but with a full wrist hinge I seem to hit the ball as far, if not further, than I do with a more 'effort-full' longer backswing. I am not overly flexible, so this kind of short, punchy swing suits me well.

By the way, I've also found that gripping down on my driver contributes significantly (all or nearly all fairways hit) to my accuracy, with perhaps a 20 yard loss in distance. The loss of distance is compensated for by the fact that I am nearly always playing from the fairway - no chip outs or other shots.

In relation to my short game, I saw a clip recently where a pro talked about the two types of wrist hinge (upward for the full swing versus a backward slapping motion). He pointed out that when chipping you want to use only one type of wrist hinge, a simple back and forward, slapping wrist movement. This looks like 'picking up' the club, contrary to some views about neutral wrists, but it is just that there is no upward wrist hinge or any other rolling or rotational movement. This simplifies the movement, helps with good crisp contact (so critical in the short game). I'm giving this method a good trial.

Finally, regarding putting, I quickly realised last round that I do feel comfortable with a split-hand putting grip. Using my right (dominant) hand to control distance on long putts and my 'legally' braced left hand and arm on short putts works well for me. I might not be holing too many mid to long putts, but I'm getting close and cutting out the dreaded three-putts. I don't want to go around that particular mulberry bush again.

Many happy returns

It's not my birthday, but being back on the course after two months away feels good.

Since returning, a week ago, I've realised a couple of things - about two areas of the game.

Firstly putting. Using a split-hand grip has made me realise that what is actually important in the putting stroke is not the grip - conventional, reverse overlap. left-hand low, claw, pencil, etc. - but the stroke itself. What?

Seems obvious, but in fact all these weird grips are attempts at taking out or reducing the tension that causes a hurried, anxious swipe at the ball. Golfers think they can trick their brain into creating a smooth, even, calm, rhythmic, accurate putting stroke. And, to some extent, they succeed.

But ultimately, if you can convince yourself that you can make a smooth, calm stroke, any grip will work. I've gone back to a conventional reverse overlap grip, but tried to retain the feeling of smoothness, while concentrating on pace, and giving myself permission to blame misreads or surface irregularities or wind, or anything other than my stroke, for the occasional short putt that misses.

Unfortunately, regaining confidence or gaining it for the first time is not all that easy. It's worth practising one handed or split handed before a round to get that smoothness into your putting stroke, but in the end it's mind over matter - you have to be positive and putt confidently and decisively.

Or you could just accept that you are a bad putter. Not really a good option.

Secondly backswing. My next experiment has been with shortening my, already short, backswing. Note that this is all the rage on the pro tours at the moment. Perhaps this is because pros are getting bigger and stronger and can generate enormous clubhead speeds with short backswings. But I think many golfers can benefit from this trend.

What I've discovered is that it is possible to hit the ball almost as far with a backswing that is at most three-quarters of what could be called a full backswing (full being where the club is parallel to the ground and pointing to the target at the top).

And, indeed it is possible to hit the ball almost as far with a backswing that is half of a full backswing - provided you introduce a full wrist-cock - something that many average golfers do not use, or the importance of which many golfers are not even aware.

It's amazing how much clubhead speed is actually created through wrist-cock. This alone accounts for something like 45 to 90 degrees of swing arc. With the arms back only to about parallel with the ground (ninety degrees from set up) a full wrist cock will add enough to the arc to replicate at least a three-quarter swing. And plenty of clubhead speed will be generated.

Why is this important? Consistency, accuracy, effortlessness.

Fairways and greens hit mean many happy returns. It would be nice if all our birthdays came at once.