How can golf look so easy when the PGA Tour Players play … but be so difficult for the regular Golfer? As the Tour Player looks as if he/she is hardly swinging the golf club — the golf ball goes a mile.
Yet when regular Golfers go to hit a golf ball, it looks as if you’re either trying to knock the cover off the golf ball or you’re so afraid of swinging too hard … the ball doesn’t go anywhere.
What makes the Pro so good?
We have found that the biggest difference between the regular Golfer and the Tour Player is that the Player always knows where their clubhead is during their golf swing … especially on their backswing.
For eample: if you ask Jason Dufner to set-up to a golf ball and take the club back until the clubhead was as high as his right shoulder – he’d stop the clubhead at his shoulder every time.
Now try it yourself and I bet that most people would stop their clubhead higher than their head. You’ll probably be able to stop your hands at shoulder height, but your clubhead will be much higher than you thought. Which shows us that you’re more focused on your hands … than you’re focused on your clubhead.
Hmmm, I wonder if that contributes to being handsy in your golf swing?
Now think of the negative effects as far as the consistency of your golf swing: if you’re not able to control your golf club on your backswing … there is no way you’ll have command on your forward swing when you go to hit the golf ball.
In golf … Control = Consistency
“But Marc, that’s too much for me to think about in my golf swing. I already have to think about keeping my head still so that I can keep my eye on the ball and keep my left arm straight and shift my weight without swaying as I make an inside to out swing path that is on the proper swing plane and follow-through down the line while keeping my head behind the ball. Now you want me to also think about trying to control my clubhead?”
Considering a Golfer would make the above statement – tells me that Golfer is already thinking about too many things. Yet, if this Golfer understood how to practice his/her golf swing by instead focusing on their clubhead … all these other ‘swing thoughts’ wouldn’t be necessary as they would happen automatically (without thought).
Smooth or Unsmooth … which do you prefer?
The best Players look so smooth when they hit the golf ball because they’ve practiced one simple fundamental like knowing where the clubhead is at all times. Yet the erratic Golfer is often looking uncoordinated while attempting to align 4 or 5 different swing thoughts on each swing … yet still wondering why they lack consistency.
As they spend the next 18 holes frustrated … on what should have been a fun day … as they search for their golf swing!
To understand the relationship of knowing where your clubhead is at all times and the effect it has with your clubface should be your first step in improving your golf swing. Because if you’re always in control of your clubhead (by knowing where it is) … you’re in control of your clubface. And if you’re in control of the clubface …. you’re in control of the direction the golf ball flies.
The Monkey is focused on too many things in their golf swing
The Player is too focused on controlling their clubhead to think about anything else
Go ahead … Be A Player!
Regards,
Marc Solomon – Your Instructor For Life