Brain Trickery and Golf Swings

I stop by driving ranges every chance I get. I enjoy watching golfers hitting balls. It is enjoyable, knowing how we have struggled with our wonderful game, but it is also instructive. As most of you know, I have been a golf coach for many years. I am always looking for ways to become better at my craft. Just as the game is for a lifetime, so is teaching and coaching it.

What could someone like me learn at a driving range watching players who have little to no experience hitting the golf ball? Answer: Everything!

If you observe brand-new players attempting to hit the ball, you will see the origins of every golf swing. The process is quite predictable: Swing and miss the ball. Swing and top the ball. Swing and hit the ground followed by another swing and miss. Finally, by hook or crook, they swing and contact the golf ball and away it goes! Eureka! Unwittingly, they made contact! Blind squirrels find nuts on occasion. At that moment, the golfer had their personal AHA momentin golf. They have arrived at the secret to hitting a golf ball! And that feedback is so powerful it stays with the golfer for a very long time, in fact, much of their golfing life!

Regardless of how they held the club or stood at the ball or aimed, the ball went into the air. She/he achieved the goal. Now, let’s do that again. Many spend their whole golfing life looking for that “secret.” What did I do that made that little white ball fly? This is, I believe, the beginning of poor swing habits. Why? Because our brain does not recognize wrong or right. It recognizes outcomes. It recognizes results. It recognizes different. So, as soon as the golf ball performs as he/she wishes, the brain says: “Good job, pro, let’s do it again”! He/she may raise up six inches on the back swing, drop down exactly six inches on the downswing, the arms come down at exactly the right time and… voila, the ball flew high and straight. However, the brain has sent the wrong message. It is highly unlikely, almost impossible, to pull off that combination of motions gain - maybe ever! Yet they will try. And due to the deep impression that initial flight had on him/her, they will be deeply influenced by that feeling.

In golf, we are not searching for a swing we can execute one out of every 20 times; we need one that performs and we can trust most of the time. Most golfers do not realize what is involved in developing a repeatable swing. To achieve that, we need to follow certain fundamentals. Those fundamentals can be different for all of us, but they must achieve our desired result, time after time. In other words, we need to go through the somewhat uncomfortable process of learning to achieve certain positions and motions which are not naturalto us. Once those swing fundamentals have been developed, if we repeat them often enough, we can have a reliable golf swing. But, to think that every good shot that we hit is the correct way to do it, is the road to failure, ultimately.

Let’s look at an example… Golfer A randomly picks up the club and holds it any way that feels comfortable. The first shot he hits, the golf ball curves way off to the right. So, he aims way left. Now, the ball starts left but has the same slice spin on it and curves back into the fairway. “Hah, I did it right,” says A. No, you hit the same slice, but your brain told you to aim left - which is logical. However, by choosing that circuitous route to the fairway, A has just lost 25 yards distance - at least. The very next time he aims left (because that works, of course) he mysteriously throws the club head at the ball, it squares and…the ball goes dead left in the woods, the water, or wherever. Why? Because he did not understand the root cause of the problem. What causes what is the single most important lesson any golfer can learn. 

So, what will help? Golf is a game that most people cannot teach themselves. The way we hold the golf club, the way we stand, aim, or certainly swing is all unique. Regardless of how athletic one may be, it is best to start with an education on how this unique game is played. Doing what comes naturally simply creates bad habits and leads to years of frustration.

Note: This article is for your edification. It is NOT a self-promo to generate more business on my lesson tee. I am semi-retired and teach and coach when I choose. I may never stop coaching because of the satisfaction I get from it, but it is time to go at my own pace! 

“Don’t hurry, don’t worry and remember to smell the flowers along the way.”