Is a Total Swing Overhaul in Your Best Interest?

“I don’t get it,” my student said, shaking his head. “When I’m here with you on the lesson tee, I hit it so much better. But when I get on the course, the old bad habits come right back.”

I smiled. “That’s because your swing is your swing — and it’s been with you for a long time.”

If you’ve played golf for years, you’ve developed a swing pattern. It’s burned into your body and mind, no matter your skill level. And the better you are — the lower your handicap — the more deeply ingrained that pattern becomes.

Here’s the reality:

Bad news: You may not be able to change it much.

Good news: The pattern you already have is probably far more functional than your scores suggest.

Most swing habits come from reacting to ball flight. Two-thirds of golfers have an outside-to-in path because, at some point, they sliced the ball. Right-handed players see the ball curve right, so they swing left to correct it. Hookers do the opposite, swinging right to avoid pulling it left. These reactions are perfectly natural, and they shape our swings more than we realize.

The habits you formed early on have only grown stronger over time. That’s why it’s so hard to leave them behind once the round starts.

The key isn’t to scrap your motion. It’s to find an approach to the game that works with the swing you already have. When you stop fighting your pattern and start playing to its strengths, golf becomes a lot more fun, and your scores will show it.

Here are a few examples.

Recently, I wrote an article titled "Principles and Preference." In it, I discussed a variety of compatible variations. I suggested that your grip is more a preference than a principle. The reason for that is golf swings come with a variety of shapes and sizes. Some are flat, some are upright, some release the club early, some later, some favor an in-to-out path, others just the opposite. Some have full backswings, some half. Some use their bodies too much and underuse their hands. Others are "all arms and hands."

Should all these swings grip the club the same way, or have the same ball position or even the aim relative to desired target? I think not.

A very common – and what is believed to be poor swing motion - is releasing the club too early. (the lead arm and golf club "line up" well before impact). If you've had this release for a while, instead of spending hours trying to learn to release the club later (LAG), perhaps you could stay more centered over the golf ball is your takeaway. Or work on an earlier weight transfer coming down. Or play the ball a little further back in your stance. The earlier you release the club, the more awareness you will need of not getting your center of mass too far off the ball. You will not be afforded the luxury of "spine tilt" at impact. Bryson DeChambeau is a prime example! Tom Watson was another earlier releaser; even the great Jack Nicklaus believed letting the club go from the top. Now, where is the key: both Tom and Jack played with upright planes- COMPATIBLE with a slightly earlier release.

This is one example of many.

In sum, working with what you have, is easier than changing everything. The innate moves in your swing are not likely to change greatly, but we can find ways of being functional, not "classic". Scottie's footwork works for him!