Recently I discovered that psychologists believe that we learn differently as adults than we do when we were children. And I believe this may be the key to explaining why we have such a difficult time of it.
The large majority of professional golfers will have taken up golf when they were kids ? Tiger Woods was swinging a club well at 3!
But, I would imagine the majority of amateur golfers took golf up when either in their late teens, early twenties or even later in life ? as adults.
The psychologists believe that as children we learn from repeating the model that we see ? we know that kids are very trusting of what they are told. Yes, they ask lots of questions but they trust the answers given. They see, and are told, and DO.
Now as adults we learn differently. We have already formed opinions about how the world is and how things operate. So when we learn something new we actually test it against the rules that we have already built up in our heads as to what is right and wrong.
Unfortunately for us, the golf swing is actually illogical. That's where the problem stems from. In our heads we can't actually accept or believe that that is how the golf swing works. We then trust our instinct and test it against our rules and go back to what we believe is logical.
Here is what is illogical about the golf swing:
A Golf Swing without Effort = A Powerful 300 yard drive
It's been said before that the secret to the pros swing is that it achieves ?Power WITHOUT Effort ? how illogical is that!
It's a bit like saying we're going on a 200 mile car journey, but we're not going to turn the engine on! No ones going to believe you.
That's how our brains interpret it ? we think there's no way you can hit a golf ball 300 yards without LOTS of effort.
So next time we coil up on the backswing our brain tells our muscles ?right guys we need plenty of effort if we're going to send this ball long and straight?.
Pro's do actually put effort into their swings to get the ball to go that far (look at Tiger Woods face just before impact and you'll see what I mean) BUT they put it in at a completely different point in the swing to amateur golfers. They also know the technique that allows them to produce such great results ? and it doesn't involve power, certainly not how the amateur golfer understands it.
Amateur golfers think you need to start the golf swing powerfully BUT the pro golfers know that you put the effort in at the bottom of the swing.
If you try and take this point on board this will start the process of adjusting your mind.
Over the next few pages I'm going to OPEN your EYES to how the golf swing actually works ? much of which us amateurs don't appreciate.
Understanding is the 1st key to unlocking your golfing potential.
Towards the end of my book I'll show you where to get a piece of software that will by-pass your conscious mind and reprogram your sub-conscious mind to believe what you will see and start to understand about how the pro golf swing works. How YOU can swing powerfully without effort.
EYE-OPENER No. 2
What part of the body contributes the most to generating the maximum speed of the club head?
This single answer allowed me to make a huge leap in my understanding of the golf swing, and in everything I had seen and read about the golf swing none of it emphasised it enough.
I carried out a survey on the Internet over several weeks and asked visitors to my web site the question:- What part of the body contributes the most to generating the maximum speed of the club head?
Only 20% got the answer correct ? That's only 1 in every 5 golfers! And these golfers had a wide range of handicaps down to single figures.
Interestingly this figure corresponds to another golfing statistic - Did you know that only around 20% of golfers have a handicap of less than 18? It made me wonder whether the misunderstanding of the fundamental aspect could be the one thing that is holding so many golfers back.
Which part of the body do you think creates the maximum speed of the club head?
Is it:
Shoulders
Arms
Hands
Hips
Legs
Torso
wrists
(Graphics and explanations omitted here)
....So the answer to the question that I posed above is that it is the hands (or wrists) that contribute the most to generating the maximum club head speed. The club is moved through over 180 degrees whilst the arms move through less than 60 degrees ? all of the rest of the movement of the head of the golf club is generated by the movement of the hands. Unfortunately the large majority of golfers think that it is with the shoulders and arms.
7 Laws Of The Golf Swing
Achieving a better golf swing takes practice coupled with good technique. That sounds pretty simple doesn't it? Trouble with most social golfers who aspire to a better game is by the time they get around to learning some golfing technique, they've reached a stage where they have consigned themselves to immortal mediocrity!
Are you in this category or are you just interested in achieving a better golf swing? Believe me I was in the former category at one stage and I know how most non-professional players are thinking. But do you know it didn't really take much coaching to change my game around quickly and in the end, not only did I achieve a lower score but I saved myself walking an extra five miles around a golf course!
Better Golf Swing Techniques
Better technique is achieved through habit forming. What I mean by this is by committing the action of the swing to thought, continual practice of the technique will eventually be committed to memory and you'll find in time, your natural instinct will be to play the club the correct way without thinking about the shot too much. When you're on the course during a game however, your thought process should shift more on where you intend landing the ball.
One of the problems with most inexperienced golfers is they think too much about their swing. Standing over the ball and wondering whether you are going to swing the club correctly for too long a time will only delay the inevitable. A skewed shot, left or right or even worse, completely missing the ball. Embarassing!
Target Technique
A technique taught to me which had a profound effect in my achieveing a better golf swing was choosing a spot down the fairway where I wanted to land the ball and then trying to land as close to that spot as possible. I had to train my mind away from how I was going to swing the club and to say it wasn't easy is an understatement. Eventually, after many hours of practice, I began to think more of where the ball was going to be hit than my swing technique and the transformation was enormous.
The aim of this technique was to get me concentrating more on the projection of the ball; in other words, it got me thinking ahead and took my thought away from my swing. Sometimes a golfer can try too hard and forget to relax. This method will teach you how to relax more instead of gripping the club handle too tightly wondering whether you will get enough backlift on your swing or whether the club head will connect with the ball cleanly.
It won't happen overnight with this method however, with plenty of practice, a better golf swing should be the end result.
Both Jonathan Barrett & Dean Caporella are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Jonathan Barrett has sinced written about articles on various topics from Golf Guide. Jon Barrett WAS a frustrated golfer who studied the golf swing for 5 years in search of information to make his scores tumble but without success... UNTIL he discovered what only 1% of golfers know. Read about his eye opening concepts:. Jonathan Barrett's top article generates over 2900 views. Bookmark Jonathan Barrett to your Favourites.
Dean Caporella has sinced written about articles on various topics from Parenting, Golf Guide and Surveys. Dean Caporella is a professional broadcaster. Do you want to develop a better golf swing?Then don't play another shot until you rea. Dean Caporella's top article generates over 74000 views. Bookmark Dean Caporella to your Favourites.
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