Swing

August 7, 2011 By Craig Leave a Comment

3 steps to really improve your golf

I just got back from my annual golf vacation trip to the Running Y in South Central Oregon. It’s a beautiful Arnold Palmer course along Klamath Lake. It winds in and around some amazing scenery and you usually get to see wildlife like snakes, eagles, squirrels, marmots, deer and I once saw a bobcat there.

Wild things on the golf course

Anyway, the first round out, I played horribly. I put a couple dollar bet on the score with my 17 y/o son who lives for the days when he can beat me at golf. He’s well on his way and ended up winning by a stroke as I carded an 88. Ugggh. I was not happy with my game at all. Usually on vacation, I play my best because, well frankly, I’m in a great mood as vacations tend to do that!

After that game, I examined myself to find out why I played so poorly. By the way, the time to do that is after the round. During the round, you just want to focus on your successes and forgetting your misses. In that review of each hole, it was obvious to me that I just wasn’t hitting my approach shots which is one of my strengths!

As I teach my son and you, I then went about designing a plan to fix that before the next round and that plan revolved around “square and point.” (If you missed that video, here it is: straight golf shots)

I thought, “Great, I know the problem, I have the solution, I know what to do” and vowed to put some attention on it during my warmup before my next round.

So the next round comes up a couple days later and I go to the range to warm up. I go through my usual routine of pretending to play the course while on the range. During my “pretend” approach shots, I’m thinking and practicing “square and point” and my shots seem a lot better than before.

I go out on the course and shoot an 86. Ugggh!

Running Y golf resort

Please understand that I don’t mean to insult you if that’s a great score for you. Everyone has their standard and mine, of course, is to break 80.

“What’s going on here” I again reflect and ask myself after the round. I was making putts and chipping reasonably well but my drives were bad and that undermined my confidence for my approach shots. Net effect on score: NO GAIN.

We had a 3rd round planned in a couple days. I vowed to fix these problems and finish the week with a great score.

With my driving, it was simple. I found myself trying to be too tricky in “working” the ball. I was trying to turn it over to get that extra 10 yards so as to make sure I out drive my son. I was trying to be Mr. Pro Golfer by hitting the low screaming drives against the wind and making it fly high with the wind…all fun things to do, but if you aren’t good enough to be consistent with that (I’m obviously not) then that is a BAD plan.

I let go of that and made a solid commitment to hit my regular consistent straight shot… every time, no matter what the hole or how long it is. Follow my preshot routine, pick my target, align my body along it, and just do “square and point.”

I spend the next 2 days thinking “square and point” with every free moment. I listen over and over to my golf hypnosis recording for accuracy. Before the round and warming up, I leave my woods in the bag and completely dedicate my warmups to “s and p.” I turn myself into a robot before I ever get to the first tee. I allow myself to have fun and joke and mess with my brothers and my son between shots but as soon as the preshot routine begins, I am Ben Hogan jr. with my icy focus on S & P.

Golf Green protected by bunkers

Look over what I’ve written here as there are powerful messages on how to really improve your golf.

1. Review your game after every round.

2. Come up with a plan to fix what went wrong. In doing that, know that if you’ve hit good shots before or putted well before, then you have the answers within you. Ask for help if you need it.

3. Completely commit to the plan. Believe in yourself and the plan. Go all out to execute it.

What do most golfers do instead? The same thing they always do. They go to the range, do the same routine they’ve always done, and then they just HOPE that the golf gods will smile on them and give them a good score the next time. Not me, there is no HOPE in my vocabulary. There’s INTENTION and COMMITMENT.

My son makes a bet with me for straight up scratch scores. If he wins, I have to buy him a new pair of Nike Golf shoes. If I win, I get 12 hours of free labor from him for whatever I want.

The round begins and I rip my drive 280 right down the middle….

…tell you the rest in my next post.

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Filed Under: Craigs Journey, Misc, Swing

February 22, 2011 By Craig 7 Comments

Developing Trust in your Golf Swing

I went golfing today with my son. As usual, I hadn’t done any practicing this winter. I played once last month in 3 layers of clothes and today, in 45 degree (7 Celsius) weather that was a bit warmer. Not exactly the peak of the season form for my game.

I ended up shooting 3-over par for 9 holes at Everett Country Club here in Washington. Like you, I finished the round thinking “If only I’d have executed that ONE shot better….

You know the one shot I’m talking about. The one shot that would have saved you 2 or 3 strokes if it would have gone well.

I was this close (holding my thumb and index finger barely apart) from hitting par.

Varsity golf

Anyway, my son was struggling hard with his driver blocking everything out to the right and this course is tree lined on every fairway. I told him that he looked really stiff and robotic and to loosen up. It didn’t work.

I finally told him to dedicate this practice round to one concept….Trust.

“How do you do that” he asked, “when I have no confidence in my driver right now?”

I said: “Well, you’ve got nothing to lose by trying something different right?..why don’t you pretend that you can speak or communicate to the driver head and tell it to square up at the moment of impact and then travel down the target line? Stop trying to guide the club and TRUST that it is going to happen. Let go of control.”

That’s unconscious golf.

I told him to go up the tee with the idea that you want the ball to go down the middle of the fairway but that you don’t care if it doesn’t. He was completely lost with that one

“He said I don’t know if I can do that” and I said, “I know…just go ahead and PRETEND that you can” and see what happens.

Narrow fairway helps you focus

He ended up parring out for the last 3 holes after that. It was fun watching him. He surprised himself.

You see, every round shouldn’t be a round where you are trying to beat your best score. Some rounds are a buildup to that day. How many rounds have you played poorly and then left the course in disgust or disappointment.

The goal is to have fun and learn and improve in the long run. With that kind of attitude and a certain TRUST that your body knows what to do, has done it before, and will do it again, you can stop trying to force every shot and let them happen to your natural ability.

Dedicate each round to focusing in on one thing that if you were to incorporate into your game without having to think about it, you would drop scores.

It’s too late to do much about your swing when you are out there playing. That should be done off the course or with your instructor.

Oh, and by the way. Did you know that some pros actually purposefully go with a block shot sometimes when they really need to hit a fairway because it is really reliable and easy to replicate.

Ray Floyd wrote about this in his book. I told my son about this and I’m thinking that just maybe, that’s what freed him up to start trusting and letting go of trying to “fix” his swing.

There’s many ways to get a low score on any given day.

Greens and fairways,

Craig

Filed Under: Driving/Driver, Mental/Emotional, Swing

August 11, 2010 By Craig 12 Comments

Fix the Golf Swing Yips – part 2

1. TRUST YOUR SWING YET DEVELOP A “YIP-PROOF STROKE.” It has become a cliché to trust your swing. However, most swingsters do not deeply trust what they have. They have omnipresent little doubts and always seem to be tweaking something. These patterns eventually lead to flinches and freezes. The bowling great Billy Welu advised, “Trust is a must or your game is a bust.” Think right now: what does it really mean to totally trust your swing? Take your time and specifically answer this question to your satisfaction. Your answers are important. They provide a foundation for not only implicitly trusting your swing, but deeply believing in yourself again.
During this time, you might want to take a series of lessons from a trusted teaching pro who understands your predicament. At the very least, these lessons will confirm some essentials about your swing. Feeling solid with your fundamentals can go a long way to resisting the yips. Your pro may find a couple things to alter. You may also learn some new shots. Remind yourself that these mechanical emphases are the building blocks to a trustworthy and repeatable swing.
As you rediscover the essentials of the full swing you then have to honor them. Whether they may be a full takeaway, powerful coil, hands set on top, smooth transition, purposeful tempo, or a powerful release, reacquaint yourself with your core swing. Then create one (AND ONLY ONE!) swing cue which encapsulates your core swing. During a round emphasize this one swing cue from the first tee shot. Trust that this cue encompasses everything. Stop thinking about everything else and throw yourself into this one swing cue.
Believe your core swing will be quite good enough. Build on your strengths. As you reinforce your swing it becomes more consistent. This is good in itself and it helps prevent the yips.
HOWEVER, you also need to develop a backup swing for when the yips seep into your game. I call this a “yip-proof swing” (YPS). This swing won’t look as nice and the ball won’t go as far, but it will hold up under the stress of the yips.
Typically, this YPS is shorter and has less moving parts than your full swing. Such a swing relies more on your larger muscle groups instead of the smaller (and more susceptible) muscle groups of the arms. Develop an abbreviated three-quarter, punch, or knockdown swing which can be used in a pinch. Have your hands lead during the downswing and purposefully accelerate through these shots. You will discover that such a swing is easy…and even mindless…to execute. And that’s the point.
Employ this yip-proof swing when you feel queazy and need to survive a shot. Punch, swipe, or even bunt the ball down the fairway. This is not giving up. Rather, it is a positive response to the yips.
So rely on your full swing until you feel the onset of the yips. In such situations, automatically and unemotionally shift to your yip-proof swing. Don’t think nor fret. Just do it. Succeeding with your YPS will distance yourself from yipping. Many times you can return to your regular swing in a hole or two. Even if you have to stay with the YPS, recognize that this a victory in that you have successfully coped with the yips. And each time you cope with the yips you weaken them and empower yourself.
Think of these two types of swings as different performance “gears.” Like a race car, you automatically shift between these two swing gears depending on the situation.
B. SWING RELATIVELY EASY YET OCCASIONALLY TAKE A RIP AT ONE. Trusting your swing means tuning into your optimal rhythm. A rhythmical swing is a repeatable swing. It also holds up under stress. Finally, smooth swing rhythm helps connect mind and body.
What is the ONE point of your full swing from which your rhythm emanates? Whether it is in the forward press, a long takeaway, complete turn, an uncoiling of the hips, starting down slowly, firing the rear hip and elbow simultaneously, or even posing on the followthrough, find one emphasis on which your rhythm depends. Feel this and think this.
Rhythmical swings which hold up throughout a round are grounded in swinging relatively easy. At this level one is more apt to release the club and make consistent contact. Such swings tend to be consistently performed. Hence all rounds should be approached with swinging relatively easy. Battling swingsters typically try to force and blast all swings during a round. An important step to regaining overall control is to learn again how to swing relatively easy.
How does one find this optimal swing zone? In human performance there is an important distinction between optimal and maximal. Not all full swings should be executed full-out. I define a “100% maximal swing” as the hardest you can swing while remaining in balance. Given this, at what percent of maximum is your optimum swing? As you discover and define it, refer to it this way: an 85% full swing. Whatever your number, always attach the word “full” after it. This will remind you that your optimal swing rhythm is NOT 92% OF a full swing, but a full swing AT 92% power. This is a critical distinction.
So during a round you can keep your mind engaged by “calibrating” the full swing on particular shots. For instance, on my first drive or approach shot, I may calibrate these early swings to be at “76 full.” On the important tee shot on the first par 3, I might calibrate this at a “90 full.” Or if I am playing into the wind or to a back pin, I might calibrate this at an “84 full.” Or whenever I am engaging my YPS, I might calibrate this at a “79 full.” After you find your optimal number, experiment with various swing speeds on the range. Predict each swing rhythm and determine if you can perform it. This exercise will empower your swinging, ballstriking, and even overall control.
HOWEVER, at certain times during a round you may choose to swing all-out on a shot. When you determine it is worth the risk, swing one at “100% full.” On a drive on a par 5, going for that green in two, or wailing one downwind, it is okay to occasionally calibrate a “96 full” swing. Just make sure that the couple subsequent full swings are back down into your optimal zone. You don’t want to become giddy and start swinging out of your shoes on every shot.
Especially with the onset of the full swing yips, one good tactic is to go all-out on a swing. Show the yips who is the boss! Give yourself plenty of margin for error and go after it. You see, it is a natural reaction for swingsters to become more hesitant and even timid. Throw in what I call a “What The Heck” swing to reassert control. Don’t care where the ball goes. Such a WTH swing is the best way to confront any fears you have about missing a shot. Even with your Yip-Proof Swing, occasionally calibrate this at a 95 full level. Shrug your shoulders, clearly commit yourself, say “What The Heck,” and let it loose!
Swing rhythm can be felt and sensed, but it also can be thought and calibrated. So feel your rhythm, ground you swings in your optimal zone, calibrate each one, and occasionally throw in an all-out flail! Rhythm will bring you back and see you through.
Swingsters, there is hope. There are answers. Believe it. You are now on your way!

Filed Under: Driving/Driver, Irons, Swing

August 11, 2010 By Craig 4 Comments

Golf Swing Yips – part 1

SMOOTHING THE FULL SWING YIPS

Dr. Tom Kubistant, CSP

You knew it had to happen. For readers of my articles in these pages, you know that I have a special affinity for those poor souls afflicted with the yips. The responses from “yipsters” and “chipsters” have been gratifying. They have overcome their flinches and, as importantly, soothed their tormented psyches.
Just about every day I receive emails from golfers throughout the world who experience some type of yips. I wish you could read some of these heart-wrenching stories. They have lost control of the fine motor skills necessary for playing solid golf. It is like some kind of demon is in control of their bodies and minds. They are embarrassed by their ineptness and frustrated with the inability to maintain control. Beyond that, the yips have sapped the joy out of playing the game they love.
From the systems we have created, golfers of all abilities have learned how to better accept, respond, and even overcome their putting and chipping yips. However, there is still one variant which has never been formally addressed…until now. It is the full swing yips. You knew it had to happen!
THE TANGLED WEB OF THE FULL SWING YIPS
The full swing yips are a relatively rare form of this performance affliction. They take on some very specific forms. Some full swing yipsters (whom I call “swingsters”) are unable to take back the club. They are literally frozen over the ball. Other swingsters shutter during the takeaway. Still others freeze at the top of the swing. Others “hitch” (one of my swingster’s term) on the way down. Finally, some uncontrollably flinch at impact, raising up as if they are afraid to hurt the ball.
Each of the three major types of yips are unique and separate unto themselves. I have very rarely seen golfers who have, say, the putting and pitching yips. The full swing yips have quite distinct dynamics. Whereas the putting and chipping yips are subtle and covert, the full swing yips are obvious and overt. They are almost violent. In teaching and playing pros’ circles, the full swing yips are that “dirty little secret” to which is rarely admitted, much less discussed and addressed.
In a game where the full swing is the visual and symbolic hallmark of mechanical mastery, yipping is embarrassing. Beyond the physical flinches, the mental and emotional responses become almost agonizing. Swingsters constantly struggle and eventually become ever-rationalizing, discouraged, and even dour. Indeed, the full swing yips create a tangled web.
The more swingsters try to combat them, the more these yips control through elusiveness. At the other extreme, trying to ignore them hoping they will go away does not work either. And of course, pressurized playing situations bring them out more dramatically. Swingsters can sense that long before they reach the ball they will yip. They become tunnel-visioned, short of breath, and experience queazy stomachs. In a game where self-control is elementary, it is personally humiliating to have something else in charge.
Like the other two forms of the yips, swingsters tend to be very intelligent and aware. Their abilities to analyze and be sensitive can actually work against them in that they frequently get in their own ways. The yips develop and flourish in the overly analytical and sensitive. Now, it offers little solace for those afflicted with the yips to tell their jesting partners, “I have the yips because I am much more cognizant and perceptive than you clods!” However, just as a swingster’s intellect facilitates the yips, it also provides a pathway out of this morass. (I used these big words here to titillate your intelligence!)
BEFORE WE START…
Okay, are you ready to work? Are your really ready? Are you totally committed to overcoming your yipping? Answer these questions truthfully. I have encountered some swingsters who say they are committed to change, but really aren’t. It is as if their yips have become grudging friends…like a crazy old uncle. They seem to be comfortable with their yips and actually fear giving them up for the unknown. As the old saying goes, “The devil you know may be better than the devil you don’t know.” Do you really want to change?
Even though I have helped a couple hundred yipsters and scores of chipsters, I have only seen 32 swingsters. However, some definite trends have emerged. Here are a couple of important perspectives before we embark.

(1) Believe the full swing yips can be overcome. This process is usually long, nonlinear, and even illogical. AND they can be conquered.

(2) You have to let go of your pride, self-image, and old ego attachments of how you used to swing. Accept that you will have to learn new ways of swinging and playing the game.

(3) Convince yourself that you are doing battle not only with those yips, but with your mind as well. Part of this struggle will be in direct confronting. However, a big part of this battle will also be in learning how to accept, allow, and remain detached.
THE DUALITIES OF HANDLING THE FULL SWING YIPS
There are four core dimensions in overcoming the full swing yips. I have found that each of these dimensions needs to be addressed in two almost antithetical ways. That is, you will have to develop almost contradictory techniques within each dimension. Rest assured that one of these mutually exclusive techniques will be effective for each yipping situation you encounter.
Before you proceed, please one word of warning: as you read through these strategies, resist the temptation to apply all of them at once. This will only exacerbate your yipping. Diligently read each of these dimensions three times. Then exclusively emphasize the first for a full two weeks. Then work on the second. Next month I will present the third and fourth dimensions. This will give you time to completely understand and implement the first two. In this manner, you will build an interlocking system of your new game.

Want more of Doc Kubistant? Get Mind Links now.

Filed Under: Driving/Driver, Irons, Swing

July 8, 2010 By Craig 3 Comments

How to hit straight golf shots

So, did you understand what I was trying to get across with the whole Square and Point discussion? Yes, I know a good swing will achieve this by itself and if you’ve got the time to learn one, great. But it really doesn’t matter what you do before you strike the ball (Look at Jim Furyk). What matters, in physics, is the point of impact and direction the club is going at that spot. The basic idea behind this is that you really only need your club to do 2 things to send a ball straight to your chosen spot.

1. Have the clubface square at impact

2. Have the end of the club follow along the target line until a release “point” where the club will then follow through naturally over your shoulder to a finish.

How long the club follows along the target line until you let it release to a finish depends mostly on the club. For instance, when you use the driver, since the swing with the driver is the flattest (closest to horizontal), the point where you release the club to finish will be sooner than if you use a sand wedge. The wedges generally will have a more upright, vertical plane and so I find myself actually having the wedge and higher irons following all the way down the target line until, at one spot, it actually points at the target before releasing to a finish. The longer the club, the less likely it is to actually hit the spot where you are literally “pointing at the target”, however, it is still valuable for those longer clubs to start a little practice swing by first pointing at the target and then bringing the club back to “find” the right backswing.

Why is this concept important or even worth considering for my game?

Because if you are going to try and improve without spending hours on the range practicing every intricate move a teaching pro gives you over a period of time, then you need something SIMPLE that your unconscious can take, understand, and run with. If you try to do Mental practice for the list of things you need to keep in mind while trying to achieve the perfect swing, your unconscious mind is likely to get confused and give up, just like you do when you hear too many things at once. Square and point is SIMPLE!

Also, if you have an uncontrollable hook, you might find this concept helpful in straightening out some. Pointing the club at the target more will make your swing a bit more vertical which will necessitate more of a fader’s path.

Part of square and point is talked and written about when you see references to keeping the clubhead on line for the first couple feet after striking the ball. I totally agree but it’s only part of the story.

Here is a question one of the members asked specifically about this:

“ I do have a question on the square and point.
Are you talking about squaring the club face to the target and then with
your arms pointing the head of the club at the target (at which point the
shaft is parallel to the ground) or are you talking about simply moving the
club face ahead of the ball a couple of feet while maintaining its alignment
to the target?
That part was a bit hazy to me. “

And here is my answer:

“Square and point” means as you mention: “squaring the club face to the target and then with your arms pointing the head of the club at the target”. (with caveat in paragraph 2 above)
Now, having said that, the way I use this concept, is to think about it during my practice swing. Mentally see a “freeze frame” of these 2 spots in your swing occurring. Direct your unconscious to accomplish these two positions with your club and the ball has to go straight since you understand the physics of it that necessitate that result if successful. The swing is really happening too fast to try to manipulate your hands to “square” the clubface. You just need to give a good message to your subconscious along these lines and over time and let IT accomplish that.

Just like you ride a bike you don’t consciously think about all the muscle contractions necessary to balance and pedal and steer.
Depending on the person, you can go so far as to focus your whole swing around this even while doing your regular swing, or you can subtely (sp?) let it sink into your unconscious over time and let it slowly become a part of your swing that you built using a good swing method taught to you by a pro or other instructional swing system.
If you’ve ever seen a golfer swing the “Natural Golf” way, (originated by Moe Norman) then you might notice that they really understand this concept. They actually almost finish their swing pointing at the target. However, I and others
take our regular swing and let the swing finish naturally AFTER having the clubface point toward the target at one point. And don’t forget that to help set it up, you can begin a practice swing by starting with the club pointing at the target and then bring it backwards to help “set” and feel where the backswing should go to be on a good plane as I described in the CD.
When I’m on the range warming up for a round is when I really work on this concept and then when on the course, I just say outloud or think “square and point” to direct my unconscious to make it happen. Off the course, I do this in my head.

Here’s the kicker: When visualizing this as you nod off to sleep, imagine yourself doing this in slow motion. Slow your swing down so that you can actually see the clubface at the moment of impact with the ball, in a perfectly square position and then freeze the vision again at the perfect spot of release so that the ball HAS TO GO TO THE TARGET. You will then be sending clear, direct messages to your subconscious of what you want it to accomplish! Use any of the techniques on the CD’s for visualizing.

Greens and fairways!

Craig

Filed Under: Irons, Misc, Swing

June 28, 2010 By Craig 2 Comments

The best golf swing problems solver

I got your attention with that subject line didn’t I?

Listen, I get it. You swing beautifully on the practice range and then when you get to the course, it all goes away like it’s another person out there. I know the feelng and I’ve been there.

Because if you can swing the club, like you know how, for excellent shots… and you’re not doing it on the course, then it only makes sense that you have to make an adjustment with your swing right?

Wrong!

You see, this is the trap us golfers get ourselves in. And that is, coming up with the wrong solution to the problem. We do this because there is mass hypnosis in the golf world. The pros iron out their swing problems by hitting a zillion balls a week and so that’s what we should do too right?

Well, that works, but do you have the time to do that?

As a former manager at Fedex Express, I’m all about being as efficient as I can be at everything I do. I don’t just blindly accept what somebody says is the answer. I take that in, test it out, check it with others, and always keep looking for a better way…that’s called continuous improvement and I know you do that in many areas of your life, especially at your work or vocation.

I’ve found one of those ways to quickly deal with the REAL cause of swing problems.
You might have even heard about this in the past but just shrugged it off as another “tip” like all the rest. You want to really give this one a go and I promise you, it will pay off big.

Before I give you the hot tip, let me set you up just a bit more for success in using it.

When you miss a shot and say that your swing needs a tweak, most of the time, the real cause is due to one or more of the following:
1. Lack of focus
2. Failure to line up properly
3. A fear, tension, or anxiety that interferes with your coordination

If you are at ease, or deep in the zone about your game, and have already hit a good shot with each of your clubs, then your body
will respond just like it does on the range with those beautiful shots.

The hot tip that will solve so many problems, including your swing problems is to…are you ready?

Play 2-pars on the practice green or on your carpet in your house against another player.

This means to go to the practice green at the course or practice facility and you play 18 holes. You start off the green and pick a spot to chip from and a hole to play to. Make sure there is something at stake as this is the real kicker in benefit to you. Play skins or play medal and count each stroke but make sure there is a problem for you if you lose.

I do this with my son before a round. If I win, he has to wash my car for me. If he wins, he gets a ride to the skate park. Injecting that kind of pressure into your practice is EVERYTHING!

I watch golfers at the practice green putting with 3 balls from the same spot to the cup. What are you teaching yourself? That you don’t have to read a green and that you have a second chance after missing the first one. Ridiculous because you never get a second chance while playing….why do golfers do this? Mass hypnosis plus laziness.

We all know that more strokes are lost around the greens. This tip is the 80/20 of all time I tell ya’.
Oh yes, how does it improve your swing you might be asking about now. Well what happens is that when you walk up to the tee or the approach shot knowing you can get up and down in 2, it totally takes the pressure OFF of your swing. It makes your swing 10 times more relaxed, fluid, and rhythmic.

I did this recently with my son as we stayed at the Running Y in Klamath Oregon and played that course. My drives were pretty good both rounds but for some reason (and you know this can happen to any part of your game at any time), my 100 yd approach shots were off. This is usually the best part of my game. I can’t tell you how many times my 2-par practice saved me on the course and I ended up with a 79 from the blues.

By the way, I REALLY had a 78 but on the first hole, I had a 4-incher for a par and I nonchalantly tried to poke it in with the end of my putter. Of course my son made me count it!! Good lesson for me…

If you ever have time to practice anything…practice going up and down on a real green with something at stake. It is the most powerful thing you can do to fix your swing.

Greens and fairways,
Craig

Filed Under: Misc, Swing

June 28, 2010 By Craig Leave a Comment

Golf Swing Fix through The Power of Intention

I just got back to playing once a week after having a 3-month layoff. I was wondering what my swing would be like after not having struck a golf ball or not even thinking about my own game much over that time. Yes, I’ve been working with others on their games and issues but my own got sort of left in the dust as I used my spare time to research further into the workings of the mind and how it can benefit us busy folks.

I went out to my local home golf course and was surprised to find that my swing was pretty much where I left it! I used my go-to shot off the tee not even thinking about distance and took out more club on approaches than I would have when I was warmed up and playing my best before the layoff. This proved a good formula as I kept the ball in play the whole time. I will admit to a few topped and fat shots but overall, I couldn’t complain.

Did I have a great score? No, but what did I do? I took what was working and forgot about the rest. And then worked my mental magic on what was working until my next round. It’s a simple formula yes, but it does take one word that is quickly becoming my favorite word: intention.

Intention? What the heck is that?

Some of you may call it effort but I don’t. Some may call it work but that doesn’t have to be it either. Is it focus, or concentration? Nope.

It’s a blend of belief, imagination, direction and utilization between your conscious and unconscious mind functions.When working with golfers in my office, I tell them to get used to using the word “intention.” What does it really mean? Simply: “This is what I’m doing” and “this is what will happen for me.” When you put thought energy into something, as long as there are no conflicting beliefs, it must become manifest. That’s the way the universe works. If you want some proof of that, then study quantum physics for the answers. We can do that in another article but the bottom line is, keep your focus on what it is you want.

Decide what you want and be specific. The more detailed and specific, the more likely your mind is to make it happen for you. It’s great to be thinking all day about a perfect swing. It’s more powerful and more effective to be thinking about the fix that your swing pro gave you that will allow that swing to be fluid. Just have the intention to make that swing fix and it can happen like magic. Awareness is the start of it all.

What’s really intriguing is that it does not require willpower. That’s right, according to Maxwell Maltz in Psychocybernetics, willpower actually implies putting up blockages to achievement. A better way to describe how to find your best game, your best shots is to “let them happen”

I know, I know, this sounds kind of spacey right? Especially in light of all the traditional teaching you’ve been exposed to that says you need a swing instructor and you must practice what you’ve learned until your body aches and your hands blister.

I just read in the May 06 an article by Tiger Woods called “I did it. So can you” In it, he basically writes about how he made changes to his swing and then worked his tail off to make them work. He says that you need a strong will. In making his first swing change in 1997, he can remember practicing a single move “swinging the club halfway down – keeping my arms in front of my body - for more than an hour without hitting a ball. I felt like my arms were going to fall off”

Give me a break. Tiger is the greatest golfer in the world, no doubt, but he is on another planet if he thinks average golfers are going to do that for every small part of their swing for a fix, even if they do have access to a top instructor who can break it down like that and monitor their progress and prescribe that kind of detailed help. For a pro, yes, that’s great advice, for you and me, it’s not realistic at all.

Given the realities of our normal life we need another way. This is what I talk about in my program “Without Practice”

The Online Golf Classics library has all the fundamentals you need, your mind already has INTENTION waiting for you to use it.

Greens and fairways,

Craig

Have you heard the old saying that we only use 10% of our mind power? Whether it’s 5% or 10% or 20%, you know it’s definitely true as you have experienced times in your life, on and off the course where you have had absolute flashes of brilliance and wondered why you can’t do it all the time…guess what? You can!If you’ve hit a great shot with your clubs just once before, there is absolutely no reason you can’t do it again. What do you do differently when you don’t repeat a great shot? I’ll tell you…you run your mind a certain way that produces those results…simple. Break 80 Without Practice

If you would like to begin to unlock the secrets to the other 90% that you are leaving on the table of your performance, you need to check out:

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Filed Under: Swing

June 28, 2010 By Craig 4 Comments

Golf Swing tip – Yours Is Good Enough

If you watch the Golf Channel or read any of the magazines and books on golf, it will be very hard for you to miss the basic theme that “There is a perfect swing and you will do the most for your game by trying to get it”. Even when you watch a tournament on TV, you see the commentators participate in this conspiracy by showing us frame-by-frame analysis of the pro and critiquing his/her every move. Now, maybe we can give the TV guys a break because they are just trying for some entertainment value and let’s face it, most of us are interested in the details of the swing because we’ve been brainwashed by years of this theme.

For many years, I too was a “swing zombie” in my quest to improve my golf game. I even participated with a group of golfers that all had our swings videotaped and then we critiqued each other in a classroom setting. The feedback I received from all of us watching my swing ran from “very smooth” to “way off-kilter”. Everybody had a differing opinion of many of the swings that we watched and at least for me, it only confused me more.

In my younger years, I had a typical amateur slice swing that obviously came out of my years of playing baseball and softball. In those days, I would just aim for the left edge of any fairway and I could count on the ball moving left to right, at worst ending up in the right rough but usually hitting the fairway. I enjoyed playing golf those days but I always felt that something was missing. So when I could finally afford it,I decided to take a set of lessons from a pro. Of course I told him that I wanted to get rid of my slice swing and he asked me back “are you sure?”. This answer kind of shocked me but he was a very good instructor and by the end of the lessons, I was able to hit the ball out of bounds both ways, left and right. I figured that it would just be a matter of time until I “dialed” in to hitting it straight. To make the story short, 5 years later and I was still “dialing” and getting wrong numbers (ob, jail, water,no score improvement, etc.).

Looking back, I honestly believe now that if I had stuck with my old left to right swing and just used the rest of what I learned from the pro, that I would have improved significantly. Why? Because I was a typical golfer and not a 12 handicapper trying to become a single-digiter (a good golfer trying to become a great one). Studies have shown that the overwhelming majority of amateur golfers shoot in the 90′s or above for men and it’s over 100 for women. If you are in that group, then you really should be working on parts of your game that will give you far more efficient score improvement for the time and effort spent. This would primarily be in the area of the short game and the mental game.

This is absolutely true for the average golfer but it may be true for all golfers as well. There is loads of evidence on the pro tours that the ones making the money are those best at chipping and putting. The golf research guru himself, Dave Pelz, actually followed tour players around for years taking detailed statistics and he proved it (see his book, My Short Game Bible). In addition to that, there are too many pros to list that admit that their swing is not “technically correct” or maybe not even very good…BUT THEY WIN TOURNAMENTS! Look at Jim Furyk, 2003 U.S. Open winner. He actually has a big loop in his backswing. Lee Trevino always told people that they should not copy his swing. Even Jack Nicklaus says in his books that he wasn’t a very good ball striker. Bruce Lietzke has won tournaments on the PGA and Senior tours playing his left-to-right shot his whole career – And he says he rarely practices! On top of that, the tours are littered with past champions that totally lost their game AFTER they tried to change it for the better. And now they are begging their sports psychologist to help them “find” their old swing.

I have talked to PGA golf instructors that say it’s their clients that want the swing advice (just like I did) even when they recommend working some other part of their game first. So maybe it’s our own fault in creating the current situation where average scores of amateurs have not dropped one stroke in the last 50 years despite the advances in equipment technology. Now don’t get me wrong, if you are a total beginner, maybe you should start out with learning the basics of the golf swing with a lesson. But if you’re hitting it solid most of the time, you are good to go for a real scoring quest as more swing advice is not the quickest way for you to drop your score. There is just so much more that you can do, on and off the course, that will pay you back in saved strokes for far less time spent than “fixing” your swing. Most of us have precious little free time that we can work to improve our games so why not work on that which will give us the greatest bang for our (time) buck?

And so, let me be the first to make a pledge to the golf spirit inside me (I always thought that golf is like religion):
“I for one, do solemnly swear that I will not pay attention to any swing advice of any sort until I can score in the 70′s consistently with the swing I have (and maybe not even then)”.

Greens and fairways!

Craig

—————————————————————-
Do you still really think that the only way to get better at this game is to take lessons and then practice until your hands bleed? Does that work? Sometimes for some people. At the beginner level, yes, you need to get the basics down and develop a decent swing. But what of all those millions of golfers around the world that have a decent swing…that have taken lessons…that have had plenty of great shots before.

Why can’t you put together 18 holes of good golf if you can put together 3 or 4?….You can!

Now, go with me here a minute…you’ve produced a great shot before with a given club right? So you know that the problem is not with your body unless the body has significantly changed since you had that shot right?

So if that’s not the problem, what is? I don’t think I have to tell you. I think your clubs know the answer since they don’t change from shot to shot. As I write this and you read this, I am reminded of a friend who recounted to me about a story that Jack Nicklaus dad used to tell about young Jack. It seems that Jack never did think he had the best or prettiest swing on the tour. And, he didn’t think he had the most talent. He just KNEW he was going to make a putt…or a perfect swing…or win the tournament.

Would you like to get some of that? Break 80 Without Practice

Filed Under: Swing

June 28, 2010 By Craig Leave a Comment

Why, oh why, is the golf swing SO hard?!

Excerpted from the book “Golf Swing Eureka”

by Jon Barrett

I’ve inserted this section in as I believe it may help you understand why we find the golf swing so hard.

Why do we find a move that seems so easy to the professionals so incredibly difficult to perform?

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 ommitted 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. I’ll come back to this point later as even when you get everything else right in your swing this can be a real good swing killer!

Jon Barrett WAS a frustrated golfer and has studied the golf swing for 5 years in search of the information that would make his scores tumble but without success… UNTIL he discovered what only 1% of amatuer golfers know about the Pro’s golf swing… Read all about his eye opening concepts you won’t find in standard swing advice now, including THE MAGIC MOVE… (link removed and website down)

Filed Under: Swing

June 28, 2010 By Craig 1 Comment

Why, oh why, is the golf swing SO hard?!

Excerpted from the book Golf Swing Eureka by Jon Barrett