There are so many thoughts and ideas on what a great golf swing should look like, that I easily become overwhelmed by a deluge of information. As I sift through the murk and mire of data, I quickly realize that a controlled swing is really my ultimate goal to lowering my golf scores. I continue to work on my golf swing to ensure that that I understand all the aspects the golf swing so I can optimize it to my capabilities. And that is crux of the matter to produce greatness in a controlled golf swing.
Before I delve deeper into today’s discussion, I thought I would show you Rory McIlroy’s golf swing. I think he is the best ball striker in the game today and he provides an outstanding example of what I aspire too:
The main point of producing our unique controlled swing to is to account for our physical ability. Lets face it, we are not all Rory McIlroy or Tiger Woods with respect of conditioning, but that should not stop us from developing a controlled swing that works for our game.
Right now, I am working on my shoulder turn with a strong foundation. I have tried widening my stance in the past, but found that it limited my shoulder turn. So, over the years, I continue to modified the width of my feet to find the optimal distance to help the rest of my body make a full turn. I also realized through my trial and error approach that improving other aspects of my physical capabilities, like flexibility, will require adjustments to the mechanics of my golf swing. It is a constant ‘to and fro’ of improvements I need to do to optimize my controlled golf swing.
Finding the greatness in a controlled golf swing is a unique journey for each golfer. I suggest that watching videos and taking lessons are a great first step, however we still need to put in the work to find our controlled swing. It is to difficult path, but does take time and commitment of rise to the greatness we want by lowering our golf scores.
Thoughts?
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 
Jim, what was the first golf book you ever read, do you remember? Mine was a little paperback called Play Like The Devil written by Bruce Devlin in 1967. A friend of the family knew Devlin and got me a copy when I was a teenager. Was actually a pretty good read and I still have the copy.
Brian
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Brian
I actually do not remember the first golf book I read. But, the first book I do remember is:
A good walk spoiled by John Feinstein
I generally read in small chunks. As I do research I read a specific chapter at a time.
What was your last golf book?
Cheers Jim
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Jim, the last golf book I read was How Champions Think by Bob Rotella. I made a note to myself that this was the best of the Rotella books that I had read.
Thanks,
Brian
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Brian,
I have a Rotella book as well. He is very straight forward and talks in a way I understand.
Cheers
Jim
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Jim, my grandfather was an excellent player and honed his swing by reading books. The key was that he stuck with a book and continued to work it. The modern day player is confronted by a myriad of information on the internet and I would suspect, be more more productive ignoring all of it and learning their swing old school. Maybe stick to the professional lesson track and dispense with all the distractions, which might be the equivalent of reading a good book. If someone wanted to actually go the book route, maybe take a few months with Hogan’s Five Fundamentals. Would probably simplify and do the trick. My two cents.
Thanks!
Brian
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Brian
Great observation. I think that videos do remove the requirement for players to actually take the time to think about their swing and find what works for them. Only 30 years ago, a pro or books was the only way to be taught golf. My how times have changed.
Cheers Jim
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I find it much easier to stay controlled in my swing if I don’t try and hit the ball with everything I’ve got. For example from 100 yards out, I could hit a sand wedge but a less than full swing with a pw is more often more accurate from that distance. In the past I would have pulled the sand wedge everytime from that distance, but not today. To score low, I’ve learned to control my own urges better and hit more shots with larger clubs than I need to do the job. I make less mistakes. The mistakes I make are less severe. So I score better now than when I always pushed the limits.
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Kevin,
Exactly! I guess that is why most articles talk about the 80% golf swing for most shots.
Cheers Jim
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