Do Results Point to the Cause of a Poor Golf Swing?

Determining what happened during any golf swing is a challenge. Sometimes golfers, especially me on certain days, over analyze the tiniest mistakes and think that corrective action is required. Experience has taught me that waiting to see if this swing error persists over a round or two before trying to worry about making adjustments. If I do decide that something needs to be addressed, then I have to determine what is causing the problem before making any changes. This step is a bit more challenging because I find that the results do not always point the the cause of my swing woes. It really is a bit more complicated than it seems.

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Any golf swing can be dissected into large, medium, small, and minute movements. The plethora of actions during any golf swing need to timed is such a manner as to produce a square club face on impact. Or at least the position required to produce the shot shape needed at that time. It really is a magical dance that has the potential for something to go wrong on every swing. Obviously, I cannot break down every movement because of the complexity of the interaction, but I do have a thought process that helps me narrow down my search and analysis.

The first thing I do is take a step back and look at the larger picture. Understanding the result of my consistent poor shots is is not always based in the where the ball finishes. Well, actually where the ball finishes is a big indicator, but not always. The point is that I think that it is important to look at the big picture of my poor results.

Next, I focus on my specifics. I watch to see what my divot looks like; I see if my ball is pulled or pushed consistently; Is my ball long or short of my target; how did my contact sound; how does my contact feel; or am I making the right course management decisions. There is a longer list of possibilities, but I think you get the point. There are many specifics that will give me a clue as too what the problems might be taking down my golf score.

So, the real question is do the results of poor results point to the cause of the golf swing? I would say probably. **Side note** I was going to stop writing my article right now, but I thought all the screaming at the monitors would be a bad thing 😉 ** I actually think that most amateurs should seek professional help to solve most of their swing woes. However, mature golfers, like Brian, Kevin, Lorne and BMc, understand their grooved swing enough to dissect swing woes without always seeking professional advice. We understand that consistent errors are caused by a plethora of possibilities. I think if you asked these sage players they would be able to tell you that results of their swings do indicated what the problems could be.

Results do help point out swing errors. The more experienced you are, the better opportunities you have to identify our swing errors. But until you are that level, seek professional help from your local golf pro.

I am grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Can One Shot Make Or Break Your Golf Score?

The obvious answer to this question is yes. There are many golf scores that were obliterated due to one swing of the golf club. In many, if not all, cases the total amount of damage depends on the situation and where you score is at the time. Yes, a triple bogey (or higher) when your score is hovering around par has a greater impact than if you are already 11 over. So, before jumping the Yes bandwagon, I suggest we dig a little deeper to determine if one shot really makes or breaks our golf score.

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Taking Three Months From Golf

The title might be a bit confusing as my golf season ended last month. At this time every year, I take at least three months off without swinging a club. I have the facility in my garage to hit golf balls, but I also like to take the time off to recharge. This year, however, I am taking the time to heal some nagging injuries I played with all summer. I went to my first physio appointment and have some exercises to do a few times a day, but I expect the time away from golf will help with my healing process. It just makes sense to take these three months and to get healthier.

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Is Equating Our Golf Score To Success The Proper Approach To Good Golf?

Why keep score in golf? This fundamental question is likely garnering many quizzical looks right now, but it is a legitimate question. Short of competition, does the score really matter or is it an arbitrary number that does not really mean that much? If we are only competing against ourselves during most rounds, than the score really should not matter that much. The joy of hitting the ball into the hole is the goal of each hole and if we succeed at this small task, then how many strokes it took really is irrelevant. Right? Yet, most golfers (including myself most rounds) feel it is important to equate our success to the score. This might be the wrong approach for beginners and I dare say some more experienced players!

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Accepting Your Distance With Each Club

Has your ego every encouraged you to try and squeeze just a bit more distance from your clubs? You know, trying to eek out an extra 5 or 10 yards instead of clubbing up. I know I am guilty of this needless error for a variety of reasons, but I am starting to understand that this course of action rarely works in my favour. I know that I sometimes gain 5 or 10 extra yards from a club, but that is usually from solid contact or a perfectly in sync swing. The challenge I face is ‘trying’ to hit the ball farther; this is when the my game falls off the rails.

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