golf swing

The Time to Fix Your Golf Swing

/ The Grateful Golfer / 6 Comments

Focus on remedies, not faults! – Jack Nicklaus

Ask any player and they can tell you exactly what is wrong with their swing. They use all the current terms and can describe exactly what is causing their challenge. Some use it as a crutch to not improve and others embrace their swing faults as a source of frustration. Words like casting, blocking, closed club face on impact, decelerate through impact, flip shot, and un-cocking their wrists are common terms thrown about at the 19th hole as players describe their poor rounds.

Fixing a Swing

What is wrong with my swing!?!?

As always, the great Jack Nicklaus speaks volumes with just one sentence! The process of being a better golfer is about identifying your faults, but more importantly, focusing on the remedies that will make you a better player. If the same players above are asked how they plan to fix their faults, there is a very good chance that their silence would be deafening and awkward at the same time. If we did not know better, we would assess that they never thought to find solutions to their swing challenges and have accepted their current state of play.

I have never been one of those players to idly let my game atrophy; I have goals and dreams to always play better at my favorite sport. To make a change in my swing, it is important to first change my thoughts and then to have a plan to change my engrained poor habits. Both take time to develop and achieve; also we need the confidence that the end result of lower scores will be worth the frustration experienced while making changes.

The actual time it takes to break old habits and create new ones is unknown. Every person is different and changes come at different speeds. “But there are some steps you can take to increase your chances of success in the endeavour, including:

  • Take small steps. Don’t try to do everything at once.
  • Only try to change one habit at a time.
  • Write down the habit you want to change, and write down specific plans for achieving that goal.
  • Repeat the behaviour you’re aiming for as often as you can. The more a behaviour is repeated, the more likely it is that it will become “instinctive.””(How Stuff Works)

Time is a major factor when making changes to your golf swing. Depending on the amount of time dedicated to being a better golfer, if used effectively, can produce quick and positive results that lead to lower scores.

Focusing on remedies, not faults is a simplistic and profound process to being a better golfer. For those wanting to improve, time is a critical factor to success. Regardless of the amount of time you have, by following the process above, you will create new habits that will result in lower golf scores in your future!

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

 

How to Swing a Golf Club

/ The Grateful Golfer / 4 Comments

Swinging a golf club is deceptively difficult, totally frustrating, produces gratifying results and is poetry in motion all at the same time. Many amateur golfers are in constant pursuit of that perfect swing to fit their game. Routinely making changes, many players never find what they are looking for; however, their journey always continues.

I talked before about the best golf swing and concluded that each player has that perfect swing inside themselves if they just trust that it will come out when it is ready. But, that is not enough sometimes!

Some players follow the lyrics from Billy Crystal’s song You Look Marvelous; “Nando, don’t be a schnook. It’s not how you feel, it’s how. You. Look!” No matter the scoring results they want that poetry in motion look. There really is not wrong answer to how to swing a golf club!

Just to prove what I mean, take a look at some of these great players:

It is interesting that some of the best players of all time had unique swings that were self-taught! Regardless of how they looked, every swing had one thing in common; it was repeatable! And could they repeat their swing. This is an interesting point for players to take away:

How to hit a golf club consistently and effectively, with success, comes in many forms. Only you know the right form for you!

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Golf Tip: Using Your Dominant Eye

/ The Grateful Golfer / 10 Comments
Loyalist Country Club (12)

Eye Dominance and Putting – Important?

As kids, he have all made a circle with our thumb and index finger to encircle a distant object. Then we opened and closed our eyes and notice that the object flips in and out of the circle. Little did we know that the movement of our circle was an indication of which eye was considered dominant. I have found that as I age, my dominant eye is becoming more and more dominant; as a result of this physical change, in need to adjust my golf game.

Before we move forward, it is important to determine which is your dominate eye. Look at something on the wall across the room. With your index finger and thumb make a circle. Place the object in the circle – be sure you can clearly see the object in the circle. Close your left eye – did the object move? Close our right eye – did the object move? Whichever eye was open with no movement is your dominant eye. I have determined that I am left-eye dominate.

As a left-eye dominant player who plays right, my alignment must take into account how my eye’s view my golf shots. My primary rule is that my dominate eye must be over or slightly behind the ball during all strokes.

Here is what I mean:

When putting, I putt best when my ball in line with my dominant eye; this means my ball is slightly ahead of center in my stance. I find that if my ball slides back to the middle or behind center, I end up pushing the ball because I am not able to square my putter head through contact. Also, I have a tendency to leave my putts short if the ball is not aligned with my left eye. By placing my dominate eye over the ball during putting, I have great success on the greens.

When chipping, my dominate eye must be slightly ahead of my ball, but not far enough back where my right eye is directly over or in front of the ball. By placing the ball slightly behind my dominate eye, my weight distribution fits my stroke, I do not pull the ball to the left of my intended line and I make crisp contact on instead of hitting it thin or fat.

My dominate eye has the greatest effect on my driver. I must have my dominate eye in line with the ball during my set up. In my case, the ball appears to be back in my stance more, but in fact, it is not. Having the ball on either side of my dominate eye will cause a push or pull. The biggest error I constantly work on is not having the ball too far forward in my stance (forward of my dominate eye); the result of my poor alignment causes me to hit the ball left.

Understanding the effects of eye dominance is important to your golf game. It took many trial and error trips to the range and putting green before I figured out how my eyes were causing fundamental challenges in my swing. Had I known about eye dominance earlier, it would have reduced my range tips and frustration on the links.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Fixing your Golf Swing in One Easy Step

/ The Grateful Golfer / 3 Comments

I have the sure fire way to fix your golf swing in one easy step! It came to me while playing golf yesterday. It fits every level of player and can be adopted with little or no trouble. Yup, it is amazing how simple it is and I am not surprised that I did not think of it sooner.

For $19.95, I will send you blah, blah, blah…..how many times have I read or heard about the one solution that will fix everything. The funny thing is that I do believe there is one thing that any golfer can do to improve their swing at any given time.

Yesterday, I was playing golf with a couple of friends and someone I never met before named Kevin. Kevin is our club champion and his swing is as smooth as silk. He was always in control and his shot routine was flawless. However, what caught my attention was his tempo! It was always the same regardless of which club he was using. After watching him, I realized that my swing tempo was way out sync!

After coming back from a long break, my swing was actually out of sync regardless of my scores. Watching Kevin I realized that if I fixed my tempo, many of my swing challenges would be fixed. So, I decided to slow down my tempo. I know, this is the wrong time, but I our season is quickly coming to a close and I need to take advantage of every opportunity to improve my game.

Immediately I found success! My ball striking improved and my confidence increased. I felt better about my swing and hoped that it would continue through that round and during my next. So, I today headed for a quick 9 to see if my new-found success was still around. And to my surprise and happiness, my slower tempo is still working.

This video is an example of my tempo that is quicker than I want:

I go back to my original statement, ‘fixing your swing in one easy step’ is possible and anyone can do it! However, I will admit that finding that one area to change can be challenging, but it is possible. It just takes time and patience to work your way through whatever it is you want to fix.

The only real suggestion I have is that once you decide on what you are going to change, do it with confidence, focus and intent. It will be challenging at first, but you what you can conceive and believe, you can achieve!

I am a grateful golfer!

Your Go To Shot in Golf

/ The Grateful Golfer / 18 Comments
Keeping my head still through the entire swing!

My ‘go to’ 7-iron from 150 yards!

As I watch and read of the woes of Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods, I empathize as they slash their way around the golf course. For me, it appears as if they have lost their “Je ne sais quoi” that makes them great players! It does not mean that they will never play great again, but for the time being they are struggling and it is tough to watch.

As they river of advice over loads their ability to process the information, it is sometimes difficult to break from the current of poor play. But, as all great golfers do from time to time, they will work on their game and eventually return to their former form.

For most weekend duffers, we do not have the luxury to spend the hours needed to fix all the hitches, clicks or alignment issues we face every time we tee it up. Most of us have accepted this reality and play within our fluid expectations.

To rectify our poor play on the links, most of us have a ‘go to’ shot that helps right our failing game. You know, your favorite club, distance or situation in which you do not think, worry, or adjust….your body and mind just knows how to execute without thinking. Generally, after successfully competing your ‘go to’ shot, you are back on track and your game is back to normalish.

For me, I have two ‘go to’ shots. The first and my most favorite is a 7-iron from 150 yards. It is the perfect distance for a smooth swing that does not require ‘anything’ to be completed with success. I aim for the middle of the green, let my mind to blank, and my body takes over. I focus on remembering how this swing feels and my game seems to correct itself.

My second ‘go to’ shot is my 3-wood. This appears to be an odd selection, but due to my style of game (shorter than most at my handicap) I hit more 3-woods than my playing partners. When I hit my 3-wood flush, I actually feel nothing off the head of the club. My follow through is high and my weight distribution works perfectly. I also focus on the feel and I am able to transfer it to my other clubs.

Either one of these ‘go to’ shots helps to quickly fix my ailing game. I also use these comfort shots on the range before I play to establish my groove. So, when my game is ailing, I revert back to my basics and try to focus on the feel of these two shots and it generally helps improve my game.

Do you have any ‘go to’ shots? If so, how do they help?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!