How you use your mind has more influence on your score than how you use your body. Let me say that another way so it will soak in.
The decisions you make with your mind
have more influence on your score than your swing skills
This is because the swing skills you have now and in the future are direct results of decisions you made in the past and will make in the future.
When you hit a golf ball, the ball will respond to only one thing – the laws of physics. The ball will not respond to your feelings, your intellect or your will. If you hit a ball 136 yards with a 2 yard draw with your 9 iron and you want to repeat that result, then repeat the exact assortment of physical laws that were applied to the first shot (club head speed, ball speed, angle of attack, club face position, club path, etc).
The swing you have now is the one you built. If you had built an “Iron Byron” (mechanical golfer) and it was hitting stray shots, you would look for what part of the machine to change. You would look at the geometry of the swing – swing planes, angles of limbs, length of hitting radius, etc. You would look at the sequences and speed of different movements in the machine, etc.
I often tell my students, “You don’t have an athletic problem, you have a geometry problem”. To have a stance that is too narrow is not an athletic problem; it is a geometry problem. To hit an iron with the hands setup behind the ball instead of in front of the ball is not an athletic problem; it is a geometry problem.
You don’t need to be athletic to get better
Too many golfers perceive themselves as not being very athletic and, therefore, cannot get much better than they are now. I won’t lie to you. Athleticism is an important attribute to becoming an elite golfer. But every golfer regardless of their athletic ability can play better golf than they are right now. Natural athletes move their bodies correctly without much thought. If you are not a natural athlete, it doesn’t mean you can’t move your body correctly; it just means you will have to put “more thought” into it.
Stop using your feelings to learn with. Start using your mind. Start making decisions based on objective observations of hard evidence. The following hypothetical is an example of using the mind and observation to make changes to improve your game.
Case Study – Bob’s Chip Shot Technique
Bob is only a few yards off the green with a good lie. The hole is about 40 feet away. He uses his sand wedge and hits the ball with fully cocked wrists, sending the ball about 10 feet in the air and comes up 15 feet short.
This time Bob didn’t get the result he was hoping for, and has on many occasions done better. Unfortunately, on some occasions has also done worse; hitting it fat; or worse still; “sculling” the ball over the green.
Bob has used this technique for years and feels very comfortable. The next time Bob has a similar shot, he will make the same decision based on comfort and hope.
Bob could improve his chances INSTANTLY if he started using his mind.
· If he started making observations of others and himself
· If he started asking the right questions
How many professional golfers would use the same technique that Bob just used? What if Bob was told the percentage was close to “zero”? Would Bob begin to question his choice of technique?
We suggest that Bob fly the ball much lower and just on to the green and let the ball run to the hole like a putt. We suggest using a 7or 8-iron with a much shorter backswing using a chipping swing much closer to a putting stroke than a pitching stroke.
He goes to the practice green and throws a few balls down just off the green. He grabs his 8-iron and takes a few practice swings with a much shorter backswing. He isn’t sure how hard to hit it, but hits one with his best guess. It goes way too far. He feels uncomfortable and unsure about the technique. He certainly felt more comfortable with his “old” technique.
Don’t Guess – Test
It doesn’t make sense for Bob to make up his mind on this new technique based on just one shot. He needs to hit until he has a cluster of results in the general area of the hole. At this stage, he will have a random number of good shots and bad shots. Even though with practice the technique is becoming more familiar, it still isn’t as comfortable as his swing with the sand wedge. Now, he needs to take an objective test.
· Hit 10 shots with a sand wedge – Measure the results
· Now do the same with the 8-iron – Measure the results
This test compares one technique Bob has used for years to a new technique he has used only a few minutes. But based on this test, Bob will have some insight as to the potential of the new technique. Bob can reasonably assume that his old technique will not improve that much in the future. But the new technique will. The only question is will the improved results surpass the results of the current technique.
Bob sees enough potential to keep practicing and after a few weeks conducts the test again. This time the new chip-&-run technique showed better results compared to the pitching technique. He decides to always choose this technique for this type of shot on the course and as a result has improved his overall average proximity to the hole results and completely eliminated the occasional scull shot. He now shoots lower scores.
In the above example, Bob’s improvement in his game was a direct result of decisions he made with his mind. Bob changed results by changing how he thought. Yes, the improved results were due to changing how he moved his body, but the decision to change how he moved his body was a mental activity, not an athletic one.
With the OnTarget approach you will follow a process that always begins with activities that use the mind. Whether on your own or with the help of an instructor, you will learn that…
Hitting better shots is not about controlling the ball;
it is about controlling your attention.
