The first question I would ask before playing any new game is, “What is the object of the game?” The first foundation principle you need to understand is there is a correlation between the object of the game and the correct fundamental golf swing.
Too many golfers swing at the ball as if the object of the game is to hit the ball as far as possible and distance is the only thing that matters. Likewise, the object of the game isn’t just hitting to a 70-yard target as if accuracy and consistency were the only things that mattered. If we saw a 100-year evolution of the golf swing focusing exclusively on distance or exclusively on accuracy, we would see a different swing than what the pros have today. Their fundamental swing looks the way it does because golf combines distance, accuracy and consistency. This is what makes it such a great and difficult game.
Between distance, accuracy and consistency; distance is the least important. Golf is a game of control – not power. Every tour pro develops their swing to hit each iron an exact distance. Every pro can swing in ways to hit further than this exact distance, but if they used that swing, they couldn’t play professional golf. They know if they tried to swing harder at the ball to gain more distance, they would lose too much control. There’s no question that the pros have power. Even the shortest hitters on Tour hit it further than most amateurs. But it is the control in their game, not the power in their game, which allows them to play professional golf. Let’s illustrate this point in another way.
This chart compares the skill level of the pros and amateurs. We know the pros have a high skill level in distance, accuracy and consistency. Many amateurs can hit the ball as far as the pros. In fact it is possible for some first-year golfers to equal the pros in distance. But it is absolutely impossible for any beginning golfer to achieve the accuracy and consistency of the pros, even after 5 years of practice.
The point is this. For many of you, the distance in your game is more comparable to the pros than the accuracy or consistency in your game.
If you want to play more like the pros,
then work on that part of your game least like the pros
The player I described above can only hit a drive 200 yards, can’t hit a single green in regulation and has no one-putts. They have no power, but can shoot 10 strokes lower than the national average. It is not the lack of distance causing a player to shoot 100. It is their lack of consistent control.
Before we move on, I want to make sure my point is clear. I am not saying that distance isn’t important. I want you to have sufficient distance to reach greens in regulation. For some, it is the lack of distance that prevents you from scoring well, and you need to work on those fundamentals that produce more distance. But for the vast majority of golfers, it is the lack of consistent control, not lack of distance that prevents them from shooting lower scores.
