Dear Golfer,
I received a call from a client of mine the other day. This guy is a good golfer and dedicated to improving his play. I like him because he keeps me up to date on his progress, both good scores and bad.
Our last conversation was interesting. He has been struggling with his game. He went on to tell me about his last few rounds blow by blow. He told me about what he was doing wrong and why he was playing badly. He had a technical answer for every poor swing that he made – believing that this would help him on the road to recovery.
My answer probably shocked him. I told him that he was making stories up in his head. That these stories were not true and they would not help him get out of his golfing rut. He was a little confused.
I explained to him that he really didn’t know what he was doing incorrectly. That his diagnosis was a representation of what he “thought” he was doing – not actually what he was doing.
So every time a golfer hits a poor shot and says, ” I swung too quickly…I always swing too quickly and I hit a slice!” This is not reality. The chances are that he didn’t swing quickly at all. Yes he hit a poor shot but it might not be from swinging quickly. This self diagnosis is done to try and justify the poor shot. The thinking seems to be, “OK…I hit a poor shot but if I know what I did wrong all will be right”. But this doesn’t work.
What happens if you didn’t swing too quickly (or lifted your head or spun out)? Any effort at to correct something that wasn’t wrong can have no positive effect on your game. Even if you are correct, making adjustments during play is fraught with many dangers.
My friend understood what I was talking about. He realised that he was thinking too much about his technique and over analysing. His attempts at diagnosing the problem were made up to make him feel better.
A Better Way
A more positive approach is to not analyse your technique when you play. Hit the ball until you get it into the hole. Forget about the how and the why and just play. Remove the straight jacket that comes from thinking too much and let yourself go and see if you can have more fun and be more free. Try it. You may surprise yourself.
Footnote:
I spent one month with an amazing individual from Scotland in 2002. Kendal McWade was once a regular PGA golf pro that knew swing technique back to front. He woke up one day and realised that what he was doing was incorrect. He was teaching people to play golf the same way he tried to play the game. A method that never allowed him freedom, fun or consistent scores. He was too technical and never actually ‘played’ golf.
McWade spent some time traveling and looking into different approaches. Eventually he settled on a new business called Instinctive Golf. I spent four weeks with him at his base outside of Glasgow. That time was spent exploring possibilities, having fun and actually playing golf.
It was like being a young kid again – having the freedom to try new things and step out of comfort zones. To swing the club without a worry is liberating. You relax and let go – and what you get in return is better than any traditional golf lesson can offer you. Your own golf swing.
Kendal spoke to me about making up stories and this has had a profound impact on me. I spent one day with him at the British Open, watching the players, taking and observing the practice fairway. He helped me to see golf and golf coaching in a different light. He helped me realise that just because many people follow a certain path, it doesn’t make it correct. That often a better system is hiding right in front of you and that Mother Nature knows best.
If you’d like to learn more about playing golf to your full potential then please contact me.
Good golfing,
Cameron Strachan
Dear Golfer,
Golfers have been struggling with improvement for over 100 years. There has been so much written about golf improvement that it would be impossible to read it all. Being an avid reader and golf fan, I’ve worked my way through many articles, books, websites and videos in the hope to understanding golf and golf learning better.
I believe there is a problem with modern coaching. There’s too much emphasis on technique and swing and not enough training, learning or understanding on teaching golfers to play.
Too many golfers worry and concern themselves with swing technique when they play. This just doesn’t work. We perform very few skills on a daily basis with concern or worry about how to do them…golf is a different story. This one element is the reason a vast majority of golfers struggle and find golf difficult.
When you learn to play golf with the same mindset and approach as say driving a car, you open up the possibilities for stellar play and peak performance. Although many golfers understand this – they don’t fully grasp the concept. This is unfortunate.
There is no comparison to actually experiencing this mindset and way of play compared to reading it in a book. If you want to play better golf you need to get out there and put the automatic principle into action. Reading about it and understanding it internally is not enough. You have to own it and physically do it.
This one step is where most golfers let themselves down. They get lazy or simply forget about what they are doing. They wander around aimlessly for their entire golf life. Sure, they shoot some good scores from time to time – but they NEVER experience consistent and reliable golf scores.
After coming full circle myself (I have tried every technique and gimmick available), I would never give what I have now for some airy fairy instructional tip or swing theory. I truly own my golf swing and for the most part can play at a consistent level. This is despite not practicing and working on improving my golf skills.
The road to golf improvement is fraught with danger. There are so many theories and concepts available that it can be hard to know where to start. Worse still, most golf advice focuses on technique alone – preferring the quick fix approach over reliable and solid instructions. This is what makes learning a better game so difficult. Golfers simply don’t know that there is an easier and more effective approach to finding a consistent golf game.
If you have tried everything to improve your golf but still can’t seem to climb out of the golfing doldrums then you should put your trust in your own innate talent and ability. This is Mother Nature’s way – it works time after time and gives you more than just a better golf game. You’ll experience consistency, mastery and total euphoria! If you can ride a bike, drive a car and throw a ball you posses all the talent necessary to become a better golfer.
But… you have to actually get out there and experience it! Reading alone will not provide enough clues and inspiration for success.
Good luck and good golfing,
Cameron Strachan
Golf can be full of ups and downs
It’s been a while since my last blog. Must say that I’ve been really busy with moving house, getting new products developed and playing some golf events. Everything has calmed down for the moment so I hope to add to the blog more regularly.
Back to the golf.
I played in the Club Championships recently. My Club still has a 36 hole stroke qualifying, followed by match play. I like this format. It really makes you knuckle down, especially in the early rounds of the match play. With only the final played over 36 holes, it is easy to get behind in the early rounds and get bundled out.
I was playing well and found myself in the final. I was matched against the new ‘young gun’ of the club. He is half my age and looks like having a big future.
The day was dominated by the weather. With wind gusts of 85 kilometres an hour and lightning fast greens, the course was nearly unplayable. Two or three holes were deemed unfit for play – even after the hole was relocated to a flat spot on the green, the ball was still blowing off the green.
My automatic game is second nature to me now. Despite the conditions I keep playing ‘my way’. I strive to forget about technique and let my natural style lead the way. I must say that it can be very frustrating when the golf ball gets blown all over the place and your score creeps out.
The beauty of match play is that your actual score becomes irrelevant. The important factor is how you play compared to your opponent. With such radical conditions in the final, par became a great score. Some of the holes into the wind were nearly impossible and those down wind weren’t much easier – it was a real battle.
I had some luck and was better able to deal with the conditions than the young champ and I came out on top. It is always a thrill to win and for most golfers the Club Championships is the biggest event of the year.
My winning feeling didn’t last long.
I played in the Australian Open qualifying on Monday. My form has been good and I went into the round feeling confident…maybe too confident.
I like challenging myself and feel that I am better able to handle the extra pressure of a qualifying round or other tournament than I was 10 years ago. I used to ‘choke’ and let myself down. Usually I would try and play differently and totally stuff things up. Over the last few years I seem to have more good days than bad.
Monday’s round was perhaps the most frustrating game of golf I played. I lost a golf ball on the third, resulting in double-bogey. It wasn’t the worst shot I’ve ever played and perhaps was a bit unlucky. I managed to get back into the round after making an eagle on the par five 5th.
The 9th hole was the major turning point. It is a short par 4 (250 metres uphill) playing into the wind. I cracked a drive and it looked like the ball would be on the green. The ball bounced left and trickled into a green side bunker. It wasn’t a difficult shot – I also consider myself to be good at bunker play. For some reason I left the ball in the bunker the first time and the second attempt went over the green. I made a silly bogey and killed all momentum.
I then made an even worse mistake. I stopped going automatic and worried about my score and game. After making some bad swing and decisions I had ruined any chance of progressing further.
After thinking about the day’s events I believe I made two crucial errors. If I had my time again I would have changed my approach slightly;
- Be less aggressive off the tee. The tee shot on the third was too aggressive. It was only a metre or so from being perfect – but it caught a tree and was never found again. I could have still hit an aggressive shot – perhaps a hard five iron and made an easy par or birdie. The driver was hit or miss – the wrong decision in hindsight.
- Keep going automatic. I let my frustration get the better of me. If I had relaxed more on the ninth hole and played more instinctively I would have more than likely played a better shot. I also practically gave up and let my mind wander all over the place. Although I probably wouldn’t have qualified, it would have been good to finish off the round strongly.
Golf can be such a frustrating and annoying game. I had trouble sleeping on Monday night – going over each shot many times. If you want to be a good player you have to accept these bad times. They make the good experiences so much better.
I look forward to my next competition and will learn from my mistakes. I’m sure my next round will be much better. I also plan on experimenting playing more conservatively off the tee. I like to hit the ball hard – but this doesn’t mean I need to hit driver on each hole. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Golf – a great game but also very humbling! And you never stop learning.
Good golfing,
Cameron Strachan
