The idea of this blog is to help educate golfers bit by bit about the learning process. Like playing golf, this website is a process not an event. There’s no quick fix and I try hard not to promise miracle cures – perhaps this is a golf blog for realistic golfers. Each week I offer little bits of information – some of it may help you and others may not. The important thing is that you open your mind, learn new things and experience better golf.
I get excited when I come up with new ways of explaining the golf learning process. I write my ideas down, think about them for a few days (even weeks and months) and then eventually put them into words. It’s a lot of fun and I am never short of things to write about. Sometimes you guys say stuff that explains what I do better than I could ever do. Grayden left a message on the previous post. I’ve included it below because it’s important.
I’m a tad excited. Just a tad mind you. It doesn’t pay to get too excited in this game but I think a penny may have dropped……
I’ve been listening to Cam’s Remarkable Golf CD in the car at work today. He mentions the Fred Shoemaker “throw the club” exercise as the simplest way to get the feel of how we should be swinging a club. I’ve heard Cameron talk about this before but never taken it too seriously because it sounded a bit simplistic or “childish” to me. I could see the logic of it mind you, but didn’t think I actually needed to do it.
Anyway, because I”m now laid up with an achilles heel problem and can’t play I’m keen to do ANYTHING that involves actually getting my hands on a club aso when I got home after work I thought, “hey, what the heck” and went out the back yard and tried it.
Sure enough, first go and I flung the club to the left (I’m a right hander). No real surprise there seeing as I hit a fade (which can easily progress to a slice like most of us). I went and picked up the club (I was only throwing it about 10m….bit worried about the neighbour’s windows!) and thought “no probs, I’ll take it seriously now, I’ll just throw the NEXT one straight”. Threw again……..Hmmm……still going left. No worries. I’ll REALLY make sure I throw straight this time. No more mucking about. Throw…..Hmmm…..STILL going left!
By now I was curious and decided I was going to keep going with this “dumb” exercise until I could get the darn thing to go straight. Lets just say it took me quite a few “throws” (they’re really “swings” of course) to learn how to make the thing go straight. When I finally figured it out, here’s how I noticed I was swinging:
(a) with a much quieter body action
(b) with MUCH better balance
(c) with a shorter backswing
(c) with slightly more active hands
(d) with a greater sensation of “lag” (Yay! I’ve always wanted to get that feeling back!)
It was a very controlled, compact feeling. I also noticed that the club head was grazing the grass much more consistently than usual AND that the divots were much straighter than they are with my usual “body” swing.
“Only trouble is I must LOOK ridiculous” I thought. It felt “all arms” to me because I’m so used to the “body swing” feel. I moved over to a window to watch myself. I assumed I was going to see something akin to a tripod fixed to the ground with arms flapping. Thats what it FELT like. Gee whizz, guess what? It didn’t look ridiculous at all! It actually looked like a simple, compact, controlled golf swing. “Hey GP” I thought, ” maybe this is how you’re SUPPOSED to swing a golf club!!! Interestingly I also noticed it put much less pressure on my heel (!)
Anyway, as I say, this is just a tad exciting. Can’t wait to get out there and try it “live” now. So folks, my advice: DON’T do what I did and just MENTALLY do the club throwing exercise. Actually GO AND DO IT. And KEEP doing it until you actually throw straight. Then, when thats finally happening, take note of how it FEELS and start swinging that way. You might be as surprised (delighted!) as I am.
Thanks Cameron. I never doubted you for a minute (:-)) That CD might just be the best $37 I’ve spent for a while!
His kind words made my day. There’s also an important message. You’ve got to DO the stuff. You can’t read about it. You can’t think about it. You’ve got to get out there and DO it. Yesterday, during a Pennant match, I hit a hurdle (or three). I lost three holes in a row. I was getting frustrated. My thumb was sure. I started making up stories and excuses – I didn’t feel like playing. Then I remembered Grayden’s post. It reminded me to stop thinking so much and get back to playing. That little moment, a moment that nobody else would ever pick up on, was enough to get me to swing freely, stop playing scared and to play golf my way.
If your golf is not going well maybe you’ve got to do a reality check. Are you playing with too many swing thoughts? Are you worried about your score, handicap or the rough? If the answer is yes then the solution is to get out there and DO the things I write about. It’s really easy to think about them – but are you actually doing them?
For the record I played well on the last seven holes to win my match. It was pleasing – to play well is always fun but to overcome self-doubt and worry is something different altogether.
And this is why I do this blog. It helps me more than it probably helps you guys. It really does. I learn from all the comments, emails and questions I receive. And along the way if you learn to break free and play golf to your full potential then that’s great. If you share your experiences then we all win. And that’s something special.
Where to from here?
I’ve spilled the beans on everything I’ve learned about playing better golf. This blog contains over 320 golf lessons that are all free. I’ve also compiled some premium content. There’s video, case studies and personal attention from me. If you’d like to view the premium content then here’s the link for that. Then there’s my golf audio. This is my first golf audio product and it contains some great advice, it’s especially useful for those that are struggling with their game and looking to dig their way from the golfing rut.
And there’s something else I don’t talk about very often. And that’s spreading the word. If you find this golf instruction useful, insightful or even different please feel free to share it with other golfers. I’d really appreciate it.
I’ll be back in a few days with a golf lesson I’ve been working on for quite some time. It’s a beauty.
Learning golf the traditional way wasn’t much fun. Looking back now it definitely inhibited my learning and added years to my development. I’ve come to realise that “the system” has got things arse about.
Normal golf learning goes like this:
- Base the learning model on the best player of the era (or of the coach of the best player of the era)
- Devise a system based on this player.
- The pupil is required to remember all of the rules of the system.
- Student reminded and encouraged to focus on what they are doing wrong.
- Receive a number of drills and swing thoughts to fix any problems.
- Get told to practice and come back again.
- Repeat
This system has become so standard that golfers don’t think there is another way. I received a call this week from a guy who is a pioneer in his field. He has broken all the rules of the “system” and gone onto become a leader and have a successful career. He asked for a golf lesson so I could check his swing. When I suggested we take lunch and discuss another way he can get through his form slump he declined. He insisted he had a technical problem and needed me to “take a look”.
He can’t break the habit of traditional learning, despite proof it’s not working (he has been trying for a while now). I can’t help him.
I’m not bashing the coaches. It’s not their fault. New golf professionals are taught to follow, and not buck, the system. Every golf pro I’ve ever meet wants to help others and would do anything to assist you in playing better. They’re in a system that cannot work. For the same reasons you struggle with your game, they can’t become better teachers.
What matters is how we learn. It has nothing to do with the what. But traditionally we are overloaded with rules and regulations. Follow the system, do the drill, perfect your technique. It’s mindless garbage that makes learning boring and golf difficult.
The best way to learn golf is this: Find a way to swing that feels good to you. It’s not about your grip or your back swing. Swing the club and choose the shots that excite you. Persevere. Keep going. Most of all trust your system that it will work out whatever it is you’re trying to achieve. Don’t be scared. Swing freely and don’t worry about the results.
And then repeat.
There’s really no system. It’s not possible to devise the perfect system, write it down and get others to follow. You need to explore, have fun and keep playing.
Sometimes you’ll fail. You’ll stuff up and think you’re hopeless. This is time to move on and try a different shot or just forget about it. Making mistakes and not letting them get to you is part of the fun. It’s how we learn.
But the best bit? This type of learning comes naturally to us. At least when we’re kids. This is how we learn to do most other things that aren’t quite as important as our golf swings. We try we fail. We try we fail. But we get there in the end. We’re not concerned with how we look but whether or not we hit the target, catch the ball or are playing the game.
Golf is hard not because you’re no good, lack talent or don’t have a golf swing. You make it hard by focusing on the wrong things. You’re more concerned about about your grip, stance and swing. You’re worried about making mistakes and not swinging “on plane”.
If this post resonates with you then it’s time to turn traditional golf coaching on its head. It’s time to start playing. Forget about what your golf swing needs to look like or what swing thought you should be using. It’s time to start thinking how you’d like to play and then start moving in that direction. It’s time to restore a sense of childlikeness. It’s time to play golf.
I know people will say, “but what if my grip is bad?” or “what if I have a slice?”. These are the usual questions and come from a traditional mindset. I can only say that my golf, and those that understand natural learning, has only improved when we’ve stopped worrying about the “what”.
Focus on how you’d like to play and go for it. Traditional instruction is holding you back. It’s time for a change.
This post was inspired by this article. It made me realise I had forgotten a thing or two and the same things affecting mainstream education apply to golf learning. I played yesterday after a little spell (busy at work, injury and others) with a different mindset and produced some of my best golf of the year. Golf is fun again.
I haven’t been a fan of traditional golf media for some time. I pretty much don’t read the magazines, mainstream books or listen that closely to what the golf commentators have to say. To be honest I find it boring and most of what I hear (or read) is garbage.
My faith in the media did not improve last night. Here in Melbourne we have a 24 hour sports radio station. They cover a wide range of sports and give smaller sports (compared to AFL Football) a chance to let their fans know what is going on.
Wednesday night is golf night.
The commentators were talking about US player Ryan Palmer. Palmer won on the PGA Tour for the first time last week. The two commentators seemed more concerned about his funky action rather than his great win. What was even more annoying was their insistence that the Australian coaching system is better than that in the USA.
What the? I think we (Australia) have had a shocking run in golf of late. If we want to be compared to the best then we need to count Major victories as the measuring stick.
In the last 10 years we’ve had only 1 major winner (Geoff Ogilvy US Open 2006). Compare that to 27 for the USA in the same time period.
These commentators were deadly serious in saying that we produce better players because we are technically more gifted. What rubbish! They also went on to say that the American players spent all their time chipping, pitching and putting like there is something wrong with that. The US players might not have the prettiest golf swings but they are better players because they don’t neglect the scoring game. I also think they don’t let ego get in the way as much as Australians do – they’re happy to win ugly if that is what is needed.
Tiger Woods probably makes the comparison a little unfair, he has won 12 Majors since 1999. So here’s a rundown of all the Nationalities who have won in the last 10 years.
USA – 27
South Africa – 4
Ireland – 3
Argentina – 2
Fiji – 2
Australia – 1
New Zealand – 1
Scotland – 1
South Korea – 1
Spain – 1
The only nation that has performed worse in this time frame would be England. They seem to have a similar group of young players as Australia. All “technically gifted” but who can’t seem to get over the line. I would add that Lee Westwood has been a little unlucky.
My annoyance with these commentators is that they are giving the wrong message. The game is so much more than technique. Young listeners are getting the wrong message. The number one skill is playing the game – the swing is only a small part of it, it will never be the entire game. If you can’t trust your swing, chip and putt you have no chance. If you spend the majority of practice time on your swing you will not become the best player you can be.
The radio show was finished off with a young player being interviewed about a recent trip to the USA. He said it had been a useful learning experience. Warming up before one tournament he looked around and couldn’t believe how poorly the US players swung the club. The guy next to him “had a swing like a dog” but went onto shoot 63.
Us Aussies still have a lot to learn. Give me the US coaching style and mindset any day.
The longer we play the more we should realise the impact of automatic on our golf game.
Automatic is more important than tips and quick fixes. It’s more important than the past, the future, your talent, than birdies and bogeys, than failures, than successes, what your golf coach thinks, says or does. It is more important than style, physical strength or skill. It will make or break a golfer and is the difference between a successful golf career and an unfulfilled one.
The significant thing is that we have a choice every time way we choose to play. We can’t change the past and we can only effect the future. We can’t change the fact that sometimes the ball will bounce in a certain way. We can’t change the weather or what our playing partners will say or do. The only thing we can do is decide to play golf automatically – to play in the present.
Golf is hard. Our automatic game and belief in remarkable makes it easier. Playing golf can make us nervous, doubtful or even scared – Automatic is the road map to confidence, improvement and fun. It is also the only part of our game which allows us to be the best that we can be.
Automatic is everything!
I’d like to thank my mate Evan Spargo who inspired this post with his “Attitude” mantra. If you’d like to learn more about automatic, check out my ebook Play Golf Your Way.
I like stories. They provide inspiration and are a useful learning tool.
Adam’s golf story is a good one and highlights the pitfalls of the golf improvement cycle.
Adam has been a friend of mine for nine years. I didn’t realise he was a golfer until recently, he preferred social outings, jet skiing and ballroom dancing over golf.
But Adam had a secret past.
He used to be a trainee golf professional at a top Melbourne golf course. This surprised me because he avoided golf like the plague. Although he hung out with a golf crowd he never participated in golf discussions or golf days. It was obvious he didn’t like the game – it would be fair to say he despised it!
When I discovered he was once a golf professional I couldn’t help but to dig deeper. It turns out that golf got the better of him. He had put his heart and soul into playing better golf. He became obsessed with it. Read More
If you want to play you best golf then you’ll want to join the Golf Tribe. It’s now time to make a commitment and get motivated to take your golf to a new level.
The Golf Tribe is a group of like minded golfers who are keen to work together and share their experiences with the automatic (natural learning) golf improvement process.
This is the first step in my Golf Success Blueprint . The GSP will be the world’s first golf instruction program on automatic and natural learning. Keep your eyes peeled – this will be launching soon.
Here’s how it works
If you’re ready to get started here’s what you need to do:
- Publicly Commit. This might be a bit scary but you’ll thank me later. By committing you’ll be more likely to stick to the process and see results. Add a comment below and briefly tell everyone what you’d like to achieve in the next 30 days.
- Read the guidelines. I’ve put more detailed guidelines on this page.
- Report your progress or leave feedback.
- Join the Tribe. This is the best way to keep up to date with what is happening, new lessons and updates. Click here to become a member of The Golf Tribe. Once there enter your email address and press enter.
That’s it. I’m not sure where all this will go at this stage but I think it will be something special. Any golfer can join and it’s free of charge. The only commitment is your time and energy.
See the rules (guidelines) for this Golf Tribe challenge (click here)
Check out all the comments below. There’s some great stuff here and be sure to leave your comments.
Golf is a great sport but it can also test our character and emotions to the limit.
Despite being the number one qualifier, I lost my first round match in this year’s Club Championship on the weekend.
I’ve been asked all week to explain what happened. This is not an easy thing to do and I’m not entirely convinced this self examination is all that beneficial. Over analysing can get to the point of “storytelling” to justify poor play and I don’t think that helps that much. I believe it’s best to move on and keep trucking as normal.
After a few days reflection these are my thoughts on what happened and what I can learn from this disappointing day, hopefully you’ll pick up a few pointers for dealing with those days where things just don’t go right.
My Opponent Played Well
First and foremost I can’t take anything away from Steve. He played really well and hit some quality shots when it really mattered. Despite being the underdog, he played with confidence under difficult conditions. The further the match went the better he played. He didn’t get tight and controlling – his swing and putting stroke remained free from tension, allowing him to play some great golf.
You can’t control your opponent and if he plays well you’re going to have your hands full – no matter what your handicap or ranking.
Lack of Preparation
If I’m totally honest my preparation was poor. I didn’t check the date for the first round – believing it was a week later I felt rushed and under prepared. Compounding my lack of organisation was attending a function the night before that got me home late before an important round. Not a good start.
Getting frustrated
I got frustrated during the middle of the game. Standing in the middle of the 9th fairway I looked like going 2up. For some reason the green keeper was still rolling the green. By the time he finished there was a build up on the tee – I rushed my shot (didn’t commit or follow routine) and made a poor swing. Steve recovered well from a poor drive and won the hole. This was a big turning point in the match.
I was feeling frustrated and my mind was spinning, “why were they rolling greens in the middle of the Club Champs?” and “Surely the could finish the front nine greens before the back nine?”. I was making excuses for not playing a good shot and my mind was not on the job. Master players are able to handle any obstacles that get thrown at them. Obviously I still have a long way to go in this matter – but I’ll keep working at it.
Playing too aggressively
I was one down playing 14. Despite a few mistakes and some poor play I was right in the match, with a good finish I was certain I could close out the game. But I made a bad mistake – I went for the par 5 14th green when it really was not the shot. I missed the shot slightly and paid for my overconfidence dearly.
Sometimes a conservative game plan is the right thing to do. The easier shot places less stress on your system and it still allows you to shoot good scores. In this situation (being 1 down with fives holes to play) I probably would have been better to lay up and make certain of a par five. The resulting loss was too great to make up on the closing holes.
Not trusting the process and playing safe
This probably hurts the most. I didn’t follow the automatic system fully. Being brutally honest, my swing and mindset was off slightly as I didn’t fully let go and trust my automatic game. I played safe and let some fear and the situation dictate how I played. I don’t know why this happened but I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen too often.
All up it was a bad day. A few errors at the wrong time didn’t help the situation. I’m trying to see the positives though. I’ve been on a dream run for the last year and I’m using this experience to motivate myself to achieve more. More than that it has reinforced the magic of playing automatically – there’s no comparison to a free flowing and natural game to one that is tight, fearfull and controlling. It’s a continual process of learning and discovering and one reason why golf is a great game.
