Do some golfers try too hard?

I think a few people haven't got the point of this thread. IMO Bob isn't talking about people that practice and always try their best to succeed, more talking about what I call the tinkerer. The type of person that is always working so hard to gain perfection that he actually doesn't help himself.

Bloke at Spalding plays off 14 and his swing changes from one week to the next, great to play with and always makes me laugh. He is always on the range working on something new, chasing that perfect swing. This week it will be a 1 piece takeaway, next week it is releasing hands through impact, then it will transferring weight, then the grip, then hand position at the top of the swing, then address position etc ce you know what I'm talking about. Thing is this impatient push for perfection never allows him time to bed in any of these changes. Because of this his their swing never improves and never will.
 
Im always hearing, at this time of year, many saying that they are going to spend the winter on swing changes.
It kind of goes like this.....

Winter - make changes
Spring - try it on the course
Summer - tweak it as its not quite right
Autumn - feel its coming together
Winter - make changes...............

Constantly making changes means you can't get used to the changes that you've made
So you think the changes aren't working so you make more changes.....
I'm not saying don't make these changes, just give them a chance to work
And I have no problem with people wanting to improve but constantly changing this and tweaking that means you can't see what's working and what isn't.
Here's a radical thought - play with what you have for a year, grow into your swing, get to know it.

Just my view...I haven't knowingly changed my swing for 15 years or more.
It will have changed but its not something I've worked on.
 
bobmac said:
For example
1. Golfer has a backswing that is too much inside and below plane. In the transition he has a slight throw at the top which actually puts the club back on plane.
Should he change the backswing?


If it works don't fix it.
Click to expand...

100% correct! Most of the pros do it. Just watch Jiminez in slow motion. He crosses the line at the top of the swing, then starts the downswing with a little over the top move, putting the club perfectly back on plane. And how effective is it? It repeats time after time, it's natural to him & if he tried to change it it would lead to inconsistency.
I really believe you should take how you swing naturally, change as little as possible to make it work, and stick with it. People who say they've made massive swing changes and they are "bedding in" will, in my opinion, have ongoing problems because we part time amateurs just don't have the time to hit the thousands of practice shots necessary to groove a swing.

That's why I think that anyone starting to play should take lessons early, ideally before they've even swung a club, so that they don't develop a faulty, grooved, swing which they will always want to revert to when they stop thinking about how they should swing.

Hope this gets the thread back on track.
 
Maninblack4612 said:
really believe you should take how you swing naturally, change as little as possible to make it work.
Click to expand...

Me too, I think any professional will try to do this to some extent.

Finding your natural swing can take a while (esp if you started later in life) and probably needs a good few lessons to teach the basics. I think my natural swing is OK but I have natural faults too which I have to "iron out" and have been doing for years, another wadge of lessons needed there too.

Once my natural faults are gone I should have my "natural swing" without them and hopefully be a decent golfer!
 
Maninblack4612 said:
100% correct! Most of the pros do it. Just watch Jiminez in slow motion. He crosses the line at the top of the swing, then starts the downswing with a little over the top move, putting the club perfectly back on plane. And how effective is it? It repeats time after time, it's natural to him & if he tried to change it it would lead to inconsistency.
I really believe you should take how you swing naturally, change as little as possible to make it work, and stick with it. People who say they've made massive swing changes and they are "bedding in" will, in my opinion, have ongoing problems because we part time amateurs just don't have the time to hit the thousands of practice shots necessary to groove a swing.

That's why I think that anyone starting to play should take lessons early, ideally before they've even swung a club, so that they don't develop a faulty, grooved, swing which they will always want to revert to when they stop thinking about how they should swing.

Hope this gets the thread back on track.
Click to expand...

Well said, its where you are at impact thats important. The faults I have now are very much rooted in my learning. I take lessons to make sure I dont fall back into bad habits and to help move my game forward. In all my time playing its always the basics we return to, Grip, Alignment, Stance, Posture. Get those right and it makes the job at least achievable!
 
I find it hard to not try too hard due to all the different aspects of the game. If it was just one swing off the tee and that was Golf it would be pretty easy to relax about things but each part of the game (to me) feels completly seperate. So once I have relaxed about my drive I then have think about the fairway shot, then the pitch shot, then the chip shot, then the putt....as you can tell I have a high handicap.
So due to all the different aspects of the game if you are only concentrating on say 4 things, in your mind it will feel like your not concentrating on too much at all.
 
Hey bob,

With regard to your OP I cant say anything but.. I agree. The constant "rebuild" can be destructive and I guess is usually the result of too much input, be that internet, several pros, not liking what you see on video or not liking launch monitor numbers.

However I also think there are lots of people out there putting the hours in and achieving nothing because they are bound and bind themselves by so many "rules". I think if your going to go it alone you have to first look at your ball flight for answers and also let your body be a little free rather than looking for "positions"... let the swing be a swing and not just a series of positions. Look at the lie and loft of the club and how it wants to impact the ball and ground.

I guess the other thing is that some peoples hobby is not golf its playing with there golf swing.

Just a few thoughts.
 
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bobmac said:
What problems are these faults causing?
Click to expand...

Misconceptions and lazyness, poor address and posture.

Pretty much the same thing since you last saw me but much improved. I have moved my hands out a bit and gained some width.

If I get my address and posture right I seem to swing well so I focus my practice on my setup.
 
ScienceBoy said:
Misconceptions and lazyness, poor address and posture.

Pretty much the same thing since you last saw me but much improved. I have moved my hands out a bit and gained some width.

If I get my address and posture right I seem to swing well so I focus my practice on my setup.
Click to expand...

As long as your changing something to cure a problem, not just because it looks wrong.
 
bobmac said:
It's the start of winter and you've just bought a slo mo camera to film your swing and your sitting at home analysing the results of your first practice session on video.
You thought you swung like Rory McIlroy, it turns out to be more like Rory McGrath.

After you stop crying. you set about fixing all the things that are wrong.
By next spring, you will be awesome.
The truth is you will have spent 4 months trying to fix all your swing 'problems' and at the end of it, you will have a swing that feels horrible, doesn't look a whole lot different to your swing at the start and your scores are going up.
Why?
Because golfers look at their swing and try and fix the things that look wrong.
Instead, they should only fix something that is causing problems.

For example
1. Golfer has a backswing that is too much inside and below plane. In the transition he has a slight throw at the top which actually puts the club back on plane.
Should he change the backswing?

2. Golfer has a little fade but is happy as most of his home course sets up for left to right shots
Should he change his swing path?

3. Golfer hits it very straight but not very far but his course is short and tight.
Should he try and hit it farther?

Filming your golf swing is great to see what you actually do (real and feel) but dont dive in and change everything because it doesnt look right.

A wonky swing that does the job is better than a good looking swing that doesn't.

If it works don't fix it.
Click to expand...

Ok then, in the interest of balance...

Is it possible that the answers you will get on this forum will be skewed in favour of the mid handicap hobby golfer.. Most people on here love the game, but accept that it's a hobby. The age demographic is probably somewhere in the early 40's..

Now, would you apply the same logic to a young golfer, maybe in their early teens..

Doesn't hit it very far - Should he/she learn to hit it farther?
Hits a constant fade - Should he/she learn to shape the ball both ways?
Has an inherent "swing flaw" - Should he/she get it fixed?

Or, how about the single figure player striving to reach scratch. So far on this thread, we haven't had the opinion of someone who has reached those giddy heights. Is it possible to reach them without removing some of the perceived flaws that could lead to inconsistency?
 
[video=youtube;NjkfdXYeBRE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjkfdXYeBRE&list=UUFoez1Xjc90CsHvCzqKnLcw[/video]

Rick Shiels and Peter Finch do a great breakdown of Bubba's swing, and make a great point about being natural, and so many amateurs worrying about how their swing looks, or what people will think, and not the results. If it works, who cares.
 
Imurg said:
Winter - make changes
Spring - try it on the course
Summer - tweak it as its not quite right
Autumn - feel its coming together
Winter - make changes...............

Constantly making changes means you can't get used to the changes that you've made
So you think the changes aren't working so you make more changes.....
I'm not saying don't make these changes, just give them a chance to work
And I have no problem with people wanting to improve but constantly changing this and tweaking that means you can't see what's working and what isn't.
Here's a radical thought - play with what you have for a year, grow into your swing, get to know it.

Just my view...I haven't knowingly changed my swing for 15 years or more.
It will have changed but its not something I've worked on.
Click to expand...

it comes back to people watching the pros too much IMO. We all hear about how even the best players in the world do swing changes over winter. But there is one huge difference, they will spend a week hitting 2-300 balls a day with their coach stood next to them implementing those changes. The handicap golfer will go to the range have 2 buckets of balls, twice a week and think they can make swing changes. My old pro told me that he could fix my backswing, but it would take 2-3 hours a day for a week, basically more than the price of a set of clubs.

That's a lot of money and time I do not have to put into changing my backswing. Take a look for yourself and you will see how bad it is and the amount of so called swing flaws that are in it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9l90i_ekjA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KdpQ7VN6qs
 
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