Feel and touch.

[bobmac]

No, you wierdos, it's not about that........
Have you ever had a lesson or some advice from a friend and it has involved the words touch or feel and you have thought 'what on earth is he/she talking about?
Can you put into words what 'touch' and 'feel' means?
e.g. having a good short game is all about having a good touch around the greens and a good feel for distance.
Can you learn touch and feel?
Your thoughts please

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I think you can learn touch as in long putts but I think feel as in chipping (especially over hazards) is to a degree something you either have or you don't. A sound technique for both will make the best of any shortcomings and practice will also help

 

[brendy]

The best way I can describe touch and feel is to equate it to bowls (old mans sport, not mine!)
you see the guy looking at his options, almost weighing the ball and making up in his mind how it is going to roll, pick a line and let his body react to how it wants to roll it, then the unconscious mind does the rest as he doesnt have time to think once hes set off on the swing.
To me, touch is the unconscious mind doing what you want, good players have better control over this whether through practice or raw talent.

 

[CrapHacker]

Seve had great natural touch

Greg Norman learned to have a pretty good touch.

It helps to have a natural instinct for it, but I think practise makes perfect ( as always )

 

[theeaglehunter]

I think both can be developed however learnt is a different thing. Everyone is born with a certain level of judgement which mildly equates to touch and feel, and as with all natural attributes practice will see improvements in this. I do believe however the level of ability in this field which you are born with will certainly limit how far you can develop these attributes.

With practice and getting to know the exact way a specific ball reacts off each club face differently around the green will help improve your touch, and finding the centre of the club face will obviously give you better feel. Continually doing this sort of practice will no doubt bring about developments in your short game. However for those not blessed with natural feel and control of these short shots they will only ever reach a certain level of control despite all the practice / coaching in the world. There short game will peak and then plateau.

There we go, as clear as mud, but simply put I think it is to a degree natural. However they can certainly be built and improved upon to a certain level (based on your natural ability!) so are not strictly 'closed' abilities.

 

[haplesshacker]

You raise some interesting questions occasionally Bob.

I pretty much go along with Brendy. Other sports where I can describe a 'feel' or 'touch'.

Skiing - level of grip an edge gives you, whilst not robbing you of speed.

Sailing - feeling the balance of the sails and boat against the wind and waves, and knowing when control can be maintained or lost.

Motor sport - pretty much the same as sailing.

Football - something I've admited to not knowing much about, but I'm sure that the best players understand feel and touch better than most.

Whilst not a good 'description' of feel and touch. What I mean to say is that, yes, it is something that can be learnt, probably not taught, and some 'feel' it better than others. Ultimately it's what sorts out the good from the great.

With regards to golf. The best advice I was given regarding short game feel, was to imagine throwing the ball under arm to the pin. Are you going to lob it high or run it low? Which-ever way, visualise it in your mind, or even go through the motions. Then do the exact same thing with a club in your hands. It's helped me massively.

 

[viscount17]

Can you put into words what 'touch' and 'feel' means?
e.g. having a good short game is all about having a good touch around the greens and a good feel for distance.
Can you learn touch and feel?

The real question is can your pro put into words what touch and feel are. I would say not or he wouldn't be using those words.

I have no idea what 'having a good touch around the greens' means unless it's simply having the ability to get the ball onto the green and keeping it there, hopefully within putting distance. that has to be a learned skill.

'having a good feel for distance' - no hope for me then! I wear varifocals for long/short correction and astigmatism - distance perspective can be a bit hit and miss, even without variable light conditions.

 

[haplesshacker]

Can you put into words what 'touch' and 'feel' means?
e.g. having a good short game is all about having a good touch around the greens and a good feel for distance.
Can you learn touch and feel?

The real question is can your pro put into words what touch and feel are. I would say not or he wouldn't be using those words.

I have no idea what 'having a good touch around the greens' means unless it's simply having the ability to get the ball onto the green and keeping it there, hopefully within putting distance. that has to be a learned skill.

'having a good feel for distance' - no hope for me then! I wear varifocals for long/short correction and astigmatism - distance perspective can be a bit hit and miss, even without variable light conditions.

And yet, you still beat me.

 

[viscount17]

Can you put into words what 'touch' and 'feel' means?
e.g. having a good short game is all about having a good touch around the greens and a good feel for distance.
Can you learn touch and feel?

The real question is can your pro put into words what touch and feel are. I would say not or he wouldn't be using those words.

I have no idea what 'having a good touch around the greens' means unless it's simply having the ability to get the ball onto the green and keeping it there, hopefully within putting distance. that has to be a learned skill.

'having a good feel for distance' - no hope for me then! I wear varifocals for long/short correction and astigmatism - distance perspective can be a bit hit and miss, even without variable light conditions.

And yet, you still beat me.

but who was it who chipped in from miles off the green?

- I want to see you do it again - on the 10th or 18th at the Belfry!

 

[Canfordhacker]

For me this goes back to the "Golf - art or science?" discussion. Touch and feel are very much the the artistic part of the game where you let your subconscious take over and don't over focus with a hundred swing thoughts. Think what you'd like to do then let your body takeover from your mind. As the ball nestles next to the hole you end up thinking "How did I do that".

As such you don't teach them, you teach a state of mind that allows you to get there.

 

[Faldo_Fan]

Interesting that someone mentioned Seve in this thread on feel and touch.
The great man himself is adamant your not born with it and that it must be nurtured and practised!!!!

I think you can improve feel and touch through practice, but that it's virtually impossible to teach. I'd be interested in how Bob communicates these skills to students???

 

[AliB]

Is this the old 'perspiration/inspiration' debate?
Even the most talented sportsmen (or even artists) need to work for their success - ie learn and practice. But without some natural talent (touch & feel) you're on a losing wicket.
I think it's 80/20 - that's 80% hard work. Which at least that gives hope to those of us who are broderline on what nature gave to us!

AliB