Great Lesson on Friday

[User 105]

Over the past 8 weeks my pro has been changing my swing.

It's been OK but very tough and frustrating as hell at times incorporating all the changes.

Went back on Friday and the lesson went a bit different.

Usually it's

"Steve, how's it going"
"I'm hitting the ball like a T@%t"
"Ok hits some balls and lets see what's happening"

This time it's
Same first two lines but
"Why ? You've got a good swing, all the fundamentals are good. Every time you finish a lesson you're hitting the ball well again"

So we spent 20 mins just talking about what I'm thinking about as I start my routine, as I approach the ball, how I'm visualising the shot, what i think about as I address the ball etc etc"

Well to cut a long story short, with all the changes by the time I address the ball I've got so much going on in my head it's not surprising I'm having trouble with any consistency.

We hit a few balls, and tried a few different mental drills from thinking about the shot and shape I want to hit. To just thinking about the first 1 yard of the shot, to just pick my shot and step in and hit it.

Anything to get any swing thoughts out of my head.

The picture the shot and just step in take a stance and hit it seemed to work the best for me.

Question is. How much time do you're coaches spend on the mental side of the game vs the swing ? I've always thought of golf as a 50% Mechanics, 50% Mind game, especially once you have a usable swing.

But I'm sure most of peoples lessons are probably 90-95% Mechanics.

 

[JustOne]

But I'm sure most of peoples lessons are probably 90-95% Mechanics.

I'd say 90-95% of peoples swings are in the set up, get that right and you can swing the club almost empty minded.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

If you have the foundations right (grip, stance, alingment and posture) then unless you do something really unorthodox (ok pot and kettle with my swing) then you should get some resemblance of consistency. I was due to have a couple of sessions with a pro who does a lot of work on the mental side as part of my blog last year but he cancelled through ill health and other issues and we never rescheduled. It is something worth looking at especially if it can stop the myriad of swing thoughts entering the brain just as you swing. However after this weekend I'm still looking for that resemblance of consistency

 

[Toby_LeRhone]

Apparently the skill learning process goes something like this:

Stage 1 - Unconscious incompetance; think about it as much as you like, you're a bit rubbish (in fact, the more you think about it, the worse you seem to get).
Stage 2 - Conscious competance; you can do it but have to think hard about it.
Stage 3 - Unconscious competance; you don't even have to think about it, you're that good. You perform well, even under pressure.

Your pro will get you from Stage 1 to 2, whereas it takes practice to get from 2 to 3.