Swing thoughts?

[bobmac]

I've jusr been reading the thread about persevering with swing changes and the point was raised about swing thoughts on the course.
Some say you should do all the work on the range and go out and not think about anything during the swing.
Others like to have a swing thought or 2 during the swing.
Obviously, too many swing thoughts would be a no-no, but should you clear your mind or focus it on just one or two things when you pull the trigger?
What do you do?

 

[RGDave]

What do you do?

My current thought is just to turn and keep still. Sounds like 2 thoughts (?) but actually it's the same thing for me.

Sometimes I forget to hit the ball though.....really!.....I've almost missed the face on my 3 wood a few times just trying too hard to put a nice relaxed swing on it....

 

[andiritchie]

On the course i just Try to hit the ball where i want it to

No swing thoughts really, apart from the driver where i have a little saying

'Get back and stay back'

I barely practise swing never mind have swing thoughts

 

[ColinR]

I try not to have a swing thought just get settled over the ball, relax, breath out and let rip

The breathing out part seems to work for me, seems to relax the muscles.

 

[M1tch]

all i do is just think about my left leg because it always moves so i just think of that and when i have that still i just swing and there we go 250 yards

 

[RGDave]

all i do is just think about my left leg because it always moves so i just think of that and when i have that still i just swing and there we go 250 yards

Cool, does it work with a 7 iron too

When I was trying the stack n tilt ideas, I kept having to remind myself about the left leg....normally it's irrelevant as I've swayed far enough to not need a left leg....

 

[Whereditgo]

What do you do?

I use 2 really I guess:

With the driver it's "low and slow"..... Low - reminding myself not to go too high on the backswing..... Slow - to remind myself not to try to hit the cover off it!

With irons its "relax and release".....Relax - sort of speaks for itself ..... Release - to ensure I follow through and hold the position

Might seem odd to others but it works for me!

 

[PeterPumpkinEater]

This is my BIGGEST problem i'm told by my Pro.

I have developed a pause at the top of the backswing which he feels is down to too many thoughts. my process is this.

1. Am I lined up correctly + ball position.
2. Weight 60/40 for Driver
3. Backswing - Plane, weight on right side, no cupping to left hand.
4. Through swing - Right arm in close to body, transfer weight, and this is my biggest problem......hips clearing too quickly, so I'm thinking about swinging the club with the arms and not the body.
5. Hit the little blighter!
6. Make my journey to the left hand rough as I have pull my tee shot left.......again!!

Who says that men cant multi task?

 

[PeterPumpkinEater]

Sorry I forgot. Also, keeping my right knee flexed as it keeps straightening.

 

[teetime72]

My problem is too many swing thoughts which I change from week to week.I can`t seem to settle for one simple mantra,get one thing right and something else goes.Ithink a lot of what is wrong with my game is the mental side.But whats the cure.And no I can`t afford a shrink.

 

[GB72]

Only really think about temp. used and still can have a tendency to take a wild slash at the ball so now just concentrate on keeping it nice and smooth. Anything more than that and I go to pot.

 

[golf_bug]

Swing thoughts ruin my swing during a round. When on the range I will think of a few things, but I leave it on the range. Recently, I have not even gone to the range before playing a round. This has helped me to concentrate on where I want the ball to go on the course, rather than what I have to do to get it there.

 

[dangermouse]

When hitting it well, I literally walk up toi the ball, pick a spot in the air where I want to hit it (over a tree or something), and then let rip. On the much more common occasions I am not playing well, I probably have too many:

1. When stood over the shot, just think "nice and steady"
2. Start of the backswing, I concentrate on taking my body away straight and rotating around the spine
3. Top of the backswing - "Don't rush down", and "why the hell did you take it away to the outside, and why is your weight 2 feet outside your right foot?!"
4. "try to rotate all the way to a high finish" as I have a tendency not to complete the shot and to block the ball right
5. "I hope my partner saw where that went as I have no clue!"
6. "you should probably give this game up"

then I go find my ball and hit it again!

 

[bobmac]

This is my BIGGEST problem i'm told by my Pro.

I have developed a pause at the top of the backswing which he feels is down to too many thoughts. my process is this.

1. Am I lined up correctly + ball position.
2. Weight 60/40 for Driver
3. Backswing - Plane, weight on right side, no cupping to left hand.
4. Through swing - Right arm in close to body, transfer weight, and this is my biggest problem......hips clearing too quickly, so I'm thinking about swinging the club with the arms and not the body.
5. Hit the little blighter!
6. Make my journey to the left hand rough as I have pull my tee shot left.......again!!

Who says that men cant multi task?

Wow PPE
A tad too many me-thinks.
1 and 2 are ok, they are at address.
3. instead of getting to the top of the backswing by thinking about your plane, wrist and weight try this.
Position yourself at the top of the backswing when your 3 points are good then close your eyes.
Try and remember how it feels. then with your eyes still closed, start the swing again and aim to get the same position. This will stop you thinking about the 3 points, just aim for that good position P.s open your eyes
4. Try and keep the change in direction smooth
forget 5 and 6 and stroll off down the middle
HTH

 

[vig]

I have a few thoughts during the setup, pre shot routine (which I keep forgetting to follow. I had this conversation with TonyN went last week)
Tend to focus on the area I want to hit (flag/point on fairway) once the swing is in motion, nothing much enters my head until after I have hit the ball, then it's usually DOH!

 

[thecraw]

Turn-turn!

Nothing else, all I do is remind myself before each shot and trust my swing.

 

[The23rdman]

I've played well with and without swing faults...and I've played badly with or without swing thoughts!

It really depends on how I'm hitting it. My best golf has always been when my mind has been clear and quiet and I've had only an overall awareness of my swing. I find it much easier to FEEL my swing if I try to acknowledge it as a whole fluid motion rather than collection of positions.

I do have a few check points before I swing at set-up, but they're put out of my mind once I'm comfortable. After that I just try and swing in balance as that seems to produce the best results however I swing.

 

[forefortheday]

I used to be like Rainman at the blackjack table but the last week or so I've been to the range thinking "L to L" and 1/2 or 3/4 swinging it and have been getting great results.

The word "draw" was even used on Saturday even the 3 wood generously donated by Andi Ritchie came out

(I am however trying to block the memory of the corkscrew I attempted on Saturday in front of my nephew)

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I tend to try not too have any specific swing mechanics in my head as I had a problem of getting too focussed on the swing and not the outcome. As I've written before I'm using the 2 yard line. Basically I stand behind the ball with my bag and behind that line I pick the club I want, see my shot and take my practice swing. Once I've crossed that line, I'll address the ball, take a waggle, look at my target, set the club down behind the ball and fire.

My signal for me crossing the line to start the process is putting my glove on and my trigger to tell myself the shot is over (and to forget the outcome good or bad) is to take the glove off

 

[golf_bug]

I tend to try not too have any specific swing mechanics in my head as I had a problem of getting too focussed on the swing and not the outcome. As I've written before I'm using the 2 yard line. Basically I stand behind the ball with my bag and behind that line I pick the club I want, see my shot and take my practice swing. Once I've crossed that line, I'll address the ball, take a waggle, look at my target, set the club down behind the ball and fire.

My signal for me crossing the line to start the process is putting my glove on and my trigger to tell myself the shot is over (and to forget the outcome good or bad) is to take the glove off

Crikey Homer! Seems like you have more non swing thoughts than swing thoughts!