| If you watch the Golf Channel or read any of the | | | | the area of the short game and the mental game. |
| magazines and books on golf, it will be very hard for | | | | This is absolutely true for the average golfer but it |
| you to miss the basic theme that "There is a perfect | | | | may be true for all golfers as well. There is loads of |
| swing and you will do the most for your game by | | | | evidence on the pro tours that the ones making the |
| trying to get it". Even when you watch a tournament | | | | money are those best at chipping and putting. The |
| on TV, you see the commentators participate in this | | | | golf research guru himself, Dave Pelz, actually |
| conspiracy by showing us frame-by-frame analysis of | | | | followed tour players around for years taking detailed |
| the pro and critiquing his/her every move. Now, | | | | statistics and he proved it (see his book, My Short |
| maybe we can give the TV guys a break because | | | | Game Bible). In addition to that, there are too many |
| they are just trying for some entertainment value | | | | pros to list that admit that their swing is not |
| and let's face it, most of us are interested in the | | | | "technically correct" or maybe not even very |
| details of the swing because we've been | | | | good...BUT THEY WIN TOURNAMENTS! Look at Jim |
| brainwashed by years of this theme. | | | | Furyk, 2003 U.S. Open winner. He actually has a big |
| For many years, I too was a "swing zombie" in my | | | | loop in his backswing. Lee Trevino always told people |
| quest to improve my golf game. I even participated | | | | that they should not copy his swing. Even Jack |
| with a group of golfers that all had our swings | | | | Nicklaus says in his books that he wasn't a very good |
| videotaped and then we critiqued each other in a | | | | ball striker. Bruce Lietzke has won tournaments on |
| classroom setting. The feedback I received from all | | | | the PGA and Senior tours playing his left-to-right shot |
| of us watching my swing ran from "very smooth" to | | | | his whole career - And he says he rarely practices! |
| "way off-kilter". Everybody had a differing opinion of | | | | On top of that, the tours are littered with past |
| many of the swings that we watched and at least | | | | champions that totally lost their game AFTER they |
| for me, it only confused me more. | | | | tried to change it for the better. And now they are |
| In my younger years, I had a typical amateur slice | | | | begging their sports psychologist to help them "find" |
| swing that obviously came out of my years of | | | | their old swing. |
| playing baseball and softball. In those days, I would | | | | I have talked to PGA golf instructors that say it's |
| just aim for the left edge of any fairway and I could | | | | their clients that want the swing advice (just like I |
| count on the ball moving left to right, at worst ending | | | | did) even when they recommend working some |
| up in the right rough but usually hitting the fairway. I | | | | other part of their game first. So maybe it's our own |
| enjoyed playing golf those days but I always felt | | | | fault for the most part in creating the current |
| that something was missing. So when I could finally | | | | situation where average scores of amateurs has not |
| afford it,I decided to take a set of lessons from a | | | | dropped one stroke in the last 50 years despite the |
| pro. Of course I told him that I wanted to get rid of | | | | advances in equipment technology. Now don't get me |
| my slice swing and he asked me back "are you | | | | wrong, if you are a true beginner, you really should |
| sure?". This answer kind of shocked me but he was | | | | start out with learning the basics of the golf swing. |
| a very good instructor and by the end of the | | | | But if you're hitting it solid most of the time and |
| lessons, I was able to hit the ball out of bounds both | | | | finding the fairway half the time, you are good to go |
| ways, left and right. I figured that it would just be a | | | | for a real scoring quest as more swing advice is not |
| matter of time until I "dialed" in to hitting it straight. | | | | the quickest way for you to drop your score. There |
| To make the story short, 5 years later and I was still | | | | is just so much more that you can do, on and off |
| "dialing" and getting wrong numbers (ob, jail, water,no | | | | the course, that will pay you back in saved strokes |
| score improvement, etc.). | | | | for far less time spent than changing your swing. |
| Looking back, I honestly believe now that if I had | | | | Most of us have precious little free time that we can |
| stuck with my old left to right swing and just used | | | | work to improve our games so why not work on |
| the rest of what I learned from the pro, that I would | | | | that which will give us the greatest bang for our |
| have improved significantly. Why? Because I was a | | | | (time) buck? |
| typical golfer and not a 15 handicapper trying to | | | | And so, let me be the first to make a pledge to the |
| become a single-digiter. Studies have shown that the | | | | golf spirit inside me (I always thought that golf is like |
| overwhelming majority of amateur golfers shoot in | | | | religion): |
| the 90's or above for men and it's over 100 for | | | | I for one, do solemnly swear that I will not pay |
| women. If you are in that group, then you really | | | | attention to any swing advice of any sort until I can |
| should be working on parts of your game that will | | | | score in the 70's consistently with the swing I have |
| give you far more efficient score improvement for | | | | (and maybe not even then). |
| the time and effort spent. This would primarily be in | | | | |