This site is
dedicated to recreational players around the
world looking for the simplest and easiest way to enjoy golf
world looking for the simplest and easiest way to enjoy golf
You will break
80 but you won't be Tiger Woods
The information herein is intended for recreational players only. It should enable you to break
80 with some practice but it is never intended to help you turn pro. Look elsewhere if that's your
objective.
I define a recreational player as the following:
The information herein is intended for recreational players only. It should enable you to break
80 with some practice but it is never intended to help you turn pro. Look elsewhere if that's your
objective.
I define a recreational player as the following:
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You play golf
because you enjoy it ( instead of
making a living with it) |
|
|
You
believe playing in the 70's is more fun than in the 80's or 90's |
|
|
You
don't play on the 'tour courses' (e.g. super fast greens
and 4" rough) |
|
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You don't have a lot of time to practice | |
If you fit the
profile above, read on!
Why the simpler the better?
Why the simpler the better?
Have you ever
wondered why you had a
good swing one day but you just couldn't reproduce it
the next day? Even if you wrote down the exact swing thoughts that helped you on that good day
and tried to faithfully repeat them, the perfect swing just disappeared or gradually faded away. I
have an explanation.
Unified Swing Theory (UST) 1: A good swing requires many many things to be right. It will
turn bad if only a few of them go wrong.
As illustrated by the green line in the diagram below, a swing is great when a high percentage
of the things (such as grip, posture, swing plane, tempo, ...etc.) are going right. As more and
more of them go wrong, the 'goodness' goes down drastically. A touring pro does most things
correctly so he/she operates in the green zone. Even though a few things might go out of whack
on a specific day, the 'goodness' of the swing is still pretty good.
the next day? Even if you wrote down the exact swing thoughts that helped you on that good day
and tried to faithfully repeat them, the perfect swing just disappeared or gradually faded away. I
have an explanation.
Unified Swing Theory (UST) 1: A good swing requires many many things to be right. It will
turn bad if only a few of them go wrong.
As illustrated by the green line in the diagram below, a swing is great when a high percentage
of the things (such as grip, posture, swing plane, tempo, ...etc.) are going right. As more and
more of them go wrong, the 'goodness' goes down drastically. A touring pro does most things
correctly so he/she operates in the green zone. Even though a few things might go out of whack
on a specific day, the 'goodness' of the swing is still pretty good.
Simplified
Golf!
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The
easiest way to play
The reason we can't repeat the good swing even though we followed the exact swing thoughts
is not because the swing thoughts are no longer helpful and making the corresponding
aspects of our swing correct. It is because the other aspects of our swing went wrong and
brought down the 'goodness'. To make matters worse, different things could go bad at different
times. This is why a good swing is so elusive.
Since a simpler swing has fewer elements, and thus, fewer things to get right and maintain
right. It stands to reason that the simpler we make golf, the better!
Unified Swing Theory (UST) 2: The fewer the concerns of a swing, the simpler it gets.
In addition to finding a simple swing, we can further reduce the number of concerns by using
‘mega swing thoughts’ that combine the effects of several swing thoughts. An example would
be the #1 Pressure Point by Homer Kelly (covered in detail in the swing section). It’s also worth
noting that some swing thoughts are harder to execute than the other. When given a choice, the
easier one is always better than the hard one.
Unified Swing Theory (UST) 3: Spreading the concerns of the swing elements across time
makes the swing simpler to execute.
Besides reducing the number of elements, we can further simplify golf by taking advantage of
the time dimension. The difficulty of getting multiple things right simultaneously increases
exponentially with the number of things we need to be concerned with at once. Try juggling one
ball. It’s easy, isn’t it? Now add another ball. It’s a bit harder. Add more balls. It becomes
much harder.
A golf swing takes roughly 2 seconds. Asking our mind to handle too many swing thoughts
(even though they help us get many elements of the swing right) during that time is futile. Most
likely we can’t do it, and the cognitive stress makes us tense up and further hurt the swing.
Instead, if we shift some of the concerns away from the actual swing phase to the pre-shot
routines (or even the follow through), we effectively reduce number of things we need to
consciously get right during the actual swing.
We’ve all heard the old saying: “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today”. In golf, “Don’t
put off till the actual swing what you can do before it.” The putting section provides a good and
simple example. The same principle, of course, applies to others as well.
Unified Swing Theory (UST) 4: Pushing the concerns of the swing elements to subconscious
makes the swing simpler to execute.
When you don’t have to think about it and can do it right, it’s the holy grail of golf. Practice can
push consciously controlled elements into subconscious. However, the right kind of practice is
important for it to happen. There will be examples in the full swing section.