Another golf mystery, why does this happen?

[mariner]

I read Harvey Penick's "Little Red Book" 17 years ago, and in it he says words to the effect that "if you just take ONE thing from this book, let it be this - TAKE DEAD AIM for every shot, let me say it again, TAKE DEAD AIM"
So I've always remembered that and I always do what Justin Rose does, ie hold the clubshaft to make a line from target to ball and then pick a spot 2 feet in front of the ball on every shot.
I'm not very accurate and probably have a 50/50 chance of hitting a green with an 7 iron, but while practising my wedges the other day I found that I was a hell of a lot more accurate if I didn't line up so obsessively but just stood over the ball and roughly aimed from my address position. This was true for all my short irons and chips from around the green, it was nearly always more accurate if I didn't line everything up.
How can this be?
Do you think I'm more subconsciously target orientated and therefore more accurate when I don't aim "mechanically"?
I know I am almost certainly NOT lined up correctly when I aim roughly (because I know that from address it looks like I am aiming wrongly when I go through the mechanical routine, if that makes sense) but it seems to produce better results.
But the opposite is true with putting - does anybody draw a line round the ball and then use it to line up their putts - and if so, when you stand over it ready to putt, does it look like it's going to miss? I do this too, and it looks "wrong" at address but I KNOW it's not so I go with it I'm happy with my putting, the majority of my misses are misreads, not inaccurate putts, and I will miss 99% of the time if I stray from trusting that line.
I suppose my putting stroke is mechanically sound and my full swing is less so?

[bill reed]

Re: Another golf mystery, why does this happen?

hi
is it Robert Karlson that stands behind the ball with the club pointing at the target and he shuts one eye and looks along the shaft so he can get the target line spot on.
he seems to be playing really well just now so it must work for him.
cheers
bill

[mariner]

Re: Another golf mystery, why does this happen?

Yeah, that's what I've done for years, but his swing is better than mine, his is a finely tuned olympic target rifle with telescopic sight and mine is a clapped out old blunderbuss!!

[GregJWillis]

Re: Another golf mystery, why does this happen?

I would like to suggest that it may be the fact that your swing is naturally mis-aligned.

Some folks have a natural push, or pull, in-to-out, out-to-in...something that happens in their swing that takes it off-line.

When you line up naturally, you have played long enough to have previous knowledge of what good results come from that position (be it open or closed to square)...so this feels right.

When you did the plum-bob club alignment step, and forced your body into what would be a straight shot, your natural swing is still the same, and you end up pulling or pushing.

Another less likely reason could be that even though you think you are aligned to the perfect target line, you are in fact off line. If you only align your feet, but your shoulders and clubface are off, this will cause it to go off line. Basically, everything has to be right for it to be aligned. So something might be naturally off in your setup.

I would take what Harvey said and apply it to your natural swing. Take dead aim in your head as what you are aiming for in your natural setup. Don't just step up and swing without picking out a particular point to shot at. I don't care if you plum-bobbed for it, or just put that spot in your head, you are still focusing on it and are going to know if you pulled or pushed the shot after hitting it. I think this is the spirit of the idea -- to always HAVE a target.

[mariner]

Re: Another golf mystery, why does this happen?

Thanks, that makes sense - when I do my mechanical line up, the only thing I'm sure of is the clubface alignment, and if someone laid clubs along my feet, hips and shoulders they probably wouldn't all be on line, in fact I know I've stood slightly closed for years in an attempt to neutralise an over-the-top tendency.
So the bottom line would be to go with the natural method and forget the precise mechanical aiming?

[GregJWillis]

Re: Another golf mystery, why does this happen?

Yes, unless you want to get into a swing-fix.

[BrianW]

Re: Another golf mystery, why does this happen?

Be careful not to take a line to the target then subconsciously align your body on that line, make sure you are aiming parallel left of it. Try taking your address then lifting the club and placing it across your chest and see if it is pointing left of target.

[Neil18]

Re: Another golf mystery, why does this happen?

Do you think I'm more subconsciously target orientated and therefore more accurate when I don't aim "mechanically"?

You got it in one Mariner!

Rather than being into your mechanically minded check list of your set up, all of a sudden you're into your target.

The brain and body can produce wonderful things if you let them.

Us humans are wired for target orientated stuff.

[Mox]

Re: Another golf mystery, why does this happen?

Be careful not to take a line to the target then subconsciously align your body on that line, make sure you are aiming parallel left of it. Try taking your address then lifting the club and placing it across your chest and see if it is pointing left of target.

This is what I used to do, and it has grown into a nasty pull habit.

In the beginning I aligned myself to the target, not on the parallel rail. Because of this, I missed straight shots to the left. Doing that often enough, WILL make your body instinctively pull the ball to the right, and then all hell breaks loose.

I'm still working on removing that pull several years later.

But yes - make a concious decision to hit a target that is as precise as you can possibly imagine. Think about it as a game of darts. You don't just aim for the board when you want to hit bullseye.

[jambalaya]

Re: Another golf mystery, why does this happen?

When thinking of Harvey Penicks "Take Dead Aim" I always thought of it as looking at your target and keep it in mind as you swing. I never thought about drawing a target line to the hole and lining up to it. I interpreted his instruction as just don't simply line up and swing but swing to hit the ball to a target.

[mariner]

Re: Another golf mystery, why does this happen?

I've been having trouble even breaking 90 lately and have shot three 92s in succession on my home course which is pathetic - I regard myself as an 85 shooter with the odd 79 on a very good day.
Today was the first round for nearly 20 years where I didn't aim anything in my old overly-mechanical way (except putts) and shot 81.
Tell a lie, I did line up my drives, but next time (June Medal) I won't even do that.

[GregJWillis]

Re: Another golf mystery, why does this happen?

Outstanding!