Arm/Body Tension

[lithepj]

After playing several good rounds of golf I thought that I had achieved greater consistency. Then I had a bad round and decided to go to the driving range to sort things out. Matters only seemed to get worse despite several visits. I realised that I was far too tense when addressing the ball and the only way I could swing at all was very quickly.

I am trying to slow down the backswing but I cannot get rid of the tension in my arms/body at address and quite frankly I sometimes feel I am rooted to the spot and cannot swing at all. The longer I hover over the ball the worse it gets. I realise it is "all in my head" but getting rid of the problem is easier said than done. Any advice on how to relax and swing more slowly and smoothly.

[Golfbald]

lithepj,

Two things on the tension, the first is the mental part. Over alignment will cause this, your brain is probably working overtime trying to figure if everything is correct at setup and your mind won't let you swing without all the proper corrections. Your golfswing is made with the subconsious mind. In order to get past this you must give your concious mind something simple to do. I recommend counting your tempo. The golf swing tempo is "One and" on the backswing and "two" at impact. The consious mind is now happy because it thinks it is doing something important. The subconsious can then take ove and control the movement. This is why golfers hit there best shots when they didn't think of anything!!!

The physical tension part can be aliviated in a few movements. One is the "gravity arm drop". take the arms up to shoulder level and let them fall to the sides. This is as fast as a golf swing needs to be. Why fight the most powerful force, gravity? Another is to extend and flex the hands and arm toward and away from the ball slowly. The wrists should be in a neutral position. This will relieve the tension in the hands and promote a better shot.

Try these things and thigs will get better,

GolfBald