swing thoughts

[trob2034]

i have been through the ringer with swing thoughts and it jacked my game up for a minute among other OVERANALYZING THOUGHTS.....FRIDAY in league i played horrible to the point where i just didnt care....all the practice at the range.....UTTER DISGUST WITH GOLF

so i bit the dog Saturday b/c it bit me......started out ****py all over again....by the 6th hole i finally got a par....through it all i shot 45...

my faults.....reverse pivot.....casting....poor spine angle....could be more

i challenged myself to one swing thought on my drive on hole #9.....hands in front of driver head.....

tired of hooking faced a lil right....when straight about 278 yrd......but to the right where i was facing.....

next hole 3 straight fairways...2 pars and bogey

ended up shooting 40 even on the back....with 2 double bogeys


by putting hands forward on swing did that automatically eliminate my casting issue....i thought it did

with irons with the same swing thought i just thought smash the ball in the ground....without dipping


was this a fluke round or am i on to something positive

[Martin Levac]

Re: swing thoughts

My swing thought is to make proper contact with the ball above all else. It is the same thought when I practice. I don't care how I achieve proper contact, I only care that I achieve it. So, I could cast, reverse pivot, flip the wrists, you name it, as long as I make proper contact. In fact, I could look like a monkey swinging a branch but as long as I make proper contact, that's all that matters to me.

Here are a few things that can help you do the same thing. Maintain a firm solid base on which to swing. That means, plant your feet firmly on the ground. Maintain your eyes focused on the ball throughout the swing. Maintain control over the club at all times. Focus on making proper contact with the ball.

The alternative is that you don't plant your feet firmly on the ground, you don't maintain focus on the ball, you don't maintain control over the club and you don't focus on making proper contact with the ball. Does it sound like you?

[trob2034]

Re: swing thoughts

My swing thought is to make proper contact with the ball above all else. It is the same thought when I practice. I don't care how I achieve proper contact, I only care that I achieve it. So, I could cast, reverse pivot, flip the wrists, you name it, as long as I make proper contact. In fact, I could look like a monkey swinging a branch but as long as I make proper contact, that's all that matters to me.

Here are a few things that can help you do the same thing. Maintain a firm solid base on which to swing. That means, plant your feet firmly on the ground. Maintain your eyes focused on the ball throughout the swing. Maintain control over the club at all times. Focus on making proper contact with the ball.

The alternative is that you don't plant your feet firmly on the ground, you don't maintain focus on the ball, you don't maintain control over the club and you don't focus on making proper contact with the ball. Does it sound like you?

i like the sound of that...i could care less if i am reverse pivot etc.....just solid contact on the ball.....when i started playing well all i focused on was bringing my hands down to hit the ball....i was shanking shots early in the round.....started doing that on one instance i was a bit under a tree and could only half swing.....i just thought half swing and pound the ball to get it on the green.....= 6 feet from pin.....made putt =birdie


im going to stick with just focusing on bringing my hands down to the ball

[chessbum]

Re: swing thoughts

I hope you will take this in the intent in which it is offered, but you are a HEAD CASE. With all that thinking this, thinking that stuff you don't have a chance.

Try this once:
Hit the ball with no thoughts. See if you can do it, first of all, just as an experiment. It may give you a chance.

Chessbum...

[Martin Levac]

Re: swing thoughts

i like the sound of that...i could care less if i am reverse pivot etc.....just solid contact on the ball.....when i started playing well all i focused on was bringing my hands down to hit the ball....i was shanking shots early in the round.....started doing that on one instance i was a bit under a tree and could only half swing.....i just thought half swing and pound the ball to get it on the green.....= 6 feet from pin.....made putt =birdie


im going to stick with just focusing on bringing my hands down to the ball

As you make proper contact more frequently, you will gain confidence in your ability. As you gain confidence, you will improve your ability to make proper contact. It's a sort of vicious circle that feeds on itself. There will come a time when you will be over-confident and you will surpass your limit and make mistakes, when that happens, go back to what you know. If what you know doesn't work for now, step back and take a break.

Through all this, you will gain experience. This experience is what allows you to decide what shot to make, what shot not to attempt and what club to select for the shot. You will learn how to manage the course properly according to your ability. When it comes to equipment, with experience you will learn what fits you and what doesn't. You may find that the grip size is too small for you or that the lie angle is too flat, for example.

But basically, it all begins with a single swing thought. Most people call that focus.

[BrianW]

Re: swing thoughts

Right sir, just step up to the mat here. Now twat the ball up the range.

Done it.

Where did it go?

Shot off to the right.

Did you make solid contact?

Yes.

OK, that's good. Now hit another.

Done that.

Where did that go?

Shot off left.

Did you make solid contact?

Yes.

Hit one more sir.

Finished.

And?

Well, it kinda went left then went right.

Solid Contact?

Sure.

That's it then, you've mastered the golf swing.

But I cant hit it straight.

Never mind, you must have learned something.

[Martin Levac]

Re: swing thoughts

Right sir, just step up to the mat here. Now twat the ball up the range.

Done it.

Where did it go?

Shot off to the right.

Did you make solid contact?

Yes.

OK, that's good. Now hit another.

Done that.

Where did that go?

Shot off left.

Did you make solid contact?

Yes.

Hit one more sir.

Finished.

And?

Well, it kinda went left then went right.

Solid Contact?

Sure.

That's it then, you've mastered the golf swing.

But I cant hit it straight.

Never mind, you must have learned something.

That's not mastery, that's jokery.

[BrianW]

Re: swing thoughts

Yes Martin, thats what it is.

[oldwease]

Re: swing thoughts

Keep it simple.

I only ever have one swing thought, often something basic to get the swing going or a mental cjeck point. Also, I often change swing thoughts. If I know I'm swinging well, I hold the image of the clubface striking the ball square throughout the swing. What is harder to sustain is a sequence of thoughts.

A teaching pro told me that he had no thoughts whatsoever during the swing - if he did he wouldn't be able to swing the club! Seems to me it's hard to totally disengage like that, but probably good if you can do it.

[BrianW]

Re: swing thoughts

Keep it simple.

I only ever have one swing thought, often something basic to get the swing going or a mental cjeck point. Also, I often change swing thoughts. If I know I'm swinging well, I hold the image of the clubface striking the ball square throughout the swing. What is harder to sustain is a sequence of thoughts.

A teaching pro told me that he had no thoughts whatsoever during the swing - if he did he wouldn't be able to swing the club! Seems to me it's hard to totally disengage like that, but probably good if you can do it.

Jack Nicklaus said he didn't have swing thoughts, rather an image of himself making the swing. I have found this a good way to focus by using this image rather than thinking mechanics.

[bill reed]

Re: swing thoughts

hi brian
sometimes i can stand on the tee and see the way i want to play a shot and almost see it, when this happens most times i hit a great drive but sadly most time i dont do this and dont hit my best drives, time i spent more time trying to see a shot before i play it i think.
you make a good point about using this as a swing thought and only thinking of how the shot looks in your head.
bill

[trob2034]

Re: swing thoughts

yesterday i stuck with one swing thought....making sure my hands come down 1st....not one time did i think am i reverse pivoting.....had a chronic problem duck hooking....didnt duck hook not one drive...if anything it might leak a little to the right....

i find for ME only one thought helps....and at times just swing the club.....

so for the weekend i go 85 and 44 on front and 34 on back with two holes left to play...shot par on 15 and 16 in the dark....assuming that i get bogeys(worse case scenario) on 17 and 18(par 3 and par 5...i birdied both par 5's on the front)...i end up shooting a 44 again.....88 outcome not bad for me