Faffing and the mental game

Ian, your sig says, "Once you learn the swing, your next step is mastering golf psychology." I'm beginning to wonder if it might be in reverse order...

Yesterday I played 18 holes at a pretty challenging course, my first round since my "worst ever" round last week. It was busy so they put me and my partner with another two guys, both of whom were quite good. I always find this a bit intimidating, because it makes me very self-conscious about how badly I play. So I found myself playing badly right from the start: topping and just grazing the ball off the tee. Not only that, I couldn't help watching these two guys, both of whom hit the ball very well, long and straight, mostly. Even the shots they were cursing at were shots I would have been delighted with. They had similar swings to each other, but very different from mine. In particular, at setup they both reached out for the ball and seemed to set up with the ball in front of the toe. If I did this, I'd miss the ball altogether. But one fellow, who also had a very shallow backswing, was driving about 280 this way. The other was consistently 250, straight as a javelin.

Anyway, things went badly for me. After a few holes I realized that I was setting up like them and reaching, and making a mess of the drive. I corrected that but was still having real troubles on the fairway. I tried to adjust this, and that, and took more practice swings, but to no avail. At the end of 9 holes I had a 65, well on my way to another 130 or worse. I was, as you might imagine, disgusted.

The turning point was the 11th hole, a 190 yard par 3, downhill to a green protected by a small marshy pond. For some reason, these two guys fell apart on this hole and both hit wicked slices waaaaaay off into the next fairway, and my partner did the same, only not as far. I was last, of course, and by then I figured, what the hell I'll probably join them over there. I stood up to the ball with no practice swings, set my feet and grip very quickly, did one little waggle and no takeaways, swung my hybrid in no particular hurry...and put the ball on the green about 12 ft from the flag. I was at the point where I just couldn't be bothered faffing with my setup and everything else (apologies for borrowing this useful british word, "faffing"), so I just got up and hit the ball. I sank the putt for a birdy--my second ever--and decided I was onto something.

For the next 7 holes, I held onto this attitude. I made a point of *not* watching those two guys swing, and I reduced my own pre-shot routine to what I had done at the tee on the 11th: commit to a line for the shot, step up and set my feet and grip without too much analysis, waggle once, and swing. I did the same with putting. It worked just fine. I shot a 50 on the back 9, which I was *very* happy with, and a 115 for the round, which was also perfectly satisfactory. I don't want to imply that all my shots were perfect from that point on, or that I hit all the greens in regulation. But I was doing okay, hitting the ball clean, pretty close to where I was aiming.

I don't know whether I can repeat this the next time out, but I *do* know now, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I have a golf swing that works, whether or not it is "correct," if I allow myself to use it.

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Todd
Philadelphia, PA
USA

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. ~Phyllis Diller

what you are describing is the exact extract from the book "The Inner game of Golf" by Tim Gallwey, if you buy get the 1980 version with the green cover only about £10.00.

Let me explain.

When you walk, run, step over a puddle etc do you think about where you put your feet? or do you just let your sub-concious mind do it for you, can you imagine the instruction book for walking down the stairs leg bent at 90 degrees with ankle at the same lowering the torso to negotiate the lower step etc etc etc it would be maddness.

For me all you should do is set up correctly with a good athletic posture, once everything is in the correct line let the body hit the ball. Although I believe you should have sound fundimentals that is where it must stop.

I think if you set up in one place on the fairway or driving range, pick out one target and hit one ball, you may miss the target, drop another and do exactly the same, you may get closer, without any interferance from your inner self drop another and another sooner or later your body will adapt itself to hitting the target, this is why many people feel they play well at the range.

What happens on the course is that little man inside says "only one chance here son better make it happen" in short only confidence keeps him quite or a quite controlled mind, sometimes when I play I concentrate on thinking about absolutley nothing when I address the ball, sometimes I may picture the flag I've just been looking at, you must experiment with what is best for you.

Looking at your thread you slipped into a classic case of 'someone elses game' in your case this was good because you were distracted by good players, if you continue to play with good players your eyes keep watching good shots and relax your body into playing similar shots or lifting your game for you, this however can have the reverse affect on a good player who plays with poor players, ever heard the frase 'we will soon bring you down to our level' unfortunatley this can be true.

Also in your case the "faffing" seems to be too many instructions at once, golf is a game you must play one round at a time, each round work on something different to engrain fundimentals, then every now and then play a few rounds without thought at all.

Good Luck with your game.


Ian.

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Once you learn the swing, your next step is mastering golf psychology................

What I learned is that my swing is sound enough to allow me to strike the ball well enough for 8 consecutive holes of golf, and that tells me that it's not just a fluke. And that means that I don't have to worry about the fundamentals to the extent that I do. I don't mean that there's no room for improvement, but at least I don't have to approach each shot with the inner question, "Am I doing this right?"

Yes, it can be pretty destructive to be trying to manage elbows and wrists and knees and hips and planes. It may be better to think about things external to myself: the course, the slope of the fairway, the position of the flag, the wind...

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Todd
Philadelphia, PA
USA

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. ~Phyllis Diller

Sorry to labour this a little,

But again you have touched on a valid point...........at the end of your thread you touch on flag, wind.....direction I assume.

By thinking about the wind, flag position, where you would like to land the ball and also thinking about the course designer who never seems to get a mention, think how he designed you to play the shot/hole etc..............................all these things take your mind off the swing.

swing machanics at the range and leave them there.


Ian.

I think the most important thing in all of this is that you found a pre shot routine that gives you confidence. That is priceless and no amount of lessons can teach you that. Remember that tee shot on 11 if things aren't going your way and keep with the same pre shot routine. As long as you are thinking calmly and clearly when facing a difficult shot or you've duffed the last 6 shots, you can still approach the ball confidently if you perform the same routine and paint a positive mental picture.

I'm willing to give it a chance. Some time back I started a thread about practice swings. I've never been sure whether they are a good idea for me or not. I even tried keeping a log to see whether they helped, and I couldn't see any particular advantage--except for chipping, where the lighter swing makes it more important to test the lie. But my full swing routine had become a bit heavy, with one or more full practice swings, then waggles, then takeaways, then another waggle, then finally swinging the club. I suppose all of that gives me way too much time to think about what might go wrong. At the driving range, I never do all that, since, after all, they're all just practice shots. At the range, I do stand back and look at the target and line up the shot each time, and I waggle the club. But I never do practice swings or takeaways, let alone both. And I strike the ball better there than on the course. Maybe there's a connection.

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Todd
Philadelphia, PA
USA

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. ~Phyllis Diller

You definitely want to keep the same routine before each shot, on the course or on the range. That is the best way to build the confidence and familiarity.

As for chipping, I agree with a different approach. This is not a full swing, it is a 'feel' shot, in which you need to visualize and get the 'right' feeling before you make the shot.

Hi Todd,

I would be interested to know if you are still working on this theory, and how as it improved your Golf.

Regards


ian.

Hello Ian. I'm still trying to work this out, and I've reintroduced a bit of faffing. Here's my current drill...

1. Practice swings. Ideally, I take one practice swing, with full focus. Not one of these mini-swings. But...

2. If that practice swing is obviously bad, i.e., I either don't even touch the grass or I sink the club into the ground, I adjust my posture and take another. Even if the second one is bad, I don't take another. I just set up my shot and hit it anyway.

3. I remind myself not to let my head up until I see my right heel come up.

That's it.

What I've found is that if I'm feeling a bit tired or if I've just had a bad shot, my posture is likely to deteriorate. In particular, I'm likely to stand too far from the ball and reach out, because my arms are tense. Or I don't release my butt and keep my spine straight, so my back is rounded at address. If I don't correct this, I'm *very* likely to straighten my spine and pull up when I swing, and top the ball.

The posture check is pretty fast and automatic now, but once I've released my butt and straightened the spine, it's important to swing and hit the ball promptly, because if I don't, my butt will tuck under again without my even noticing it.

Mentally, it's all about reminding myself that I know what the right posture (for me, anyway) is and to settle into it without getting into the mindset that I'm solving a puzzle each time I address the ball.

The other thing is: Never try to hit the ball hard. Just hit it. If I think I need more distance, take more club. That's why they're in the bag. And if it's the driver...just hit it. Trying to hit the ball harder than my normal swing is ALWAYS a mistake.

__________________
Todd
Philadelphia, PA
USA

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. ~Phyllis Diller

Todd,

Sounds like you are well on your way to improving, remember the practice swing should be for feel/rhythm only don't worry about hitting the grass.

Did you get the book "the inner game of golf" by Tim Galwey?


Ian.

I've always considered that if my practice swing doesn't "strike a match" against the grass, then I'm doing something wrong. Apart from that, yes, I try to get the rhythm. Skipping the practice swing is likely to result in a too-fast backswing, for some strange reason.

I don't have that book yet.

My "posture check" is to take my stance and think "Coudl I play any other sport standing like this?"
The answer is always "NO" if I am in a bad posture.
i.e. not an atheltic stance

I find its easier than trying to figure out if I have too much knee flex or if my back is straight.
For some strange reason you dont think about any of this when you try hit a baseball or throw a frisbee... go figure.