Swing Thoughts

I am in quandry as to what I should be thinking during a golf swing. I have been having lessons and trying to change elements of my swing with inconsistent results. I know popular advice is to just let the swing happen but if I do that I end up repeating the same flaws. I do drills ect and go the range when I can but I cant see how if I keep repeating the same errors when I am playing how the swing changes will take effect. It has now got the point where I am suffering analysis paralysis over the ball and would appreciate some advice.

Thanks

The best answer is to think about 1 item at a time -- the most recent thing you are working on in the lessons. You can easily get bogged down with too many thoughts during lessons AND trying to play. If your pro is giving you more then one thing at a time and you are getting too much in the head, then you tell him/her to pick the most important item to work on and stick to that. Then work on that until it becomes natural to the point where you don't have to think about it. Then move to the next item.

This will take a while. I tell my students that it will take about 1000 practice balls to get a new move to stick. This also does not mean you hit them all consecutivly. This should be over about 10 100 ball sessions doing warmup, the drill-ofthe-day, and incorporating it into the non-drill swing. Going back to the drill if you begin to fail. When you can do the drill then the real swing without have to think about the drill, then you are ready for the next change.

This is why is is sooooooooooooo much easier to learn as a beginner correctly then having bad habits to start. It takes half as long to learn a new move if you are not fighting a bad habit.

Playing a round while you are in a swing transition is hard to do. You will always fall back to your comfortable zone....and should. Playing golf is much harder then practicing. You have one shot to execute...and accept all the flaws that go with it. Thinking that your 1 lesson tip or first set of lessons will solve anything is fooling yourself. Treat the round as just another day on the course. What you have been practicing will be in the back of your mind always and it should be there because we are always working on something--everyone should at all levels. But don't let it dominate you to the point where you are ONLY thinking about only that one (or multiple in your case) items. Think about it in your practice swing. Even do a quick mini-drill prior to the setup routing. But then, go through your normal setup and hit the ball thinking about the shot at hand be it from the tee, or a masive sidhill/uphill shot from a bunker 185 yards away with water surounding the green and an alligator snapping it jaws in your backswing. Golf is hard enough without the distractions. You need every nuron to help you though a round you can get.

Practice is infinatly easier compared to golf. So practice often. Let go of the thoughts that your game will equal your practice level. It won't.

I tend to agree with GregJwillis somewhat

However Ifirmly beleive and have witnessed this firsthand by myself, in order to play your best golf, and this can even be effective in practice, you have to let your subconscious take over. When you stand over the ball you should think of nothing, or if it helps think of one swing que, do your best to not make it mechanical. When I refer to the subconscious, I am also referring to being in the zone letting your subconscious take over, this will also enhance focus.