Incredible influence of the mind

I haven't played golf in over 20 years, but I do still hit a few practice balls. I use my hands a bit early in the downswing, and my transition tempo doesn't look quite as good as it should be. And, my practice swing, like most ametuer's, looks much better than the one I use to actually hit a ball. I always attributed this difference to the fact that the mind realizes that it only has to direct the body to perform a meaningless swing thru air and not toward a real ball. So, the wife gave me one of those silly looking little golf trainers with a plastic ball on a tether string. Well, I thought that my swing (via slow motion video) at the plastic tethered ball would look the same as my actual golf shot swing. Not so. The swing look great - complete shoulder turn back, great transition tempo with lower body starting first, and great club lag down and thru ball. Well, I dropped back a coulple of feet to hit a real ball off of grass, and my old (real) swing was back. I could repeat that senario all day. So, maybe the difference was swinging at the tethered ball rather than a real ball on grass. So, I set the camera up near a large hay bale, and proceeded to hit golf balls into the bale. Again, the swing looked great. I step over a few feet where I can't hit into the bale and my old swing shows up. Apparenty, my subconscious, when confronted with the prospects of actually having to produce a swing that will put a ball in flight works differently than in the dry run senarios. Where does one go to fix such a problem - a shrink or a teaching pro ?

Come and lie on my couch. I want you to look into my eyes, not around my eyes but into my eyes, you are feeling sleepy, your eyes are getting so heavy you can't keep them open. 3, 2, 1 your under.

Now every time you start your backswing the ball will turn into a virtual ball that your club swings right through just like it wasn't there, your swing will be smooth and languid, you will feel liberated from your previous swing restrictions.

3, 2, 1, You are back in the room.

Yea, that might work. But, I kinda had the idea that maybe my wife could follow me around the golf course with a tractor and a bale of hay.

That could work but she must be fast at pulling the hay out of the way.

Oh! 3, 2, 1, your under.

Send a bank wire every month for $1000 to:HSBC Bank, Account: BrianW - 0090-2276-6743.

3, 2, 1, you are back in the room