You try your skills at golf and some (or all) of the following results occur:
* You miss the ball * You miss it again and again and…
* You hit the top of the ball
* You correct this mistake and you hit the ground behind the ball
* You see people hitting the ball in the air but your hits cause the ball to bounce along the ground
* Whoops! Where did that big curve in the flight of the ball come from?
* The more you try the more you find yourself creating other poor results
* You finally get a nice hit but you have no idea what you did to get the good result
* You look around and some of your friends and relatives are having the same problems as you
* Grrrr! Why can’t I hit the ball like those people on T.V.?
The slice, duck hook, complete miss, topping the ball, hitting fat (hit the ground behind the ball), and most of the other undesirable results you have experienced or witnessed in other golfers are caused by one incorrect thought.
Replace this thought and you will have much more success with putting, chipping, pitching, and the full swing.
However, this thought is buried deep in your subconscious mind. It is very **logical** to our way of thinking.
To change your approach to your golf swing and your putting you will have to accept an illogical thought. But, when you make the change you will begin executing some of the easiest swings of the golf club you have ever made (and know why this happens.)
Five amazing results in ball flight will occur once you overcome this wrong thought in favor of executing unusual, **illogical** movements.
1. You will finally learn to make a divot like the Pros.
2. You will lift the ball in the air.
3. You will hit the ball straight.
4. You will hit the ball farther.
5. You will get a lot more backspin on your ball.
This "wrong" thought causes movements of various parts of your body in ways which ruin an easy golf swing. These incorrect movements are visible in your hands, forearms, arms, body, hips, and legs.
This thought triggers incorrect movements at various stages of your swing sequence. Wrong body movements can begin as soon as you start taking the club away from the ball until after the ball has been hit.
But, if the ball is gone how can a wrong move affect the result. Simply put, muscles which produce the wrong movement after the ball has been hit have begun to “gather” or bunch-up before the club reaches the ball. This initial bunching of muscles interferes with your intended swing movements. You, or your golf partners, are not aware that this has happened.
Most of my teaching lessons are geared to helping you change from the wrong, logical thought to the correct, but illogical thought. You will learn movements which respond to the correct thought.
Since this wrong thought is logical it is buried in your subconscious. The various views at golf courses, as you try to hit the ball, cause this thought to be more involved in your swing movements.
To toss out this thought from your mind and replace it with the correct thought cannot be done by simply being aware of the correct way of thinking. Even though I am aware of this error the scenery of the golf course or the desire to make a precise hit will cause this wrong thought to reappear to influence my golf swing. I believe it can even affect the best golfers in the world due to the pressures they face in golf tournaments.
Another article will show you a basic step-by-step process of playing any golf swing or putt. I call it “the phases of playing a golf shot”.
By following a regular process of playing a golf shot you will soon develop a new subconscious thought so that you can rid yourself of that one wrong thought.
Oh yeah. Before I forget. What is the **one wrong thought**? A quick story, first.
A few years ago I witnessed a young woman take some golf lessons from the local Pro over a 2 year period. He did a good job at showing her some very good swing skills. But, I saw her continually hitting the ball out the right and she could not hit the ball as far as she was capable. At the beginning of the third year she came for another lesson. I could see from her hand movements that she was saying something like, “I’m still hitting the ball out the right!”
What was happening in that woman’s swing which caused her to hit the ball slightly to the right despite very good swing skills?
Answer: The ball is at point A. The green, flag, and hole are at point B. Logical, subconscious thought tells us that we want to smack the ball from point A to point B. This same thought also convinces us to create movements at some stage of our swing which will cause a forward motion of the golf club through the ball so that it can go from A to B.
But, these forward motions occur at various stages of our swing which cause such a variety of poor results. Forgotten in this thought process is the most important part of the swing.
And that is - apply a blow to the ball so that it can firstly be put in motion to leave the vicinity of point A.
P.S. There are a few “tips” roaming the world which leave wrong ideas in the minds of new golfers. Some of these blatantly interfere with good body movement. Future articles will show you some of the wrong movements used by you or other golfers. You will learn WHY each wrong movement is produced. You will discover why and how to replace these wrong movements with better moves.
P.P.S. There are 2 or 3 lesser faulty thoughts for certain golf situations such as hitting the golf ball over a hill or a tree. Future articles will cover these topics.
Glen Osborne teaches his golf program for Ladysmith, BC Parks & Rec. An expanded version of this article is at http://basicbodymovementforanygolfswing.com .
