Lost Your Swing? Puzzled? No Problem!! (Lesson No. 23)

If you are new to the game of golf, sometimes your new swing abandons you. As my brother Bob has said, "Here today, gone tomorrow." Where did it go?

Our new swing leaves us when we are tired.It leaves when we are working on something new and forget the previous things we learned.Very easy, very easy to do. Be glad if it happenes when you are NOT playing for $1.00 a skin! Expect it will happen from time to time and have a good laugh.It is absolutely predictable.

The best thing about losing your swing is that it makes you remind yourself of what you have learned. You feverishly search for what made your swing work correctly. It becomes a valuable time for review. Review of the fundementals.It makes you think. Golf requires much thought in the set up process, addressing the ball. Each hand must be correct. Balance must be anticipated. The orientation of the take away, weight transfer in the back swing and again in the down swing. All these things enter into the thought process when addressing the ball.

Suppose you have found that you need to take the club higher in the back swing or maybe quite differently, take a flatter back swing rather than higher. Your concentration on the new technique will almost always cause some forgetfulness regarding other matters. The secret then is to order your thoughts for the set up and then have the one new swing thought in the back swing.

The thought process is sequential, tandem, one following the others, reminders rehearsed so to speak and then the swing.Understanding the commonality of mental lapse makes us understand that lapses happen to all of us including the best touring pros on TV. As Tiger Woods said during an interview, "It was one of those shots that you don't know where it came from. It just happened."

When it happens to you, do not be alarmed. Simply go to the range and begin to rebuid your swing one element at a time until you discover what you were forgetting.As you go through the reminders and elements, you will find the flaw and get back on track again.

Actually, the experience is very helpful because it will happen on another day during your first skins game and you will want to know how to regroup and hit the next shot with perfection. It will require rethinking your set up and perhaps your backswing but it will be based on experience and should allow corrections during your game.

Fixing your swing is a part of the game of golf.We all have to learn to repair our swings.The PGA pros are constantly working to improve. Some have major repairs to make, at times. It is very much a part of the game.

Review lesson No. 18.

 

RHE