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I've had just about the best run of golf I can remember since i took up this stupid game and now it's over, how many of you sometimes wish you had never started? The good times are far and few between and that's probably the reason we keep coming back and trying so hard right? Because when it's good, not much compares. I now my run is over and I'm almost depressed about it! I've stopped trying to fiddle with my swing after reading some stuff about analysis paralysis, any of you guys know what i'm on about? A friend of mine bought this pdf from stage2golf.com and gave it me, i tried it and did help for aabout 2 months but i can't stop myself from thinking about the shot instead of feeling it, it's got alot about the mental part of golf and how we are destined to continue our bad habbits of using our brains to overthink our swings.

My question is, have any of you guys had any success at turning your brains off while swinging golf clubs and do you have a swing thought you use for it, or a swing feeling eve?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Welcome to Golf Rewind!

I try to get all my thinking and visualization over with before I address the ball. If I have a swing thought, ie. full shoulder turn; take it back low and slow; whatever, I would think about it just before I pull the trigger. At some low level, I am only thinking about line and what I want the ball to do while swinging the club.

You're right about golf being a game of ups and downs and I think everyone experiences them. For some that is the charm of it. When you play and practice a lot, you learn to get through those episodes faster. Most of us just go back to fundamentals. You might say we give ourselves "lesson one" all over again. Trouble usually occurs over time by incorporating a series of patches to make your swing work a specific day and in no time at all these cumulative changes make you drift away from the fundamentals, tempo, and technique that bring about your success.

Cheers,
Bob
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This game has plateaus, mountain tops and some deep, dark valleys. All of us who play have experienced them repeatedly. My last thought before starting my backswing is the picture of the ball going exactly to my target. When I hit the ball, it's almost a surprise because I've let my mind go quiet.

If you want one of the finest books of golf instruction (I read it when I was 8 and still go back and review parts regularly), pick up a copy of "How To Play Your Best Golf All the Time," by Tommy Armour, Sr. He welds the mental and physical parts of the game together so well. The Old Master will show you the beauty and simplicity of this wonderful game. I've played competitively for nearly 50 years using a nine word thought from Mr. Armour that let me come out ahead of many players more skillful and physically gifted than I. You may find a copy at a bookstore or on the net, but it will be worth the effort and nominal cost. The nine words are in the book.

The Inner Game of Golf by Galwey is all about exactly what your post is about. It's a fast read and recommended.

He has an exercise where you say "Back" when you reach your fullest point on your backswing, then "Hit" at impact, and then "stop" when you finish. This exercise is intended to get your mind off the swing thoughts and especially the negative side of our brain.

Gallwey also tries to get you to come up with an association (not golf, but motion related) that gets you into a comfort zone while swinging.

The book covers the thoughts in much more detail, but has really helped me out recently. I struggle with my short game because of throughts and tension. The book is 100% on target with the premise of the Inner Game of Golf book is about.

We have to get out of the way for good golf to happen.

In addition to the great reads posted above I would recommend Golf is Not a Game of Perfect by Bob Rotella. It really is all about trusting your swing on the course and focusing on the target rather than fundamentals or the plethera of "swing thoughts" that so many of us let overwhelm us on the golf course.

I just watched a Korean movie that was touchingly beautiful...the main character uttered at one point "Sadness always follows happiness" while looking at the terminally sick, blind heroine....tragic...


The only thing that I've found that has made the mountains and valleys smaller is not a mental trick...when I'm on a bad run it is because of mechanics and not because I can't talk myself into hitting the shot...basics and fundamentals, taking a sharp look at what I'm doing right when I play well and revisiting those notes when things inevitably sour...

I think players of all sports experience peaks and valleys. There are times when everything goes perfectly and you can't do anything wrong, times where everything goes south and you can't do anything right, and the majority of the time when you're somewhere in between the two. There's not much you can do about it, so enjoy the peaks, fight your way out of the valleys, and don't forget to have fun.

As for thinking while swinging, I recommend against it. I find the more I think when addressing the ball (much less while swinging), the worse I do. I'll only intentionally break this rule if I fall in a bad habit mid-round and a friend points it out, something like, "You're dipping your knees on your downswing". In that case, I'll consciously think about not dipping my knees as I'm swinging. Otherwise, once I'm comfortable in my stance, I try to limit myself to concentrating on hitting the ball well. It doesn't always work, but that's the goal, anyway...

I can never turn my brain off and focus enough!
I'm always paranoid about my swing too. I
have no technique.
At least I get a good exercise walking an eighteen hole course.lol.

I have struggled with thinking about not thinking for awhile.

I've tried the whole visualization techniques but honestly find it more difficult to picture a ball flying up in the air, fading slightly, landing softly, etc. Generally speaking the results of the shot won't measure up to the visualization.

I try to focus only on the things I can do - get my yardage, figure out the elements, assess the lie, pick my club, pick my target. Then I'll hit the ball.

The next part is critical - worry about your next shot (yardage, elements, lie, club, target) NOT why your last shot when where it did. (did I come across the ball, drop my head, etc).

This keeps your thoughts on your game plan, not your swing. It is easier to save strokes by managing your game compared to trying to fix your swing in the middle of the round.

I find that by worrying about the simple things my golf swing takes care of itself. At least THAT is my plan for 2010!

To help me tune in and focus positively on the shot in front of me, I imagine a silent conversation on the predicament of my shot between me and my playing partners. The conversation ends just before the takeaway with me saying, "Oh yeah, watch this."

Solomon's Ring.

I thought of this thread when I recently heard Freddie Couples say that during his practice sessions on the range, he doesn't think at all about where he wants the ball to go. He only focuses on shot shape.

This idea may be helpful if one is "overthinking" since it takes a huge factor out of the overall equation of shots during play. Perhaps a bucket on the range with this in mind might help take away the focus of some of those technical thoughts and redistribute the focus on more "feel."

Lately my only swing thought has been "be aggressive". I have a bad tendency to decelerate, I think of it as trying to guide the ball. It got so bad for me with the 60 yards and in shots I started thinking while I was standing behind the ball, " I don't care if hit this ball 30 yards over the green I am going to take an aggressive swing." It took awhile but I have noticed improvements.

It doesn't seem to matter with which club I'm using if I don't take an aggressive swing I struggle so thats my only swing thought right now.