Sally Jenkins’ article is spot on.
Here are a few quotes with my thoughts below.
What that ought to tell you is that there’s no ”right” technique, and you should fire your instructor if he insists there is.
CS: Couldn’t agree more. While there are certain principles that are important, you’ve gotta find your style.
The lesson amateurs should take from pro golf’s most recent events is that we’re being oversold, over-studied and over-confused by a consultant class. For some the swing is a manufactured move and for others it’s a more natural move. For Na, it’s a counter-intuitive motion, self-conscious to the point of phobia.
CS: How refreshing. Love it.
For Fowler, it’s an entirely different game – loose and fast and unthinking – but it led to first and second place finishes in the past two weeks. ”If you asked me to discuss the mechanics of my swing, I’m afraid it would be a short conversation, I’m a feel player,” he once said.
CS: While Fowler only won for the first time last week, he has been a very good player for a few years. He is completely uninhibited and certainly doesn’t let thoughts of swing get in the way.
You’d do better listening to sports psychologist Fran Pirozzollo, who once said: ”A physicist can describe the perfect golf swing and write it down in scientific language, but the smart golfer doesn’t read it. The smart golfer gives it to his opponent to contemplate.”
CS: What a great quote. Science is a fantastic way to learn more but knowledge isn’t always enough. You need to be able to apply the scientific reasoning in a meaningful way. I should know, when I was involved in a biomechanical study of the golf swing it came close to destroying me. Information by itself can be dangerous.
But it seems too much teaching leads to too much thinking. ”You swing your best when you have the fewest things to think about,” Bobby Jones said.
CS: This might be the most profound quote in the entire article. If not, this one from Peter Alliss talking about Tiger Woods comes close,
If he couldn’t be put right in an hour, I’d go home and stick my head in a bucket of ice water, because it’s so simple. You stand and you swing.”
I know the golf coaches are going to be up in arms with an article like this. They do have to defend themselves because if they promoted this kind of teaching they would be out of business. Or would they?
The way I look at it great coaching (and that’s what the natural approach is) would allow more people to play better golf. With better play comes more confidence and a desire to play more. This has other economical benefits for the pro willing to change his financial model.
Plus, a coach with a difference will stand out in a crowded marketplace. And currently there would be no shortage of victims who have been left paralysed by a crazy system.
Anyone for a golf lesson?
Read the full article here.