Zero Visibility Golf = Tear It up Golf

[Alex Miller]

I think the most important difference between batters and pitchers is that pitchers initiate everything. They start completely static and wind up in the same way that golfers do. Batters stand, but the good ones always have something moving (really, look at nearly all the MLB players) because they rely on their twitch muscles to start their swing. That being said, I do think non-pitchers can play golf well, but I don't think they're helped by baseball too much.

From personal experience, I played baseball and basketball growing up. I was a pitcher and not a very good hitter partly thanks to my golf swing taking over. I also was a very good shooter on the basketball court (no Lynn Shackleford but I took the technical foul shots). I have to say I think Garland's theory is spot on. Any sport where you start from a static position and intend to be more accurate than powerful would seem to help in golf. But more important than any other factor is being an athlete in the first place (I use the term loosely). Playing other sports which rely on hand-eye coordination will still put you a step in the right direction, even if you are a second baseman.

[Adam Clayman]

I've found the reason this happens, for all the examples given above, is that the golfer keeps their head down during the shot, because there is no reason to look up. Be it fog, darkness, or, a blind shot.
Another reason why "everything out in front of you" is not necessarily a good design aspect on every shot/hole.

[Travis Dewire]

I disagree. Golfer's do not start from a static position, and if you do, you suck.

What about the waggle, the rolling of weight between your feet, the two to three look backs to the target. There is about a one second delay from the loosey goose movements of the pre shot routine, until the action of the swing is begun. Just like the hitter, you waggle, do your thing, and for a split second right before you begin your swing, you go static.

No top golfer has ever been static for ten to thirty seconds standing over the ball.

[Garland Bayley]

Travis,

Perhaps you are a good player, that does not have the problems I have. For me, hitting a baseball is finding it, and swinging. Too quick to think about it. Whereas, hitting a golf ball gives me time to compose novels by comparison. I consciously know I try to steer the ball, just like I was terrible at free throws as I was consciously modifying the motion while it was taking place. But, I shot over 50% from the field by finding a glimpse of the rim and releasing. I think too much!

[Travis Dewire]

Garland,

I think that is everybody (including mine's) problem. Its fascinating how the mind works, and how important it is in, life, and in golf. Why do tour players, with the same level of talent, post remarkably different seasonal results? Their mind. Short game might help too hehe. But I do not think you have any chance of having a short game, with a poor mind. A strong mind leads to strong play around the green, and especially on the green.

This is where everyone struggles. Garland, what is your best round ever? Whatever it may be, you, yourself, Garland, shot it. Why would you ever be thinking of topping or slicing a ball, when you have PROVEN, that you are more than capable. Oh, how the thoughts begin to creep in!!

To hit the backspace button on your novel, there are a few things that you can do, to help refocus the mind, to an instinctual and non analytical frame. The Waggle. Watch Jason Dufner loser this week in the play off. He waggles four, or five times, way up to hip high. After his waggles, he pulls the trigger. There is virtually no delay between the waggle and his motion. Tiger takes a couple waggles, one last look, and boom hes off. The waggles, the movement in your feet, and your look ups to the target, will help relax the muscles in your arms, and hands, provide a feel of the club and the tempo, ultimately leading to reduced tensions in the mind and body. This will also keep you away from the static position that is oh so dreaded. The pre shot waggles and movement, are like, you running the floor to an open spot, or more likely, your favorite spot. When the ball is there you are ready and BOOM, swoosh!

When you are over the ball, run to your favorite spot! Something that relaxes your mind, and eases your tensions. The beach? Mountains? Farm land, the woods? Cake? Pumpkin Pie? Doesn't matter what flies your kite, just get flyin! When you are moving over the ball and relaxing, when you are ready to execute the shot, the ball is already there and BOOM!!

I would read the book Golf is not a Game of Perfect by Dr. Bob Rotella. Nothing better out there, IMO. The mental game, is a highly overlooked aspect of the game, and most people would benefit from giving it more attention. No matter what your ability, tour player, weekend player, beginner, Dr. Rotella puts it out there easier for you to understand. His work with other athletes at UVA, provide cross references that apply to the mental game of golf. I would highly, highly recommend this book, if you are serious about improving your golf game.

"golf is played mainly on a 5 and a half inch playing field, between both ears" - Bobby Jones

[Garland Bayley]

...
This is where everyone struggles. Garland, what is your best round ever? Whatever it may be, you, yourself, Garland, shot it. Why would you ever be thinking of topping or slicing a ball, when you have PROVEN, that you are more than capable. Oh, how the thoughts begin to creep in!!
...

Me thinks you don't understand. I am not thinking of topping or slicing a ball, I am thinking about making corrections mid-swing, e.g. speed up, slow down, come more inside, etc. Instead of letting my subconscious work to produce the perfect swing it knows how to do, I am manually adjusting through the swing.

[Wayne Wiggins, Jr.]

In October, I joined up with the "dew sweepers" group at Olympic-Lake for an early Sat. AM game... i thinik we went off at 6:45ish.  However, I got to the club around 5:45 and, while still dark, it was a crystal clear pre-dawn.  City lights and stars twinkled in unison... it looked to be a glorious day.  Ten minutes before our peg was in the ground on the 1st tee the fog filled in like it was mid-July day, and one couldn't see past the end of the teebox (maybe 10 yds.).

So, here I am... it's REALLY early.  I've been up for an hour-and-a-half... jittering with caffeine.  Slightly chillly... no-warm-up.  And, now I can't see a bleeding thing.  And, there's an audience on the first teebox with the rest of the early-risers to go off as the sun rises. 

Hit the best tee shot of the day, and one of the best I've hit on that hole in some time. 

WW

[Paul Stephenson]

I once played a tournament in college at Lookout Point, a Travis course in Fonthill.  The tee shot on the first hole is basically a 60-70 drop off the Niagara Escarpment and there was a heavy fog on the morning of the second day.  All you could see was the end of the tee and then nothing.  They had coaches down below spotting and once you got off the first tee it wasn't that bad.

The real problem was that the blocks didn't exactly point down the first fairway.

[Travis Dewire]

Garland,

I was just using some common thoughts, associated with the mental troubles of the swing. Surely, there is a reason why you try to make manipulations mid swing. Why are you trying to swing the club from the inside? To prevent some flight of the golf ball. Why do you speed up or slow down your swing? to fix your swing, to prevent some flight. Any negative thoughts, no matter where they occur during the swing, are stemmed from fear.

You need to read Dr. Rotella's book. Do you think you are the first person to have an overanalytical mind during the execution of the swing? No. I would also venture a guess that there are many guys on tour, who battle this exact problem.

What you need to learn, is the same reactionary mind, you had in basketball. There are many lessons and practices you can do, to achieve this. I would begin by practicing this mind set, around the greens. When you are faced with a chip up hill, slightly breaking to the right, you need to react to that situation. Hit it harder for the uphill, and aim left. So adjust your setup for the aim, and your speed for the length. Then take your shot. I know, easier said than done. But you are smart Garland, and a proven athlete. You weren't thinking of your shot mechanics when you were throwing up the jumper from the floor, so you have proven that it is possible for the mind to be still, and unconsciously acting.

Sign your name on a sheet of paper. Then, sign again, but now think about the mechanics and how you sign your name and where each stroke goes and so on. Go walk up some steps. Now think about how you walk up those steps. You don't do the ladder, in either case. Why would you in golf?

Once you remove the fear, this will become a lot easier. I have fear, Tiger has fear, Jack had fear, and Arnie had fear. Everyone has it, but everyone reacts differently to it. So you are fearful of making bad swings, so you try to manipulate the club mid swing, to combat these thoughts of how the club is swinging. Why are you fearful of making bad swings in the first place? High Scores? Who cares. You get to see a golf course you are not blind (and really see it as a student of architecture), walk a golf course your self, and actually get to play all 18 holes. You certainly are better off than many

[Doug Siebert]

Travis, you overlook the lure of having thoughts and attempting corrections during your swing - occasionally, it works!  If it was always a negative, it would probably be a bit easier to banish such idle thoughts.

I have a recurring issue where I tend to bring the club back too far outside with the long clubs, especially the driver.  When I'm otherwise swinging well its not a problem, my downswing follows the same path and I pull it a bit left, no big deal.  As a result I ignore it, its pretty easy to aim a bit right and not worry if that's the only thing I've got going on on a given day.  But when my release timing is off, that pull will turn into a big hook.  So even though I'm used to noticing that outside takeaway and ignoring it, once I've hit a couple nice hooks earlier in the day seeing the clubhead coming back outside the line activates something in my subconscious to try to save the shot.  The attempted correction adjusts my timing....sometimes I'm lucky, and it saves the shot and it goes dead straight.  More often I'm not lucky, and it either overdoes it one way (for a duck hook) or the other way (for a push fade, which isn't too great when you're already aiming a bit right of the target)  If it weren't for the fact this occasionally works to save the shot I'd probably be more able to banish that bit of subconscious swing correction.

I suspect it is rather like being a crack addict.  Being addicted to crack is pretty bad, you get a short high followed by a deep depression, and you crave that short high so much you'll destroy your life and health to get your next fix.  I imagine that brief high must be pretty damn good to cause all this, if it wasn't for that, it would probably be much easier to kick the habit (or at least not relapse once you've been through a full physical withdrawal)

[Doug Wright]

I agree with Ed, that it gets a "feel" player really into his element of having to feel every shot.

I've had a similar experience several times, in slightly different circumstances ... finishing the last 2-3 holes in the dark, for example, I almost always seem to play great.  However in most of those cases I've already developed a good feel during the course of the round ... I'm not sure I could perform as well for a full 18 holes that way.

I had this experience too. As a teenager playing a 50 something local haberdasher in a club match, I was 4 down with 4 to play and it was getting dark real fast. 3 birdies and a par in the dark and I was all square (I finished him off in a one hole sudden death a few days later). I always wondered how that happened as it was mystical.

PS the Penobscot  Bay area is beautiful in summer.   

[Travis Dewire]

Travis, you overlook the lure of having thoughts and attempting corrections during your swing - occasionally, it works!  If it was always a negative, it would probably be a bit easier to banish such idle thoughts.

I have a recurring issue where I tend to bring the club back too far outside with the long clubs, especially the driver.  When I'm otherwise swinging well its not a problem, my downswing follows the same path and I pull it a bit left, no big deal.  As a result I ignore it, its pretty easy to aim a bit right and not worry if that's the only thing I've got going on on a given day.  But when my release timing is off, that pull will turn into a big hook.  So even though I'm used to noticing that outside takeaway and ignoring it, once I've hit a couple nice hooks earlier in the day seeing the clubhead coming back outside the line activates something in my subconscious to try to save the shot.  The attempted correction adjusts my timing....sometimes I'm lucky, and it saves the shot and it goes dead straight.  More often I'm not lucky, and it either overdoes it one way (for a duck hook) or the other way (for a push fade, which isn't too great when you're already aiming a bit right of the target)  If it weren't for the fact this occasionally works to save the shot I'd probably be more able to banish that bit of subconscious swing correction.

I suspect it is rather like being a crack addict.  Being addicted to crack is pretty bad, you get a short high followed by a deep depression, and you crave that short high so much you'll destroy your life and health to get your next fix.  I imagine that brief high must be pretty damn good to cause all this, if it wasn't for that, it would probably be much easier to kick the habit (or at least not relapse once you've been through a full physical withdrawal)

I'm sorry Doug but I think most golf psychologists would tell you thats a crazy way to play. Albeit it works sometimes, you are only shooting yourself in the foot in the long run. I cam 100% ALL FOR, your subconscious manipulating the hands, when the subconscious feels it needs to. It becomes a problem when you are consciously try to do this. Doug, you are smart, does this honestly sound like a GOOD idea?

You are saying this occasionally works? So occasionally you time it up right, and the other "majority of the time" (have to be the opposite of occasionally) you over flip it, or under flip it. Geez, that slight pull doesn't sound so bad now.

But you say it will get away from you into a hook. Okay. Well what is your handicap? Do you think you are not susceptable to poor shots? Golf is a game of misses, so expect to miss some shots. So what you hit a hook? Did someone run onto the course and assault you making you unable to finish the round? No, you hit a shot that didn't "meet" YOUR "expectations". So what is the problem really? You still get to play golf, be outside, on a golf course, amongst the trees and the birds, probably pretty warm too if you are playing. Oh yeah, you hit a little 'ol hook. Big deal, go find your ball, and hit it again. Hit it untill it goes into the hole. That is the point of golf, no?

Go to the range, or pick up a club inside to swing to hip high. Work on keeping your takeaway more connected to your body, and usising your arms more, to keep the club more to the inside. Practice your faults on the range, not on the course, and dont try to fix them on the course, no matter how good of an idea you may think it is. Every researched professional in this field, would tell you that it is not.

Practice your faults, and let it all go on the course. You show up to play 5 hours 18 holes. Wow Doug. I played 2 - 18 hole rounds last year a lone, and it was the same day 36 hole tournament. Do you think I was wasting my time trying to fix my swing, or savoring my time being out there with friends and getting the opportunity to hit that little whilte ball over and over and over again untill the day was done. Thats special.

little ot in that paragraph. But go practice your faults, own your mistakes, make them your strengths. make your takeaway the strongest part of your game. When you go out to the course, you need to expell all these thoughts out of your mind. Develop a pre shot routine, that is repeatable, and easy, and that you can use on every shot. This will help relax and calm your mind, and help from those mid swing thoughts from creeping in. You aren't making these corrections because you are calmly and effortless swinging through the ball. Accept where its going, you have no control. Literally, look at the ball, and whack! the damn thing - thats what Harvey Penick would tell ya.

But Doug, pick up Dr. Rotella's book, it is a must read, for anyone serious about playing better golf

[Garland Bayley]

PS Travis,

I have read Rotella.

Not with his help, I have managed to turn off most of the self correcting thoughts during putts and chips. Maybe I will eventually get it with the full swing, and pitches.

[JMEvensky]

But Doug, pick up Dr. Rotella's book, it is a must read, for anyone serious about playing better golf

Didn't you forget the smiley face emoticon?

Otherwise,people might think you really believe this.

[Travis Dewire]

But Doug, pick up Dr. Rotella's book, it is a must read, for anyone serious about playing better golf

Didn't you forget the smiley face emoticon?

Otherwise,people might think you really believe this.

HAHAHAHA !!!!

[Doug Siebert]

Travis,

I think you missed my whole point.  I think its the fact that these things sometimes work that make them difficult to overcome.  You sound like someone telling a drug addict "just stop taking drugs, your life will become better!" and pointing them at a self-help book to read.  Its not that simple, my friend...

You did read the part about this being UNCONSCIOUS right.  Its not like I see that outside takeaway and think to myself "aha, I need to make this little adjustment".  This happens without my knowledge, I only realize it happens later - at impact or maybe even after.  Its a reflex action, like if I tossed a golf ball at your face you'd put up your hand to catch or block it without thinking to yourself "hey, a golf ball is coming at my face, what should I do about it?"

If on every swing I watched my backswing out of the corner of my eye and consciously thought about "is it outside the line" and stopped by backswing and reset, I could avoid that particular fault.  And if it was the only fault in my swing I'd be set, I wouldn't have to worry about any other weird subconscious corrections because everything would be smooth sailing from then on.  But unfortunately that's not the case (though my swing is actually pretty good up until just after the downswing begins)  I'm around a 6 handicap these days, have never taken a lesson, and visit the range less than a dozen times a decade, so you can probably guess I'm not particularly worried about trying to improve.  I just enjoy the round, and whatever happens, happens.  So I'm not overly concerned about unintended and unwanted corrections occurring during my swing, its just part of the game.  Maybe I could get rid of them if I really cared, but I honestly don't.  I don't think I'd have all that much more fun if I was scratch, I'm not terribly hung up on what I shoot.

[Travis Dewire]

You are quite right Doug!

It all takes hard work, patience, and dedication.



Or just remain a drug addict your whole life.