When soccer players pass the ball to one another, they seldom smash it as hard as they can. You don’t see them winding up and punting it at their teammate with enough force to send him and the ball into the third row of the stadium. So, why do we see so many golfers madly lashing at the golf ball? Surely that’s crazy.
I know where it comes from. It comes from the golf media’s relentless focus on how far people hit it. And, to hit it far we believe that we have to swing with all of our might, as fast and as hard as possible. Add the male ego into the mix and you see all manner of guys engaging in the age old battle of, “I can hit it farther than you!”
Swinging “out of your shoes” will rarely have the desired effect and over time, will teach more inefficient moves than good ones.
What people fail to see is that the best rarely ever swing as hard as they can. They may on occasion go for it on a shot, to carry a trap or cut a dog-leg and give it everything they have. But, look at them over the whole round and you’ll see a more conservative and controlled swing being used far more often.
Take a look at them on the TV. Watch how graceful they look. Look at how they move. Look at how balanced they are at their finish position. Look at the ladies Tour and see the swings of the best. Effortless power.
The soccer analogy works with your golf ball too. Imagine that you are going to gently deliver the ball to the intended target area on every shot. You may find that you might choose a longer club and swing more calmly and with more control and balance.
What tends to happen, and we’ve all done it, you try to “take something off it” and you balloon it straight over a green with the best connection with the ball you’ve had all day. Interesting… Swinging more calmly allows the pieces of your swing to fall into place and you time the ball better, have more rhythm and compress the ball better too.
Try to think of swinging with 80% of your normal aggression and aim to place the ball around the course. You might be surprised by the resulting shots, your score and maybe even your blood pressure too.
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