You’ve probably been there before: You get to the course excited for a good round, but the moment you start swinging a club, it all just feels… off…like your body doesn’t remember how to play golf all of a sudden!
After a moment of puzzlement, most golfers in this situation try to piece their swing back together using a number of swing thoughts, with mixed results. More often than not they end up stuck in their head, frustrated, ready to quit.
A golfer today summed it up perfectly:
“On a good day I don’t think about my swing at all. On a bad day all I do is think about my swing.”
And that’s the problem.
Look around you. Pick something about 20ft away. Now go and get it.
Did you do it? Or did you just read and keep going? If you didn’t do it, go and do it! Go and get whatever your item is.
Good job. Now think back. What did you think about? Chances are you mainly thought about what a pain I was for making you get up. And a little bit about getting your item. You certainly didn’t think that you had to shift your body weight, stand up, turn, balance on one leg, move the other leg, … That would be terribly inefficient. You’d never get anything done. No, you think “get the thing” and then trust that the body knows how to do the getting up, walking, reaching…
The same is true on the course.
You’re not out here to swing a club. You’re out here to take the ball and put it in the hole.
On the days when things just aren’t working, forget about any swing thoughts that have to do with how you move your body. They’re just going to make it worse. Instead, focus on throwing the ball toward the target.
Don’t worry if your shots aren’t going as far as you’re used to. This is not the day to go for the course record. Relax. Step up to the ball. Hit.
And for crying out loud do not go to the range after the round to fix your swing. Have a beer with your mates. Go home. Come back another day. However ugly it may have been, you just had a round of practice on how to stay out of your head. Well done, this skill will come in handy in the future!