Golf Myths

Who else wants to increase the distance of our swing? Practically all of us, I should think. To that end, 90% of inexperienced golfers seek out golf swing instructions. We are inspired by news stories of the great golfers – how far they can hit the golf ball, the great distance of their drives, etc.

So we avidly search for golf swing instructions on the internet. We look for special classes. We subscribe to golf magazines and watch golf on TV and cable. All this to look for that special edge with which to beat the golf course and grind our golf buddies into the dirt. If you studied NLP, you would ask these two questions:

1) Who is the best golfer in the world of all time?
2) What are the differences between him and me?

The answer to the first question is unarguably Tiger Woods. He burst onto the golfing scene like a meteor – a true prodigy. And yet, unlike many prodigies, he managed to retain his top form year after year for practically a decade now. So, what is the answer to question number two? What does he have that we do not?

On the mental aspect, clearly he is mentally very tough. When he starts strongly, he very often manages to remain ahead of his competitors, shrugging off their pressure. When he does not start well, he never gives up. Not only that, but he also has the ability to continuously put pressure on his opponents, chasing after them until they inevitably cracked. One important fact about him is that he is very consistent. You rarely hear of him making any major mistakes.

Getting back to his swing – when he first caught the notice of reporters, Tiger Woods was considered a big hitter, often hitting the ball farther than most of his opponents. Should we try to imitate his swing from this period? No, because he clearly abandoned his old method of hitting the ball despite his success with it. Kibitzers offered up many reasons, among them the excuse that his old power swing caused too much strain on the body and was beginning to affect his health. Regardless of the true reason, even a casual analysis will show that Tiger Woods’ new swing is less powerful, but much more consistent. His new results after he mastered the new swinging technique clearly proves it. You no longer hear about his spectacular drives nowadays. Instead, reporters talk about his consistency and how he makes fewer mistakes. They complain that his game is boring, and yet he holds top position even more often than in the past.

So how does Tiger Woods achieve his spectacular performance? Apparently, by using what some experts call a “one plane swing”. One of his major rivals, Vijay Singh also apparently uses a “one plane swing”. While both of them have unique features in their swing, there are many common threads which tie them into followers of the “one plane swing” school, pioneered by Ben Hogan and Jim Hardy. One unique aspect of this type of swing is that you employ a more natural rotary swinging motion whereby you match the arm and shoulder planes throughout the swing. Compared to this, the “two plane swing” used by Jack Nicklaus attempts to perfectly time and blend the relatively flat rotation of the body with the upright swinging of the arms.

Before you try looking for golf swing instructions, you are well advised to decide which kind of golf swing you want to learn. At the very least, make sure your golf instructor knows the difference. One common quality of the worst golfers is that they mix in components of both the “one plane swing” and the “two plane swing” into their own swing, making a horrible mess of their game.

By: Godfrey Swain

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