Fixing Doesn’t Fix

Fixing Doesn’t Fix

We have a cultural belief that when things are broke we should fix them.  That belief transfers into golf and our golf swings.  Most players have no idea what is actually happening in the two seconds it takes to make their swing. They make a swing and look for the ball and make a judgment (good, bad, like, dislike, right and wrong).  That prevents accurate feedback which is necessary for development.  Changes are made in the golf swing through awareness, the language of the body. Awareness is the ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of something in the present moment. Without accurate feedback there is no awareness and little chance of development.

5 MAJOR AREAS IN THE SWING

Changes in the swing can be made quickly through distinctions. Although there could be others, here are the five major areas we could be aware of in the swing:

  1. Club Head – could you pay attention as it works around your body? Could you feel the weight and tell what position it is in?
  2. Club Path – (swing plane) where does the club go in your swing?
  3. Solid Contact – What would you need to distinguish to consistently produce solid contact? Solid contact trumps all other distinctions and is what everyone asks for.
  4. Aim and alignment – What would you have to pay attention too?
  5. Swinging with freedom – without formulas or tension.

EXAMPLE

John is a high handicap player and in his starting video you can see they he flips and scoops at impact. He has no idea that he does that and he cannot produce or has experienced solid contact.

In the second video, John felt something different while looking at the target. Changes can be made quickly when you experience where you are and then feel something different. It is usually necessary to go slow to feel the differences.

Distinctions are the key to making changes in your swing and this process can be applied to all areas of your swing.  Get off the fixing merry go round and start the process of developing your swing through awareness.

By |2019-04-21T09:46:29+00:00January 13th, 2016|Blog|0 Comments

About the Author:

George McNamara
George McNarama has been teaching golf for over 45 years. He became the 50th PGA Master Professional in 1988. He was the Director of Golf at Brandywine Country Club for the 29 years and is now the Director of Golf and managing Partner at the Golf Zone. He met Fred Shoemaker at the PGA Teaching and Coaching Summit in 2004 and that changed both his personal and professional life. He founded Swing with Freedom which is based on the principles of Extraordinary Golf. Creating an environment where discovery and learning are possible is deeply satisfying to George. He still participates in many Extraordinary Golf programs to continually develop his Coaching skills. His intent in Coaching is to shift the culture of golf tips, formulas and answers to one of exploration, discovery and freedom. George is a skilled Coach who has the ability to create an environment that is safe, without judgments where accelerated development and learning thrives. George has won the Philadelphia Section PGA Golf Professional of the year award and served as President of the Philadelphia PGA in 1998 & 1999. He was named the 2011-2012 Golf Digest Delaware Teacher of the Year and was recently inducted into the PGA Hall of Fame. He was also the Ping Club Fitter of the year in 2008. He lives in Downingtown with his wife, Nancy.

Leave A Comment