"Let The Club Do The Work"

Some time ago I heard one of the accomplished ladies in our club berating herself after shanking a fairway wood shot. “Silly,” she scolded herself, “let the club do the work.”

At the time I didn’t really know what she meant. “How can the club do the work,” I said to myself. “Surely we’ve got to do the work; the club is merely an extension of our hands and arms and only does as much as we make it do.”

Now, however, I appreciate better what this lady meant. She was really referring to the fact that what we try to do in golf is “swing the club” rather than “hit the ball with the club.” All our energy and attention should really be concentrated on getting that club swinging as freely and accurately as we can. The club is the thing that does the work – that connects with the ball and propels it on its journey. We have to become master “club-swingers” rather than “ball-hitters.”

That might sound subtle, but it’s immensely important. The moment we think about “hitting the ball”, we will almost certainly try to force the club in the wrong way. We will use it to “whack” at the ball instead of swinging it through the ball. The nature of the two actions, and the results, are quite different.

While I don’t always succeed, I nevertheless now try to approach each shot conscious of only one thing: swinging the appropriate club at the appropriate speed through the ball. In other words, I concentrate on getting the club in motion and letting it do the work.

Not Too Tight!

You’ve probably often heard it said that you mustn’t grip the club too tightly. It tenses the muscles of the wrists and arms and prevents you swinging properly.

Legendary player and coach Ernest Jones had this to say about tension and its effects on golf: “Tenseness is the insurmountable barrier to swinging, because swinging implies a free, easy rhythm, which can never be achieved in the face of tenseness.” Again, “If there is tenseness in either the hands or the arms or in the legs, it will absolutely forestall the swinging action at the start.”

This morning I put that advice to the test. I keep a 9-iron in the lounge to practice rhythm and swing, and this morning I concentrated on altering the tension in my hands, wrists and forearms and seeing the effect it had on a free, swinging action. I started out swinging the club back and forth, not worrying too much about posture. I simply wanted to establish a smooth, rhythmic, pendulum kind of half-swing with the club.

Then I deliberately loosened my grip so that it was barely strong enough to control the club – about a 2 out of 10 degree of firmness. Gradually, as I swung the club back and forth, I increased the firmness of my grip until it was about 6 or 7 out of 10, and watched for changes in the motion of the club in the process.

The results were striking. There is no question that when my grip was most relaxed, the club swung freely and easily. I had the sense that the club itself was the main thing (rather than my arms and hands trying to hit something with the club). The moment I began to increase tension in my hands and forearms, however, the nature of the club’s motion changed. It didn’t swing so freely or easily, eventually becoming quite rigid and somewhat jerky in its movements (corresponding more exactly to the movement of my hands and arms). Furthermore, its swing plane changed and became more erratic.

This little experiment left me with no doubt at all that the advice “Hold the club just securely enough to assure control of it throughout the stroke”, is good advice. Try the above exercise yourself and I think you will agree.

Releasing the Club

Recently I came across a statement that's helped me understand what my wrists ought to be doing in the lower part of the golf swing. It spoke of "releasing the club into the back of the ball."

This makes better sense to me than the conflicting advice I've read and received elsewhere about what to do with the wrists in the downswing. One school of thought in golf stresses the importance of consciously cocking the wrists during the backswing (either early in the process, gradually, or at the end of it), while another argues that there shouldn't be any conscious effort to break the wrists at all - it should happen naturally as the backswing reaches its conclusion. Be that as it may, practically all schools of thought recognize that there is at least a momentary cocking of the wrists at the high point in the backswing.

The question is, "What do you do with these cocked wrists after that - in the course of the downswing?" Again, there are some say that you shouldn't try to do anything. Any conscious effort to manipulate the wrists, they claim, is going to get you into trouble. Let the natural, centrifugal force of your downswing cause your wrists to unhinge at the correct place on their own accord.

Then there are others who say that the key to power in the impact zone is the deliberate action of the hands and wrists whipping through the ball. "Give it everything you've got" in that zone, some people advise. And generally that means wrist as well as arm and hand action.

Whatever position people take, they generally agree on this: the later the application of power in the downswing the better. It's in the "hitting zone" between the feet especially where power needs to be applied. The aim is to have the clubhead accelerating into the back of the ball at the point of impact. If power is applied too soon in the downswing, then its almost certain that the club won't be accelerating still when it contacts the ball, nor will it reach its maximum speed just beyond the ball. Somehow or other, the wrists are involved in the correct application of power at the proper time.

I've tried various approaches to using (or not using) my wrists in the golf swing, all with little success. But this idea of "releasing the club into the back of the ball" has me excited.  It's not about whacking the ball with the wrists at the point of contact, but of maintaining the cocked position of the wrist until just before impact. At that point, there is a deliberate "letting go" of the right wrist (for a right hander) so that it is no longer held in a cocked position. That releases the clubhead "into the back of the ball", ensuring maximum acceleration and perfect timing.  

This action of "letting go" or "releasing" the clubhead into the back of the ball is a very distinct action - very different to trying to force it through the ball with a "wristy" hit. You simply keep your right wrist (for a right hander) in its cocked position until the impact zone, and then "let it go". The momentum (centrifugal force) associated with your swing will accelerate the clubhead through the ball naturally, giving that pleasing "wooshing" sound that accompanies a powerful, well-timed shot. Try it and see if it works.

A Sub-Conscious Action

“A good golf swing should be performed sub-consciously.” That’s what the authors of the book (and the golf training programme) The Swing Factory argue. And it's not just their belief; many other golf writers and experienced players will tell you the same thing.  

But what do they mean by that? Often we are robbed of the benefit of good advice because we don’t fully understand key terms people use. This is surely a case in point. What does the term “sub-conscious” mean in regard to the golf swing? If we don’t understand that, we won’t understand, let alone come to practice, this important piece of advice.

A conscious activity is one that occurs at the level of our awareness, and usually involves deliberate thought and action on our part. We are aware of what is happening, can understand what is happening, and can even control it to some degree or other. Moving the cup on my desk forward an inch or two, for example, is a deliberate, conscious action. I look at the cup, see where I want to move it to, and then deliberately apply force to it so that it moves to the spot where I want it to go. That is all very conscious, very intentional.

Compare that to the simple act of picking up a fork to eat. When it comes time to eat dinner, we don’t have to think about picking up our eating utensils. It’s something we do reflexively. In most cases we’ve done it for so many years that we don’t even need to look where our knife and fork are. We simply reach out, grasp them, and put them to work without even thinking about it. That’s a sub-conscious action – an action that is taking place without conscious, deliberate thought, action or decision. It’s taking place through motions that are below the level of consciousness. They just happen without us having to think about them.

That’s what people have in mind when they talk about the golf swing becoming a “sub-conscious” action. They are talking about it becoming something so natural, so instinctive, that we don’t have to think about it. We don’t need to remind ourselves to “get our hips out of the way,” or “begin to unwind from the bottom up,” or again, think about “having an even tempo.” It just happens, fluidly, naturally, without any conscious thought on our part. When we reach that state, it’s likely that our golf will become much more consistent.

As desirable as that sounds, how do we get to that point? Again, it’s helpful to think of analogies. How did we reach the point of being able to pick up a knife and fork to eat a meal without thinking about the action consciously? The answer is, by practice. If we could remember way back to when we first began to use a knife and fork, we would remember how clumsy it felt at first, and how our first efforts to put our fork in our mouth took concentration. There were often mistakes along the way, and food smudges on our faces to prove it. But with time – and often not a lot of time – that simple activity became something natural to us. It was awkward at first, and required deliberate action at first; but with time and repeated practice, it became something that was just part of us.

That’s true of any action. For the golf swing to become a sub-conscious action that we perform instinctively, smoothly, repetitively we’ve got to practice it. At first we’ve got to discover where the club should be in different parts of the swing; then we’ve got to place it there (repetitively) in slow motion; and then we’ve got to practice the movement and get the feel of the rhythm by constant practice. In time, we will be able to swing the club in the same way without thinking about it.

Focus on the Target

This past Saturday I really muffed a putt on the last green. I was only about two metres (6 feet) from the pin and ended up nudging the ball at least 30 cm (1 foot) wide of the hole. What was the problem? I was so intent on getting my stroke dynamics right that I didn't even take a serious sight on the hole.

Afterwards it occurred to me that this was a perfect example of focusing on something other than the target. I've read of this tendency in various books on golf, but this experience brought the reality of the problem home to me. Once again its a reflection of how important the mind is in golf. What absorbs our thinking at the moment of playing the stroke is bound to influence its outcome. If - as in the case above - our thoughts are occupied with matters of technique, then there is every possibility that the all important matter of where we are trying to hit the ball will be missed out altogether.

What's the solution? Forethought, routine and simplicity seem to be the answer. Forethought is where it really begins. One good golf teacher says, "Do your thinking before you attempt to play your stroke". That's excellent advice. All consideration of the type of shot you want to play, the club to use, the precise target you want to aim at, needs to be done before you address the ball and attempt to swing the club.

Routine is a great aid to doing this. Going through the same set of actions in preparation for every shot, and getting to the point where we do that automatically for every shot, is one of the keys, the experts tell us, to playing consistent golf. And that's particularly so in pressure situations. Having a standard set of actions - sighting the shot from behind the ball, deciding on what club to use, the exact target point for the shot, getting alignment and aim correct etc. - this sort of standard, repeated procedure is a great help.

Last of all, and perhaps the most important, simplicity at the point of making the stroke is essential. By that I mean keeping the mind focused on a simple, single thought at the time. Different people have different "swing thoughts". Whatever our particular one is, it should be a simple, single statement. Too many thoughts destroy the cohesiveness and smoothness of the swing.

I know that I've wandered a little away from my original theme - focusing on the target - but in a sense, failure to do that is a symptom of a larger problem. It's the result of becoming over absorbed with details instead of keeping things simple at the point of making the stroke. And forethought and routine are essential to making that happen. 

Playing Smart Golf

Tommy Armour was a well-known golfer and golf coach in an earlier era - the 1930's-50's. After helping thousands play better golf he captured the essence of his basic "on the tee" instruction in a book How To Play Your Best Golf All the Time. Old the the book may be (it was first published in 1956), it contains a great deal of wisdom.

At the outset, before he begins to talk about grip and posture and other basics, Armour stresses the importance of tactics in the game of golf. Many people fail to score as well as they might, he says, because they don't play intelligent, smart golf. "Play the shot you've got the greatest chance of playing well," was one of his adages, and another, "Play the shot that makes the next shot easy." Once more, "Every golfer scores better when he learns his capabilities."

One fault Armour pounces on is the tendency to "go for the green" with a big shot, or a difficult shot. Nine times out of ten, he argues, you will find you have over-estimated your capacity. It is far better to play within yourself, and guarantee that your next shot is an easy one. 

I made the blunder of going for "a big shot" this past Saturday. After two great approach shots on a par 5 hole I was well within range of the green. In fact, the choice I had to make was between a nine iron and a pitching wedge. I chose the former, thinking that I would be clever and land the ball near the pin positioned near the edge of a tricky, sloping green. The pitching wedge would have landed me a little short, but on a far safer part of the fairway-green fringe. But no, I had to go for the big shot, the winning shot.  

And what happened? I hit the ball sweetly, but it was fractionally off target. Rather than landing on the green proper it hit its raised shoulder and cannoned off to the side at near right angles. That left me with a very difficult up-slope chip onto the green surface to the nearby pin, a chip that I scuffed not once, but twice. That was enough to jangle the nerves and put me off my putting when I did eventually get the ball near the hole. What should have been an easy par 5 turned out to be a horrendous 9!!!

Armour's advice is worth taking. Don't go for the heroic shots if there is an element of risk in them. Instead, aim to play the shot that you know you can play well, and that will ensure that your next shot is an easy one.

Forceful Effort

This past Saturday I paid the price for using "forceful effort" instead of "effortless force" at the Wyndham Golf Club's infamous "Elbow" hole.

The hole dog-legs to the left and has traps on either side. On the left hand side is the local race course track, and on the right, the stop bank for a local river. Both are out of bounds and spell an instant 2-shot penalty.

Early on I used to fall foul of the right hand side stop-bank trap. My beginner's slice habitually saw my tee shots soar over the populars and beyond the bank. This past Saturday, however, I hooked my first shot and pulled it onto the race track. And I know why I did it! It was that mental thing again! Knowing the dangers of the hole, and trying to compensate for the buffeting southerly wind, put me on edge. I was over-anxious and "forced" my shot. My timing was up the pole and the result a disaster. My second shot off the tee wasn't much better, although it did manage to curl in the wind back onto the fairway.

That's what happens whenever I try to "force" a shot instead of relying on technique and rhythm. It has been well said that golf is not a game of "forceful effort" but rather of "effortless force." I think I know the difference. When my mind is in the right space, and I'm feeling relaxed and confident about a shot, I can more often than not slip into that seemingly effortless groove of swinging easily through the ball. There is effort there, but you hardly notice it. The whole swing is connected and flows smoothly and easily. And the ball typically flies straight, true, and far.

Under pressure, however, and when the jitters strike, rhythm seems to go out the door. Instead of that smooth, easy swing through the ball, there's the deliberate attempt to hit  - or worse still, hack - at it. When that happens the swing loses its connectedness and typically, force is applied too soon. What is more, it is the force of leverage rather than centrifugal - the force that makes for a smooth and effortless swing. Little wonder the results are predictably disastrous. 

Staying calm and playing smoothly and rhythmically when faced with a very long or challenging hole is one of the hurdles I've still got to conquer.