Joe,
Every now and then I see an ad about secrets of golf. Are any of these secrets any good?
Bill
Hi Bill,
All of us are built differently, so a "secret" position or "magic move" move for one person may or may not work for another person. Many times a "magic move" will work for awhile, and then it will stop working and you won’t know why. There are a lot of things going on during a golf swing, and sometimes a magic move will result in aligning your muscles in a good way. But your muscles are changing every day, some stronger, some weaker, in different combinations, so it stands to reason that many of these "secrets" fall in the category of "Mannerisms" which are different than "Fundamentals" which are more important. For example, in Ben Hogan’s secret the supination of the wrist is a mannerism that leads to the fundamental of lining up the club shaft on the same plane with the leading arm for the downswing. The secret of driving the right knee is the mannerism that leads to the fundamental of shifting the lower body weight from the back leg to the front leg. If you only think of the mannerisms without the fundamentals, then you have to guess how much or how little to supinate the wrist or how hard to drive the knee. By thinking of the fundamentals instead, you can reduce this guesswork.
Joe
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Joe,
I have played golf once per week for many years, but from the third year onward, my scores have not improved. I should think that a person should continually improve over time, but I have not. I don’t understand why. Is there no hope of getting any better?
Rory
Hi Rory,
If you play once per week, but you do not practice in between, then it is not logical to assume that things will get better while you continue to do things the same way as always. Nothing is going to get better unless you change the way you do things. If you cannot get to a range in between rounds, just hit some wiffle balls at your local park. At least you ball striking should improve. Have a contest with your current grip against a different grip. Many people think the interlock grip is best just because it is used by Tiger and Jack, however many people find that the overlap works better, and the simple 10 finger grip may work best, despite the perception that it is a beginner’s grip, which is a false perception. Some people are blessed with a lot of natural athletic ability, while others must work at it to get better. Set some realistic expectations for yourself. Everyone has some bad shots. Just try to minimize them, or make them better bad shots. That may sound silly, but for example, a thinned shot is usually better than a fat shot, so make sure your strikes the ball before it strikes the ground.
Joe
I have played golf once per week for many years, but from the third year onward, my scores have not improved. I should think that a person should continually improve over time, but I have not. I don’t understand why. Is there no hope of getting any better?
Rory
Hi Rory,
If you play once per week, but you do not practice in between, then it is not logical to assume that things will get better while you continue to do things the same way as always. Nothing is going to get better unless you change the way you do things. If you cannot get to a range in between rounds, just hit some wiffle balls at your local park. At least you ball striking should improve. Have a contest with your current grip against a different grip. Many people think the interlock grip is best just because it is used by Tiger and Jack, however many people find that the overlap works better, and the simple 10 finger grip may work best, despite the perception that it is a beginner’s grip, which is a false perception. Some people are blessed with a lot of natural athletic ability, while others must work at it to get better. Set some realistic expectations for yourself. Everyone has some bad shots. Just try to minimize them, or make them better bad shots. That may sound silly, but for example, a thinned shot is usually better than a fat shot, so make sure your strikes the ball before it strikes the ground.
Joe
