Hitters vs. Swingers – which are better?
In both baseball and golf we have hitters and swingers, but in baseball you do not have to play your foul balls, unlike golf where you have to play all those shots no matter where they go. Hitters are more likely to swing hard and contact the ball at all different areas of the bat such as the handle, the tip, and occasionally the sweet spot. Swingers usually hit for a better percentage because they can contact the ball more frequently on the sweet spot of the bat. The same ideas holds true for golf. The better players are swingers, not hitters, and for the same reason. Most golfers think of hitting the ball instead of executing a smooth swing with the ball just happening to be in the way. Usually, you can’t help being a hitter because you have the hitting concept ingrained into your subconscious. If you have reached a “plateau” in your scores, and you want to improve beyond that, you have to re-train your mind for swinging rather than hitting.

File your “hitting” swing away into your memory as your “Swing A”. This is the swing you have always been used to, and you can always go back to it if the following “Swing B” does not work for you right away. Meanwhile, keep working on Swing B, because the more you do the drill, the better it will work. On the practice range, always warm up with muscle stretches, and then take two clubs into your hands (or a heavily weighted club), and make some short lazy swings continuously just like a baseball player might do in the on-deck circle. Have a friend stand behind you to make sure your swings are on the correct plane or path. As you keep swinging continuously, little by little, lengthen the amount of backswing and follow-thru. Take it easy, never ever swing hard when you do this, the whole idea is to ingrain some motor muscle memory into your swing path, and the extra weighting will help.

As you are swinging, take notice of your lower body weight shift. During your follow-thru, all your weight must be on the front foot (left foot for right handers), and the back foot should only be touching the ground with the toe. Keeping repeating this until it becomes second nature and you don’t have to think about it anymore. Then do this on a practice mat that has a rubber tee that stays in place, and try to clip it repeatedly with your two-club swing.

After doing this as long as you can stand it, do the same with only one club, a short iron or wedge. If you are successful in clipping the tee every time, then place a ball on the tee and execute the same easy swing. Remember, you are not thinking about hitting the ball, you are thinking about executing a swing with the ball just happening to be in the way.

If you can do this, you are on your way to much improvement. If you cannot do this quite yet, you are probably so preoccupied with the RESULT of your swing that you’re forgetting how to achieve it. You are probably very anxious and tense to see if you will get instant results. You build this picture of worry in your mind about where the ball might go and this worry will interfere with your swing. This is no time for tension. You’ve forgotten why you’re here. You’re playing, not working. You’re here to have a good time and get away from the troubles of everyday life, so unless you are playing for money, don’t sweat it. Let someone else watch where the ball goes, while you follow the “no peeking” rule, which is the secret of this swing. This is a drill, do not watch the ball fly. Keep your eyes on the spot where the ball was sitting even after you your swing goes past it. Watch the pros on TV and in the magazines, you’ll see that at impact, every one of their faces is glued to where the ball is sitting at impact, and a little beyond! Start training yourself to count a beat before lifting your head up to watch the ball fly.

Practice these smooth swings in your MIND whenever you have a chance. Just visualize perfect, smooth, effortless swings along with the ball flying straight and true time-and-again. It’s a scientifically proven fact that this type of mental programming can really help. (see www.geocities.com/golfwithjoey)