The Flaw of Teaching Internally Focused Swing Mechanics

The Flaw of Teaching Swing Mechanics

(Matt Kuchar, Tiger Woods, and Jim Furyk all bring a different set of abilities and body characteristics to the table, hence why they all have different looking swings)

When you are watching golf on TV, do you ever stop and wonder what they are thinking when they are getting ready to take their shot? If so, you are not alone. Through the past 20 years, many golf instructors have been teaching swing mechanics through an internal lens. Players will go to instructor after instructor, receiving different information on how to swing the golf club. Most if not all, do not improve and may even get worse. How can this be? How can an instructor teach you "proper" swing mechanics, yet you walk away with your tail between your legs, confused about all these new swing thoughts you have just inherited? I am going to be blunt and call it like it is right now. The reason you don't get better by learning proper swing mechanics is because you are learning through an internal lens and a particular swing model, focusing your time and effort on static body positions that don't mean much. You start to put your focus on what you should do with your body internally, losing the plot on what you are really trying to accomplish which is hitting the ball long, far, relatively straight with a solid amount of precision.

Golf as been taught wrong for a number of years. The focus is wrong, the mechanics are wrong and the whole strategy is wrong. So now you are probably asking yourself, if learning proper swing mechanics is not the way to go to get better, then what is? It is actually quite simple.

First, you need to understand what you bring to the table body wise. Your body brings a unique set of characteristics and abilities on a micro level that nobody can ever really know about without going through an MRI, cat scans, and bone scans. Everybody MOVES DIFFERENTLY based on their own unique set of body characteristics. Nobody is going to look the same. Everybody is going to swing differently. If you are trying to copy what Tiger or Rory are doing then you are going to be spinning your wheels because their bodies are completely different from yours. The key is to embrace your own uniqueness and start to conquer what you bring to the table from an individual body analysis standpoint.

The second thing you need to understand is that golf is a reactionary sport just like basketball, hockey, or baseball. Do you really think Michael Jordan was thinking about where his elbow was positioned when he went up for a mid range jump shot? Did Wayne Gretzky think about where to position his hockey stick at the top when he took a slap shot?

The answer is 100% no. These guys shot the puck and ball based on individual reaction to the goal of what they were trying to truly accomplish.

Golf is no different. When you are learning to swing the golf club, you need to focus on the club, swinging freely, fluidly and FAST! This should be your ultimate goal when swinging the club. The real skill is to learn to swing the club from in to out, and out to in to produce desired shot shapes. You focus on the club, not your body!!! It doesn't matter what you look like on camera. It is about becoming as efficient as possible with the swing characteristics that you bring to the table.

Next time you are out on the range, focus on the club, swinging freely, fluidly and FAST!

Experiment swinging the club in to out and out to in, varying the degree's of in to out and out to in on each swing. Your real swing thoughts should be " Swing this club in to out on this hit" or "Swing the club out to in on this hit" and then let it happen. Your body will create the mechanics for you as you attempt to hit these shots. This is the way golf is played. Listen to the guys on tour like Tiger, Rory, John Rahm and many others. They all say the same thing. They do not think about SWING MECHANICS. The simply decide what the want to do with the club coming into impact and then let every else happen on its own.

When you start doing this, the game becomes quite simple and you will start hitting the golf ball so much better. Learning the game through an external lens framework is the best thing you will ever do and you will become a better player because of it!

Test this out next time you are out and GOOD LUCK!

External Focus Golf