Swing thoughts. Do we actually need them?

JUST hold the angle into the downswing.” “Keep the resistance in the right knee.” “Wait for the downswing to start from the ground up.”

Swing thoughts. We have all tried them, we have all been given hope by them. We have all been convinced that this is ‘the secret’ only to have our hopes dashed and been brought crashing back to earth as the shelf life of that particular thought ran out only to need the sustenance of a new replacement.

The concept of ‘swing thoughts’ is something that has held my fascination for the best part of 20 years. Millions of words have been written in books and magazines essentially giving ‘swing thoughts’ to a world of hopeful golfers searching endlessly for an answer to their golfing woes.

The problem seems to be for most golfers that these thoughts or keys seem to be so very temporary we don’t seem to be able to hold onto any of them for any length of time.

In fact in the last few years there has been something of a backlash against swing thoughts with a whole host of ‘mental gurus’ basically saying that you shouldn’t have swing thoughts but just focus on the target, visualise the flight or ‘be the ball’!

Well, unfortunately, I have seen many golfers who have taken up this advice and tried to ‘be the ball’ and the ball still ended up in the water! The point that they miss is that visualising the target or ball flight is still thinking! However, we need to be careful that we don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. I recently had an enlightening conversation with European Ryder Cup star David Howell who told me that when he won so magnificently in Dubai a couple of years ago he had FIVE swing thoughts that week!

Contrast that statement with legendary American Lee Trevino’s comment that he only had two swing thoughts in his entire career. Who’s right? The Howell approach, the Trevino method or the mind gurus saying no thoughts at all?

For me it boils down to the age old wisdom of the philosopher Marcus Aurelius who said ‘Know Thyself’ – in other words we need to understand above anything else that we are all unique and individual characters. I feel in the work that I do now I am only just beginning to fully understand a fairly important fact.

That is to say that with each golfer that I work with, I need to start from a position of not knowing or assuming anything with regards to what is going to be right or wrong for that person. We love the idea of there being a ‘secret’ move or swing that we can work on.

There have been numerous times when I have seen golfers on the European Tour shift to the latest coach of the moment as a result of the success that the coach has recently had with another player. Once with the new coach, they find out to their great cost that the new way isn’t even as effective as the old way.

Fundamentally a swing thought will work if it allows the mind to calm down and stay focused, thus allowing the wisdom of the body to take over. Golf is NOT and never will be a MENTAL game – it is a physical game played with a physical club, physical ball and a physical body.

However the mind does have the capability to get in the way of the body functioning effectively. I think you can set yourself free by this understanding that swing thoughts on the golf course are just a way of quietening the mind and not some ‘magic potion’ that you have to keep searching endlessly for.

Of course working on moves in your swing on the range to ingrain new motion is different.
Become aware of what works for YOU as opposed to anybody else, only then will you get to the point where you understand your own game.

I firmly believe that some of the amazing golf played on the senior circuits around the world is because these gentlemen really understand what makes themselves tick and do not keep flitting around from one bit of advice to another.
You may be the kind of golfer who works well with a couple of swing keys, you may be a ‘no technique’ man or you may be a ‘target man’.

Just think about the times when you have played your best and the process you used and you will be on your way to narrowing down what works best for you. This is why I insist with all the players that I work with that they keep diaries of what they did on the course.

When you know what things make you play badly then if you have any sense you will stop doing them, by the same measure when you discover what works you can keep repeating the patterns.

The secret is probably that there is no secret. There is a way however – but it needs to be YOUR way.

Dr Karl Morris has a range of products that have been used and tested by some of the best players in the world including Ryder Cup star Darren Clarke. Visit the website www.golf-brain.com for further details.