Friday, March 11, 2011

MECHANICAL BREAKDOWNS - COMMON SENSE ADVICE ABOUT GOLF SWING MECHANICS


COMMON SENSE ADVICE ABOUT GOLF SWING MECHANICS
TAMPA, Florida - A big dummy of a golf writer (yours truly) once wrote "mechanics are for cars."  I wanted to illustrate how difficult it is to swing a golf club, make crisp contact with the golf ball and make it go where you want with a hundred swing thoughts crowding your mind. I concede that it was a glib statement.

Admittedly, golf swing mechanics are important but you'll notice that I didn't write "good golf swing mechanics are important." When an amateur golfer relies more on the technical aspects of his swing, his mind can become a cluttered mess. A repeatable golf swing that produces consistent results is far preferable, especially as a foundation for the building blocks to follow. Should you wish to introduce things like a new grip or a fuller shoulder turn, doing it in stages works best. Common sense tells us to focus on what is possible. Trying to do too much, such as we commonly do after golf lessons, is both confusing and counterproductive. For some, it is worse....

Mechanics are a part of all sports endeavors whether it be pitching, race riding or shooting free throws. Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Andy Sonnanstine appeared to "right himself" in a spring training win over the Boston Red Sox. Andy was quoted as saying "The key was not thinking about mechanics but instead competing and attacking hitters." Here is a professional baseball player telling us that he abandoned all technical thought in order to gain the freedom he needed to start optimizing his natural talent. Not that Sonnanstine is typical of all pro athletes but if highly-paid sports stars have difficulty memorizing and implementing mechanics, what chance does an amateur have?

Optimizing your current golf swing makes a lot more sense than starting from scratch, especially for those over 30 who have been playing. Unless you feel that you have unlimited potential + lots of time and money for lessons and practice, working with what you've got will provide the bigger improvement while allowing you to enjoy golfing. Anyone who says that golf after lessons is fun is being less than honest. It's a grind. Frankly, total confusion post-lessons is a big reason why many people walk away from the game.

OVER THE TOP GOLF basically changes nothing about your golf swing although your new OTG swing will look noticeably different. While that statement seemingly makes no sense, my method simply provides you with five set-up changes that will magically turn your limp slice or destructive hook into straighter, longer and more dependable shots.

Who knows? You may never think about golf swing mechanics again.


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Keywords for this article: golf, swing, over the top, lesson, instruction, eBook, amateur golf, buy, full shoulder turn, golf, golf grip, golf swing mechanics, golf swing optimization, http://overthetopgolf.com, over the top golf swing, repeatable golf swing, swing thoughts, Tampa
Revised 09-03-2012

 

8 comments:

Dana Miller said...

Some more good advice from your site. Eliminating swing thoughts was what turned my golf game around. Your Over the top golf swing method, added tomy own sort of dependable swing has produced!

Judge Smails said...

What could make a golf blogger think of attaching a photo of the Dumb and Dumber guys to his article? Sheer lunacy but good stuff....

Anonymous said...

Fun article.

ElPocoDiablo said...

Nice photo for a golf article.

Harry The Horse said...

that was a really funn movie....

Matt McConnell said...

More of a promo for your swing than a comment, this article made a lot of sense so I bought your DVD.

It's a new me who shows up at the pro shop on Saturday morning. The thought of playing golf with someone new used to frighten me. Now I look forward to it, not only because of the shots I can hit now but its also fun answering questions about my Over the Top Golf swing.

Glad I read this article way back when and hope it inspires others to gain both the yardage and confidence that I did.

-Matt

Anonymous said...

I am forwarding your article to my friend in the hope that she'll understand that being relaxed is the key to good golfing. Thanks.
-Audrey

Jeff said...

Hey Kevin, I really liked the part when you discussed do and don’t of a great golf swing, and especially the part about how to hit the ball correctly. Really helped me improve my golf swing! You think you could make a post about golf swing courses? I would have loved that!”