After-practice shower thought: are you aware of your hands?

[yungkory]

While I was doing some practice at the range today I noticed when my swing gets lazy (i.e. I don't turn my shoulders enough) I get really armsy in my swing and my butter cut turns into a nasty slice. Which made me think about my takeaway and rotation more, resulting in crispy strikes and my normal 1-5y fade.

 

Then it hit me, I have no idea at all what or how I know to deliver the club to the ball. It got me thinking about that "do you have a natural swing" thread and how I've only had one formal lesson in my entire life when I was about 11 years old. Not trying to brag, I'm trying to understand how other people, who might be aware of what their hands are doing, think during their swing. Hope I don't come across as a d-bag for this.

 

I guess my thought process for my swing is (iron shots):

 

• Take the club away and hinge my wrists at about 45* while keeping my lead arm straight
• Make a good rotation while loading up on my back leg (do not sway)

Then it kinda goes:

 

SLIDEFORWARDuncoilKEEPHANDSINSIDE

 

Like I just black out and the rest of the process just happens.

 

So, my question is, does anyone think to do anything to deliver the clubface square to the ball?

[Rusty1885]

Cool thought. I'm at the point where I'm trying not to think about swing mechanics especially in terms of biomechanics. Too much technical for my game and it goes with me to the course.

 

Don't get me wrong. I love golf gadgets I have the ES14 and the swingbyte plus video sync that I geek out at the range. I follow the simple principle now, "golf is what the ball does".

[Shankster]

I have the same problem from time to time. No lessons either. I have a wide take away and my hinge is later.

 

Halfway back I do a mental check to feel where the clubface is, it's usually in the wrong spot so I have to correct it. Been working on a smoother takeaway this year. Great results so far.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[alfriday101]

I'm with Rusty.  I have worked hard this year to not have mechanical swing thoughts.  The only thing I think is "swing to the target" just before starting the swing.  The swing should then be on autopilot.  I found thinking about any mechanical aspect of the swing led down the rabbit hole of more mechanical swing thoughts and more manipulations in the swing.  I was playing "golf swing" instead of golf.  By concentrating on swinging to the target, my attention is on the outcome, not the process.  I have found it liberating on the course.  

 

After the shot, I will evaluate the results, note what felt good or bad, and then forget about it.  For example, I might say 'I tried to hit that to hard which got me a bit off balance.  I strained instead of swinging easy."  The mind the resets for the next shot.  I don't have to think "slow down, or swing easy on this shot."    

[yungkory]

Cool thought. I'm at the point where I'm trying not to think about swing mechanics especially in terms of biomechanics. Too much technical for my game and it goes with me to the course.

 

Don't get me wrong. I love golf gadgets I have the ES14 and the swingbyte plus video sync that I geek out at the range. I follow the simple principle now, "golf is what the ball does".

 

Yeah, I try not to get into my head while I'm on the course, this was more of a practice session thought I had. I like to pick the brains of people much smarter than myself (I do it at work all the time) so that I can learn and improve on my personal work/game. Just wondering if there was some lightbulb that was still powered off in my head, and maybe better players could help me turn it on. Or, it will help me realize that the delivery of the clubface to the ball is just a natural swing mechanic and your body just somehow knows to do it, and that the magic really is in the setup, takeaway, backswing transition.

 

For example, when I was young, maybe about 11 and right before I had my first professional lesson, I discovered hitting down on the ball. That was the first time that I had ever stopped a ball in its place on the green, and I had one of those "AHA!" moments. It was a milestone and why I remember that shot in my head today.

 

I'm with Rusty.  I have worked hard this year to not have mechanical swing thoughts.  The only thing I think is "swing to the target" just before starting the swing.  The swing should then be on autopilot.  I found thinking about any mechanical aspect of the swing led down the rabbit hole of more mechanical swing thoughts and more manipulations in the swing.  I was playing "golf swing" instead of golf.  By concentrating on swinging to the target, my attention is on the outcome, not the process.  I have found it liberating on the course.  

 

After the shot, I will evaluate the results, note what felt good or bad, and then forget about it.  For example, I might say 'I tried to hit that to hard which got me a bit off balance.  I strained instead of swinging easy."  The mind the resets for the next shot.  I don't have to think "slow down, or swing easy on this shot."    

 

My practice sessions start with me picking a target to hit on the range. I try to let my natural abilities take the ball there, but then if I hit a bad shot, or I'm way off, I will step back and start thinking why it all went wrong and how to correct it. So, I usually go back to the thought process in my original post. That, was when I realized the thing about the hands and me not knowing anything about delivering the clubface to the ball.