by Roger Knick, The Golf Performance Center
Golf is hard, Don’t make it harder…
Let me start by saying, golf is a hard thing to do, competitive golf is even harder, so before you start packing it in after a bad shot or round or two, think about why you may be where you are with your game. Golf has come a long way with technologies to help you and golf coaches to help analyze every swing and movement you may have, but is technology the answer? It has also been a trend in golf that golf coaches are using technology to “teach” players what to do. If there is something you can glean from the best players in the world, they are not using technology to make them better, they are using technology to help them understand what they do well and where there are opportunities for improvement.
Recently I was spending time with a top 10 player in the world as well as another top amateur in the New York area. It was interesting to listen and observe the difference in approaches from these good players. The top 10 player was using technology to help him understand the opportunities to improve his ball striking, but also had the awareness to understand, the lead factor to his inability to hit the ball the way he wanted had nothing to do with the technology. He had created movement patterns from years of doing what he does to hit the ball the way he hits it, and it’s really, really good! But he felt there is room for improvement, in an effort to help him win more events and major championships. On the other hand, the amateur player was leaning on technology to teach him how to hit the ball with less side spin. In other words, his path was over the top and slightly steep. However instead of leaning into why that is happening or lead factors, the assumption is to keep hitting balls on the technology to improve his path. Now, I will say that is not a bad way to practice, however when it comes to truly improving his path, if he doesn’t address the “real” issue, I bum shoulder and lack of range of motion in his neck prohibits him from staying in posture long enough to maintain a good path to execute the movement he is trying to obtain.
The takeaway from these examples, well it depends on what your motive is for playing the game. If you are trying to advance your golf career to the highest levels, it makes sense to work on the lead factors to a point of mastery, no shortcuts to being the best in the world. If you are trying to play your best golf, understanding yourself is critical in knowing what can be changed, how it can be changed and is it worth the effort. If you are able to be consistent and not hurt yourself while getting the results you are hoping for, be aware that making changes that you are not capable of with technology feedback may just be that feedback that you are capable of doing something consistent.
Golf is hard, don’t make it harder by trying to do something you are not capable of doing. At The Golf Performance Center, a founding value to help golf athletes is knowledge. Knowledge to understand the difference between what you are capable of doing with your available resources, whether that is time to work on your game with the best information possible from coaches that understand technical skills, performance skills, your physical functionality, improving your mental approach, what’s blocking your potential and finding the right equipment to play your best.
Enjoy your journey!
