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Failure to Fetch Feedback
Yeah, baby...!!! Long live this Sunday the 1970's for CS - specifically the 'do,' the trousers and the footwear. Bad-ass. Pity a functional, powerful and productive golf swing didn't make that list. Sure, I survived well enough to set a Guinness World Record in Speedgolf (click above for a lesson in fast & efficient golf, if you have a mere 3 minutes...), but woulda, coulda, shoulda learned to strike it a lot better. How? Read on!
Yours truly going at it, circa late '70's, above. Less than ideal, and no real excuses. Poor guidance and instruction? Nope, not really. I had access to quality instruction, writing, pictures and video of effective, imitable motions - as well as concept, ideas & theories that were for the most part relevant, pertinent and accurate. I just dropped the proverbial ball on... failure to fetch feedback.
I (and I shudder to think how many of you perusing this piece are a part of this less-than dream team) spent countless hours whacking thousands of golf balls, without proper feedback. Thinking, believing and feeling (oops, missed the reality show that was my actual golf swing) that I was moving and swinging like my models of the day - doing what would create the best strike - yet utterly and completely clueless.
Except for the threads, right? The bell-bottom pants. The kelty-clad footwear. Your fashion sense is salivating, huh? I understand. Click on teenage me just above for some current offerings from my peeps at Nike Golf.
Guilty as charged in my sloppy & feedback-less practice ways. You? If so, then how to practice better, smarter, with appropriate feedback? Alas - with the devil in your pocket, of course. If sitting is the new smoking, then cell/dumb phones are the new cigarettes, friends. Addictive. Destructive. Brain-altering (in non-beneficial ways).
However, after the blue-lit screen monster crawls out from under the bus I just tossed it under, let us look at some ways this tool might help us by providing crucial and accurate feedback:
- Feel isn't real, but what you see on that photo or video screen is. You ready for that much needed dose of your golf swing reality? Take a good look... Although certain aspects can only be 'seen' in 3D motion capture, the 2D video your handheld device provides can be of incredible value - as long as you know what to look for, and causes & effects (that's why you need an expert guide/teacher).
No one around to hold your Devil? Can't find anything to prop it up against? Click on the tarantula-looking gizmo below + accessories for a practical solution.
Surprised at what you see? Not what it feels like? Not what you thought you were doing? Not what you were trying to do? Relax. You, fellow fast-swinging humanoid, belong to a bountiful club of brothers and sisters. How then, your hopefully curious mind inquires, do you illicit change, alteration and/or modification?
Consider:
- Slowing down. The entire golf swing takes less than two seconds. It makes your 'thinking intention' look like a snail next to the Tesla-like velocity of the motion. Instead, make the new/desired motion in super slow motion. Like you are underwater, or half stuck in molasses. Then (and this is critical, as it 'belongs' to YOU - not someone playing on Tour, or giving the lesson) ask yourself: "What (and where specifically) did I feel?"
Film that and see what happens...
- Exaggerate. A lot. Do what feels like the diametric opposite of what you are doing. Yeah - out of control, radically different. Film that, watch it - then put that in your proverbial pipe and smoke it.
- Feel it to heal it. Ahh... I've recommended this concept previously to deal with detrimental emotions and fear - and guess what - the same is true of the physical movements you are making, and want to make. Unfortunately, whilst swinging at full speed, then having a golf ball + consequence/result present to distract you, most of us don't feel anything other than impact. So: eliminate the distractions initially. Push record on your device, make a swing sans aforementioned distractions, and take a peek. BIN-GO.
Taming the Devil
How to manage your exposure to the harmful (especially when it's time to rest and recover) über brain-stimulation caused by screens? It's a tap-in: procure a coolio pair of Swannies (click above).
Coaching & Guidance
 
And how to manage the process (yes, it is a process..) of improving yourself as a golfer? With feedback, of course. Accurate and meaningful feedback, please.
I can help. One-day golf schools, Train2Trust practice gatherings (schedules coming soon...), and individual lessons.
At Eugene Country Club, or a golf park near you.
Christopher@ChristopherSmithGolf.com
CSmith@EugeneCountryClub.com
"There is no failure. Only feedback."
- - Robert Allen
Best,
~ CS ~
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