37 replies to this topic

[heavybladed]

Mostly curiosity here. I do have a few myself. Usually corresponds to whatever miss I need to fix at the time, and most often I have a backswing and through swing thought. Maybe just to keep things even I guess? Not completely sure, It just seems to happen that way.

I still remember my first swing thought because it coincided with the first time I broke 100. I went with "Don't try to kill it " at the time and it worked like a charm.

[Thrillhouse]

Swing hard in case you hit it.

[OldGolfer87]

Yeah i have swing thoughts but the problem is i have sometimes 1 and then sometimes 5 to 10 at the same time and i am not sure any of them are any damn good

[finalist]

Sometimes.

If things are not great or bad I think Sloooow take away.
If things are great and I've had several great holes I may think loose and fast.

Probably not much most of the time though.

[heavybladed]

RetiredMedic029, on 04 November 2012 - 12:25 AM, said:

Yeah i have swing thoughts but the problem is i have sometimes 1 and then sometimes 5 to 10 at the same time and i am not sure any of them are any damn good

I fought that for a while too. Maybe that's where the backswing/through swing came from.

[duffer987]

Yup.
Have backswing and downswing swing thoughts for my driver and irons. Have downswing swing thought for short pitches and bunker shots...
... when I remember them

[TRoc9892]

Absolutely. Usually 1 on each part of the swing. I tried to play a round with absolutely no swing thoughs... did awful. Just awful. I think playing with no swing thoughts is the hardest thing to do.

[SketchyBFC]

When i remember - I don't follow a 'system' though, just 3 or 4 simple things that I have to think about to prevent mis-hits.

[Matty T]

Thrillhouse, on 03 November 2012 - 11:38 PM, said:

Swing hard in case you hit it.

Thanks Thrillhouse, I now have to explain to my co workers why I was laughing so hard.


To the OP. I dont have a thought during my swing. It is during my set up I tell myself to be smooth. After I choose my shot and line it up, it is just fire away. I do really well with it.

Edited by Matty T, 04 November 2012 - 07:14 AM.

[sheldonjhacker]

I have lots of swing thoughts...to keep the demons out.

[Halebopp]

I can't remember who I'm quoting but "I try to limit the number of thoughts to only around 300 when swinging the club".

[ProjectX]

If I start thinking I'm a mess. I grab a stick, pick a target and hit the ball. No practice swings either. Grip and Rip!!!

[MDP1555]

I have swing thoughts that I employe in the swing but I don't think about them during the swing. I do all planning and all my thinking during my pre shot routine. Then once I set my alignment I at lest attempt to just be reactive to the planning I did in the pre shot routine. Attempting to think during the act of swinging is counter affective for me.

I plan, I setup and align for what I planed then I stop being analytical and reactivity perform the athletic event. If I think about my swing during my swing i feel I wound never pull the trigger  with conviction

I teach and employ the two box principle. One box 6 feet behind the ball where all analytical processes take place (pre shot routine), then a box that contains the ball dedicated only to setup, alignment and execution  of the shot without allowing any how to thoughts.

Edited by MDP1555, 05 November 2012 - 08:41 AM.

[Redpro]

MDP1555, on 04 November 2012 - 05:27 PM, said:

I have swing thoughts that I employe in the swing but I don't think about them during the swing. I do all planning and all my thinking during my pre shot routine. Then once I set my alignment I at lest attempt to just be reactive to the planning I did in the pre shot routine. Attempting to thing during the act of swinging is counter affective for me.

I plan, I setup and align for what I planed then I stop being analytical and reactivity perform the athletic event. If I think about my swing during my swing i feel I wound never pull the trigger  with conviction

I teach and employ the two box principle. One box 6 feet behind the ball where all analytical processes take place (pre shot routine), then a box that contains the ball dedicated only to setup, alignment and execution  of the shot without allowing any how to thoughts.

Vision54?

[MDP1555]

Vision54?

Not sure I follow.

[Redpro]

MDP1555, on 04 November 2012 - 05:37 PM, said:

Vision54?

Not sure I follow.

Think Box - Play Box

From their books.

[MDP1555]

Oh no, I got this technique from my high school golf coach Arlen Hughes back in 1970

[Jack Pearsall]

Jack thinks about his hands - mostly the left  and uses the shoulder coming under his chin as the trigger for his lower body move for the downswing. He will think of his hands and how they impact/control face angle at impact. The preshot involves - in general - the idea of a smooth but explosive tempo. If it comes together correctly you will see something worthy of your worship.

[Redpro]

Or this?

 ThinkPlayBox.jpg   91.04K   1 downloads

[Redpro]

MDP1555, on 04 November 2012 - 05:48 PM, said:

Oh no, I got this technique from my high school golf coach Arlen Hughes back in 1970

Ah.

[MDP1555]

I had the same coach for PE, tennis and football. He was always key on being reactive in  all  shot making and throwing athletic events that most errors came from thought processing leading to internal debate therefore lack of commitment.

[heavybladed]

Matty T, on 04 November 2012 - 07:13 AM, said:

Thrillhouse, on 03 November 2012 - 11:38 PM, said:

Swing hard in case you hit it.

Thanks Thrillhouse, I now have to explain to my co workers why I was laughing so hard.


To the OP. I dont have a thought during my swing. It is during my set up I tell myself to be smooth. After I choose my shot and line it up, it is just fire away. I do really well with it.

I pretty much envy people like you who can do that. Maybe I'm not naturally talented enought for that method. I seem to require engagement of my conscious mind (distraction?) while swinging a club in order to keep at bay the urge to KILL THE BALL.

[jmvargas]

i have a few swing thoughts which i use depending on what i feel i need at the time..

among them are:

...finish your backswing..

...stand tall..

...stay down on the ball...

i normally think of at least 1 of them but on really bad days i may have to think of all 3!!

but if i have to keep it at 1 only..it would be "stay down on the ball"...

[Man In The Miura]

I try to.  For me it's a particular stanza of accoustical guitar music.  Long distance runners use mantras as well.  Repeating a thought helps keep one steady and focused and helps staying centered.  If anything, it can't hurt.

[MDP1555]

Santana Abraxis was in my walkman (cassette tape predecessor to the mp3 player for those under 50)  almost all the time when I was a teen.

[station2station]

Ugh, like 38 of them in a checklist every time I'm over the ball.  I'm an engineer by trade so I'm analytical by nature.

Over the years I've stripped the list down to my 2 that typically cover MY particular swing.  I try to ride 18 holes on these two basic thoughts and don't let anything else creep in.

1. Be athletic at address.
2. Stay in posture through the shot and around into the finish.

These are mine - and they help in particular.  They fix a lot of the other issues that i might need to have swing thoughts for  ...  

[Cicero]

Either think swing a little left, or feel trying to hit a little fade.  I'm not sure if it keeps me from swinging too far right as much as it helps me swing all the way through the ball.  Whatever the case, it helped a lot, from driver to pitches.  Too bad I figured it out right before the season ended.

Another feel I used a bit was to try to get the leading edge under the ball.  I know it would be the kiss of death for a lot of people, but it helped keep me from getting too steep, and kept me from getting in front of it, especially when I got aggressive.

Edited by Cicero, 05 November 2012 - 09:54 AM.

[CosmosMpower]

I employ about 5, I'm not sure which one to listen to.  None of them usually work for more than a few shots in a row.  I suck at golf.

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

I clicked "Yes" on the assumption that a swing image counts as a swing "thought". I try to have a picture in my mind as I take the club away and start my swing.

Sometimes it's an image of the ball flying through the air, maybe a very high flight or maybe a real strong, bore-through-the-air type trajectory depending on what shot I need in the situation.

Other times it's just a mental image of the ball leaving the clubface if it's a funny lie and I most want to make good contact.

The only real "thought" I'll have sometimes is if I'm really struggling with tempo I think "Plenty Of Time" right before swinging. But then when I actually start the swing I revert to whatever image comes to mind.

The one thing I can not do is imagine the complete flight of the ball. Some people say they can "see" the ball all the way from impact, flying through the air and then landing on the green and rolling up next to the hole. I can only manage a more generic trajectory or impact image.

[xabia]

Right now I have wayyyy tooo many things going on in my mind and thats the problem. I try and keep it really simple usually"

Stably base
Even tempo
Release the club

But right now my mind is littered with thoughts about goathumping and takeaway path and getting a fuller backswing which is leading to a john daly past parallel thing and its just kind of a mess.

My biggest problem right now is I forgot how to swing hard without swinging too fast