Opinion & Analysis
The Wedge Guy: Top 4 reasons why most golfers don’t get better
A couple of years ago, I attended a symposium put on by Golf Digest’s research department. They explored the typical responses as to why people quit or don’t play more – too much time, too expensive, etc. But the magazine’s research department uncovered the real fact – by a large margin, the number one reason people give up the game is that they don’t get better!
So, with all that’s published and all the teaching pros available to help us learn, why is that? I have my rationale, so put on your steel toe work boots, because I’m probably going to step on some toes here.
The Top 4 Reasons Golfers Don’t Improve
- Most golfers don’t really understand the golf swing. You watch golf and you practice and you play, but you don’t really understand the dynamics of what is really happening at 100 mph during the golf swing. There are dozens of good books on the subject – my favorite is Ben Hogan’s “Five Lessons – The Modern Fundamentals of Golf.” But pick any good one and READ IT. LEARN IT. It will help you immensely if you understand what the swing is really all about. Use a full length mirror to pose in key positions in the swing to match the drawings and photos. All the practice in the world will not help if you are not building a sound fundamental golf swing.
- Learning golf doesn’t start in the middle. A sound golf swing is built like a house. First the foundation, then the framing, roof, exterior walls, interior, paint, and trim. You can’t do one before the other. In golf, it all starts with the grip. If you do not hold the club properly, you’ll never accomplish a sound golf swing. Then you learn good posture and setup. If you don’t start in a good position, the body can’t perform the swing motion properly. With a good grip and a sound setup posture, I believe anyone can learn a functional golf swing pretty easily. But if those two foundations are not sound, the walls and roof will never be reliable.
- Most bad shots are ordained before the swing ever begins. I am rarely surprised by a bad shot, or a good one, actually. The golf swing is not a very forgiving thing. If you are too close to the ball or too far, if it’s too far forward or backward, if you are aligned right or left of your intended line, your chances of success are diminished quickly and significantly. The ball is 1.68 inches in diameter, and the functional striking area on a golf club is about 1.5-inches wide. If you vary in your setup by even 3/4 inch, you have imposed a serious obstacle to success. If you do nothing else to improve your golf game, learn how to set up the same way every time.
- Learn to “swing” the club, not “hit” the ball. This sounds simple, but the golf swing is not a hitting action: it’s a swinging action. The baseball hitter is just that, because the ball is in a different place every time – high, low, inside, outside, curve. He has to rely on quick eye-hand coordination. In contrast, the golf swing is just that – a swing of the club. You have total control over where the ball is going to be so that you can be quite precise in the relationship between your body and the ball and the target line. You can swing when you want to at the pace you find comfortable. And you can take your time to make sure the ball will be precisely in the way of that swing.
Learning the golf swing doesn’t require a driving range at all. In fact, your backyard presents a much better learning environment because the ball is not in the way to give you false feedback. Your goal is only the swing itself.
Understand that you can make a great swing, and often do, but the shot doesn’t work out because it was in the wrong place, maybe by only 1/4 inch or so. Take time to learn and practice your swing, focusing on a good top-of-backswing position and a sound rotating release through impact. Learn the proper body turn and weight shift. Slow-motion is your friend. So is “posing” and repeating segments of the swing to really learn them. Learn the swing at home, refine your ball striking on the range and play golf on the course!
So, there you have my four reasons golfers don’t get better. We all have our own little “personalization” in our golf swing, but these sound fundamentals apply to everyone who’s ever tried to move a little white ball a quarter-mile into a four-inch hole. Working on these basics will make that task much easier!
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Of all the clubs in our bags, wedges are almost always the simplest in construction and, therefore, the easiest to analyze what might make one work differently from another if you know what to look for.
Wedges are a lot less mysterious than drivers, of course, as the major brands are working with a lot of “pixie dust” inside these modern marvels. That’s carrying over more to irons now, with so many new models featuring internal multi-material technologies, and almost all of them having a “badge” or insert in the back to allow more complex graphics while hiding the actual distribution of mass.
But when it comes to wedges, most on the market today are still single pieces of molded steel, either cast or forged into that shape. So, if you look closely at where the mass is distributed, it’s pretty clear how that wedge is going to perform.
To start, because of their wider soles, the majority of the mass of almost any wedge is along the bottom third of the clubhead. So, the best wedge shots are always those hit between the 2nd and 5th grooves so that more mass is directly behind that impact. Elite tour professionals practice incessantly to learn to do that consistently, wearing out a spot about the size of a penny right there. If impact moves higher than that, the face is dramatically thinner, so smash factor is compromised significantly, which reduces the overall distance the ball will fly.
Every one of us, tour players included, knows that maddening shot that we feel a bit high on the face and it doesn’t go anywhere, it’s not your fault.
If your wedges show a wear pattern the size of a silver dollar, and centered above the 3rd or 4th groove, you are not getting anywhere near the same performance from shot to shot. Robot testing proves impact even two to three grooves higher in the face can cause distance loss of up to 35 to 55 feet with modern ‘tour design’ wedges.
In addition, as impact moves above the center of mass, the golf club principle of gear effect causes the ball to fly higher with less spin. Think of modern drivers for a minute. The “holy grail” of driving is high launch and low spin, and the driver engineers are pulling out all stops to get the mass as low in the clubhead as possible to optimize this combination.
Where is all the mass in your wedges? Low. So, disregarding the higher lofts, wedges “want” to launch the ball high with low spin – exactly the opposite of what good wedge play requires penetrating ball flight with high spin.
While almost all major brand wedges have begun putting a tiny bit more thickness in the top portion of the clubhead, conventional and modern ‘tour design’ wedges perform pretty much like they always have. Elite players learn to hit those crisp, spinny penetrating wedge shots by spending lots of practice time learning to consistently make contact low in the face.
So, what about grooves and face texture?
Grooves on any club can only do so much, and no one has any material advantage here. The USGA tightly defines what we manufacturers can do with grooves and face texture, and modern manufacturing techniques allow all of us to push those limits ever closer. And we all do. End of story.
Then there’s the topic of bounce and grinds, the most complex and confusing part of the wedge formula. Many top brands offer a complex array of sole configurations, all of them admittedly specialized to a particular kind of lie or turf conditions, and/or a particular divot pattern.
But if you don’t play the same turf all the time, and make the same size divot on every swing, how would you ever figure this out?
The only way is to take any wedge you are considering and play it a few rounds, hitting all the shots you face and observing the results. There’s simply no other way.
So, hopefully this will inspire a lively conversation in our comments section, and I’ll chime in to answer any questions you might have.
And next week, I’ll dive into the rest of the wedge formula. Yes, shafts, grips and specifications are essential, too.
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Golf's Perfect Imperfections
Golf’s Perfect Imperfections: Amazing Session with Performance Coach Savannah Meyer-Clement
In this week’s episode, we spent some time with performance coach Savannah Meyer-Clement who provides many useful insights that you’ll be able to implement on the golf course.
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19th Hole
Vincenzi’s 2024 RBC Heritage betting preview: Patrick Cantlay ready to get back inside winner’s circle
Just a two-hour drive from Augusta National, the PGA TOUR heads to Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, S.C. Hilton Head Island is a golfer’s paradise and Harbour Town is one of the most beautiful and scenic courses on the PGA TOUR.
Harbour Town Golf Links is a par-71 that measures 7,121 yards and features Bermuda grass greens. A Pete Dye design, the course is heavily tree lined and features small greens and many dog legs, protecting it from “bomb-and-gauge” type golfers.
The field is loaded this week with 69 golfers with no cut. Last year was quite possibly the best field in RBC Heritage history and the event this week is yet another designated event, meaning there is a $20 million prize pool.
Most of the big names on the PGA Tour will be in attendance this week with the exceptions of Hideki Matsuyama and Viktor Hovland. Additionally, Webb Simpson, Shane Lowry, Gary Woodland and Kevin Kisner have been granted sponsors exemptions.
Past Winners at Harbour Town
- 2023: Matt Fitzpatrick (-17)
- 2022: Jordan Spieth (-13)
- 2021: Stewart Cink (-19)
- 2020: Webb Simpson (-22)
- 2019: CT Pan (-12)
- 2018: Sotoshi Kodaira (-12)
- 2017: Wesley Bryan (-13)
- 2016: Branden Grace (-9)
- 2015: Jim Furyk (-18)
In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value).
Key Stats For Harbour Town
Let’s take a look at key metrics for Harbour Town Golf Links to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their past 24 rounds.
Strokes Gained: Approach
Strokes Gained: Approach is exceedingly important this week. The greens at Harbour Town are about half the size of PGA TOUR average and feature the second-smallest greens on the tour. Typical of a Pete Dye design, golfers will pay the price for missed greens.
Total SG: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds
- Scottie Scheffler (+1.27)
- Tom Hoge (+1.27)
- Corey Conners (+1.16)
- Austin Eckroat (+0.95)
- Cameron Young (+0.93)
Good Drive %
The fairways at Harbour Town are tree lined and feature many dog legs. Bombers tend to struggle at the course because it forces layups and doesn’t allow long drivers to overpower it. Accuracy is far more important than power.
Good Drive % Over Past 24 Rounds
- Brice Garnett (88.8%)
- Shane Lowry (+87.2%)
- Akshay Bhatia (+86.0%)
- Si Woo Kim (+85.8%)
- Sepp Straka (+85.1%)
Strokes Gained: Total at Pete Dye Designs
Pete Dye specialists tend to play very well at Harbour Town. Si Woo Kim, Matt Kuchar, Jim Furyk and Webb Simpson are all Pete Dye specialists who have had great success here. It is likely we see some more specialists near the top of the leaderboard this week.
SG: TOT Pete Dye per round over past 36 rounds:
- Xander Schauffele (+2.27)
- Scottie Scheffler (+2.24)
- Ludvig Aberg (+2.11)
- Brian Harman (+1.89)
- Sungjae Im (+1.58)
4. Strokes Gained: Short Game (Bermuda)
Strokes Gained: Short Game factors in both around the green and putting. With many green-side bunkers and tricky green complexes, both statistics will be important. Past winners — such as Jim Furyk, Wes Bryan and Webb Simpson — highlight how crucial the short game skill set is around Harbour Town.
SG: SG Over Past 24 Rounds
- Jordan Spieth (+1.11)
- Taylor Moore (+1.02)
- Wyndham Clark (+0.98)
- Mackenzie Hughes (+0.86)
- Andrew Putnam (+0.83)
5. Greens in Regulation %
The recipe for success at Harbour Town Golf Links is hitting fairways and greens. Missing either will prove to be consequential — golfers must be in total control of the ball to win.
Greens in Regulation % over past 24 rounds:
- Brice Garnett (+75.0%)
- Scottie Scheffler (+69.9%)
- Corey Conners (+69.0%)
- Shane Lowry (+68.3%)
- Patrick Rodgers (+67.6%)
6. Course History
Harbour Town is a course where players who have strong past results at the course always tend to pop up.
Course History over past 24 rounds:
- Patrick Cantlay (+2.34)
- Cam Davis (+2.05)
- J.T. Poston (+1.69)
- Justin Rose (+1.68)
- Tommy Fleetwood (+1.59)
The RBC Heritage Model Rankings
Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (24%), Good Drives (20%), SG: SG (14%), SG: Pete Dye (14%), GIR (14%), and Course History (14%)
- Shane Lowry
- Russell Henley
- Scottie Scheffler
- Xander Schauffele
- Corey Conners
- Wyndham Clark
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout
- Matt Fitzpatrick
- Cameron Young
- Ludvig Aberg
2024 RBC Heritage Picks
Patrick Cantlay +2000 (FanDuel)
With the exception of Scottie Scheffler, the PGA Tour has yet to have any of their star players show peak form during the 2024 season. Last week, Patrick Cantlay, who I believe is a top-5 players on the PGA Tour, took one step closer to regaining the form that’s helped him win eight events on Tour since 2017.
Cantlay limped into the Masters in poor form, but figured it out at Augusta National, finishing in a tie for 20th and ranking 17th for the week in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. The former FedEx Cup champion will now head to one of his favorite golf courses in Harbour Town, where he’s had immaculate results over the years. In his six trips to the course, he’s only finished worse than 7th one time. The other finishes include three third places (2017, 2019, 2023) and one runner-up finish (2022). In his past 36 rounds at Harbour Town, Cantlay ranks 1st in Strokes Gained: Total per round at the course by a wide margin (+2.36).
Cantlay is winless since the 2022 BMW Championship, which is far too long for a player of his caliber. With signs pointing to the 32-year-old returning to form, a “signature event” at Harbour Town is just what he needs to get back on the winning track.
Tommy Fleetwood +3000 (FanDuel)
I truly believe Tommy Fleetwood will figure out a way to win on American soil in 2024. It’s certainly been a bugaboo for him throughout his career, but he is simply too talented to go another season without winning a PGA Tour event.
At last week’s Masters Tournament, Fleetwood made a Sunday charge and ended up finishing T3 in the event, which was his best ever finish at The Masters. For the week, the Englishman ranked 8th in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, 10th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking and 16th in Strokes Gained: Putting.
Harbour Town is a perfect layout for Fleetwood, and he’s had relative success at this Pete Dye design in the past. In his four trips to the course, he’s finished inside of the top 25 three times, with his best finish, T10, coming in 2022. The course is pretty short and can’t be overpowered, which gives an advantage to more accurate players such as Fleetwood. Tommy ranks 8th in the field in Good Drive % and should be able to plot his way along this golf course.
The win is coming for Tommy lad. I believe there’s a chance this treasure of a golf course may be the perfect one for him to finally break through on Tour.
Cameron Young +3300 (FanDuel)
Cameron Young had a solid Masters Tournament last week, which is exactly what I’m looking for in players who I anticipate playing well this week at the RBC Heritage. He finished in a tie for 9th, but never felt the pressure of contending in the event. For the week, Young ranked 6th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and 6th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking.
Despite being one of the longest players off the tee on the PGA Tour, Young has actually played some really good golf on shorter tracks. He finished T3 at Harbour Town in 2023 and ranks 20th in the field in Good Drive% and 16th in Greens in Regulation in his past 24 rounds. He also has strong finishes at other shorter courses that can take driver out of a players hand such as Copperhead and PGA National.
Young is simply one of the best players on the PGA Tour in 2024, and I strongly believe has what it takes to win a PGA Tour event in the very near future.
Corey Conners +5500 (FanDuel)
Corey Conners has had a disappointing year thus far on the PGA Tour, but absolutely loves Harbour Town.
At last week’s Masters Tournament, the Canadian finished T30 but ranked 20th in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach. In his past 24 rounds, Conners ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, 3rd in Greens in Regulation % and 24th in Good Drive %.
In Conners’ last four trips to Harbour Town, his worst finish was T31, last season. He finished T4 in 2021, T12 in 2022 and ranks 8th in Strokes Gained: Total at the course over his past 36 rounds.
Conners hasn’t been contending, but his recent finishes have been encouraging as he has finished in the top-25 in each of his past three starts prior to The Masters, including an impressive T13 at The PLAYERS. His recent improvement in ball striking as well as his suitability for Harbour Town makes Conners a high upside bet this week.
Shane Lowry (+7500) (FanDuel)
When these odds were posted after Lowry was announced in the field, I have to admit I was pretty stunned. Despite not offering much win equity on the PGA Tour over the last handful of years, Shane Lowry is still a top caliber player who has the ability to rise to the top of a signature event.
Lowry struggled to score at The Masters last week, but he actually hit the ball really well. The Irishman ranked 1st for Strokes Gained: Approach on the week and 7th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. As usual, it was the putter that let him down, as he ranked 60th in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting.
Harbour Town is most definitely one of Lowry’s favorite courses on the PGA Tour. In his six starts there, he’s finished in the top 10 three times, including third twice. Lowry is sensational at Pete Dye designs and ranks 7th in Strokes Gained: Total in his past 36 rounds on Dye tracks.
Lowry is perfect for Harbour Town. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 5th in Strokes Gained: Approach, 2nd in Good Drive% and 5th in Green in Regulation %. If he figures it out on the greens, Shane could have his first win in America since 2015.
Lucas Glover +12000 (FanDuel)
This is one of my weekly “bet the number” plays as I strongly believe the odds are just too long for a player of Glover’s caliber. The odds have been too long on Glover for a few weeks now, but this is the first event that I can get behind the veteran being able to actually contend at.
Glover is quietly playing good golf and returning to the form he had after the understandable regression after his two massive victories at the end of 2023. He finished T20 at The Masters, which was his best ever finish at Augusta National. For the week, Lucas ranked 18th for Strokes Gained: Approach and 20th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking.
Over his past 24 rounds, Glover ranks 9th in Strokes Gained: Approach and 13th in Good Drive %. Harbour Town is a short course that the 44-year-old will be able to keep up with the top players on Tour off the tee. He’s played the course more than 20 times, with mixed results. His best finishes at Harbour Town include a T7 in 2008, but recently has a finish of T21 in 2020.
Glover has proven he can contend with the stars of the Tour on any given week, and this number is flat out disrespectful.
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David W Largen
Sep 5, 2021 at 1:34 pm
Fastest way to lower scores:
1. Course and Game Management
Don’t always have to hit driver.
Have a go to shot to find a fairway
Know how far you hit each club. Be realistic.
Play to center of green.
In trouble get ball back in play. Chip out.
Par 5 second shot. 250 yards to green.
150 yard puts you 100 yards in. Much easier shot than whacking a 3 wood in the woods or ob
STAY DISCIPLINED PLAY SMART SHOTS.
Know your miss and shot pattern and play accordingly.
Jason Corro
Aug 10, 2021 at 1:46 am
My opinion is yes people don’t know enough about the golf swing, but you don’t need to know everything. Have a good understanding and then keep everything simple. The big problem people don’t get better is too much information. Now with social media, there are many people out there with a fix for everything, or a secret for whatever you want. As soon as I meet a golfer that says they get tips from YouTube or any other platform, I already know they have no idea what they are doing and their mind is a cluttered mess of incongruent ideas. Stop getting advice from 100’s of different sources on YouTube, get in shape, spend 75% of your time on short game. I guarantee you will improve.
Steve Dodds
Aug 5, 2021 at 9:45 am
I think the reason most people don’t get better at golf is the same reason most people don’t get better at other sports.
Good golf requires a level of athleticism and hand/eye co-ordination that most people simply do not have. It is easy to tell who has the potential to have a decent swing. Just watch them throw a ball.
Those who can throw a ball properly can usually swing a club (or a bat, or a racquet) properly.
Attempting to teach those without basic athleticism an athletic swing (which the vast majority of teachers try and do) is futile. None of the points in the article are applicable to golfers without basic natural ability.
Golf’s great equaliser is that it is a game of two parts. Hitting the ball, and then putting the ball in the hole.
You do have to be athletic to hit driver and irons well. You don’t to putt (or to a lesser extent chip) well.
And if you can do that, and scoring is the most important thing for you, you can enjoy golf without actually being good at it.
I’ve been playing seriously for over 30 years. But I would never have kept playing if I didn’t have the basic athleticism to hit the ball properly. I was very chuffed the other day when, at age 60, a new playing partner said my swing reminded him of Ernie Els.
Despite hating putting I’ve taught myself to be a bit better at it. And with age my misses tend to less penal than when I was younger because I don’t hit it as far. So my handicap is lower than it was when I was younger. But I don’t have a better swing.
Mind you, I have friends with awful swings who don’t know or care. They could have dozens of lessons and apply themselves like monks but they will never be able to change what their body is capable of. So no 300 yard drives. No high and soft wedges. But even though they can’t swing like a pro, every now and again they get the same result as a pro.
And that’s why they keep playing awful golf.
So most golfer’s don’t get better because they can’t get better. Although most can score better.
Donald Drumph
Aug 3, 2021 at 10:02 am
Just cheat, like me
Gordy
Aug 2, 2021 at 11:51 am
#1 reason why most golfers do not improve. Golf is hard and they give up. They do not play/practice enough either.
Drop EGO golf and you will get better. #1 on the PGA Tour for proximity to the hole is 32 ft 8 inch. Average birdies per round for PGA Tour Player is 3.65. Be happy with a shot to the green, being on the green, and walking off with a par.
geohogan
Aug 11, 2021 at 8:16 am
Golf swing is not so much difficult, but demands movment that is not natural, not genetically preprogrammed.
What is preprogammed is: Tonicity of muscle. (2) The muscle in a steady partially contracted state caused by the successive flow of nerve impulses, as in muscle tonus.
In so many ways the golf swing demands muscles work contrary to “Tonus”
Understanding which genetically preprogrammed muscle contractions need to be overridden.
Thanks to Gerry Hogan for doing the research.
author “The Hogan Manual of Human Performance: GOLF, 1991.
geohogan
Aug 2, 2021 at 9:36 am
Golf magazines and the non stop, “TIPS” perpetuates the myth that the golf swing is learned
by tips, when in fact it is a complex movement happening at too quick a speed to be controlled by conscious thought.
Rather all complex human movement are subconsciously conceived and orchestrated, triggered by a single intent.
A single intent for the golf swing? YES. Very few have uncovered that intent.
Until the proper intent is known, golfers will be doomed to follow tips , conscious movement over riding the subconscious and lead to the YIPS, perpetuated by golf instruction magazines.
Dennis
Aug 2, 2021 at 8:47 am
I don’t know. I see a lot of golfers with low scores and an ugly golf swing. Maybe face control and hitting sweet spot is more important than most Teaching Pros will ever admit.
Pingback: The Wedge Guy: Consistent setup is key to success – GolfWRX
Mark Eting-Grifter
Jul 26, 2021 at 1:12 pm
5. Buying new equipment every year hoping that will fix it.
jgpl001
Aug 5, 2021 at 5:58 am
Does that not fix it?
OEM’s are always telling me it will
Kauaiboy
Jul 23, 2021 at 1:08 pm
I’d recommend Top Speed Golf with Pro Clay Ballard to learn all the fundamentals. I’ve been playing for over 50 years and his system got me from a 10 to a 4 index.
GN
Jul 23, 2021 at 11:39 am
The main reason golfers don’t improve is too much L.O.F.T.
GaGolfer
Aug 20, 2021 at 5:41 pm
LOL. I see what you did there. Absolutely correct. I look at some of these weekend golfers and wonder what the heck they’re doing out here. It can’t be fun hitting it that badly.
Greg McNeill
Jul 23, 2021 at 10:27 am
I think one of the worst things to do when trying to develop a sound, repeating swing is “Use a full length mirror to pose in key positions in the swing to match the drawings and photos.” A golf swing is NOT a series of static positions that you consciously attempt to emulate. The “key positions” are the “effects” of a proper swing, not the cause. For example, the tour player’s head remains well behind the ball (or even moves away from the target) at impact, not because the player is forcibly seeking to keep his head back. Rather, it is a consequence of the offsetting forces of the downswing. As the force of the swing moves to impact, there is a counterforce which keeps the head and upper body back naturally, just like a baseball player’s. Simply trying to keep your head back to match some picture of the swing will will ruin your swing.
Rascal
Jul 31, 2021 at 10:04 pm
100% correct.
Tyler Durden
Aug 9, 2021 at 9:59 pm
Ben hogan, seve among many many others practiced in front of a mirror and they were pretty good golfers
Ben Hogan
Jul 22, 2021 at 10:02 pm
Unless you have the time and patience like me the average golfer needs to get off the range. I dont know how many times people need to say this to get better practice grom 100 and in!! What wins PGA tournaments….. This is why if you give the average golfer a tour quality caddy they will shoot significantly better than they ever have. He doesnt change your swing but knows what to do when it comes to wedges and reading putts.
Also remember I use to hit HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS of putts a day!! The grind is real if you want to get better
GaGolfer
Aug 21, 2021 at 1:26 pm
‘Drive for show and putt for dough’ doesn’t work for the average hacker. You aren’t putting for any dough if you’re getting to the green in 6. I have an excellent short game (around the greens it’s nearly scratch) but have too many rounds where I don’t know which side of the fairway I should aim at; and some where it doesn’t seem to matter where I aim because I’m going to be losing 3-4 balls or chipping out too many times.
I agree with you 100% that you have to put the work in, but it has to be the right work, with the right coaching. I’ve taken tons of lessons over the years (an ungodly amount, really) and at least half of the instruction wasn’t good. Not that they were wrong, but they weren’t right for what I needed to accomplish. Practicing wrong, I was historically a 10-12, and got as bad as a 17. Practicing right, with the right coaching, got me to a 7 within a year. My goal this coming year is to get to a 5, and we’ll adjust accordingly (if there’s a God, downward) once we get there – after a lot of work and patience.
Dan
Jul 22, 2021 at 8:28 pm
You focused on just the swing. Exactly where people go wrong.
The REAL reason people don’t improve is that they practice the swing, and short game is an afterthought or non thought. Just like your article.
Ollie
Jul 22, 2021 at 10:29 pm
Dan
You don’t quite “GET IT”
aziz shafi
Jul 22, 2021 at 2:39 pm
Very nicely written and well reasoned. I wish I had been able to read something like this twenty years ago…I would be a different golfer today.
geohogan
Aug 1, 2021 at 11:22 am
Golf magazines and the non stop, “TIPS” perpetuates the myth that the golf swing is learned
by tips, when in fact it is a complex movement happening at too quick a speed to be controlled by conscious thought.
Rather all complex human movement are subconsciously conceived and orchestrated, triggered by a single intent.
A single intent for the golf swing? YES. Very few have uncovered that intent.
Until the proper intent is known, golfers will be doomed to follow tips , conscious movement over riding the subconscious and lead to the YIPS, perpetuated by golf instruction magazines.
percy freeman
Jul 22, 2021 at 1:39 pm
“Learn the swing at home, refine your ball striking on the range and play golf on the course!”
Terry, this says it all.
Thanks