Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Understanding Why Swing Changes Are Difficult

First, you need to ask yourself the hard questions before you begin a swing change.

• How bad do I REALLY want it? 
• Do I have any physical limitations? 
• Am I willing to make changes no matter where the first 1200 balls go?
• Am I willing to practice without balls for a while?
• Am I willing to sacrifice some time? 
• Do I trust the coach/teacher? 
• Am I ready to commit and have full confidence in the plan? 
• Do I trust myself? 
• Do I have the patience? 
  And the biggest of them all:
• Is this process going to be fun? 

Am I willing to give up everything that I am, for everything I will become?
The answers you give will determine if you really want to change anything.  Give it some time, think of the risk verses reward.  Think of the risk players like Tiger, Sergio, Phil and Furyk took.  All four players have talked openly about the time and energy they spend on improving their swings.  What’s even scarier, they didn’t know what kind of player they would become after the changes.  They not only risked their golf game, but also their livelyhood with no guarantees.  Several major championships and other world-wide tournament victories later it seemed like a simple decision.  We take the whole process for granted, because we only see the finished product on Sunday.  We missed out on the blood, sweat, and tears it took to make the game improvements.  And like you, the pros had days of confusion and frustration along the way.  And they love the journey just as much as the outcome.

If you don’t change anything, nothing will change
Let’s say you decide to change the motion, you can’t possibly be concerned with the results.  Your attention must be focused on your swing, not the target, not the score, and never the ball.  I hope and pray that you are never thinking about the ball.  Once you start thinking about the ball, you will be right back to where you were the first time you saw your swing.  Hence, if you don’t change your thoughts, you will not change your swing.  If it doesn’t feel different, it probably isn’t.  If you are wanting the changes to feel comfortable....well...you already know what comfortable looks like.