Golf Swing Tip – Working Out the Golf Bugs!

Many a golf swing tip originates out of imitation, not innovation.

There is a good chance that a recent golf swing tip you’ve heard is nothing more than a poor attempt at reproducing the successful movements of a professional golfer.

Following a golf swing tip which replicates the actions of another golfer may not necessarily be the best advice for your golf swing or game.

In the book, “The Winning Touch in Golf, A Psychological Approach” author Peter G. Cranford, Ph.D. offers his opinion on the value of imitating the movements of successful golfers. His golf swing tip could make all the difference in your golf game!

Cranford writes;

“The basic fundamentals of golf are well known and provide no problems to beginners. Yet, within the framework of these principles, there is enough variation of form among top notch golfers to confuse us. If we become tempted to model ourselves first after one player and then another, we are headed for disaster. The inherent trouble lies in the “golf bugs.”

Many golfers of equal ability have easily recognizable differences of form. For each of these different forms, there are adjustments and modifications that must be made. We call these modifications “golf bugs” and no swing is without them.

You see then the danger of modeling ourselves after more than one person. The over-all swing may be fine, but we have to be shown or find out for ourselves what these new “bugs” are. (“Bugs” are also apparent to a degree in different sets of clubs, particularly with putters.)…

…Some methods of play have more “bugs” than others. In such cases a swing may have to be rebuilt from the ground up, or the golfer will play in a blind alley. Therefore, as many good teaching professionals know, if you already have a heavy investment of time in a swing, it is more efficient to stick by it, working the “bugs” out one by one.

One of my golfing friends changed from a fair putter to an excellent one when he abandoned a number of compensatory adjustments and simply eliminated two variables. His problem for some time had been that of direction. Ostensibly there was nothing wrong with his putting stroke. He had adopted the form of a golf professional who was quite good and had had considerable instruction from him. Something minute was apparently occurring during the process of the stroke, a random variation that caused some putts to go to the right of the hole and some to the left. I suggested that he set up an experimental putting situation on a carpet. After a number of sterile putting sessions in which there seemed to be no consistent pattern, he noticed that, on occasion, when he appeared to “get in the groove,” he would make a very nice run of putts.

Suddenly he had a flash of insight.

He realized that after those occasions when the putting device did not return the ball properly and he had to retrieve it himself, he would generally miss. He concluded that his trouble lay in a change of stance or grip or both. He became considerably more accurate by simply marking his feet positions on the carpet and his thumb position on the grip during a “good run“.

Following a golf swing tip which imitates the patterns and movements of a successful professional golfer can be detrimental to both your swing and game.

Incorporate Cranford’s professional advice to help you play to your greatest potential!

Check back soon for more golf swing tip articles and posts!