Too Many Golf Tips!

By Brandon Guile

When we discussed this "Golf Tips" section I didn't want to talk about the typical content you see routinely. I wanted to discuss topics that would make this section unique and different. I've decided to address some situations I face day in and day out as a Teaching Professional.

The golfing masses are inundated constantly with tips in Golf Digest and other publications, The Golf Channel, Online sources, and of course your friends who are more than happy to tell you what you need to do to improve your swing. There is loads of great information out there, often presented in unique and sometimes obscure manners. The important thing however is to be able to wade through all the great information and find out the specific tips, drills, and techniques that are right for you. There are some key things you should take into consideration before you try to incorporate any of these swing tips into your own game.

First of all it's important to realize that we are as humans born with natural athletic ability. We grow up in this world constantly learning and adapting to our ever-changing environment. This natural athletic ability helps us through all aspects of our life until one day you, like me, pick up a golf club for the first time and takes your first uncoordinated swing at a golf ball. The results are most often less than desired. But we try again and again and eventually we develop our own unique style of how to get the ball from A to B. All you have to do is look down the line of golfers at any driving range or practice facility and watch the strange dance of body parts and clubs swinging to see most swings do not look like the professionals who make it look so effortless and graceful.

This brings me to my next point. Many golfers that I teach fall into this category. They have developed their own swing and style over years and years of playing. They have taken few if any lessons and are basically self taught with advice from friends and golfing companions.

Most golfers for whatever reason have one or two major swing flaws that keep them from playing consistent, good golf. During the swing their body, being naturally athletic, finds a way to compensate for these flaws to allow the swing to work, sometimes effectively and often ineffectively. This is why most golfers are not consistent. Without a trained eye most golfers see only the compensations when they watch others swing. Compensations include, reverse weight shifts, poor balance, swinging outside to inside on the downswing, poor posture throughout the swing, and so on. If someone tells you you're doing one of these things consistently you probably are. That being said, the real question is why are you doing this? That's my job, to find the root of the issue and correct it. By correcting the root issue or the core flaw, in a short time the compensations your body has been making to correct your swing flaws will slowly dissipate and your swing will improve exponentially and you'll become more consistent. If you try and correct a compensation your making, you may do it successfully for a short period of time but in the long run you'll always fall back as you didn't identify and correct the root issue.

Our philosophy at the BMGA is to work with your natural strengths and develop "your" swing to its greatest potential. You are an individual and your golf swing and style should be unique to you. I often relate people's golf swings to their personality. If you like swinging fast, swing fast! If you have syrupy rhythm, I'm sure you're a super relaxed individual. Let us work with what you have and make it better.

In order to do this there are a lot of things to consider before we make any corrections to your swing.

First of all "We are all not created equal." In other words we all have different body types. Some of us are tall, some short, some have long arms, some have short arms. Some golfers have lots of flexibility, some have very little. Some of us are left-handed and some of us are right-handed. Not to mention our natural athletic abilities, our previous unrelated sports backgrounds, any injuries diagnosed or not, our frequency of play, practice habits, mindsets, and on and on.

The only way you can truly know if you should incorporate one or many of these swing techniques, or drills that are explained or suggested in Golf tips everywhere is to have a personal consultation and swing evaluation with a certified CPGA Teaching Professional. All of the above factors and more are considered by a CPGA Teaching Professional prior to any swing help. Day in and day out I have students telling me, "If only I had come to see you sooner. I watch the Golf Channel religiously, I know all about the technical aspects of the golf swing, but my game isn't getting any better." "I have moments of brilliance when I try something new but it quickly fades and I'm back to my old swing." This is because you are incorporating techniques that are not for you and are not working on fixing any root issues. You need to find out about your swing! See it on Video! Have a Professional analyze and explain it to you. Then develop a training program to aid in correcting any issues. Good Luck and Happy Golfing!

The Brent Morrison Golf Academy is located at Pheasant Glen Golf Resort, 1025 Qualicum Road, Qualicum Beach, B.C. V9K 1M5. (250) 752-8786. For more information on instruction programs for adults and juniors, contact the Academy office.

« Back