Fundamentals

Too often I've seen it or talked to golfers about their swing issues. Yesterday, while in a practice session I was working next to a 23 year-old athletic type that also works with my coach. He's a relatively new golfer but I think that he could be a terrific golfer. Unlike me, he's young and is not cursed with "T-Rex arms" but the struggle was definitely real yesterday. Thins and fats aplenty were his demise. Misses that I have struggled with at times as well. I was asked by my coach to keep an eye on him to make sure that he was getting enough down turn on the way back. His shoulder turn was definitely sufficient and for the most part he was staying "centered" throughout the swing and through the ball. So I'm watching him and then I saw something that I've struggled with until I really targeted the issue late this summer.

All too often golfers get caught up in trying to solve a miss that they're encountering, but they actually don't know what the real reason for the miss is. So they start searching for a fix, whether it's through watching Youtube or reading a golf publication. Suddenly, they are just inundated and develop "paralysis by analysis" often making things worse because they are looking for an issue that's far too grandiose. Frustration on most occasions sets in.

Always remember to check out your fundamentals. Fundamentals like grip, posture and ball position are three key fundamentals that if not paid attention to can most likely be the root cause of the miss. It's very easy to become complacent and not even think about them. In Brandon's case yesterday it was the grip. I noticed his grip in his top hand and he was very much in the palm. This issue causes a few things which really is a "Domino Effect".

1. Tightness of the hands creating a lack of wrist hinge
2. The same tightness makes you pull the club back with your hands as opposed to turning back with your shoulder.
3. Because you have pulled back with your hands, you now have made a bad situation worse by now introducing a "lateral shift" pulling you off of the ball.
4. Your brain and body react and now your shifting back towards the ball in an effort to compensate.
5. Now at the point of impact you either "flip" the club head as your bottom hand takes over causing a thin hit or more likely you hit it fat as your body is clearly on the "downrange" side of the ball.
6. You finish... not in balance.

Just think... all of this because of one fundamental being a little bit off. Golf is a constant reminder of "Newton's First Law of Physics"... For every action there is an equal but opposite reaction. Remember golf is supposed to be fun and you can only have that if you have your... FUNdamentals.

Until the next tee.