On The Tee with Hank Johnson

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Keep Your Swing "Matched Up"
One of the ongoing debates in golf teaching is based on the following question. Does the turn cause the swing or does the swing cause the turn?
I’ve done some thinking about this and I think the answer is YES!
Even more important than what causes what is that the turn and the swing stay “ matched up” or together.
I give my students the following advice.
Keep your upper arms in front of the sides of your upper chest and your elbows pointed at the ground as you take the club back to the top and through to the finish of your stroke.
This one key will keep your turn and your swing “matched up” in every stroke from putter to driver. If you execute this one key then it doesn’t matter whether you think of the turn causing the swing or the swing causing the turn. Either way your turn and your swing will stay “matched up” or together and after all, that’s really the most important thing.

What are you going to do today to become a better golfer?
Goal: The end or final purpose which a person aims to reach or accomplish
Action: An act or thing done; a deed
Result: Consequence or effect.
Goals
Following are some suggestions to help you keep your golf goals properly focused.
One way to start a golf competition or round of golf is with a result focus. Golfers with this orientation to competition are only happy when they are visibly successful. On the other hand golfers who are action-focused concentrate their energies on getting the job done; not on worrying about the praise or rewards they will receive.
Why is it better to focus on action goals rather than result goals? Because results are out of our control. The belief that results are under our control shows a fundamental lack of understanding about competition.
In sports there are no guarantees. No matter how hard you practice or how well you play, someone may be better than you on a given day. Here are five tips to help you stay action focused.
Focus on concrete, specific actions.
Set daily and weekly goals as stepping stones to you long term goals.
Set hard goals rather than easy ones.
Keep your goals clear and positive.
Get regular feedback on your progress.
These are five basic steps to achieving an action focus. Use these principles and you’ll be able to change your natural tendency to worry about results into an effective ability to get the job accomplished.
Understanding action focus will help you become much more effective in getting the results you want from your golf game. Learn from Champions who have discovered the secret of high level achievement. Stay action focused and expect to succeed. Don’t worry about the end results. Focus on your own actions and let the results take care of themselves.
Practical application: In the front of a small notebook or journal, write down you goals in terms of results. For example; win the club championship, qualify for a special tournament, make the high school golf team.
Next, write down your goals in terms of actions. For example; Spend a minimum of one hour each day practicing your short game, work out a minimum of three times each week to improve strength and flexibility, have a lesson with your teacher at least once each month.
Each day, write down what you actually did to carry out your action focused goals. Review your actual activities at least once per week to make sure you are really carrying out your action focused goals.
Goals without an action plan are just dreams

Playing Through a Swing Change

Question: Should you continue to play during the time you are making a swing change?
In my opinion the answer is YES!

I believe that it is very important to continue to play during the time you are making a swing change. To do this you must learn to separate playing and practicing. This is a skill that all good players have so why not learn to make this important mental transition while you are learning your new swing.
In practice you should focus on the details of your swing (the parts) in order to change them. Your swing mechanics become much more important than the quality of the shots you hit. Do it right even if you miss the ball until you no longer miss the ball.
In play, the ONLY thing that matters is the quality of the shot. There are no style points! You really shouldn’t think about the parts of your swing while you’re playing unless it’s in rehearsal prior to actually playing a shot. When you are playing a shot that matters, you should focus on your target and just “feel” the swing that will make the ball go there.
Here’s the process: You use mechanics and swing thoughts to create a “feel” for the whole swing. That’s what practice is for. When you play, you use that “feel” of the whole swing to re-create the mechanics. You have to train yourself to mentally switch back and forth between practice and play.
On the course, if you find your mind slipping back to mechanical thoughts, use them to rehearse your swing and then use the whole swing “feel” they create to play the shot.
In my view, there is no better time to train yourself to flip the mental switch between practice and play than while you are in the process of making a swing change. If you stop playing while you’re making the swing change then you’ll have to start learning how to play all over again when you start back.
Just remember that the way you use your mind for practicing is totally different from the way you use your mind for playing. The process of switching back and forth between these two “mental modes” is a learned skill just like your golf swing. Because it’s a learned skill, it takes practice. What better time to do this practice than while you’re making a swing change.

Hank Johnson, PGA
September 30, 2008

Muscle Memory or Motor Memory?

How many times have you heard the term Muscle Memory? Well guess what, muscles have no memory!

Muscles have the ability to contract and relax based on signals from the brain via the Central Nervous System. This muscle activity causes the body to move as directed by the brain.

Obviously, muscles have more capacity to re-create movements that they have become familiar with through repetition. These familiar movements can become reasonably automatic and well coordinated. At that point they can be considered habit.

Physical habits that require no conscious thought are considered “automatic”. All such habits are stored in the Motor Memory System which operates at the unconscious level of the brain

The acquisition of a motor skill habit involves the “learning” of an Internal Model of the dynamics of the task which enables the brain to predict and compensate for mechanical behavior and changing conditions.

During the hours that follow completion of instruction or practice, “representation” of the Internal Model gradually changes; becoming less fragile with respect to behavioral influences. For approximately six hours after completion of instruction or practice, the brain becomes involved in storing the experience in the Motor Memory System.

Implication. During a golf lesson or practice session, only a small number of key fundamentals should be focused on…no more than two or three. After practice, there should be no attempt to learn a new skill for at least six hours to give the brain an opportunity to permanently store the memory. To do otherwise will interrupt the mental storage process and compromise the effectiveness of your lesson or practice.

Hank Johnson, PGA
September 8, 2008