On The Tee with Hank Johnson

Feel versus Real

“Mr. Johnson, feel and real are not the same”

During a recent lesson, one of my students made the observation above. In that one statement, he identified one of the most significant barriers that golf students and teachers deal with every day.
Very often when I show one of my students their modified swing on video their comment is “boy, it sure doesn’t feel like that”. That’s why I use video extensively in my teaching. It’s much more for the student than for me.
To effect significant change requires an effort to “over do” on the part of the golfer. This “overdoing” will cause the golfer to feel awkward and uncomfortable. They have to be reassured that they don’t look odd. That they in fact look better!
In most cases the actual change is not as dramatic as the change in feel. By seeing on video that they are not really “overdoing” there is a comfort in trying to do more.
I believe that virtually all golf students have to “see it” to “believe it”. Once they “believe it” they are much more likely to put in the effort that changing requires.
One of the keys to using video effectively is to focus only on the things that are being modified. Stay with your priorities and don’t get distracted by adding other things to work on. That will only lead to confusion and discouragement.
Video, properly used, can accelerate the change process and allow permanent improvement to happen more rapidly. As you are learning, relying on feel can be misleading.
Hank Johnson, PGA
November 23, 2009