Why do people have trouble to accomplish what they know and try to do or avoid, especially on the golf course?
Most poor performers -- in any physical activity -- have not translated Conscious Mechanics into Subconscious Feels. And the few that have do not trust their work. Instead, they continue to allow the conscious mind to interfere with subconscious performance.
The next time you tie your shoelaces, deliberately think about what you are doing. Start by simply thinking -- before you make a move -- about the process in detail. Which lace do you pick up first? Which one crosses over which? How do you make the 'bunny ear'? Exactly what does each hand do? Think about the entire, entangling process. Then, think your way through each step as you perform it mechanically.
Next, forget all that and just tie your shoes.
Question: Were you as effective when your conscious mind controlled the task (deliberately and laboriously) as when your subconscious did the job (automatically and effortlessly)?
My guess is that you were not. Does that mean that you never had to think about each step along the way? Of course not. There is no substitute for the learning process. But, effective learning and effective performing are two different things.
I remember hearing a story (I believe from Lynn) about a concert pianist that didn’t practice for days before going to a recording session. When asked why he didn’t practice, he said the fingers have nothing to do with playing the piano.
Don't forget muscle "memory".
As another member posted recently, there is no such thing as muscle memory as muscles don't possess memory. It is the conditioning of the nervous system through repeated correct motions that builds and optimizes the nerve pathways to repeatable muscle actions.
So even though the concert pianist doesn't need to do physical practice in order to play on stage, its only because he has conditioned his arms, hands and fingers to respond to the notes and timing in his head...subconsciously.
As golfers, we need to practice doing the right movements over and over until the conditioning is automatic. Unfortuately, we can also program the wrong movements into our swing and overcoming those "engrained habits" with new habits takes a great deal of time and effort.
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Bagger
1-H "Because of questions of all kinds, reams of additional detail must be made available - but separately, and probably endlessly." Homer Kelly
I remember hearing a story (I believe from Lynn) about a concert pianist that didn’t practice for days before going to a recording session. When asked why he didn’t practice, he said the fingers have nothing to do with playing the piano.
The pianist was the brilliant Canadian performer, Glenn Gould (1932-1982) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Gould. In response to a reporter's question regarding his penchant for studying the musical score in lieu of extended practice sessions (with a mechanical focus on scales and etudes), Maestro Gould replied:
"The fingers have little to do with playing the piano."
Obviously, this an exaggeration and presumes the normal conservatory training and day-to-day practice routine of the world class concert pianist. However, his point was well made: Once the physical element is under control, it is the computer (the subconscious) that must be programmed -- and allowed -- to perform.
The pianist was the brilliant Canadian performer, Glenn Gould (1932-1982) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Gould. In response to a reporter's question regarding his penchant for studying the musical score in lieu of extended practice sessions (with a mechanical focus on scales and etudes), he replied:
"The fingers have little to do with playing the piano."
Obviously, this an exaggeration and presumes the normal conservatory training and day-to-day practice routine of the world class concert pianist. However, his point was well made: Once the physical element is under control, it is the computer (the subconscious) that must be programmed -- and allowed -- to perform.
Whilst reading this I was sure that I felt an ethereal breeze across the back of my neck and heard some ghostly whispering about "Educated Hands".
Some things don't happen because they are not programmed to happen but other things happen because they cannot happen... The golf stroke is really a structure and a set of physical laws and alignments that surround its optimal use. You can only control what you can control and you can only control what your ready to control. People can spend countless hours wasting time trying to program themselves to do things which are impossible for them.
People can spend countless hours wasting time trying to program themselves to do things which are impossible for them.
If you can walk and swing your arms back and forth, you can walk and swing your arms from side to side. And if you can do that, you can learn to swing a golf club.
That doesn't mean you should send in your app to Q-School. It does mean that, if you go about it in a sensible way, you can develop an efficient, effective swing within the constraints of your own talent.
I steal a story from one of the great teacher's book and change a lil' bit:
"When a professor first went to China, the traffic keeping to the right instead of to the left as it does in Hong Kong. Whenever he was going to step off the sidewalk I looked to the right instead of to the left as I should have done.
This got so dangerous that he had to take a dip into his brain-box to find a way of checking it. It wasn't any good just telling hmself to look left; He had done that and promptly looked right again! So, he decided that every time before stepping off a curb he would raise his left forearm and clench his fist. He reckoned it would draw his attention to the left as desired, and it did. In a few days he was cured"
BUT...the funny thing in China is that some cars will also come from the right
Back to real golf, I think I can hit pure shots for most of the tee, but when the slope and special designs of the course are in play, it is so easy to miss a shot. I always want Yoda and LBG Pro to address "uneven lie" with TGM concepts.
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If you cannot take the shoulder down the clubshaft plane, you must take along some other path and add compensations - now, instead of one motion to remember, you wind up with at least two!
If you can walk and swing your arms back and forth, you can walk and swing your arms from side to side. And if you can do that, you can learn to swing a golf club.
That doesn't mean you should send in your app to Q-School. It does mean that, if you go about it in a sensible way, you can develop an efficient, effective swing within the constraints of your own talent.
Lynn here is what I said.
"People can spend countless hours wasting time trying to program themselves to do things which are impossible for them."
How does that translate into the golf stroke is impossible for them... or doing something in the golf stroke is impossible for them....
I was merely stating the most simple of simple logic about cause and effect. For example it does little good to tell someone to maintain a stationary head if it is incorrectly placed at address and no matter how many hours this person spends on the concept, it will still be impossible for them.
The pianist was the brilliant Canadian performer, Glenn Gould (1932-1982) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Gould. In response to a reporter's question regarding his penchant for studying the musical score in lieu of extended practice sessions (with a mechanical focus on scales and etudes), Maestro Gould replied:
"The fingers have little to do with playing the piano."
Obviously, this an exaggeration and presumes the normal conservatory training and day-to-day practice routine of the world class concert pianist. However, his point was well made: Once the physical element is under control, it is the computer (the subconscious) that must be programmed -- and allowed -- to perform.
And even more to this point, the late great jazz icon Charlie Parker once said "Master the instrument, learn the changes, then forget all that @*$^ and just play!"
He was referring to improvising, which is different from Gould's genius, that being interpretation of Bach as evidenced through his performances, but the two are close enough.
I've been a professional musician for a few decades now, and absolutely feel improvisatory with my short game, but I just can't seem to get that intuitive flow through time with my long game.
I know the performance should start when you're standing behind the ball and end with your finish, but I'm not quite there yet...although, now that I think about it, just responding to this thread has provided some real insight for me. Perhaps, in the next round I play, I will attempt to be intuitive and simply "do", instead of focusing on swing keys and such.
Hybrid Mode
