Hi David, It’s not so easy to be relaxed and thinking of a quick hip turn at the same time. Do you have recommendation on how I should think in order to manage that ?
Not to be difficult but why not? You’ve managed to attach yourself to a belief (“it’s not easy to…”) and yet one has nothing to do with the other.
Firing your hips doesn’t require :heavy” thinking. It’s merely a request you make to your own body. “I’m going to fire my hip on this swing”. If it’s causing you tension it’s because you’re adding way more to it like, “I’ve GOT to do this right” or “This is hard to do and relax at the same time”.
I guarantee you THOSE thoughts are the real issue…NOT the simple command to “fire my hips”. i’ll bet you can fire your hip right now without a moment of hesitation (assuming no physical limitations) if you really want to?
It’s not a “tip” that will do it…it’s an honest look at the “heavy” and unrealistic thoughts you have around it.
Look at those and you can free yourself up to do a simple thing: FIRE YOUR HIP.
Greetings David I really enjoy your mental tips / I have been golfing for over 50 years but only with your tips have i started to think about the mind game as well THANKS
Quite a good instruction video ,Dave ,full of common sense .When I was a compettitive 100 meters dash free style swimmer ,back in the early ‘ 50’s ( I was 16 years old at That Time ) ,just before diving in the pool we would ” wiggle ” with all our body to be as loose as possible .Today ,I first tense up all m’y body ,then let go ,and ” wiggle ” my right arm before starting,the swing .
I’m in the middle of reading YOUR ” WIRED TO WIN” book :I’m struck with the “Closed circle ” concept you describe .
I am persuaded That moving the body faster in the swing ,which is conducive to longer distances ,is basically a question of ” mental blocking “: you don’t believe you CAN move faster .
CAN you find a way to help me remove this ” mental block “( Apart of course remaining supple and loose )
Since I was a kid, I was able to hit the ball well on the range but couldn’t take my game to the golf course. I’ve had countless lessons, and my mechanics are good. I played Torrey Pines North yesterday and looked like a duffer. That followed a range session in which I hit virtually every club straight and true. Ny pitches were right on target. I felt great. I clocked my first two shots, a drive and a 3-metal, but then made a mental error. From then on I flubbed everything. My drives flew high and bent left. I topped a number of shots. It all fell apart dramatically. This has been the story of my life. I know it’s “mental”. I know it’s because of tension in my swing, or perfectionism, or an inability to relax and have fun and let it all flow. I know it! But I can’t seem to change. I check in with my emotions. I seem to feel okay. I don’t detect any obvious tension, but then the swing goes terribly wrong. I take deep breaths. I try to dial down the swing. No change. I still butcher it. I just don’t know what to do. On the range I look like I might be a scratch golfer, I hit it that well for someone my age. On the course, I’m a wreck. Help!
So you need to be forgetting the ball as you make these changes. Your new thought is that you are going to swing at 50%. So swing easy all day, every shot. Forget your score. Better yet go play at night by yourself. This will take hitting out of the picture. You said you are topping it. This is from hitting too hard. Slow down now you are not trying to kill it.
Next, as you play you are going to do 2-3 practice swing per shot. While doing them you are thinking about coiling your shoulders until you are tight in the backswing. This tells you that you have torque (spring-like effect). Torque will repeat 100% of the time in life so this is a positive thought.
Once coiled, you are thinking of immediately moving to my touch the legs position and touch the head. In no way are you thinking of hitting the golf ball. If you move to my follow through positions the ball will be hit.
After you swing through, hold it and check to make sure your legs are perfectly touching and the club is exactly parallel to your ears.
With these thoughts you are working on very precise movement instead of just whacking away at the ball getting all frustrated.
Now you have crystal clear swing thoughts in your mind before you even hit your shots. Now you stand up to the ball and think “coil” as you go back. uo wait for the stretching sensation. Once you feel it move to the follow through. Take note of the ball then immediately think: “are your legs perfectly touching? is the club exactly on the back of my head between my ears?.”
If you pull or pull hook – you need to fire the lower body sooner.
Push it you need to turn more (sliding).
Fat – to much weight on your back foot at impact.
Thin and Topping – swinging too hard
(these are all in the new Dashboard under CURES)
I would have a couple extra balls in your pocket. Hit a bad shot or don’t do the positions try it again and again. This is why you should be playing by yourself.
I really don’t think you know what you are doing out there. With my positions you know have a clear idea of the exact movement you need to be making when you play and of course, when you practice.
Think about it. If you are touching your legs and touching your head on the range and on the course you are doing exactly the same thing. You cannot touch your legs together better than if they are touching. You cannot get the club more parallel than parallel to your years. So if you are doing this on the range or at the course you are doing it exactly the same so you should get exactly the same result. Coil works the same way. Coil on the range and coil on the course is the exact same thing.
So it is time to stop doing what you have been doing in the past. That is not working. Now it’s time to do something that will be consistent. Jut got to have the right thoughts.
Dave ,Thanks for showing this excellent video again .I commented on it 2 years ago ,and there’s not much I can add ,except it’s not POWER we are looking for ,but SPEED and GRADUAL ACCELERATION
When I prepare for the swing apart from breathing in and out ,I close my eyes to do the preparatory swing and then I think of LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN and his smooth and fluid swing …
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10 Responses to “Play It Soft”
October 16, 2012
ERIABBERATHANKS DAVID.
October 23, 2012
JohnSteenHi David, It’s not so easy to be relaxed and thinking of a quick hip turn at the same time. Do you have recommendation on how I should think in order to manage that ?
October 23, 2012
David BreslowHi John,
Not to be difficult but why not? You’ve managed to attach yourself to a belief (“it’s not easy to…”) and yet one has nothing to do with the other.
Firing your hips doesn’t require :heavy” thinking. It’s merely a request you make to your own body. “I’m going to fire my hip on this swing”. If it’s causing you tension it’s because you’re adding way more to it like, “I’ve GOT to do this right” or “This is hard to do and relax at the same time”.
I guarantee you THOSE thoughts are the real issue…NOT the simple command to “fire my hips”. i’ll bet you can fire your hip right now without a moment of hesitation (assuming no physical limitations) if you really want to?
It’s not a “tip” that will do it…it’s an honest look at the “heavy” and unrealistic thoughts you have around it.
Look at those and you can free yourself up to do a simple thing: FIRE YOUR HIP.
Really!
March 24, 2015
johnhoyleGreetings David I really enjoy your mental tips / I have been golfing for over 50 years but only with your tips have i started to think about the mind game as well THANKS
March 24, 2015
Tomthanks David!
March 24, 2015
RaymondCHASTELQuite a good instruction video ,Dave ,full of common sense .When I was a compettitive 100 meters dash free style swimmer ,back in the early ‘ 50’s ( I was 16 years old at That Time ) ,just before diving in the pool we would ” wiggle ” with all our body to be as loose as possible .Today ,I first tense up all m’y body ,then let go ,and ” wiggle ” my right arm before starting,the swing .
I’m in the middle of reading YOUR ” WIRED TO WIN” book :I’m struck with the “Closed circle ” concept you describe .
I am persuaded That moving the body faster in the swing ,which is conducive to longer distances ,is basically a question of ” mental blocking “: you don’t believe you CAN move faster .
CAN you find a way to help me remove this ” mental block “( Apart of course remaining supple and loose )
March 25, 2015
GaryRobertsonhay this really feels less tense find out tomorrow if i can take it to the course.Thanks David
April 7, 2015
WillCooperSince I was a kid, I was able to hit the ball well on the range but couldn’t take my game to the golf course. I’ve had countless lessons, and my mechanics are good. I played Torrey Pines North yesterday and looked like a duffer. That followed a range session in which I hit virtually every club straight and true. Ny pitches were right on target. I felt great. I clocked my first two shots, a drive and a 3-metal, but then made a mental error. From then on I flubbed everything. My drives flew high and bent left. I topped a number of shots. It all fell apart dramatically. This has been the story of my life. I know it’s “mental”. I know it’s because of tension in my swing, or perfectionism, or an inability to relax and have fun and let it all flow. I know it! But I can’t seem to change. I check in with my emotions. I seem to feel okay. I don’t detect any obvious tension, but then the swing goes terribly wrong. I take deep breaths. I try to dial down the swing. No change. I still butcher it. I just don’t know what to do. On the range I look like I might be a scratch golfer, I hit it that well for someone my age. On the course, I’m a wreck. Help!
April 8, 2015
Paul WilsonWill,
So you need to be forgetting the ball as you make these changes. Your new thought is that you are going to swing at 50%. So swing easy all day, every shot. Forget your score. Better yet go play at night by yourself. This will take hitting out of the picture. You said you are topping it. This is from hitting too hard. Slow down now you are not trying to kill it.
Next, as you play you are going to do 2-3 practice swing per shot. While doing them you are thinking about coiling your shoulders until you are tight in the backswing. This tells you that you have torque (spring-like effect). Torque will repeat 100% of the time in life so this is a positive thought.
Once coiled, you are thinking of immediately moving to my touch the legs position and touch the head. In no way are you thinking of hitting the golf ball. If you move to my follow through positions the ball will be hit.
After you swing through, hold it and check to make sure your legs are perfectly touching and the club is exactly parallel to your ears.
With these thoughts you are working on very precise movement instead of just whacking away at the ball getting all frustrated.
Now you have crystal clear swing thoughts in your mind before you even hit your shots. Now you stand up to the ball and think “coil” as you go back. uo wait for the stretching sensation. Once you feel it move to the follow through. Take note of the ball then immediately think: “are your legs perfectly touching? is the club exactly on the back of my head between my ears?.”
If you pull or pull hook – you need to fire the lower body sooner.
Push it you need to turn more (sliding).
Fat – to much weight on your back foot at impact.
Thin and Topping – swinging too hard
(these are all in the new Dashboard under CURES)
I would have a couple extra balls in your pocket. Hit a bad shot or don’t do the positions try it again and again. This is why you should be playing by yourself.
I really don’t think you know what you are doing out there. With my positions you know have a clear idea of the exact movement you need to be making when you play and of course, when you practice.
Think about it. If you are touching your legs and touching your head on the range and on the course you are doing exactly the same thing. You cannot touch your legs together better than if they are touching. You cannot get the club more parallel than parallel to your years. So if you are doing this on the range or at the course you are doing it exactly the same so you should get exactly the same result. Coil works the same way. Coil on the range and coil on the course is the exact same thing.
So it is time to stop doing what you have been doing in the past. That is not working. Now it’s time to do something that will be consistent. Jut got to have the right thoughts.
Watch:
How To Take Your Swing From The Range To The Course: https://ignitiongolf.com/swing-range/
Taking Powerless Arms to the Course: https://ignitiongolf.com/powerless-arms-when-playing/
What To Think About When You Play: https://ignitiongolf.com/what-to-think-when-playing/
Playing Thoughts: https://ignitiongolf.com/playing-thoughts/
November 28, 2017
RaymondCHASTELDave ,Thanks for showing this excellent video again .I commented on it 2 years ago ,and there’s not much I can add ,except it’s not POWER we are looking for ,but SPEED and GRADUAL ACCELERATION
When I prepare for the swing apart from breathing in and out ,I close my eyes to do the preparatory swing and then I think of LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN and his smooth and fluid swing …