Graceful Golf Vs Ungraceful Golf
Just had a golf lesson from a teaching pro at my club. It had been a while since my last series of instructional sessions. Of course, he filmed me on his phone and showed it to me, as they all do these days. First thought, wow, do I look that bad! Graceful golf vs ungraceful golf. The thing about golf is that you can’t see yourself swinging that club and, oftentimes, you are doing stuff that you don’t realise that you are doing. Simultaneously, you are not doing stuff that you thought you were doing or should be doing at any rate.
Swinging Like Freddy or Fred Astaire
Most of us admire graceful swings, especially when playing with really good golfers. Being a bloke I am used to being ungraceful at plenty of stuff. However, there is a correlation in golf between graceful swings and effective golf swings producing better outcomes on the score board. It is about an economy of movement and keeping those arms in touch with my upper body. You can put a head cover under your trail arm pit or a melon sized ball between your upper forearms during your swing, as a drill, to promote that connectedness. Chicken wings and flying chicken wings just aint all that graceful to look at!
In Search Of Grace With Club In Hand
Some folks like to think about how Ben Hogan wore out that patch on his cardigans on the trail side of his torso, where elbow/arm rubbed going back and through in the down swing. A soft trail arm and folding elbow in the backswing is another point of reference. In search of grace in the golf swing – that physical grace which promotes a great ball flight. Tempo and rhythm have been described as the glue that holds the golf swing together. Pity I could never master the art of ballroom dancing.
My Ungrateful Golf Aint Too Graceful
My ungraceful golf swing could be worse, it could be just disgraceful golf. Well, sometimes it is that and I pay the price. The thing is, I actually enjoy practicing shots on the range. I love that feeling when you get everything right and the golf ball is effortlessly struck vast distances and launched high to boot. It is like magic, somehow, it is the mystery of golf. Consistency, however, is another kettle of fish altogether. You can find the groove for a little while with a particular iron and then, in an instant it can disappear. Usually, when you shift to another club, like a long iron. Hitting balls on the practice range is not playing golf, however. During a round of golf, a competitive round of golf, we are asked to hit shots without any chance to find a rhythm. We have to walk up to that golf ball and play whatever iron or club is required to achieve the right distance and launch.
The Biggest Carry In Golf
They say the biggest carry in golf is the one between your ears. Meaning that what goes on inside the old noggin is crucial to your golf. The more golf you play and the more information you possess about your golf swing can hang around your neck like an albatross sometimes. A dead one! Time or the perception of time can dance around within your thoughts, as you stand over the ball in preparation of playing the shot. In my experience, I can have a swing thought running through my head and it can get in the way of me beginning the actual swing. Virtual vs real kind of thing. Madness lies this way, I reckon. Disciplining the mind can be a thing for this golfer during some rounds.
See Ball, Hit Ball Golf – Simon Says
I can understand how some golfers like to play ‘see ball, hit ball’ golf. Matt Jones is a keen example of this ‘no messing around’ type of golfer. Some call this the right brain technique, where the golfer swings before there is time for the head f***to begin. Leave the doubts behind by playing golf in a perpetual state of trust in your body to do the right thing. It sounds good but can be harder to do for some. It usually accompanies a quite quick swing tempo. Think Nick Price. Think Aaron Baddeley putting.
The Dance Routine On The Grass
Graceful golf vs ungraceful golf. Golf is a bit of a dance routine on the grass. Wielding the big stick in fast and slow motion, depending on who you are and how you play the game. Making things happen with club in hand via your timing and solid contact. A well struck shot is always graceful looking in flight. Raymond Floyd looked somewhat ungainly in his swing but he made solid contact every time and his golf ball went where he fashioned it to. Modern pro golfers look like athletes when they strike their shots. Viktor Hovland looks like a gymnast and leaves no muscle unengaged when he smashes those drives. Technique is king and queen in modern day golf. Graceful golf is the common denominator when describing these Titans and Dianas of 21C golf.
Living With Ugly Or Going Graceful
If you have an ugly golf swing, then, maybe you are gonna avoid mirrors or you just don’t care. If that little white ball can do the talking for you on the score board, then, aesthetics aint nobodies concern. If you, on the other hand, are sick of the weak s*** you serve up on the links each week and want to do something about it. Then, maybe, concerning yourself with becoming more graceful when you swing it might just be the way forward to better things. Hells bells, you maybe are sick of chicken wings making a mockery of your golf swing. You might want to swing it like Freddy or Ludvig Aberg? Suck that gut in and start making progress with staying connected in your golf swing. A shorter arm swing and bigger body turn. More rotation and less sliding. Stop lifting those arms and turn that body more.
Pretty Swings In Pro Golf
“McDaniel and I spent about 2-½ hours with Tiger and two of his buddies in his suite that Friday night. At some point well into the evening, one of those pals encouraged Woods to show off his swing impersonations, and for the next 10 or 15 minutes, young Eldrick put on a performance that would have astonished and amused any serious golf fan.
Fred Couples. Tom Lehman. Arnold Palmer. From the beginning of address to completion of the follow-through, Tiger’s imitations were flawless — exact to the tiniest nuance without a hint of becoming caricatures. To see this gangly kid mimicking the robustly built Palmer was utterly hilarious; a huge laugh filled the room when he nailed Arnie’s helicopter finish.”
©GolfDom
