Archives for March 19, 2023

Purity of Technique

Golf teachers will often agree that there are many ways to hit a golf ball. Some swings are upright, and some are flat. Many will have the clubface closed or even open during the swing motion. Yes, all of these types of swings can, in some level of aptitude, strike a golf ball. Each of them, however, has built-in compensations for flaws.

Years ago a well-known teacher taught me that he shows swing flaw must have an accompanying flaw to fix it. What this means is that for every swing problem you must have a second flaw in make-up for the initial question. You can’t just have one swing fault – you must have at least two. Without the compensating correction, you can’t hit the ball.

For example, if you have a closed clubface during your backswing, you must have a movement to open the face in your downswing. One flaw always has an offsetting flaw.

In many ways, this is why golf lessons can make you worse before you get better. If you fix one flaw and the compensating flaw still exists, then you are caught in the dilemma of only having one swing problem resulting in lousy golf shots.

This is what initially attracted me to Moe’s swing. Not only did I recognize his abilities, but I saw a real swing motion – one without compensations.

I often call the address position of the conventional golf swing “The one mistake.” Why? Because it has a built-in problem – standing too close to the ball. The accompanying flaw/movement is to move the body upward to compensate.

The way I see it is that you have a choice to play golf.

You can use the grip it and rip it mentality and fight your way through your compensations OR you can build a swing that is pure technique. Of course, I prefer the Purity of Technique way for some reasons including the following:

  1. Pure technique without compensations allows you to have a better chance of your bad shots being good.
  2. without compensations, your swing becomes less maintenance.
  3. Timing elements of the compensations are not necessary
  4. It is easier on the body
  5. Easier to repeat

*************

Why is water wet? Why is the sky blue?  Moe would often ask me questions that seemed ambiguous. He would say “Once you know the answers to these questions, you will know.”

“Know what?” I asked.

‘The Secrets” he said.

The answer to Moe’s questions was not complicated. Water is wet because it is all that it can be. The sky is blue because it is what it is. Moe’s golf swing was simply because it was all that it could be. I call it mistake-proof.

Consider placing your body in a position where it has no choice but to move most efficiently. At address, your body position, arms, hands, and club extend so that when you turn, the club runs into a perfect backswing path. The “Sum” of your body position makes it the only place the club can go.

Moe would often say – “I can’t take the club outside “because the club was placed up to 12 inches behind the ball. Due to his spine position, club position and the relationship of the club to pointing to the lead hip, when Moe turned the club immediately when inside – back on the plane. It just couldn’t go anywhere else.

Moe at address DTL.jpg

Moe’s address position was the beginning of being “Mistake-proof” This included many things that some consider idiosyncratic, these are the elements of what I think the Purity of Technique?

  • Moe’s legs were straight
  • This builds a stable foundation for the swing day after day. One of the issues with the traditional swing is: how much to bend the knees? One day it might be a little, another day a player may flex them more depending on his emotional and physical state, which leads to inconsistency. Starting with straight legs means there is no variance in the degree of knee flex from day to day.
  • Moe’s arms were straight–pointing directly at the ball
  • There is a natural position for holding a club to hit a golf ball; it is similar to a child holding a stick that he’s going to use to run a rock on the ground.
  • His club shaft began the swing on the impact plane
  • Starting with the club on the same plane that you are going to hit the ball makes sense. (How come no one figures this out before?)
  • His upper spine was tilted away from the ball (the lead shoulder is higher than the trail shoulder)
  • The tilt happens naturally because of Moe’s wide stance, straight arms and his right hand was lower on the grip than his left side.
  • He placed the club head five to 12 inches behind the ball (depending on the club)
  • This allows the body to move laterally into impact.
Moe at address

Taken together, these necessary elements of Moe’s address made his swing incredibly simple, certainly relative to the conventional swing. As I first began to study Moe’s swing and got deeper into examining his set-up, I was floored by the genius of its simplicity.

In Full Swing

Paul Monahan GGA Mental Game Coach

March 19, 2023

If you have been anywhere near Netflix the past month, or talked to a golfing buddy who has been, you know that the documentary Full Swing was released on February 15th. Full Swing follows a cast of top PGA / LIV Golf players throughout 2022, and chronicles the challenges, ups and downs, struggles, joys, complexity, and many other facets of what life is like at the elite levels of professional golf.

If you haven’t seen it yet, I think you’ll like it. Go check it out. If you have been watching it, I suspect you’d back me up.

Because this game we love is so mental, there are lots of moments throughout the Full Swing series that give us a glimpse into the mental dynamics of the PGA Tour player.  But one thing came up in episode two that was, on the one hand a little surprising and on the other, quite validating.

The surprising part of episode 2 for me was – spoiler alert – how profoundly Brooks Koepka was struggling mentally in 2022. I think many people could see he was struggling on the course in 2021, and into 2022. His play during that stretch was not what we were used to seeing compared to the incredible results he posted over the prior three years.

But he’s had back issues, and other injuries…and because we don’t usually get a detailed behind the scenes look at players like Koepka, we never really know for sure what is going on for most golfers on the PGA Tour.

Full Swing has allowed us to see what we would normally not.

The validating part of episode 2 for me showed up in the juxtaposition between Koepka’s struggle and Scottie Scheffler’s breakthrough. It was validating because of what I wrote in this column just 10 months ago regarding the dynamics behind Scheffler’s amazing run of four victories in 57 days early in 2022. You can revisit the article from May 2022 here: Scottie’s Secret.)

In that article, I assessed that Scheffler’s success was as much a function of his productive mental game as it was the physical and mechanical skills that he was bringing with him onto the course.

So, without going into the detail (and spoiling if for those who have not seen it), I would invite you to play a little game:

  1. Watch season 1 episode 2 if you have not yet, or
  2. Go back and watch the episode again if you have already seen it

… with the intention of exploring two things:

  • See if you can identify the differences in mental games between Koepka and Scheffler. (Look for the answers to questions like: What thoughts are they anchored to that serve them? What are they stuck on that does not? How are they processing the game as it comes at them? What kind of language are they using about the game and their success or failure in it…etc.
  • See if you can capture the key elements of Scheffler’s mental game model (hint: it’s not complicated) and see if you can operationalize that model for yourself… that is, bring it out onto the course with you when you play.

The more I spend time around this game, the more I am convinced that we all need to start with building the inside game skills first. It is foundational to everything else. It’s a must have for maximizing and optimizing all our outside game skills… so that we can play at our best when it means the most. So that we can overcome the challenges of the game no matter the stakes or situation.

Have a great week!

-Paul

Paul Monahan, PCC is a Peak-Performance coach, member of the International Coach Federation and a certified COR.E Performance Dynamicsä  Specialist. He resides in Cleveland, Ohio with his wife Paula and is the proud dad to three young men.

LEARN

THE

SWING

Join 1M+ Subscribers to get your FREE Video Quick Start Guide that reveals how to hit the ball farther and straighter more consistently from now on…

START YOUR NEW GOLF SWING