Be Willing To Be Stupid / Tips for Improving (Part 2)

What if I told you that nothing that there is no book or video that can teach you the Single Plane golf swing? What if I told you that no teacher, not even me, can teach you the golf swing. You would probably think that I’m crazy – right? Well, what I am telling you is the truth. The only things that videos, books and a lesson from me can teach you is the FEELING of the Single Plane Swing.

Great instruction doesn’t just change your mind – it changes how you feel. There is nothing more important to your golf swing improvement and transformation than feeling exactly what is correct. If I could give you one goal, right now, I would tell you to find out what the correct golf swing FEELS like. Feelings are the key to improvement. So, exactly how to you learn feel?

Here is my process for learning feel:

1) Learn what correct looks like (observe the Model of Moe Norman)

2) Observe yourself moving like the model using a mirror or video

3) Move in Slow Motion to exactly match the model

4) Once you are moving correctly, close your eyes to just FEEL it

5) Once you achieve perfect slow movement, start speeding up the movement but do not sacrifice form for speed

6) When you can move with speed (correctly) then learn to repeat it many times (repetition is key)

As you can see in this process, that the most important part of learning the FEEL of proper movement is to maintain the proper form. You must learn to trust that somewhere in your neurology, you are recording and learning every movement. Similar to carving a notch in a tree, each time you practice you are digging a deeper grove. But before you start carving, let me give you some words of caution.

Caution 1: It is OK to make mistakes when you practice ONLY if you immediately correct them. 

Caution: 2: Never Sacrifice form for results

All practice has an element of “trial and error” where you are tying a new feeling to get a different result. The difference in how I am recommending to practice is relative to what you consider a result. If you are to make progress with your golf swing technique, which is the mechanics of your swing, then the result you are “attempting” to produce is a “move” or a “feeling”. This is much different than trying to hit the golf ball well. Most golfers practice to hit the ball well but this would be like only training how to box when you are in the ring with our opponent. Getting beat up is no way to learn.

The best way to learn is to start making the proper movements, feel them and then APPLY them to striking a golf ball. This is what I consider PHASE 1 of the learning process. In the next Blog, I will discuss Phase 2.

The most assumed and often repeated lore on the golf practice tee is that people believe hitting a lot of balls will build muscle memory. This is entirely inaccurate and confuses the role of repetitions imprint on the brain as it builds neural skill circuits with that of what a muscle actually does – contract or relax. There is no memory in a muscle, it is simply responding to a signal of intent sent to it by the brain. Learning takes place in the brain, not the muscle. This is no longer a subject of conjecture.

However, lets us make a further and important distinction about the relationship between a brain and the bodies muscles. In movement, the brain generally does not learn how to contract a specific muscle; it learns a pattern of movement and the brain triggers the movement with conscious intent. Jason Hough, a Cape Town functional trainer said in a recent article. “Your brain does not learn how to contract muscles… it learns how to execute movements. This is the way it is designed and this is the way you should train it. INTEGRATE DON’T ISOLATE.”

Recently, in our winter training program at the Royal Ashburn Golf Club in Canada, I had a student named Bill Bower that was training to fully release the club. Bill is a fine player and for some reason, his mental/neural model just wasn’t accommodating a full release. We adjusted this inefficient move with a simple new model. Pulling up a heavy chair and told him. “I want you to do a Bobby Knight.”

Bill stared at me for a few seconds as the reference to the famous basketball coach sunk in. With a wry smile, he asked. “You mean you want me to throw this chair across the room?” “Yes, we are training a big movement pattern I told him and without hesitation, he grabbed the chair and you can see the full release that resulted. Thank goodness he had better control than Coach Knight and he held on to the chair.

The reason this was so effective was that Bill had a very sound and complete neural pattern in his brain of how to throw a chair across the room. Fearing some childhood deviance I didn’t ask him how he had acquired such mastery, but it was clear from the beginning he had a great internal model of how to throw the chair. In ONE rehearsal move, he totally got to the position we had been seeking. He had mastered a pattern, not a series of individual muscle contractions. (In the spirit of full disclosure, Bill later told me that upon telling his wife and daughter about this training method they adroitly questioned his choice of golf coach.)

Speaking of chairs, imagine trying to learn and execute a motion as simple as sitting down in a chair. If you concentrated on the individual muscle contractions involved and then added the timing, speed and balance components involved it would be ridiculously complex. From a learning perspective, learning specific muscle contractions is a highly inefficient way to acquire a skill. This is what Hough means when he says integrate movement, don’t try to isolate individual contractions. Ultimately, your body relies on previously learned movement patterns stored as a generalized motor pattern in the brain. These are movements like bending, twisting, turning or reaching.

We all have exquisite visual recognition of many athletic patterns. From 50 feet away, even with a casual glance, I bet every one of you can distinguish the difference between a baseball swing, a hockey slap shot and a golf swing. In fact, I bet you had a visual image of these swings as you read these words. The reason is that you have stored the generalized pattern in your brain with great specificity. When you actually play a sport you learn to internalize these into personal movement patterns. Some are learned effectively and some not.

When it comes to learning these patterns, Hough says that “by understanding how the brain stores this information it makes it easier to understand that if we can train parts of the movement in stages…. we can assist in putting them all together into a flowing movement. An example he gives is a baseball pitch. “When you analyze this movement, you will see that it consists of a squat, a bend, a lunge and the push, along with the stabilization and balance components in between.” By training each separate chunk and then coordinating them as a whole we can improve the movement overall.

This chunking of motor patterns into small learnable movements works to accelerate learning. This is exactly why at GGA we teach the single plane swing in six positions. These are learning “chunks” that you can assimilate as individual patterns. Once you master each component you begin to tie them together into one big pattern that can be replicated consistently and reliably via repetition. There is no more effective learning process known at this time.

How Can You Learn Movement?
We have evolved our teaching of swing movement patterns based on neuroscience developments. It is clear at this time that there IS a superior strategy for teaching and learning how to efficiently swing a golf club. The learning strategy has distinct steps and if you follow these steps you will accelerate the learning process. My experience has been that two concentrated twelve-minute training sessions (read slow-motion and intense mental involvement in what you are doing) per day over a month will yield positive and significant results.

Four Steps To Accelerate Learning a Movement Skill
1. Verbal Cues: Have someone explain what you are seeking to accomplish. While this seems obvious, it is important that you have a clear understanding of what you want to get done. For example – “at impact we want the club face square to the target line. At no point should the toe of the club be in front of the heel through the impact zone.” What happens during this verbal instruction is that the brain begins to translate this information into potential movement patterns because your brain is always figuring things out – that is what the brain does. Take a moment and self-talk yourself through your grip and address. You will be surprised by either what you do know or what you don’t. If you are not clear, get some instruction.

2. Visual Cues: Look and match angles precisely compared to an ideal image or picture. This technique utilizes our natural ability to imitate what we see. So you learn by forming a picture of what is demonstrated and then try to reform that image using your own body.
For example, take a picture of a perfect address position and put it on the wall or tape to a mirror. Then, model it as exactly and precisely as you can. Do the same for all the swing positions as taught.

3. Repetition: After you have formed a reasonable idea of what is expected of you regarding a certain position or movement, you “need to execute the movement yourself so that you can form neural pathways to co ordinate the order and speeds of muscle contraction within a given movement.”
You should do this in slow motion as much and as often as you can because each time it is done perfectly the brain is building a skill circuit. We build ‘feel’ as a result of continuous and repetitive practice of the correct movements. This is THE shortcut to accelerate the learning process of movement skill. This is true from golf to bowling and everything in between.

4. Perception: Perception in the physical realm means ‘feel’. The most important way we learn is to feel the movement. The only way to learn feel is through repetition. Your body has within it several types of receptors that will help you to co-ordinate and store movement patterns over time. Your body uses these receptors to help you learn new applications or skills. By concentrating on how the movement feels you involve your brains learning center to help integrate all your other sense modalities (like sound and vision).

It is important to note that effective execution of a movement pattern depends on the quality of the feedback you receive (video, your coach, as well as from your own body). Every time that you perform a movement pattern correctly, and are reinforced with positive feedback, your brain will try to repeat the performance until it is natural. However, if you perform the movement incorrectly and are not adjusted or corrected you will learn it that way and are likely to execute it wrongly in the future. The more you do a given movement the quicker your brain will retrieve the learned pattern from memory.

In summary, if you want to accelerate your learning of the golf swing, try this simple four-step method and experience how quickly you can improve. No one said it would be easy, but it is simple!

About the Author: Ron Cruickshank, Ph.D., is a GGA Master Instructor and he teaches the single plane golf swing at our Canadian HQ, The Royal Ashburn Golf Club, in Whitby, Ontario. Go on-line and book a school or a lesson. Ron is finalizing a new book entitled Swing Like Moe Norman- Use Your Brain for a Change and Learn the Swing of the World’s Greatest Ball Striker featuring Todd Graves.

This past week we held our first 5 Day Camp at our home academy (in OKC) in 2013.

The level of golfers ranged on the scale basically as much as you can…. from a student who was just beginning to a student that just missed out qualifying for the 2nd stage of the U.S. Open by a shot (a couple of weeks ag0).

The interesting point (and many of you that know me, I will always take this opportunity) was no matter what level golfer you are now, if you want to make changes in your golf swing you MUST still adhere to the same principles…

With that in mind, here are 10 tips that will help you make changes in your golf swing:

1.  You must ENJOY the process of making changes and you must COMMIT to the process.

If I had a nickel for every time someone told me they “weren’t sure” if this swing would work for them or not… If you want to make changes and want to be successful with the changes you make, you must first enjoy the process of making changes and must commit to the process. I will tell you the same thing I tell all those that “aren’t sure” … don’t change. If there is a doubt, it won’t work. You will always have an “out”, if you don’t give yourself and “out” – you will be successful. We have seen 1,000s of students who have made incredible changes and seen incredible success – and without a doubt, they enjoy the process and are committed to making changes.

2.  Know what you need to change.

Don’t guess. If you guess, you will probably guess wrong. You need to do some research, study the instructional video(s), compare to your swing, etc… etc. before you start to make changes. It is not that hard. The best start is to study/watch our Single Plane Solution instructional DVD and compare to what you are currently doing. You can see it at: CLICK HERE If you get a chance to see us in person – even better. I guarantee you will have many areas to work on and to make changes.
But, whether working on yourself, or seeing us in person, you need to be specific about areas to work on… know what you need to change.

3.  Take time making changes.

Give it time. Don’t rush it. Relax. Understand it takes time. If you relax, take your time, allow time to make changes, the changes will “stick” and it will seem MUCH easier…. Those that rush the changes tend to revert back to their old habits. You have time… give it time, some changes will take more time than others. For example, grip changes tend to take a lot more time than other changes…. Set up changes tend to happen a little faster… Again, give it time. If you don’t “rush” yourself, you won’t have to repeat the change again…

4.  Create a new habit, don’t break a bad habit.

Over years of teaching (close to 30 combined be Todd and myself), we have definitely come to this conclusion. If you want to make changes, you must work on creating new habits, not breaking bad habits. Your brain must focus on the new habit (new move/position) you want, not the one you are trying to “break”. Think of a “giant eraser” – erase the bad habit and replacing with a new habit. Don’t focus on the bad/old habit, but rather the good new habit/position. Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want. This is a form of positive vs. negative thinking… Focus on the positive good/new habit.. the changes will occur much faster.

5. Exaggerate…

Pretty much explanation enough…. Exaggerate every change you are trying to make. The old saying, “you must feel like you are giving a mile to give an inch” is SO TRUE… If you want to make changes, and make them fast (or as fast as you can..) – exaggerate the changes. When you make changes, they should be uncomfortable, which leads us to:

6.  Changes will and should feel uncomfortable (for a while).

If you are making changes in your golf swing/positions, these changes SHOULD and WILL feel uncomfortable for a while. If you are making a change and it doesn’t feel uncomfortable at first, chances are you did not make a change. Uncomfortable does not mean hurt… please understand this. So many think uncomfortable means hurt/pain. That is very far from correct. Uncomfortable means different, not the same, unusual, etc. not associated with pain, hurt, etc. If there is “pain”, chances are the changes you are making are not correct. Feeling different or unusual is good. And this is something you are looking for as to make certain changes are being made. Over time, as you work on the same change, it will become less and less uncomfortable.

7.  Be persistent / stubborn.

I am always looking for a good word for this… Persistent, stubborn, “hard headed”, tenacious, unrelenting, constant, fixed, etc….  Sure you can think of a few… Those with these characteristics and work on making changes in their golf swing definitely have the most success. Some call it being “tough on yourself” … but still having fun while making the changes. There will be some changes that are tougher than others.  Keep working, stay positive and understand in time the changes will pay off big time in your golf game.

8.  Check, check again and again…

When making changes in your golf swing, continually check to make sure those changes “stick”. So many don’t give it enough time and tend to revert back to the “old habits/positions”. If you have a “check system” with the changes you are making, you can make sure the changes are sticking…  It is not that difficult…. in fact, in most of our instruction we cover many “check points” to different areas of the swing and short game. Check, check and check again (something you will do forever.. but that is a good thing… nothing builds confidence like checking your changes and realizing they are perfect!)

9.  Do in short segments.

When you are working on creating new habits, do in short segments. It is much better and easier to focus in “short segments”. In other words, work on something for 15 minutes, give yourself a break, and then work on it some more. If you “overdo” it, you will lose focus, you will “revert” to the old habit, etc… Short segments, maintain focus, check your changes, etc.

10.  Take notes.

When you figure something out, when you know you have made a change, when you have an “aha” moment – write it down.  It is amazing what you will remember when you write it down. I have said this to my students over and over and over and over again… If you don’t want to have to repeat, do it again, write it down. Make note of it. You can always review the notes and if necessary, will definitely help you through the process MUCH FASTER the next time. When we talk to our alumni of our schools this is always a point they recommend to tell new students. Make sure and take notes on EVERYTHING you are working on…

Many of you have read articles I have written about this topic in the past. But, as we always tell our students the first part of every school, the fundamentals of Moe’s swing really aren’t that hard (and are definitely much easier than most other golf swings). The difficult part is trying to get adults to make changes. Once a student “allows changes to happen” – it really is a pretty easy process….

As Moe said when asked what we should tell our students, he replied: “Tell them to get out of their own way.”

These 10 tips will help you get out of your own way as Moe said.