by James Ruhnke

Created on: February 24, 2009

I have been golfing for some 40 years and the number one mistake that every poor golfer makes is in what he or she is thinking about as they swing the golf club.

It seems that everyone thinks they need to be "taught" how to do something that is completely natural to every human being. So, instead of concentrating on where they want the ball to go, they are thinking about how to swing the club! Imagine how difficult you would be making other easy tasks if you thought about how you were doing it while actually doing it. For instance, every day we literally float down a flight of stairs making very complicated body motions without thinking anything at all about how we are doing it. But, what would be the result if before we took the first step we were thinking, " Now, right foot first, keep the knee flexed and the toe pointed forward. At the same time I must shift my right hip forward and my left hip backwards. Make sure to keep my eye on my right foot while holding the railing with my right hand, snuggly but not too tight." Add to that another dozen thoughts and you'll be lucky to make one step without breaking your neck! The same is true in golf.

You already know how to swing a club. Everything else about "swing thoughts" is ruinous to your success just as would be similar thoughts descending a flight of stairs. Everyone has been brain-washed into starting their swing by turning their body, the old "one-piece takeaway" nonsense. That advice is both unnatural and wrong! You throw and swing things with your hands and arms. Everything else follows naturally. Don't believe me? Take a piece of paper and wad it up into a ball and throw it underhanded into your wastebasket. If you are close to the basket your body will barely move but if you make it a longer toss, say 20 feet, watch how your body flows with the motion automatically without you thinking about it. Just like the stairs. Consider how you will look if you tried the long toss without moving your body. It would be stiff, wooden, unnatural and inaccurate. Just like most of your golf swings! So, with that settled let us move on to how to get yourself to swing a club powerfully using your own natural ability to do so.

One thing that is absolutely essential here is a good grip. Do it wrong and you have no chance of swinging well. None. There are many articles in books and on the Internet that will show you how to hold a club, so I will not go into it here. But I must stress that if you wish the club to go fast you must take the time to look it up. If your club is in your palms instead of your fingers or your wrists are out of position, nothing can make you a powerful golfer. You simply will not be able to swing freely. Now, take your good grip and simply swing the club to and fro with the head of the club about 2 feet above the ground. Use your hands and arms to do this and simply allow your body to move along with you as it did in the long paper toss. There is no need to think about your stance or straight left arms. Just think about letting your wrists remain loose and try to make the club go fast. You'll have it right when you can hear that beautiful "Whoosh" sound as the club head goes cutting through the air on your forward swing. You'll also notice that your feet, knees, legs and hips all do what they are supposed to do without your thinking about them. Now, put a ball down and whack it with the same motion.

End of lesson.

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