Why Is Learning the Golf Swing That Tough?

Why is Learning the Golf Swing So Tough?

By Paul Wilson

If you find learning the golf swing tough, you’re not alone. There are millions of people who are in the same boat. If you have been reading my golf tips you’ll probably know that at one time, I also thought it was tough. I tried every tip and trick in the book and hit thousands and thousands of golf balls in my quest for the perfect golf swing. Here are 5 things that will help you find the golf swing you've always wanted:

1. The Average Player's Swing Doesn't Look Like Pros

The reason why the average player's swing doesn't look like a pros is because the average player is using their arms to hit the ball as opposed to their body. The average player uses their arms because this is natural. It's natural because there's an object on the he ground in front of them. The natural instinct is to hit the object and hit it hard. This leads to a swing that is far too long and loose. Unfortunately, the golf swing is not as easy as just hitting it with your arms. If it was, everyone would have a great swing. In order to learn a great swing you have to use your body.

So how do you use your body to hit the ball? Well ... you've actually experienced using your body before when you hit that one shot that went farther than other other shot you've ever hit. With this incredible shot, you felt "nothing". If you felt "nothing" you couldn't have used your arms because if you did, you would have felt them. Unfortunately, this flash of brilliance was short lived. This is because on the next shot, you tried to hit the ball even harder. This caused your arms to power the swing again and all of a sudden your poor shots returned.

In the future, keep your arms turned off (feel "nothing"). Make sure you base your swing on rotating your shoulders in the backswing and your legs and hips in the downswing. This will stop the arms from taking the club back too far.
If you don't get it at first, don't give up. Turning your arms "off" to hit the ball feels like you have less power so it does take time to get used to. Continue to hit easy shots using your body rotation until you get the ball airborne. Then, simply turn your body faster to hit longer shots as opposed to hitting harder with your arms.

2. The Average Player Swings Way Too Fast

This also has a bearing on the look of your swing but I feel it should be talked about separately. The erratic tempo is due to hitting solely with your arms and trying to blast every shot as hard as you can. In your golf swing, your arms move relatively fast compared to your body rotation. The odds of you being able to replicate the exact same hitting motion with your arms is impossible. On the other hand, rotating your body the same rate of speed is relatively easy because it only rotates approx. 3 mph. If you base your swing on the rotational speed of your body and your body tells your arms how fast to swing, it is much easier to make the same move every time thus giving you the tempo you are after.

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3. Lack of Knowledge

When I'm standing on the practice range all day it's amazing what I hear people talk about. The first group of players are the ones who are showing each other their new equipment. Usually, these guys are trying to buy their game so they have picked up the latest and greatest club which will make absolutely no difference. It's almost like they have this swagger about them thinking that they have solved the secret of the golf swing. Two weeks later they aren't talking about it anymore. Unfortunately, you cannot buy your game. Clubs are important but if you have a golf swing that doesn't work, nothing is going to help.

Next, you have the players that are talking about what they are working on in their own swing. This is the talk that I find interesting because as a pro, I know what works and what doesn't. I find it interesting because it gives me the perspective from the average player's point of view. It tells me how people perceive certain tips and drills and how they try to incorporate them. Instead of trying every tip or trick that someone tells you, try to stick with one method and become an expert about that one method.

Finally, the last group is the person who has no clue what they are doing and here they are teaching a beginner how to play golf. As a teacher, this is very frustrating because I know they're going to give the person all sorts of bad habits. I realize that this person means well but relating the golf swing to someone in a way they understand is very difficult. This is a critical point in time for a beginner. They have no bad habits and no re conceived notions. The beginner would be much better off learning from a qualified pro. Obviously, if anyone could teach golf there would be a lot more pros out there.

Golf Tips

Here you'll find some very informative free golf tips based on my Swing Machine Golf instruction technique.

1. The Long Backswing

2. Move Your Head in Your Backswing

3. The Most Important Lesson in Golf

4. How to Practice Your Golf Swing

5. The Golf Swing Plane

6. Speed Kills Your Golf Swing

7. Taking Your Game to the Next Level

8. The Year of Patience

9. Is Your Swing as Good as You Think?

10. I Think I've Got It!

11. Play the Best Golf of Your Life!

12. Learn From Tiger's Swing

13. The Pros Make It Look So Simple!

14. The Perfect Round of Golf

15. How to Practice in the Winter

16. Tension In Your Golf Swing?

17. What Is the Perfect Swing?

18. End of the Season - A New Plan

19. The Worst Swing Flaws In Golf

20. Making the Right Choices in Golf

21. Divot Details

22. How To Practice 2

23. Stop Topping

24. Is Learning the Golf Swing So Tough?

25. How to Build a Consistent Swing

4. Practice Habits & Patience

Obviously, you have to practice to get better. Unfortunately, the average player never practices the way a pro would practice. The pro is not out on the range to hit ever shot perfectly. They are there to work on an aspect of their game. This means they know exactly what it is they are working on for every shot and they take there time trying to master it. They also know that working on a certain position in their swing may take them months to master. The next time you go to the range have a game plan. Know exactly what you are going to be working on and take your time.

5. Equipment

Pros have long been into matching the proper equipment for their game. The average player is finally starting to realize the importance of proper equipment. Make sure that you visit your local club maker to have your clubs properly fitted to your game. This is vital to becoming a better player.

Until next time,

Paul Wilson
Creator - Swing Machine Golf