Most players, when they go to the practice range, hit ball after ball from a normal swing mode. The normal swing is the easiest of all modes from which to “compensate” imperfect power application. Compensations are insidious attempts to correct an improperly shifting swing-plane, and most often occur at a completely subconscious level. The player can be making compensations for mis-applied power through the grip, alignment, ball position, posture, or even through equipment, and be totally un-aware that he is doing so. Compensations not only make the swing unreliable, it becomes harder to repeat under pressure. On the practice tee, we get as many opportunities as we have golf balls to find the proper timing, but on the golf course we get only one chance per shot. The best way to get your game successfully from the practice tee to the course, is by learning to practice perfectly, so that you know exactly how to swing with correct power application every time you draw it back.
The next time you go to the practice tee, start with a middle iron, like a 5, 6, or 7. Hit a full-swing shot with the right hand, then one with the left hand, and then one with both hands. It is very important to change modes with each swing. If you can draw the ball with each hand alone, as well as with the two-handed mode, it is an indicator that your swing is tension-free. Changing modes with each shot prevents the brain from “dialing in” compensations from what it felt in the previous swing. Putting a different muscle group into activity with each pass, forces the brain to identify proper sequencing in every mode and will teach you perfect mechanics that will work reliably when you go to the golf course.
Try this – it really works!!
