Playing Golf physically and mentally
Playing Golf is a physical and mental exercise.
For several times when I practiced golf swing in the driving range at the Ridgeview Ranch, I saw a father was teaching his son how to play golf. The father was teaching the son about perfect golf swings. The kid sometimes tried to look the golf ball right after he made the golf shot. That’s when the father was mad. The father said “don’t look at the ball, just concentrate on the swings.”
During Saturdays, Heath coaches the golf clinic for the golf player club members. I often join this free clinic (or the fee is included in the monthly membership due). One time he was coaching Zhen and me about putting. He said “don’t look at the golf ball until you hear the sound of the golf ball falling into the cup.” He was referring about putting.
I am thinking about those words said by the father and by Heath. I thought they were very profound. Golf is not only a physical game; it is also a mental game. At one side, one has to perfect his swings by repetitive practices for many times. At another side, one should be able to complete his intended action in his mind before the action is taken place.
If a good golf player has a target for the golf ball to land, he should be able to deliver the golf ball to the target without actually looking at the ball’s landing position since his action should tell him exactly where the golf is going. My personal experience is that I am anxiously to follow the golf ball’s trajectory as soon as I have finished hitting the golf ball.
From now on, I should practice the metal strength by making the swing action without the desire to look at the golf ball’s trajectory. It is important to do it for the woods, for the irons, and especially for putting. The standard errors should be reduced each time when changing from the wood to the iron, and finally to putting. The standard errors for the wood shots should be in yards. The standard errors for the iron shots should be in feet. The standard errors for putting should be in inches. In order to have two putts on the green, the mistake in putt can be a fraction of an inch. For example, if a golf player can control his wood shots in 9 yards, his iron shots in 9 feet, and his putting in 9 inches, the golf play must be a master in the game.
The father and Heath are actually telling the mental game side of playing golf when they stress the action of swing and putting without anxiously looking at the golf ball in its trajectory. When the ball has gone after the club-ball impact, the control of the ball’s trajectory is finished. I have often noticed that golf players actually bend their bodies toward their desired direction after the golf ball has already been in its trajectory as if their bending bodies can redirect the ball’s route.
Not anxiously looking at the flying golf ball is an important part of looking at the ball at the ground before the club-ball impact. This is to guarantee the body’s relative position to the ball for the swing to take place without any mistakes. Looking at the flying ball too early can change the body’s relative position to the golf ball so that the impact is not fully solid. Solid impact is very critical for playing golf right.
For several times when I practiced golf swing in the driving range at the Ridgeview Ranch, I saw a father was teaching his son how to play golf. The father was teaching the son about perfect golf swings. The kid sometimes tried to look the golf ball right after he made the golf shot. That’s when the father was mad. The father said “don’t look at the ball, just concentrate on the swings.”
During Saturdays, Heath coaches the golf clinic for the golf player club members. I often join this free clinic (or the fee is included in the monthly membership due). One time he was coaching Zhen and me about putting. He said “don’t look at the golf ball until you hear the sound of the golf ball falling into the cup.” He was referring about putting.
I am thinking about those words said by the father and by Heath. I thought they were very profound. Golf is not only a physical game; it is also a mental game. At one side, one has to perfect his swings by repetitive practices for many times. At another side, one should be able to complete his intended action in his mind before the action is taken place.
If a good golf player has a target for the golf ball to land, he should be able to deliver the golf ball to the target without actually looking at the ball’s landing position since his action should tell him exactly where the golf is going. My personal experience is that I am anxiously to follow the golf ball’s trajectory as soon as I have finished hitting the golf ball.
From now on, I should practice the metal strength by making the swing action without the desire to look at the golf ball’s trajectory. It is important to do it for the woods, for the irons, and especially for putting. The standard errors should be reduced each time when changing from the wood to the iron, and finally to putting. The standard errors for the wood shots should be in yards. The standard errors for the iron shots should be in feet. The standard errors for putting should be in inches. In order to have two putts on the green, the mistake in putt can be a fraction of an inch. For example, if a golf player can control his wood shots in 9 yards, his iron shots in 9 feet, and his putting in 9 inches, the golf play must be a master in the game.
The father and Heath are actually telling the mental game side of playing golf when they stress the action of swing and putting without anxiously looking at the golf ball in its trajectory. When the ball has gone after the club-ball impact, the control of the ball’s trajectory is finished. I have often noticed that golf players actually bend their bodies toward their desired direction after the golf ball has already been in its trajectory as if their bending bodies can redirect the ball’s route.
Not anxiously looking at the flying golf ball is an important part of looking at the ball at the ground before the club-ball impact. This is to guarantee the body’s relative position to the ball for the swing to take place without any mistakes. Looking at the flying ball too early can change the body’s relative position to the golf ball so that the impact is not fully solid. Solid impact is very critical for playing golf right.
posted by Unknown at 10:56 PM
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