LEARNING NEW GOLFING TECHNIQUES

Joe Wilkins

When people want to change their golf swing, they typically rehearse it a few times in their minds, take a few “new” practice swings, and then try to swat the ball with their new techniques. After completion of the new swing they will perceive that they have done what they intended. However, video analysis of such motions usually shows they have just repeated the old, dysfunctional swing. Apparently, the subconscious mind stays rigidly attached to the old swing—as opposed to what the new thought patterns are trying to achieve.

It is as if there are two parts to golf movements: 1) the original, much practiced, repetitious, enduring old swing, which has become a part of one’s current physical capabilities and comfort, as opposed to 2) the new swing that the mind is trying to get the muscles to perform. In addition, this new swing “thinking” seems to have power to deceive the participants, in that they will believe they have performed the new swing when careful observation shows they are still repeating the old one.

So, what is going on here?

It is apparent if a golfer wants to change a swing to one that is more proficient, one has to do more than just think about it, followed by just a few practice swings

The research on this—and observations of musicians, typists, trapeze artists, and golfers—among others–who have made constructive changes, shows that ten to twenty thousand correct repetitions are necessary to implement a new swing change, to the point that it becomes automatic, letting the natural flow of things happen. These many repetitions are essential before the new swing becomes imbedded in the subconscious, and no longer has to be thought about, with the actual number of repetitions needed depending on the talent of the individual. The goal is to free the conscious mind away from swing mechanics while playing, allowing the golfers to focus on tempo, target, etc.

It is apparent that focusing on new swing changes while playing is distracting, and usually presents conflict between the old and the new, usually resulting in bad shots. New swing techniques have to be repeated until they are “grooved” so they can be performed during a round without thinking about them.

This author has been a victim of this “improvement ideology” for over 50 years. I always believed—and would actually feel– that I had performed a new swing when I thought about it, but objective analysis usually showed that I had repeated my old swing—but I was fooled into thinking I had performed the new one. During practice sessions, I could usually perform the new swing when it was possible to hit ball after ball in rapid succession, but the old swing was always trying to take its primary place. As I write this I am trying to use the touch system on my computer keyboard, where I don’t look at the keyboard, like all good typists are trained to do. But it is so slow, awkward, and mistake prone that I soon revert back to the typing system that I taught myself as a teenager—the two finger method, while looking at the keyboard. For me to learn the touch system would require me to engage in a formal course, with very rigid structure and many repetitions of correct practice; even then, I would not be as good as some high school typing student who had learned the proper way. Golf is like that too.

There are many learning, psychological principles that apply to this dilemma, but the two most important are proactive inhibition and retroactive inhibition. They demonstrate the difficulty of learning new golfing procedures.

Proactive inhibition shows that an old golf swing, with which we have played for years, gets in the way of learning a new swing. The original swing has established its place in our brain and muscles through years of use, and it very strongly resists allowing the new swing to establish itself without extensive constructive work and repetition. Consider the act of your individual walking style, which began its development when you were about one year old. How much work do you imagine it would take to develop a new manner of walking? Similarly, if a golfer is having difficulty in learning a new swing technique, it is because of the different habits that were learned it the past. However, if the new techniques to be learned are similar to the old ones, then the task of learning will be somewhat easier than if they were grossly different; the more different they are, the harder the task of learning the new ways.

Next, retroactive inhibition occurs when a golfer has taken a golf lesson to learn something new, but does not practice and rehearse the new technique soon thereafter, allowing too many other things to occur between the lesson and the following practice session, causing the new learning to fade away or be forgotten. Restated, the more competing events that occur between the lesson and the following practice, increases failure in ability to perform the new methods.

Now, this applies to all golfers in varying degrees. The more experienced the golfer is with various swing techniques, he will more easily implement the new swing changes. However, the task will still be difficult. For example, Lee Trevino originally had a hooking swing in his early years, which occasionally got him into trouble. Then, one day he was at Shady Oaks, watching Ben Hogan hitting those lovely fades,so he decided if it was good enough for Hogan he should develop a fade also. So Trevino spent the next year, hustling other golfers and working at his driving range, experimenting and developing that fading shot for which he became famous and successful. Trevino estimated that he had a golf club in his hands about 15 hours per day during this time of change, but at the end of the year, the change was fully implemented. The time of investment in these changes was over 5000 hours, and who knows how many repetitions.

So what does all this mean to you? It would seem that any golfer desiring to change should follow these procedures:

1) Team up with a professional golf teacher that you are comfortable with, and have him evaluate your swing and what needs to be done to accomplish your goals.

2) Take lessons on a regular basis and make any changes one at a time, followed by as much corrective practice as you can manage after each lesson. Do not introduce any other complicating items into your swing at this time.

3) If you play between lessons, keep any swing thoughts to your one new swing change. Continue this process of play and practice until your pro thinks you are ready to progress to the next needed change.

4) Though it will be difficult to do, and your handicap is likely to rise for a while, try to ignore your scores and your past golfing habits, focusing on your new goals and efforts.

5) If going to the driving range frequently is not practical, put up a hitting net in your back yard. Repeat your latest swing change several times without hitting a ball, then, before the feel goes away (usually within 7 to 10 seconds) go ahead and hit a ball using the swing change. Repeat until you begin to tire or lose concentration.

6) Repeat all of the above until the swing change is automatic, and then progress to the next change. The goal for each change is to make it automatic, whereby you no longer have to think about it.

7) Avoid other golfing instruction, such as Golf Channel tips, golfing magazines, golf videos, tips from friends, etc., that might prompt you to try other things. Any new material will conflict with your efforts and cause you to revert to the old dysfunctional ways. All instruction and evaluation should come from your pro and your own thinking processes. Discuss all factors with your pro as necessary.

8) As an added bonus, recent research has demonstrated that relaxing and imagining your new swing change during “quiet times” will help speed up the learning process. I have found that rehearsing the changes in my mind in bed before going to sleep (instead of counting sheep) is of great help.

Try all this. Good luck!