Imagine every one of your shots in
middle of fairway, every chip two feet from hole, and every putt nailing center of cup. Well, maybe some of us dream of never having to ever putt and each approach shot goes into hole, but I think you get picture. A consistent swing is probably what many golfers dream of when our heads hit pillow.The majority of us are aware that golf is a game that requires consistent shot making to be successful (and have fun). If we are hooking, slicing, and hitting our wedges fat, it can really start to get frustrating. Consistency is key to hitting a low score and enjoying game. So how do we get there?
First, let us do a little review of golf swing. To hit ball squarely on center of club head you must take club through proper swing path. A proper swing path will allow club to align itself correctly with ball to hit shot you are trying to hit. For more advanced players this could be in form of a draw, fade, cut, or some other variation. Higher handicappers will be happy with just plain old straight shots. Anyway, this process begins with your address, moves through your take away, into back swing, onto transition between back swing and down swing, into contact, and finishes with follow through.
Quite a complex sequence of events for body to perform! And we all know that if our timing is slightly off, or we are just a little off mechanically, disaster is result.
Knowing that a consistent swing requires execution of these complex moves over and over again is quite mind-blowing. But let’s get back to our question: how do we develop a consistent golf swing? The answer is two-fold, and I imagine most golfers are aware of first point but probably only a few are aware of second. The keys to a consistent swing are: 1) efficient golf swing mechanics and 2) body. Got it? Good, now I can stop writing this article and all of us can become scratch golfers, right? Well, not exactly, and I imagine some of you are saying, “I already know all this stuff.” Others may be quite intrigued. Regardless of which category you fall into, let me expand on each of these topics a little.
Golf Swing Mechanics
Golf Swing mechanics is probably easier of two areas to understand. It is reason why we take golf lessons and practice so much at range. Beginning at address, moving through all stages of golf swing, and finishing with follow through, body is required to move through a specific sequence of movements to perform golf swing correctly. If body does not move through this sequence properly then result will be a poor, inefficient and awkward looking swing. Over time, a poor swing results in poor consistency (every once in awhile you hit a good shot regardless of your swing, that’s what keeps us coming back for more). An easy example of this is when you “come over top” with club. This usually results in a slice (I know, easy thing to do and very hard to correct).
In addition to body performing an intricate number of biomechanical movements in golf swing, timing of these movements is critical for you to hit ball successfully. Each and every biomechanical movement within golf swing has a certain sequence and timing. If they are not performed in correct order or timing, then golf swing will not be efficient. Poor timing results in those wonderful slices, snap hooks, chili dips and topping ball that we know all too well.
