We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Figuring it out yourself....

I'd love to be able to afford lessons on a regular basis, but I would never be able to golf. I was glad to be able to take five lessons early in the year that really helped me. Since then I have been up and down, but it is easier to get back to the good side now that I know what I'm supposed to do.
 
I am definitely in the "need to learn fundamentals" camp. It wasn't until I understood ball flight and swing concepts that I could even hope to think about my own swing (and I was a chem major, so I'm not a complete science dud).

And I have to say that my softball swing hurt my golf swing, rather than helped it.

Anyway, I've now reached the point at which I know damned well what to do, but I have a hard time putting that knowledge into practice. I suspect this is due to a couple of factors: laziness and lack of muscle memory.

I have to say that I do wish my instructor would tailor my swing just a little more to take "the girls", my lower center of gravity, and my wider hips into account.

Overall, though, I'm pleased with how my swing has changed/improved over the past couple of months. It's beginning to look like a "real" golf swing.

Kim
 
i fixed my slice today using youtube videos. i couldn't believe how a little change made such an amazing difference. it was all in the grip. before I just did thumbs straight down the shaft without offsetting the clubhead or anything. also, i tried keeping my swing on one plane and that helped a lot too. For the mental game, a neat trick I learned in the video was pretending that i was a cards dealer swiping/slapping down and spreading the cards across the table face down (if that makes any sense). This helped me think "card dealer" during my back swing instead of "omg hit the ball hit the ball don't mess up you suck you suck you suck people are watching don't screw up!!!"
 
Last edited:
bridges said:
i gotta see this video lol whats the name of it?
Click to expand...

Here is the poker dealer explanation. I loved this:
[YOUTUBE]el8CuQ12HMw[/YOUTUBE]

Another great one for the slice:
[YOUTUBE]eXjDft0IiEo[/YOUTUBE]
 
Miss Shanksalot said:
I am definitely in the "need to learn fundamentals" camp. It wasn't until I understood ball flight and swing concepts that I could even hope to think about my own swing (and I was a chem major, so I'm not a complete science dud).

And I have to say that my softball swing hurt my golf swing, rather than helped it.

Anyway, I've now reached the point at which I know damned well what to do, but I have a hard time putting that knowledge into practice. I suspect this is due to a couple of factors: laziness and lack of muscle memory.

I have to say that I do wish my instructor would tailor my swing just a little more to take "the girls", my lower center of gravity, and my wider hips into account.

Overall, though, I'm pleased with how my swing has changed/improved over the past couple of months. It's beginning to look like a "real" golf swing.

Kim
Click to expand...

Muscle memory is a myth. Your muscles have no ability or capacity for remembering anything. What you are trying to ingrain is the link that sends the right signals from the brain to those muscles. That's where feel comes into the picture, and it's hard to build a swing on your own until you can sense what is happening without having to think about it. Practice will help make the moves feel more natural, cementing that link to your brain, so it only makes sense to practice correct moves. This results in what is so often miscalled "muscle memory", but is in fact training your brain to feel the right moves.
 
I was taught the fundamentals of the game by my dad, but I have only ever taken one formal lesson from a professional. I think fundamentals should absolutely be offered to make sure the proper concept of swinging along a plane and what should be bent/kept straight/arched/etc....

Beyond that, I definitely think everyone has something unique about their swing that will make it work for him. There are lots of guys on tour who make it pretty clear that success can come from repetition of an 'improper' swing. As long as it can be replicated 50 times a day (assuming putting isn't the same swing lol) you've got yourself a perfectly good golf game.
 
Fourputt said:
Muscle memory is a myth. Your muscles have no ability or capacity for remembering anything. What you are trying to ingrain is the link that sends the right signals from the brain to those muscles. That's where feel comes into the picture, and it's hard to build a swing on your own until you can sense what is happening without having to think about it. Practice will help make the moves feel more natural, cementing that link to your brain, so it only makes sense to practice correct moves. This results in what is so often miscalled "muscle memory", but is in fact training your brain to feel the right moves.
Click to expand...

Um, yeah -- I know that. (I have a degree in chemistry and have taken various A&P courses.) And I expect that most people know what is generally meant by "muscle memory." But did you really want me to type out that whole explanation? Perhaps we can discuss the whole ATP cycle and sodium/potassium ion channels as well? Thanks for assuming I'm an idiot, though. I always appreciate having a table captain around.

Kim
 
Miss Shanksalot said:
Um, yeah -- I know that. (I have a degree in chemistry and have taken various A&P courses.) And I expect that most people know what is generally meant by "muscle memory." But did you really want me to type out that whole explanation? Perhaps we can discuss the whole ATP cycle and sodium/potassium ion channels as well? Thanks for assuming I'm an idiot, though. I always appreciate having a table captain around.

Kim
Click to expand...

Ouch! Now that's funny. :D In Fourputt's defense, I don't think he meant to be condescending. Its just not his style.
 
C-Tech said:
Ouch! Now that's funny. :D In Fourputt's defense, I don't think he meant to be condescending. Its just not his style.
Click to expand...

It's certainly possible that I misunderstood the intentions of someone who labels himself "Head Rules Official." All I know is that in the future, I'll be sure to put quotation marks around "muscle memory" so that there can be no mistaking my intention.

Kim
 
from the outside looking in, it comes across that way imo


C-Tech said:
Ouch! Now that's funny. :D In Fourputt's defense, I don't think he meant to be condescending. Its just not his style.
Click to expand...
 
Miss Shanksalot said:
Um, yeah -- I know that. (I have a degree in chemistry and have taken various A&P courses.) And I expect that most people know what is generally meant by "muscle memory." But did you really want me to type out that whole explanation? Perhaps we can discuss the whole ATP cycle and sodium/potassium ion channels as well? Thanks for assuming I'm an idiot, though. I always appreciate having a table captain around.

Kim
Click to expand...

Sorry.... from now on I'll just assume that you're a genius.... Sheesh!
 
I don’t think any of us believes that muscles actually have the ability to retain past experiences. Muscle Memory is nothing more than a convenient term.
 
Fourputt said:
Sorry.... from now on I'll just assume that you're a genius.... Sheesh!
Click to expand...

I'm not asking you to treat me like a genius. I'm just asking you to think about what you're writing before you make yourself sound so sanctimonious.
 
jnug said:
I don’t think any of us believes that muscles actually have the ability to retain past experiences. Muscle Memory is nothing more than a convenient term.
Click to expand...

Thank you.
 
Miss Shanksalot said:
I'm not asking you to treat me like a genius. I'm just asking you to think about what you're writing before you make yourself sound so sanctimonious.
Click to expand...

You are taking this far too personally. Just because I happened to be answering your post doesn't mean that my comment was aimed specifically at you. Believe it or not you aren't the only one reading the thread, and there really are people who believe in muscle memory in a literal sense.

I bet I can even find people out there who would believe that neurology is a way to tell one's fortune.
 
Okay everybody. Lets get this one back on topic. THanks.
 
Miss Shanksalot said:
Um, yeah -- I know that. (I have a degree in chemistry and have taken various A&P courses.) And I expect that most people know what is generally meant by "muscle memory." But did you really want me to type out that whole explanation? Perhaps we can discuss the whole ATP cycle and sodium/potassium ion channels as well? Thanks for assuming I'm an idiot, though. I always appreciate having a table captain around.

Kim
Click to expand...

LOL---I've got 2 Tee shirts one with the Krebs Cycle and one with a ATP molecule diagram. Kinda Geeky but that's the way I turned out.

Back to Golf---I grew up in currently live in Rural wisconsin. So self taught is the answer for me. No one in my family or group of friends were golfers but I just took an interest in the game and went forward. It's a 80 mile drive to a good teaching pro. I've tried to keep my swing simple so not too many flaws can be magnified. I am average for driving length. In the 260 yard range so I really concentrate on the 150 yard and in game.

My son went to golf camp when he was 12 yo and his game shows the training. All conference in H.S as a freshman. Now he is 22 yo , hits it 300+ yards and has a better 150 and in game than me. I believe the better foundation led him to where he is at now.

BTW I am a self taught fastpitch softball pitcher too. My daughter when Little League age wanted to be a FB pitcher. No one in the area knew how to Windmill pitcher. So we took it upon ourselves to learn. She went on to Start for the Varsity H.S. team as their main hurler for 4 years. All conference for same time period. Me-I play around at it. Again she went to camps early on and had a good foundation.

If I had it to do over again I would have taken lessons early in my golf life. now at 57 yo I am content with my cuurent play.
 
"Well you lost your swing... We got to go find it... Now it's somewhere... in the harmony... of all that is... All that was... All that will be..."

Unique swings are imo the best because we're all different, so we're all going to perform our best, with differences in our swings.
 
I think you learn the basics/fundamentals of a swing, and then you put it into practice how it fits you. Like math for instance, there's more than one way to solve a problem. The teacher shows you one way (isn't necessarily the best way) and then as you work on the problems through homework, you develop multiple ways of getting to the same answer. Same as with golf, your instructor can show you one way, and over time and through practice, you can tweak it to how it fits your swing :)
 
U_of_Bucky said:
If I had it to do over again I would have taken lessons early in my golf life. now at 57 yo I am content with my cuurent play.
Click to expand...

This is basically me too. I'm not really interested in turning my pastime into work at age 63, so I'll just continue to plod along where I am. I still have that occasional game where I actually break 80.... and I also have the one where I lose the battle to break 90. But I'm still having fun. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top