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Do any THP'ers just swing the club?

I rarely have a swing thought. I am not technical in any way. I wish I had the time to devote a lot more to the game but I don’t.
 
I need to keep my mind active, so I have at least 3 swing thoughts per shot haha.
 
Just swing? Not unless things are going pretty horribly for me at that point.
 
OldandStiff said:
Just swing? Not unless things are going pretty horribly for me at that point.
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Same here. I'm always thinking about what I have to do in order to hit the shot I want. Like @OldandStiff said, if I'm playing poorly then I just walk up and swing.
 
Carolina Golfer said:
I was curious if anyone here just swings the club, with no swing thoughts. Maybe, just set up for a cut or draw and that is it. I'd like to stay away from talking to body parts. ie: start the downswing with the hips or a one piece takeaway etc. I've taken lessons and have tried it all. I know with just swinging it, I will have a little less power. But, hopefully it will be more consistent with a less cluttered mind!
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This post is spot on for me. I've just recently realized I need to think less and just let my natural ability take over and adjust from there. I have found myself trying to copy different elements of a swing from different teaching ideas and while I have had some success with this, I am always WAY too invested in the mechanical aspects of the swing and not paying enough about scoring on the course. I find myself so wrapped up in swing positions, it is ruining my fun and enjoyment on the course.

So this week begins with a move to simplify my swing. Let my body swing it like it can and adjust from there. If i find myself slicing, then adjust grip/alignment/ball position/posture. If i am pull-hooking? Adjust grip/ball position/alignment/posture but keep the swing thoughts to a minimum. And look forward to less mental anguish over a shot. Just pull the trigger, go find it and do it again.
 
If your swing is pretty good and devoid of "killer moves" as Jim McLean describes them, a LOT of good can come from focusing on rhythm/timing and tempo. Some people use a 3 or 4 syllable word in their head (Tom Watson uses Edelweiss), others practice with a metronome. Anxiety or anticipation of a PB round can really screw with your tempo and timing, so it's good to have some key to help you keep on track.

Besides that, sometimes the very smallest of adjustments can yield immediate results. Playing the ball just a touch forward or back in the stance, barely widening or narrowing the stance, choking up or down very slightly on the club, slightly weakening or strengthening your grip, slightly opening or closing your stance, slightly altering your shaft position at address... these are all just tiny adjustments that can help an otherwise solid swing; it just takes some experimentation and practice to see what works.
 
On the course, you have to pick a target and just go...For practice (not pre-round), we suggest you spilt it up among three main “types” of swing, usually in this order:
  1. Very technical and internal focusing on repetition on the motion pattern you’re trying to change. (Don’t do this pre round if u can help it)
  2. Feels
  3. Targets
 
pattyboy21 said:
If your swing is pretty good and devoid of "killer moves" as Jim McLean describes them, a LOT of good can come from focusing on rhythm/timing and tempo. Some people use a 3 or 4 syllable word in their head (Tom Watson uses Edelweiss), others practice with a metronome. Anxiety or anticipation of a PB round can really screw with your tempo and timing, so it's good to have some key to help you keep on track.

Besides that, sometimes the very smallest of adjustments can yield immediate results. Playing the ball just a touch forward or back in the stance, barely widening or narrowing the stance, choking up or down very slightly on the club, slightly weakening or strengthening your grip, slightly opening or closing your stance, slightly altering your shaft position at address... these are all just tiny adjustments that can help an otherwise solid swing; it just takes some experimentation and practice to see what works.
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Most excellent post.
 
MetroCat said:
I tend to go in and out of several hobbies, ham radio, astrophotography,
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Tour player Jimmy Walker is passionate about astrophotography and has an elaborate equipment set up at his Texas home.
Do truckers still use ham radio like they used to in the old days before cell phones ?
 
DG_1234 said:
Tour player Jimmy Walker is passionate about astrophotography and has an elaborate equipment set up at his Texas home.
Do truckers still use ham radio like they used to in the old days before cell phones ?
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Funny you mention that, I watched the Ferherty episode with him a couple days ago, he does some good work and has big bucks tied up in hardware. Truckers use CB which is an unlicensed frequency of radio, anyone can get one and get on the air legally, ham requires a license(several levels) from the FCC. The last time I talked on CB, and it's been a while, it seemed a bit quieter than in years past. It does have a place on the road though, I was on a cross country trip and talked to a trucker who informed me of a bad accident that had I10 shut down near Las Cruces New Mexico a few miles ahead before we hit the pile up. He told me of what exit to take and how to get around it on side streets in town and saved me probably a couple hours of sitting in a traffic jam. Can't do that with cell phones.
 
MetroCat said:
Funny you mention that, I watched the Ferherty episode with him a couple days ago, he does some good work and has big bucks tied up in hardware. Truckers use CB which is an unlicensed frequency of radio, anyone can get one and get on the air legally, ham requires a license(several levels) from the FCC. The last time I talked on CB, and it's been a while, it seemed a bit quieter than in years past. It does have a place on the road though, I was on a cross country trip and talked to a trucker who informed me of a bad accident that had I10 shut down near Las Cruces New Mexico a few miles ahead before we hit the pile up. He told me of what exit to take and how to get around it on side streets in town and saved me probably a couple hours of sitting in a traffic jam. Can't do that with cell phones.
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Thanks for your reply. If you don't mind, one more question please. Is ham radio for hobbyists or is it used by professionals for some services, functionality ?
 
Carolina Golfer said:
I was curious if anyone here just swings the club, with no swing thoughts. Maybe, just set up for a cut or draw and that is it. I'd like to stay away from talking to body parts. ie: start the downswing with the hips or a one piece takeaway etc. I've taken lessons and have tried it all. I know with just swinging it, I will have a little less power. But, hopefully it will be more consistent with a less cluttered mind!
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pretty much. I am too simple minded to get to cluttered.
 
DG_1234 said:
Thanks for your reply. If you don't mind, one more question please. Is ham radio for hobbyists or is it used by professionals for some services, functionality ?
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It's a hobby but I'm sure there are businesses that use ham radio(hopefully licensed), especially in rural locations with poor cell service for communication. A base unit with a tall antenna tower can communicate with a handheld 2 meter radio much more effectively at longer ranges than a CB radio and you don't get the unlicensed clowns on the air like with CB. There are also other business and emergency frequencies as well, police and fire departments are under different licenses. I have seen in rural areas in-between towns on highways in Texas small buildings that are obviously businesses with 100+ or so foot towers and antennas and have wondered if they are using 2 meter ham which is one of the lowest class frequency/licenses in ham.
 
MetroCat said:
It's a hobby but I'm sure there are businesses that use ham radio(hopefully licensed), especially in rural locations with poor cell service for communication. A base unit with a tall antenna tower can communicate with a handheld 2 meter radio much more effectively at longer ranges than a CB radio and you don't get the unlicensed clowns on the air like with CB. There are also other business and emergency frequencies as well, police and fire departments are under different licenses. I have seen in rural areas in-between towns on highways in Texas small buildings that are obviously businesses with 100+ or so foot towers and antennas and have wondered if they are using 2 meter ham which is one of the lowest class frequency/licenses in ham.
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Thanks for your reply, which helped me learn something today.
 
swinging the club also has helped with chipping yips. You can't strangle the club if the club is swinging freely, I am going to try this for a few rounds.
 
i do my thinking on the range, retool the swing with an instructor and ingrain new moves.

On the course, you go through your routine and swing.
 
GolfLivesMatter said:
There's an order to this: 1) Swing. 2) Throw. :D
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GLM, I played with a scratch golfer years ago and I asked him what his secret was. He said, he feels the swing is a throwing motion. It never translated into my swing. Still trying to feel/play/figure out the throw part.
 
Desmond said:
i do my thinking on the range, retool the swing with an instructor and ingrain new moves.

On the course, you go through your routine and swing.
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That's the goal. But, I think it is widely held the lower half (ground up) initiates the downswing. How do you do that my just swinging?
 
Carolina Golfer said:
That's the goal. But, I think it is widely held the lower half (ground up) initiates the downswing. How do you do that my just swinging?
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Swing, to me, doesn't mean only swinging your arms, just like the golfer who said to throw.

It's your entire swing - which means using the lower, upper body, arms and leave the head for a "feel." When you throw a ball, a baseball player uses his lower body before the upper body - the feet shift and the upper body and arms engage. Similarly in a golf swing, although a different motion with the club and body.

I think you need to get out of your head when you address the ball and just feel/imagine the ball flight/swing you want.
 
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Desmond said:
Swing, to me, doesn't mean only swinging your arms, just like the golfer who said to throw.

It's your entire swing - which means using the lower, upper body, arms and leave the head for a "feel." When you throw a ball, a baseball player uses his lower body before the upper body - the feet shift and the upper body and arms engage. Similarly in a golf swing, although a different motion with the club and body.

I think you need to get out of your head when you address the ball and just feel/imagine the ball flight/swing you want.
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The throwing motion is very close to the sidearm motion used to skip a rock across a pond. The right arm is in a nearly identical position to the golf swing from the top thru release. I just tried this the other day by throwing whiffle golf balls across a large pool. In order to skip the ball (rock) across the water, I naturally xfer weight to my left side, open my hips, my spine angle naturally maintains a 30-40 degree angle, and my right arm is bent before release, close to my body, and all of this naturally promotes a whipping action upon release.

Your ball throwing comparison is good because we employ similar motions, however, we can see the target or person before throwing the ball, and the release point is much higher. We don't see the target in golf (must visualize as you stated), which causes some disconnect when comparing the two processes. The rock-skip motion (for me) is the most similar motion because I'm not really focused on a particular end-point for the throw, I'm more focused on the motions / angles required to skip the rock.

The one thing about throwing a ball is we learn very quickly that if we want to throw the ball farther, we increase shoulder turn, more wrist, and we step in faster to make the arm whip motion. In golf we don't step-in per se, but the transfer of weight to our left side is akin to stepping-into the shot. The squat move (IMO) is an advanced step-in move. One could say Nicklaus was as close to stepping-into a golf swing of about any golfers.
 
GolfLivesMatter said:
The throwing motion is very close to the sidearm motion used to skip a rock across a pond. The right arm is in a nearly identical position to the golf swing from the top thru release. I just tried this the other day by throwing whiffle golf balls across a large pool. In order to skip the ball (rock) across the water, I naturally xfer weight to my left side, open my hips, my spine angle naturally maintains a 30-40 degree angle, and my right arm is bent before release, close to my body, and all of this naturally promotes a whipping action upon release.

Your ball throwing comparison is good because we employ similar motions, however, we can see the target or person before throwing the ball, and the release point is much higher. We don't see the target in golf (must visualize as you stated), which causes some disconnect when comparing the two processes. The rock-skip motion (for me) is the most similar motion because I'm not really focused on a particular end-point for the throw, I'm more focused on the motions / angles required to skip the rock.

The one thing about throwing a ball is we learn very quickly that if we want to throw the ball farther, we increase shoulder turn, more wrist, and we step in faster to make the arm whip motion. In golf we don't step-in per se, but the transfer of weight to our left side is akin to stepping-into the shot. The squat move (IMO) is an advanced step-in move. One could say Nicklaus was as close to stepping-into a golf swing of about any golfers.
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Good stuff GLM. If we can figure out how to transfer the skipping of the rock to the golf swing for all players that would be great. Good observation, in golf we don't look at the target. That's the tricky part.
 
Most definitely. I don't take practice swings. I just address the ball, and swing to what feels natural. It's taken years of trying other things, but I finally have that pretty much down.
 
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