GolfLivesMatter
Well-known member
I posted the below thread as a response to how to get better at golf, but I wanted to give it a topic for others to respond and think about. I see many parallels in the learning process despite the two activities being wildly different. Both piano and golf require actions to be carried out far faster than mental instructions can be administered. I think this also crosses into the book Inner Golf for those who have read the book. Also, I could equate this to learning the guitar, especially finger-picking!
IMO golf is an iterative learning process that can't be mentally "forced". I equate golf to learning how to play the piano. Both are "mind games" in their own way. I can study Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata sheet music, watch others play the piece over and over, read about technique, but then there's actually playing the piece. My piano instructor tells me the only way to play the piece is by feeling the music because the fingers are moving FAR faster than the brain can dish-out instructions. Of course, practicing the piece helps a great deal, but to play it on stage as a soloist is a completely different story. Much like range vs. course golf, or practice swing vs. actual swing.
No matter how many stern commands I gave to my left hand to play a run of three notes, or a chord, my left hand wouldn't "listen" (anyone out there tell themselves to maintain spine angle etc, and the body doesn't listen?). Then one day I sat down to play, having given up on my left hand, about ready to quit, and out of nowhere, my left hand suddenly freed-up....played without "trying". Studies have shown that those who learn the piano develop a better connection between the left and right sides of the brain. At first, the right side of the brain dominates everything...issuing statements like "right" "wrong" "do this" "don't do that" "you idiot!...can't you hit lower C?"....i.e....heavy-duty instructions. While the left side of the brain hangs around waiting to play. It's why so many people quit playing the piano or guitar....they didn't hang around long enough to eventually tune-out the harsh instructional right side of the brain.
The piano left-hand issues is interesting because of the lack of movement required, mainly five fingers that move a half-inch up/down, or a foot right to left!!! Yet such turmoil. There was a subliminal gauntlet. Now complicate that with the series of moves required in golf. There's a LOT more going on. If one extrapolates the difficulty of a simple movement like left hand fingers in piano to the myriad of instructions for many body parts, it's a daunting proposition. I really think folks can improve far more quickly by having good fundamentals, then after that just "play". Accept mistakes, it's just part of the iterative process. Actually expect mistakes! As with the piano, I believe over time the left side of the brain finally kicks in and everything becomes far easier.
IMO golf is an iterative learning process that can't be mentally "forced". I equate golf to learning how to play the piano. Both are "mind games" in their own way. I can study Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata sheet music, watch others play the piece over and over, read about technique, but then there's actually playing the piece. My piano instructor tells me the only way to play the piece is by feeling the music because the fingers are moving FAR faster than the brain can dish-out instructions. Of course, practicing the piece helps a great deal, but to play it on stage as a soloist is a completely different story. Much like range vs. course golf, or practice swing vs. actual swing.
No matter how many stern commands I gave to my left hand to play a run of three notes, or a chord, my left hand wouldn't "listen" (anyone out there tell themselves to maintain spine angle etc, and the body doesn't listen?). Then one day I sat down to play, having given up on my left hand, about ready to quit, and out of nowhere, my left hand suddenly freed-up....played without "trying". Studies have shown that those who learn the piano develop a better connection between the left and right sides of the brain. At first, the right side of the brain dominates everything...issuing statements like "right" "wrong" "do this" "don't do that" "you idiot!...can't you hit lower C?"....i.e....heavy-duty instructions. While the left side of the brain hangs around waiting to play. It's why so many people quit playing the piano or guitar....they didn't hang around long enough to eventually tune-out the harsh instructional right side of the brain.
The piano left-hand issues is interesting because of the lack of movement required, mainly five fingers that move a half-inch up/down, or a foot right to left!!! Yet such turmoil. There was a subliminal gauntlet. Now complicate that with the series of moves required in golf. There's a LOT more going on. If one extrapolates the difficulty of a simple movement like left hand fingers in piano to the myriad of instructions for many body parts, it's a daunting proposition. I really think folks can improve far more quickly by having good fundamentals, then after that just "play". Accept mistakes, it's just part of the iterative process. Actually expect mistakes! As with the piano, I believe over time the left side of the brain finally kicks in and everything becomes far easier.