Why does everyone want to change my swing?

Every time. But it's not about telling them I'm not interested in their advice. It is the unusual number of times I have to ward off critiques and unsolicited advice. It becomes a distraction for me when I'm playing a round or just hitting some balls at the range. For some reason, guys feel compelled to want to give me lessons.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
You must have a really unique swing to attract all these people. Now I kinda want to see it.
 
That sounds like inviting more people to critique my swing on a larger platform. No thanks.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
Yep, I knew you'd decline.
 
I am male. Very manly.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
This seems odd to me that you are constantly encountering this. Even when my swing was complete and utter trash I rarely encountered anyone giving me uninvited swing tips. Maybe I looked too far gone?
Either way, I'm sure it's irritating. Just say "No Thanks" and carry on IMO.

I aksed because it seems like mostly women have to deal with insistent “coaches.”

I’m with the “tell ‘em to go fly a kite” camp.
 
I say who cares what others want to say. If you enjoy the game with your current equipment and have the swing that produces a score you are happy with then I wouldn't bother to listen to anyone. I would just say thanks and that sounds good. Maybe I will try next time and move on. I have to think you are getting the advice because you are very personable to speak with and fun to play with. If I play with someone that just wants to play alone and doesn't like talking, I tend not to offer much in conversation. However, when I get those playing with me are very friendly, we talk about all kinds of things. We have fun joking about our equipment, how bad my ball just went OB, laugh at a missed putt, and even a little jabbing when I play with the right person. My guess is you are on the very friendly side and people like to talk to you.
 


Here you go! Critique away!

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk


No critique from me. Sure, I can see a few things people much better than I will be able to say. However, if you are hitting 79 I would take your swing all day long. People say to me how nice my swing looks and they can't believe I have a higher handicap. However, I have a higher handicap and never scored a 79. I think it's all about enjoying the game and if you're happy with your score then that is all that matters.
 
Just for the record, I only shot 79 once. It is my all-time lowest score. I usually shoot in the mid to low 80s.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
 


Here you go! Critique away!

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
I see nothing I would walk across the driving range to offer unsolicited advice about.

Nice house, btw!
 
Exactly what the OP described is why I don't let other golfers bother me.

A 79 is a great score. There's no reason to change any thing unless the the owner of that 79 sees the need to.
 
The whole game is about comfort and enjoyment for me. I'm pretty sure I could perform better if I used different clubs or took lessons. But I don't want golf to be about that. I don't want to have to think about the mechanics of my swing when I'm having a few beers and playing with friends or even strangers. And I don't want to chase all the new technology that comes out every month in search for those magical clubs.

What?! That is way too healthy an attitude to have! Who the hell plays golf to relax and have fun?!
Seriously, you're a man after my own heart. In the words of Buzz Lightyear:
"I like your thinking, cowboy!"
Buzz.jpg

And when do you want to tee it up together lol?
 


Here you go! Critique away!

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk


Thanks for posting.
Are there things you can improve on? Sure. If you have no interest in working hard to improve (and let's face it, for most people it is going to take a lot of work to improve), then stick with what works for you. If you enjoy what you're getting out of the game, that's the #1 thing & nothing else really matters.

My swing might look prettier than yours, but I've never come close to shooting 79, so take that for what it's worth.

I still think most people give unsolicited advice out a sense of wanting to be helpful.
I like the idea of saying "Sorry I'm already working with a coach". That should shut most of that stuff down.
 
Unsolicited advice straight up sucks man. A simple thanks for the advice, but I will stick with what I am doing, is all that is needed from your end.
The hard part is the person on the other end taking the hint and letting you be.
I like my swing, have worked hard to get it where it is, and the tips/tricks can sometime work their way into your head and cause problems.

You do you. Don't worry about anything else.
 
That doesn't sound that unorthodox. Kenny kinda stands the shaft up then shallows it.

Back in the early 90's I went to the Olympic Club, SF to watch the Tour Championship (which I think they played there for two consecutive years, before that event moved to Eastlake- Atlanta as its annual home). I am standing alongside a fairway watching a group play their tee shots and one guy has a very unusual swing, I had never seen anything like it from a Tour player. When he got closer I saw it was Kenny Perry. That guy I think is the poster boy for proving that good effective tempo and rhythm can make up for all sorts of mechanical swing position faults.
 
It looks like a beginner's swing. That's probably why you get so much advice. Ball flight matters more than how a swing looks. My swing looks decent until you see my ball flight and the 98 I shot yesterday.

Sent from my SM-T820 using Tapatalk
 
It looks like a beginner's swing. That's probably why you get so much advice. Ball flight matters more than how a swing looks. My swing looks decent until you see my ball flight and the 98 I shot yesterday.

Sent from my SM-T820 using Tapatalk
The beauty of my swing isn't in the aesthetics. As you can see, my backswing is slow and deliberate. And it's my natural movement. So I can get the same position every time without any thought. And my swing makes sense to me. my setup is very consistent. I use on ball position for all irons and fairway woods that's forward of center. Driver is off the left heel. Putter is in the middle of my stance. The other thing about my game is that I'm a great putter. Especially lag putting. I save a lot of strokes on the greens. When I broke 80 it was because I was hitting fairways and greens and was putting lights out.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
 
The beauty of my swing isn't in the aesthetics. As you can see, my backswing is slow and deliberate. And it's my natural movement. So I can get the same position every time without any thought. And my swing makes sense to me. my setup is very consistent. I use on ball position for all irons and fairway woods that's forward of center. Driver is off the left heel. Putter is in the middle of my stance. The other thing about my game is that I'm a great putter. Especially lag putting. I save a lot of strokes on the greens. When I broke 80 it was because I was hitting fairways and greens and was putting lights out.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

The one thing that I noticed is the sway off the ball (your head moves to the left) - but the reason that's bad is , most people can't get back into the correct position at impact. If you're making good contact & shooting in the low 80's, obviously you're doing just fine. All that really matters is the score. I think too many golfers (especially high handicappers - myself included) play "golf swing" instead of golf. Totally focused on mechanics, and positions, and trying to achieve that perfect swing. And they don't focus at all on the target or putting the ball into the hole.
 
The one thing that I noticed is the sway off the ball (your head moves to the left) - but the reason that's bad is , most people can't get back into the correct position at impact. If you're making good contact & shooting in the low 80's, obviously you're doing just fine. All that really matters is the score. I think too many golfers (especially high handicappers - myself included) play "golf swing" instead of golf. Totally focused on mechanics, and positions, and trying to achieve that perfect swing. And they don't focus at all on the target or putting the ball into the hole.
Swaying doesn't seem to bother my swing. It feels so natural and I get into a good rhythm with it. Actually, I love everything about my swing. I used to be the guy that took tips from people. But, it jacked up my swing and I started to not like the game. I decided that I wasn't going to listen to anyone anymore and since making that decision I have played my best golf. I went from shooting in the 100s to shooting in the 80s. I don't work on my swing at all anymore. I just swing because I like swinging. And I'm becoming more consistent over time without changing anything. That's one of the reasons why I get annoyed by other people commenting because I'm playing the best golf I have ever played and it's easy and enjoyable. I don't want anyone to disrupt my peace with the game.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
 
Oh, well that clears that up. If OP is a single digit player, then yes, stfu everyone. ;)
Even if he was a 36, stfu everyone.

That's my point. I don't want to film my swing. I'm perfectly happy with it. I play 15-20 rounds a year. I don't do leagues. I just like swinging the club and playing my own game. I'm not a long hitter, but that's ok with me because I like to use all of the clubs in my bag. Hitting driver and short irons all day sounds boring and a waste of a full set of clubs.

I envy anyone who is as content with their game as you seem to be. If given a choice between being a single-digit golfer obsessed with getting to scratch, or having the game I have now but enjoying it completely, I'd take the latter all day long. You are lucky for that.

I don't envy you having people crossing that boundary, however. That rarely happens to me... must be my surly personality. My playing partner tried to give me advice once.... once!
 
Unsolicited swing advice seems to be a pretty common thing, so that not on you. We're also mostly a society of conformers. So someone who doesn't fit how people want or expect them to can make those people uncomfortable, and make them want to change the person. Again not on you. Just keep doing you and enjoying it your way.

If it helps, someone swinging vintage is the LAST person I would offer any advice on changing anything to. Obviously doing it their way and I think that's great. I would probably ask to take a peek at what you're swinging though, and wouldn't ask, but would jump at the chance to hit one with them myself.
 
Swing advice can be a problem whether solicited or unsolicited. I have a buddy that will try anything and for the most part none of what he tries helps him and that is mainly because the advice given is not the right advice. I think this may be a fairly frequent problem. I am fortunate in that I have yet to have a lot of swing advice given to me, but even so I would weigh any and all advice very carefully.
 
The only thing you need to do it get the club square at impact and it does not matter how you get there or how it looks just swing your swing


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
The only thing you need to do it get the club square at impact and it does not matter how you get there or how it looks just swing your swing


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
One of the interesting things that I have noticed about the golf swing when watching the tour pros is that everyone has their own quirks, but they all make it work. When you look at DJ, Rory, Brooks, JT, Freddie Boom Boom, Tiger, Matt Wolff, Furyk, Daly, etc. ; none of their swings match. Most of them have swings that an instructor wouldn't teach. And they are good ball strikers. Not all of them have flat wrists, or straight left arm, or neutral grip, and back swings perfectly down the line. But they work. Go figure.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
 
Not all of them have flat wrists, or straight left arm, or neutral grip, and back swings perfectly down the line. But they work. Go figure.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk


On Tour it's about swing rhythm and tempo. When I was a kid I took some lessons from a very competent instructor who had played 6 or 7 years on Tour before giving that up to teach full time. He told me that on Tour it is all about tempo. Tour players are constantly trying to find and maintain a good effective swing tempo (pace) and rhythm (coordination of body parts moving). Tempo and rhythm can overcome all sorts of mechanical swing position faults.
That said, fundamentally sound address technique (grip-posture-alignment) will naturally create fundamentally sound mechanical positions, and all those good fundamentals absolutely does make finding/maintaining good effective swing tempo and rhythm much easier than using unorthodox technique.
But, like you, many players are not interested in learning or practicing textbook technique. So, it truly would make good sense if some teachers out there offered an alternative choice, one which embraced the concept of teaching only tempo/rhythm.
 
Back
Top