Subconscious golf

Asden105

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I notice when someone's play poorly they tend to get away from subconscious swinging into overcontrolling. I think is because we're so afraid to play badly. The odd bad game is just that. And odd bad shot shouldnt be analyzed too much, unless its a nagging problem. If you hit a good drive then a bad approach, dont analyze your wrist angles, your elbow or your left leg. Accept it, bad shots are part of the game.

When you get overcontrolling and try to steer the ball you get tight, which leaves the clubface open, and you slice. That's not always the case, because you might hit the ball with a shank or a hook, depending on where youre trying to "place" the shot. Trying to force the ball into the fairway is steering. Avoid it if you want to play well.

I dont want to look like an expert, but this is my experience when I play poorly, and what others have told me when they play badly.

When i play well, even if i play conservative, I swing aggressively, to a conservative target. Therefore I am more likely to hit the ball well. There will still be bad shots, but if I'm not worried about it, I can probably get up and down and move on to the next hole.

What do you think?
 
It's so true, but yet that subconscious state is such an elusive one. I know I've had stretches where things felt effortless, but those are memories at this point. Hope to get back there and manage to ride that wave for a bit longer. Getting out of one's head requires certain comfort with your swing. That isn't always easy to achieve
 
This is the basis of Shawn Clement's teaching. If you get out of the way and let your brain perform the task it knows how to perform, you will be far more successful than if you're trying to determine if your hands are in the right position, if you're bumping your left hip, etc.

Additionally, if you allow your swing to work with gravity, your brain knows how to utilize gravity. If you take control away from gravity, you take crucial information away from your brain.

[video=youtube;Mj0xFfX_-ak]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj0xFfX_-ak[/video]
 
It's True, but yet that subconscious state is such an elusive one. I know I've had stretches where things felt effortless, but those are memories at this point. Hope to get back there and manage to ride that wave for a bit longer. Getting out of one's head requires certain comfort with your swing. That isn't always easy to achieve

Its like throwing a ball. What goes through your mind when you throw a ball? You just throw. Its the same thing with golf. Choose a target, and hit it.

Im no expert, but I have given this some research and basically Ive come to the conclusion that this is how we perform all skills in life. We walk. We dont think, left foot in front of right, lift heel, bend knees, etc. We just walk.

Same thing with golf. If youve been playing for any length of time, you can hit a golf ball.

Think about this for a moment. When you throw a ball your focus is on throwing, not the elbow or wrist action. But when you throw, believe it or not the elbow, the wrist, the shoulder do what they're supposed to do naturally. The technique takes care of itself.

Look at where you want to hit the ball. Always have a target. Then hit the ball there. I guarantee this works, because Ive done it for years. And ive improved from 95 to 81 in a short amount of time.

Try It for a few weeks and see what happens.
 
You can't have subconscious golf without a repeatable swing. As. I've as it is to think it comes into play, it really doesn't. Sure there might be one or two rounds over a period of time for PB or one of those special days. But for most golf is very much a thinking mans game
 
You can't have subconscious golf without a repeatable swing. As. I've as it is to think it comes into play, it really doesn't. Sure there might be one or two rounds over a period of time for PB or one of those special days. But for most golf is very much a thinking mans game

This is where I am coming from as well Panda.

All of the above assumes a repeatable and learned technique before you can just "shut off the brain".

I play my best and have my best swings when engaged conscientiously. My pre-shot routine is built around mechanics to build a recent memory to act on. The shot requires I keep a swing thought active, if I don't, there is a good chance I don't release the club and my hands get behind my hips (wide open face).

Considering that shot shaping would indicate a non standard form, do pros really ever play subconscience???
 
It's what Dr. Bob Rotella talks about and I try to get into but I worth Freddie that having a repeatable swing or a consistent one helps
 
Its like throwing a ball. What goes through your mind when you throw a ball? You just throw. Its the same thing with golf. Choose a target, and hit it.

Im no expert, but I have given this some research and basically Ive come to the conclusion that this is how we perform all skills in life. We walk. We dont think, left foot in front of right, lift heel, bend knees, etc. We just walk.

Same thing with golf. If youve been playing for any length of time, you can hit a golf ball.

Think about this for a moment. When you throw a ball your focus is on throwing, not the elbow or wrist action. But when you throw, believe it or not the elbow, the wrist, the shoulder do what they're supposed to do naturally. The technique takes care of itself.

Look at where you want to hit the ball. Always have a target. Then hit the ball there. I guarantee this works, because Ive done it for years. And ive improved from 95 to 81 in a short amount of time.

Try It for a few weeks and see what happens.
Walking is something most have spent all but 8 months of their lives doing. It's not even close in golf. You shot 51 the other day, right? There was nothing subconscious about that round. The motion of swinging the club my be subconscious but swinging it the same each time and well, that takes 1000s of hours. We usually watch guys on tv that have that skill.

If you hit a bad shot, you have to figure out why so you don't repeat the same action. It's just an inherent trait. Rory his a high right on 12 at bayhill. He was immediately thinking about what happened so it wouldn't happen again. Even the best in the world think during a round. If Rory plays subconscious golf 85% of his rounds, you might be doing so 20%.
 
You can't have subconscious golf without a repeatable swing. As. I've as it is to think it comes into play, it really doesn't. Sure there might be one or two rounds over a period of time for PB or one of those special days. But for most golf is very much a thinking mans game

Agreed 10000%
 
I generally agree with the OP that steering is bad. However, I dont think steering is a result of subconscious thinking, but rather is conscious thinking. The problem is when the subconscious is remembering all the "bad shots" and so the active concious thought is to steer the ball.

~Rock
 
I tend to agree with the OP and think that the less you think during the golf swing, the better off you will be. That being said you have to consciously think as you build a swing that you can rely on and it may take years.

I know that when I play well I have a swing trigger that starts the swing process and once it goes, the rest of the swing just follows. Now that's not to say it works perfectly or that I can't screw it up, but generally I feel like I'm relying on my previous work and just turning it loose.

I think Henrik Stenson is a great example. He has a very apparent trigger and once he does it, his golf swing just unfolds before him. Does he execute perfectly every time? Certainly not, but far better than most.
 
I tend to agree with the OP and think that the less you think during the golf swing, the better off you will be. That being said you have to consciously think as you build a swing that you can rely on and it may take years.

I know that when I play well I have a swing trigger that starts the swing process and once it goes, the rest of the swing just follows. Now that's not to say it works perfectly or that I can't screw it up, but generally I feel like I'm relying on my previous work and just turning it loose.

I think Henrik Stenson is a great example. He has a very apparent trigger and once he does it, his golf swing just unfolds before him. Does he execute perfectly every time? Certainly not, but far better than most.

pretty hard to compare a subconscious repeatable "good" trusting swing of a tour pro vs the average weekend worrier. One must first have a "good" repeatable trusting swing that is ingrained and no longer requires a lot of thought. I quote the word "good" because imo its possible to have a repeatable swing that requires little thought and yet its not the swing that results in good consistent golf.

Until one actually possesses and ingrains the good repeatable trustworthy swing into their system they will have no choice but to think about it because its not yet there. You cant "not" think about something you haven't yet obtained.

Imo the only reason inconsistent players sometimes say they play so much better when they don't think about anything is because the not so good nor consistent swing happens to be working better that day. But thats only right up till its inconsistency shows up again which is inevitable to happen because of the very fact they don't yet posses that good repeatable trustworthy swing in the first place. And when it no longer works they will begin to again think about it. Very often its not the non thinking that results in better play as many would testify to but its the poorer play that then results in the thinking.
 
pretty hard to compare a subconscious repeatable "good" trusting swing of a tour pro vs the average weekend worrier. One must first have a "good" repeatable trusting swing that is ingrained and no longer requires a lot of thought. I quote the word "good" because imo its possible to have a repeatable swing that requires little thought and yet its not the swing that results in good consistent golf.

Until one actually possesses and ingrains the good repeatable trustworthy swing into their system they will have no choice but to think about it because its not yet there. You cant "not" think about something you haven't yet obtained.

Imo the only reason inconsistent players sometimes say they play so much better when they don't think about anything is because the not so good nor consistent swing happens to be working better that day. But thats only right up till its inconsistency shows up again which is inevitable to happen because of the very fact they don't yet posses that good repeatable trustworthy swing in the first place. And when it no longer works they will begin to again think about it. Very often its not the non thinking that results in better play as many would testify to but its the poorer play that then results in the thinking.

I agree. See my first paragraph, second sentence.
 
I don't know about the subconscious/conscious thing, but I do know that too many swing thoughts will cause bad things, like tension, and many people that struggle are probably thinking about 5 different thoughts before they even take the club back, and get stiff trying to put it all together.
 
I don't know about the subconscious/conscious thing, but I do know that too many swing thoughts will cause bad things, like tension, and many people that struggle are probably thinking about 5 different thoughts before they even take the club back, and get stiff trying to put it all together.

sure, this can and does happen too I get it.
Fwiw all just my opinion.
But honestly and especially as the caps go up there (generally speaking for the most part) isn't a "good" subconsciously repeatable swing that yet exists which doesn't have to be thought about. What there is that exists is usually an inconsistent non repetitive and often penalizing swing that cant be trusted but for only small given periods of time and thats only because whatever version of that swing is currently being used happens to be working well enough at the time. That is for the most part the reason why the high caps. Its basically an inability to make enough good shoots often enough without being penal and errant. A 96 one day and a 108 the next, etc...Reason being? A swing that is not a consistently good repeatable one. So imo it stands to reason that the swing will be thought about until its actually one that is trustworthy enough and not just for a round but for majority shots taken through majority rounds played.

Its inevitable an inconsistent swing is going to have to be thought about imo and if its not the only thing we will have is a continued inconsistent swing. Make inconsistent swings without thought and we will then simply only repeat nothing but an inconsistent swing. Good one day or for a few holes and bad the next.

Too many thoughts can hurt too I understand and certainly as we play a round we may want to tame the amount of thoughts. But that imo only works out ok when we are making serious good practice sessions and/or practice rounds in between. If ones practice is minimal but then mostly just goes and plays rounds to score well he's going to have some swing thinking to do imo as he plays because that's also practice since hes not getting enough in order to "not" think as he plays. An inconsistent swing resulting in inconsistent play is going to promote swing thoughts. It just has to imo.
 
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