Don’t Swing Without Your Mental Image

Golf is NOT a “no brainer”. You can’t afford to setup and execute each shot without a mental plan and image. I have read blogs where the writer suggests that you should just choose your target and then swing without any mental preparation. Believe me, I have tried it and nothing could be worse. Every swing is unique for every condition that you face (wind, stance, ball location and the mental impact of your last shot).

Reading a recent issue of GOLF Digest, I was amazed at the detail that Collin Morikawa puts into every shot. I just wanted to share the thoughts that he quoted:
PLAN A: “When it’s critical to hit the fairway, I go with a little cut shape off the tee. My typical miss is to over cut the ball. It happens when my arms get disconnected from my body on the backswing [where his trailing elbow is almost touching his side at the top]. To make sure a cut doesn’t become a slice, I treat my arms and torso as one unit as I start back. Try it. You’ll feel like your backswing is abbreviated, yet fully wound.”

For his “little cut shot” to hit more fairways, Collin keeps his trailing elbow almost touching his body as shown in this photo.

PLAN B: “When I want to reach back for a few extra yards, I tee the ball higher and make a bigger turn, which makes my swing longer. I’ll some-times put my right hand on my right hip and mimic a backswing to rehearse this longer drive. I want to feel my right leg straightening and my right shoulder moving back and around my body [where his trailing elbow separates from his side]. If I copy that when I swing, I can really turn it loose.” [End of Collin’s quote.]

Collin has a mental plan for each shot. And you should have one too. I try to follow his plan A to keep my trailing elbow close to my body to force my backswing rotation. I have to avoid his plan B (for extra yards as that is where I get into trouble with wild slices).

Collin Morikawa really does have flexibility to rotate and keep his leading arm straight throughout his swing. Stay tuned for next week’s blog when I describe a great solution for the backswing for less flexible golfers. Keeping your leading arm straight is critical for consistent golf so you should be practicing with GOLFSTR+. It also gives you 5 more golf swing fixes. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Thought For the Day: It’s amazing how a golfer who never helps with house or yard work will replace his divots, repair his ball marks, and rake his sand traps.