Read Online The Natural Golf Swing by George Knudson, Lorne Rubenstein - Free Book Online
Authors: George Knudson, Lorne Rubenstein
Tags: General, Sports & Recreation
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concentratedstate. He has something to do on each shot, and that gives him the best chance for making a correct motion.
The knowledgeable golfer will also be impervious to the confusion and anxiety that poor shots can cause. Anxiety is due to a lack of awareness. Most golfers don’t know why they hit a good or bad shot. They wonder why such and such happened. They play without a foundation from one swing to the next and judge their play solely by the result they get. It doesn’t matter to them if the ball has flown in the opposite direction to the one intended; they’re content as long as the ball finishes in play or on the green. If they get a good result, they think they made a decent swing. Well, maybe they did. But what chance have they of repeating the swing if they don’t know what causes what? Where’s their security?
The golfer who understands the concept of the natural golf swing won’t feel anxious. He will be able to evaluate every swing to see where he went wrong, and go on to the next one. He will be trying to do the same thing with each swing motion. This is because he understands the factors behind the basic swing. Evaluation and assessment enable him to consider the causes of his misplays, and then forget them. This will encourage emotional balance. He will gradually learn to play one shot at a time and by doing so will be able to enjoy the game more. This happens when we take the pressure off any one shot. Knowledge breeds confidence and calmness. The relaxed golfer can play the game and accept its ups-and-downs while the agitated golfer may find himself terrified of the next challenge.
The concentrated state that I am describing isn’t easily come by. We need to be vigilant so that we might modify our behaviour and ensure we do not play a shot while feeling disorganized. The slightest feeling ofdiscomfort over the ball must be enough to warn us away from the impending stroke.
Who can forget, to cite one example, the four-iron that Seve Ballesteros struck into the water in front of the fifteenth green during the 1986 Masters? The shot was a weak, pulled effort and effectively cost him the Masters, notwithstanding Jack Nicklaus’s brilliant rush of seven-under-par golf over the last ten holes to take the tournament. Ballesteros was in position to hit the green and perhaps eagle the hole. Instead, he lost concentration and misplayed the shot.
Later, Ballesteros said that he was indecisive over the ball, that he ought to have played a hard five-iron since he was feeling so charged up. But he didn’t monitor his emotional state at the moment. He let anxiety get the better of him instead of stepping away from the ball to better assess how he was feeling.
I had a similar experience during the last round of the 1966 Masters in Augusta, Georgia while in contention and on the twelfth tee. Eager to learn my exact position and possibilities, I had a look at the scoreboard behind the eleventh green. That in itself wasn’t a good idea, as it took my mind off my plan of playing one shot at a time. Anyway, I looked, and figured if I could birdie the par-five thirteenth and fifteenth holes along with one other, I might get into a playoff. Filled with anticipation and nearly detonating with adrenalin, I could hardly get my feet on the ground as I teed it up on the twelfth, that gorgeous and tricky par-three where Rae’s Creek sits in front of the green.
What was I going to do? I was so excited that I couldn’t settle down. But I had to play the shot. I thought, well, I’ll just hit the ball between the bounces of my feet. So I took the six-iron and hit the ball just on the front edge of the green – from where it spun back into the creek. Now I had to drop and take a shot penalty, but I did get up-and-down from the tee side of the creek for bogey. The adrenalin burst lasted just that oneswing on the tee, but it was enough. It cost me any chance of getting into a playoff.
Later, I assessed what had
The knowledgeable golfer will also be impervious to the confusion and anxiety that poor shots can cause. Anxiety is due to a lack of awareness. Most golfers don’t know why they hit a good or bad shot. They wonder why such and such happened. They play without a foundation from one swing to the next and judge their play solely by the result they get. It doesn’t matter to them if the ball has flown in the opposite direction to the one intended; they’re content as long as the ball finishes in play or on the green. If they get a good result, they think they made a decent swing. Well, maybe they did. But what chance have they of repeating the swing if they don’t know what causes what? Where’s their security?
The golfer who understands the concept of the natural golf swing won’t feel anxious. He will be able to evaluate every swing to see where he went wrong, and go on to the next one. He will be trying to do the same thing with each swing motion. This is because he understands the factors behind the basic swing. Evaluation and assessment enable him to consider the causes of his misplays, and then forget them. This will encourage emotional balance. He will gradually learn to play one shot at a time and by doing so will be able to enjoy the game more. This happens when we take the pressure off any one shot. Knowledge breeds confidence and calmness. The relaxed golfer can play the game and accept its ups-and-downs while the agitated golfer may find himself terrified of the next challenge.
The concentrated state that I am describing isn’t easily come by. We need to be vigilant so that we might modify our behaviour and ensure we do not play a shot while feeling disorganized. The slightest feeling ofdiscomfort over the ball must be enough to warn us away from the impending stroke.
Who can forget, to cite one example, the four-iron that Seve Ballesteros struck into the water in front of the fifteenth green during the 1986 Masters? The shot was a weak, pulled effort and effectively cost him the Masters, notwithstanding Jack Nicklaus’s brilliant rush of seven-under-par golf over the last ten holes to take the tournament. Ballesteros was in position to hit the green and perhaps eagle the hole. Instead, he lost concentration and misplayed the shot.
Later, Ballesteros said that he was indecisive over the ball, that he ought to have played a hard five-iron since he was feeling so charged up. But he didn’t monitor his emotional state at the moment. He let anxiety get the better of him instead of stepping away from the ball to better assess how he was feeling.
I had a similar experience during the last round of the 1966 Masters in Augusta, Georgia while in contention and on the twelfth tee. Eager to learn my exact position and possibilities, I had a look at the scoreboard behind the eleventh green. That in itself wasn’t a good idea, as it took my mind off my plan of playing one shot at a time. Anyway, I looked, and figured if I could birdie the par-five thirteenth and fifteenth holes along with one other, I might get into a playoff. Filled with anticipation and nearly detonating with adrenalin, I could hardly get my feet on the ground as I teed it up on the twelfth, that gorgeous and tricky par-three where Rae’s Creek sits in front of the green.
What was I going to do? I was so excited that I couldn’t settle down. But I had to play the shot. I thought, well, I’ll just hit the ball between the bounces of my feet. So I took the six-iron and hit the ball just on the front edge of the green – from where it spun back into the creek. Now I had to drop and take a shot penalty, but I did get up-and-down from the tee side of the creek for bogey. The adrenalin burst lasted just that oneswing on the tee, but it was enough. It cost me any chance of getting into a playoff.
Later, I assessed what had
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