So Close, Yet So Far Away. That’s my game - I’m so close to breaking through, but I just can’t.  I know what it is that I need to do, but for some reason I can’t put it all together at the same time.  What’s holding you back from getting it all together at the same time so that you start to see results? 

The Golf Swing has been broken down by the so called genius’ of the game.  Many call them Guru’s - I call them Monkeys.  And many of these Monkeys tell us the same old things over and over again.  And because we hear them say the same things over and over again - we start to think - “Well, I’ve heard that before, so it must be true.”  And what the Monkeys are telling you is that if you want to fix your golf swing, you need to apply bandages to your swing faults.  But remember, just like bandages you put on your body, swing bandages also fall off after a couple of days.  Only to have to be replaced by new bandages.

There are so many golfers that are so close, but yet so far away, that tend to stay far away - never getting closer to where they know their golf game should be.  Why, because you’re listening to all the bandages that are passed on to you as Golf Instruction.  For example - If you’re swinging outside to in, you’re told you need to learn how to swing inside to out.  If you’re casting the club, you’re told you need to stop it by swinging another way.  If you’re picking up your head or bending your elbow, you’re told you need to stop doing that by doing something entirely different from the other swing corrections you’ve already made.  If you’re swaying, you’re told you need to …….

“Bandages - Bandages - Get Your Bandages Here”

And pretty soon you have a golf swing that’s put together by bandages.  After 5-years you have so many bandages on you - that you start to resemble the Mummy on the golf course.  And you start to sound like the Mummy after each bad shot - “oooohhhhh oooohhhhh”.

Throw away the Bandages - get rid of all that stuff that’s buried in your head about how to correct every detail of your golf swing.  The faster you get rid of all that stuff - the faster your game will improve.

Some people will say - “Marc, I have to be really conscious of my swing path or I’ll come over the top and slice the ball - so I can’t just get rid of that swing thought.  And if I don‘t think about how not to cast the golf club, I‘ll always be releasing my wrists too early.  And if don‘t think about keeping my head down, I‘ll never hit a good shot.  And if I…….  And if I …….”

Well of course you can forget about all that stuff - and the sooner the better!  I say this because I know 100’s of golfers that have said similar statements to me all the time - even though they’ve practiced and practiced and then practiced some more - unable to get rid of the swing faults they were trying to correct.  And from my standpoint it looks as if the only thing you’re practicing is how to get frustrated faster on the golf course and if you look real close, you’ll see some people that are really good at getting frustrated fast.

Do you know anyone like this?

For example:  You’ve been taught 7-different ways of fixing one swing fault by 7-different Instructors and you always get it figured out on the driving range, but it almost never works on the golf course!  Because Bandages work on the Driving Range, but they can’t help you on the golf course because they loose their adhesive and fall-off!

So if you’re not thinking about all this stuff on the golf course - what are you supposed to think about?  Great question!  Though you might not like my answer because I can’t give one answer for over 9,100 people reading this Golf Improvement Weekly.  You each will have your own answer that you need to find.

The problem is most people never find that answer because they’re too busy listening to the Monkeys telling them what they need to be thinking about.

But, alas, there is some people that have taken off the bandages forever and have learned to feel their golf swing!

Brian Warpinski, what do you need to be thinking about to hit a good golf shot - “feeling my core”.  Dave Monette, what do you need to think about - “hearing the swish of the club”.  Tony Compton, what do you need to think about - “length of swing”.  Bob Riendeau, what do you need to think about - “Tick Tock”.  Jed Dunn, what do you need to think about - “taking a deep breath before each shot”.  Lawrence Binding, what do you need to be thinking about - “making my Plan”.

Barry Barrett, (who by the way has improved from not breaking 90 to shooting in the 70's, 5 times this year and having his beat score ever of 74) what do you need to think about - “square the club face before I swing”.  Jim Furyk, what do you need to think about - “taking the club outside”.  Lee Trevino, what do you need to think about - “cashing checks!”

I could go on and on and on and each person would have something completely different they were thinking about that allowed them to hit the ball better and allowed themselves to start playing closer to their potential.  Now, I have not met most of you that are reading this Golf improvement Weekly - hopefully one day we’ll get the chance - but until then, I can’t tell you what you need to think about, it would be impossible.

Here’s a little known story about when John Daly came out of absolutely nowhere to win the PGA Championship at Crooked Stick in 1991 that backs-up what I‘m trying to say.  Here’s a guy absolutely no one knew existed except for a handful of people in Arkansas and maybe more than a handful of bartenders at various stops on the mini tour circuit.  But Daly got a break when Nick Price had to drop out at the last minute and as the something like 14th alternate, Daly got in because no other alternates could get to the golf course in time for the first day of play.  And as fate was working with Daly that week, Nick Price’s caddie Squeaky, was already at the golf course and needed a bag for the week - so he caddied for Daly.

Out of nowhere, here comes Daly - this blonde kid with a mullet hair cut and a back swing in which he almost hits himself in the left ankle on every swing.  I can still remember him walking up the 18th hole on the final day as the crowd was going bonkers - he was smiling and pumping his fist in the air.  I still believe it was one of golf’s most memorable moments - it was the quintessential, real life Cinderella Story happening right in front of our eyes.

But, back to the point - Do you know what John Daly’s swing thought was for those 4-days of golf?  Do you know what Squeaky said to Daly before every shot he took?  “Kill!  John, Kill the ball!”  If you ever see a golfer hit a bad tee shot - 6 out of 10 times what does this golfer say they did wrong?  “Aw, I tried to kill that one, I knew I should’ve swung easier.”  Yet, Daly thought about killing every shot and won a Major Championship.  Now I'm not saying you need to swing harder - this is what worked for Daly - though - How many Majors have you won thinking about swinging easy?

Now think of the irony of this whole scenario - Everybody told John Daly he had to think about swinging easy if he ever was going to be successful and up until meeting Squeaky Medlin he didn’t have anything to show for it, he wasn’t even close to playing to his potential, he was just another journeyman, lifetime Mini Tour player that would‘ve eventually like the 100’s of golfers before him, got tired of traveling across the country from event to event with no money in his pocket and ended up in a couple of years working at some golf course somewhere giving lessons and telling all his students that they need to swing easier.  And then because someone was looking after John Daly, out of the blue, someone that had a gift to understand how to help people play to their potential, saw that Daly might have been holding back his swing and thus holding back his potential.

So Squeaky helped Daly unlock his potential by telling him to do something that was against what the Monkeys always told him to do - and just as it happened to Daly - when you stop listening to the Monkeys, you’ll also unlock your potential!

So I could BS you and tell you right now what you need to think about - but that would just put me in the same category as the rest of the Monkeys out there already doing that to you.  And I can go ahead and make that Instructional DVD that all these golf people are telling me we can sell and make a ton of money on.  And I can go on the Golf Channel and tell people that I’ve never met that call up with their swing problems and tell them what they’re doing wrong.  And I can…….   And I can…….  And I won’t!  And I know that’s why Golf Made Simple has such a loyal following - because we try to tell it like it is, personalize your Instruction to you and have a great time doing it.

So if you’re going to make one of those corny New Years Resolutions - Maybe your resolution could be to start taking off the bandages by stop listening to the Monkeys!

Monkeys listen to Monkeys.

Players listen to Players!

Who wants to be a Player?

Regards,

Marc Solomon - Your Instructor for Life