The feel of pure impact – the golf clubface impacting the golf ball solidly during a golf swing – cannot be adequately explained in words, it can only be experienced. It is often enthusiastically described as, “It felt like nothing!” If I were to attempt to put words to the feeling of pure impact it would be simply, “A feeling of no vibration in the hands when the clubface impacts the golf ball.” The feel of pure impact is a significant factor that keeps us coming back to play the game of golf. Once we feel the kinesthetic sensory joy of pure impact our natural instincts want to re-experience that sensory joy and satisfaction again and again. It’s part of the lure of the game.
So, how do we refine our golf practice in order to develop and experience the feel of pure impact? Research has shown that practicing full golf swings with ‘golf swing speed’ does not allow the brain enough time to change, so it will continue the motor patterns it has previously experienced. The instinct-awakening golf exercises found in Awaken Your Inner Golfer encourage exploration of chip/pitch and half-swing full shots of 50-100 yards with slower golf swing speeds utilizing the versatility of a pitching wedge. The shorter golf shots and slower golf swing speeds allow you to more easily achieve the feel of pure impact and gives your brain the time it needs to form new neural/muscular patterns to consistently produce pure impact and effective golf swing technique.
Assuming you have established effective grip and posture, the sensory intention of experiencing the feel of pure impact hitting a golf ball is the entrée to creating a basic golf swing and a simple golf swing – just as your instinctive kinesthetic intelligence manages motor skills to handle other physical tools efficiently for their designed purpose.
Just having the intention of experiencing the feel of pure impact in hitting a golf shot is a primary tool in developing effective golf swing mechanics. When you begin to experience the feel of pure impact through the golf exercises and integrate it into your body/mind’s kinesthetic feeling sense through your hands, your body/mind intelligence will store that feel in your neural/muscular motor system often referred to as “muscle memory or “motor memory.” When you enter the feeling and sensory realm you enter the realm of the subconscious. Then, before each golf swing, if you can become present to your kinesthetic sensory feel and imagine reproducing that feel of pure impact, your subconscious intelligence will automatically orchestrate the proper golf swing mechanics to produce that feel. It is an amazing intelligence that you can learn to trust! You can build trust in your instinctive kinesthetic intelligence by experiencing the feel of pure impact again and again through the instinct-awakening golf exercises. You will learn to play golf more from your subconscious instincts than from your conscious thinking mind.
When you learn to deeply trust this innate intelligence and play golf with the intention to reproduce the feel of pure impact with each golf swing, your body/mind will automatically produce effective golf swing mechanics and golf swing technique to hit the ball purely – for both your short game and your long game with full golf swings.
The more often you can practice and explore the instinct-awakening golf exercises with these shorter shots and feel pure impact in your kinesthetic sensory system, the deeper and deeper the feel and movements will integrate into your body/mind motor system for consistent and satisfying results. Try it! Trust it! Explore and discover!
Keep it Simple Golf 