Let’s trace the origin of physical movement in a golf swing. Are you under the mistaken impression that your arms and hands swing the golf club? The origin of movement in your golf swing is not in your arms and hands; they anatomically and instinctively respond to the movement of your torso. The movement of your torso originates in your ‘core’ located in the middle of your body a few inches below your navel, and your connection to the ground through your feet provides the stability needed to activate your core. Hint: The movement in your golf swing develops from the ground up.
Going further, your golf swing originates through your mind’s intention. Your intention is the ‘fuel’ that activates the ‘engine’ of your subconscious neural/muscular motor system. You can refine your instinctive subconscious motor skills through experience. If you can infuse your golf practice with play, fun, trial and error, exploration and discovery and not get caught up in what I call resultitis, you can make the focus of your golf practice experiencing the sensory feel of ‘pure impact’. This sense of feel can become the ultimate source for effective golf swing mechanics and golf swing technique by allowing your motor system to implement the proper golf swing mechanics to reproduce that feel. Your body is that intelligent! Hint: For an instinctive golf swing, quiet your mind and engage the intelligence of your body.
Let’s look at the design of the golf club. Are you under the impression that you swing the shaft of the golf club, or have you not thought about what you are actually ‘swinging’!? A golf club is specifically designed with weight in the clubhead to hit a golf ball from the ground or on a tee. We therefore need to leverage and swing the weight of the clubhead to develop the appropriate speed and consistency to hit the golf ball purely and solidly on the clubface for the distance and accuracy for the intended golf shot (swinging softly for a chip shot, rhythmically for a pitch shot, and with reasonable speed for a full golf shot). We need to develop trust in our motor skills to make the appropriate golf swing for the variety of golf shots we encounter. Hint: We can’t consciously control the motor movements, golf swing mechanics and golf swing technique required for different types of golf shots, we need to learn to trust our body/mind’s instinctive kinesthetic intelligence to respond to our intentions.
The best way to develop trust in the instinctive kinesthetic intelligence of your body/mind to perform the motor skills to satisfy your intentions is to consistently experience the kinesthetic feel of pure impact of the golf ball on the clubface. The best way to do this is through trial and error, failure and success, and exploration and discovery to find the movements that work for your unique physiology and instinct. By first establishing an effective golf grip, golf stance, and effective golf posture and hitting short chip shots and pitch shots with no other intention than to feel pure impact with the golf ball through the sensory feel in your hands, you will be utilizing a vehicle for developing trust in your body/mind intelligence. By integrating the sensory feel into your body/mind neural/muscular system your motor system will perform the golf swing mechanics and golf swing technique to reproduce that feel. Hint: It’s about letting go of control and learning to trust in your instinctive kinesthetic intelligence. Focusing on experiencing the feel of pure impact through these shorter golf shots in your golf practice will help you do so.
The instinct-awakening golf exercises in Awaken Your Inner Golfer are designed to help you develop trust in your instinctive kinesthetic intelligence by asking you to adapt to variations in grip, swing, use of subtle senses and imagination. Once you experience how capable and intelligent your body/mind is to make pure impact with these variations, you’ll develop a deep trust in your motor skills and develop an instinctive golf swing you can own for a lifetime! Hint: Let go of results and explore your innate adaptive ability in your golf practice – and have fun doing it!
Keep it Simple Golf 