I recently saw a video (see below video) with Tiger Woods, at the peak of his career, discussing a drill he ‘hated’ to do. There is a lot we can learn from this video, which I outline below.
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Feel is not real
That’s right, you’ve heard it a million times, and I have even wrote about it HERE (how to bridge the gap between feel and real), but this is the World’s best golfer admitting that even the top pros suffer with this.
Also, Tiger explained that this is simply a feeling for him, with his own unique blend of ‘issues’. For the average golfer to try to do this drill, it may not suit them, and could make them worse.
As good as Ben Hogan’s book is, we have to understand that he battled a hook all his life. For the average golfer who slices the ball, following the advice of Ben Hogan could potentially make matters worse.
We also have to understand that, when pro’s give us advice, they are going largely from what they feel. They may not actually be doing what they say they are doing (the brain has a funny way of tricking us). I have seen many bits of advice from pros claiming that they feel they do X, when in fact they are doing 180 degrees the opposite.
Learning takes time
You are probably guilty of walking out of a golf lesson thinking “ah, that was great, I’ve got it now”. Well, as Butch says, Tiger hits millions of balls, and it has still taken him over a year to feel comfortable with this drill.
We are often seeking such instant gratification that we end up spinning our wheels year after year. I wrote about that here (https://www.adamyounggolf.com/instant-gratification-cycle/).
If you want to get really good at this game, you have to put in the time and effort to making your game better. While I like players to really enjoy their sessions, not everything you do that is good for your game will be fun. An example of that is blocked practice versus random practice. For the majority of people, blocked is more fun, but Random is much more beneficial to your learning and retention.
To find out more about blocked and random practice, click here
Learn more
If you are serious about your game and you really want to improve, why not get a copy of The Practice Manual. It is the only golf book out there which discusses golf specific practice so in-depth that no stone is left unturned. To find out more about the book, click the link below.
