The 100,000 Year Old Golfer
Imagine that you are an early hominid living about 100,000 years ago. No, I’m not going to tell you that they were playing golf back then. But they were using clubs to hit things. And those that were more successful swinging their clubs had a survival advantage, whether they were confronting animals or enemies. Waiting too long for the hit could lead to starvation or death – so natural selection created strong and fast hard-wired brain pathways for hitting. These hard-wired pathways are what we now call “instincts” because that function is now automatic. So, what’s become of the hit instinct in our modern way of life? It’s still there – and it’s still powerful. It’s used to advantage by great boxers, builders, fastball hitters and even everyday fly swatters. Now here’s the bad news. The hit instinct is a killer for the golf swing.
You’ve all heard the saying “the golf ball is just something that gets in the way of a good swing.” As golfers, we strive to develop a good golf swing – not a good golf “hit.” Our hit instinct is one of the reasons why we can take a good practice swing but when we step up to the ball our swing is worse. That’s because the presence of the ball as a hitting target subconsciously unleashes our hit instinct. The hit instinct compels us to swing fast (ruining our tempo) and to “come over the top” because that is the shortest path to the ball.
Good golfers learn to overcome the hit instinct and focus on producing a good swing. Introspect honestly for a moment and consider whether you are a golf ball hitter or a golf club swinger. If you are in the hitter group, then you need to find a way to evolve. There is no single simple piece of advice for this and a lot has been written about it. I believe that no mechanical adjustments to isolated parts of the swing are likely to help – you’ve already tried many of them. Instead, you need to start to become aware of the full arc of the entire swing as unified whole. One way to do this is to focus your awareness on the weight of the club head from the top of the swing to the full completion of the swing. It’s not as easy as you think but if you persist you may discover a more holistic swing that overcomes your hit instinct. Another approach is to utilize your natural cycle of breathing – being sure to take a slow complete inhalation on the backswing and a relaxed exhalation which is completed at the termination of the swing. Instead of focusing on hitting the ball, the focus is on a holistic swing. One sign that you are still a “hitter” and not a “swinger” is having the thought “I have to hit this ball hard (or far)”.
Stress causes us to regress in our behavior. When golfers regress, even someone with a good swing can be taken over by the hit instinct. I experience that myself and see it all the time with players of every level. Just think of facing some challenging shot, such as a ribbon thin fairway with out of bounds or a water hazard, a forced carry, a shot with a lot of money or ego on the line. The associated stress can cause you to regress to your deeply programmed hit instinct. The stress for golfers who get anxious when other people are watching also brings out the hit instinct – exactly at the time you least need it. In addition to learning ways to manage stress, it will be important to re-focus your awareness to some of cues for a holistic swings.