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16 Dec 2014 Arlen Bento, USGTF Level IV Member

The Golf Swing is Like Steering a Boat

By: Arlen Bento, WGCA contributing writer It is not uncommon for good players to struggle with little changes to their swings, even though they know that making the change will improve their game. I just started working with a mini-tour player who has a lot of talent but tends to drop the club inside too much in the downswing, causing him to hit a lot of weak toe shots. His angle does not allow for a firm compression strike in the middle of the club face. We have been working at changing his lower body rotation so he can feel like he covering the golf ball more. When he does it, he this the ball squarely on the clubface and with a lot more distance and accuracy. The shot is more straight with a slight fade on misses – very different from what he normally does and expects. We are working hard at getting the ball to start more left instead of right of target line, a big change, but to get better and to improve ball striking this is important. One of the big things is to get all players to lower expectations when working on a change. When making a change, players have to understand that they will go back to their tendencies in an attempt to make what they are working on feel good or to feel comfortable. If a swing change starts to feel comfortable too soon, it is probably not changing. “Trust” the change, commit to the idea; if a bad shot comes out, think, look at what you did, understand, make the correction, and try again. I tell all my students the golf swing is like driving a boat – if you veer right you have to bring it back left; if you veer left you have to bring it right. You are never ever really going straight – just moving. The better player you are, the more your veer is minimal, almost non-existent.

DOES THE FUTURE OF GOLF LIE IN THE PAST?

It has been more than 15 years since I grabbed a handful of clubs with hickory shafts from my collection and played nine holes on an older links in Louisville, Kentucky. Did I play well? Considering that I made a 9 on the first hole, it would indicate that this form of golf was not something that was going to wet my whistle, as the saying goes. Then something happened. I had an attitude adjustment and just decided to enjoy the day and the golf course. On the next tee, I hit a drive that can only be described as “wow.” I looked at the club and then down the fairway and actually said “wow.” The next eight holes were some of the most enjoyable golf I had played in a long while. I was shaping shots, playing angles and reliving the type of game I played as a young lad. Made a couple of birdies and shot 40. I still have the card. Today, all I play with are hickory-shafted clubs and I try to play on older historic courses as much as possible. It is a growing area of golf, with more and more societies forming around the nation and world. You would think, in view of the decline in the number of golfers over the past few years, a section with increasing members would be something the golfing industry would jump on. The recent World Hickory Open had more than 120 golfers and was won by Sandy Lyle. Unfortunately, there seems to be little interest. Let’s face it. The manufacturers control the game now. So, who would lose the most if large numbers of golfers started playing with 100-year-old clubs and found out that they can play just as well without that large price tag? They say follow the money, and that is what golf is all about these days. It was a manufacturer that said 15-inch holes would bring more people into the game. Their model is to jazz it up, add pizazz. The outcome remains to be seen. I prefer history and tradition.

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