Working Smarter Not Harder

By Greg Schulze

 

 

 

 

 

It went too fast, but we are approaching the end of another season.  My goal for this season’s articles was to stay consistent with the theme of COMMON DENOMINATORS of top players.  Another way to describe this goal is to ask the reader to consider that perhaps your golf development may not come from adding missing skills but the concept of ADDITION BY SUBTRACTION, distinguishing between required set-up and swing actors and those which are reactors.  Do you want an efficient swing?  Might we define efficient as “doing the minimal amount of work/effort, yet still achieving maximum results?”  Do you want to learn how to become a golf MINIMALIST?  I do… I have always strived to reduce my golf-building “workload” to stop wasting any practice range time focusing on irrelevant things, ie. Become more EFFICIENT?  Interested?

6-4-2.  Perhaps you lowered your eyebrows when you read that.  Read on… 

There are 6 primary common denominators in each swing SET-UP:

Grip, Stance, Posture, Ball Position, Body Alignment and Clubface Aim

There are 4 common denominators in a “normal” full-swing BACKSWING:

Lead Arm Swing, Wrists Hinge, Trail Elbow Fold, Body Coil

Whoa, whoa, whoa, come on Greg, aren’t you leaving some stuff out?  Don’t I have to “shift my weight?” or “load up my right side?” or “make sure I keep my head down?” etc. 

NOPE!  Those are either effects or myths!

There are 2 common denominators is each full-swing DOWNSWING-INTO-IMPACT:

Tension-free trail arm freely swinging the clubhead down and the lead hip pivoting fully behind you.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, come on Greg, aren’t you leaving some stuff out?  Don’t I have to “drive my legs towards the target?” or “shift my weight to the front leg?” or “tuck my right elbow into my side?” etc.

NOPE!  Those are either effects or myths!

Since we have 100% control of the set-up, and the backswing hasn’t begun yet, wouldn’t this area include the longest “checklist?” (6)  Since gravity does not go up (duh), we are also responsible for building nearly 100% of the backswing, but the swing is now in motion, so wouldn’t this area require a smaller list? (4) Finally, since the downswing-into-impact gets “help” from gravity and other natural forces, and should be the most unrestricted, free swinging and athletic part of the swing (transferring backswing energy through a unconstrainted build-up of clubhead speed through impact), wouldn’t this area have the minimum requirements? (2)

Don’t work harder than you have to.  Don’t spend extra money on range balls focusing on irrelevant things.  Set a goal of becoming a golf MINIMALIST by recognizing the very few COMMON DENOMINATORS which all top players have installed.  Reduce your “to-do-list” as much as you can without sacrificing and accuracy or distance.