After his final round at Pebble Beach, Phil Mickelson said regarding his putting that he is starting to putt like he did when he was a kid – not over thinking it. It probably goes without saying that we all get caught thinking too much about the mechanics of our golf game. While you may not be able to sense it yet, there’s a movement going on right now and scratchgolfer.org is in the thick of it. A guy like Dr. Rick Jensen is also at the forefront of this movement. He has a Certified Golf Coaches program that is the most beneficial program any golf teacher/coach could go through. So what is this movement you ask?

It’s an emphasis on developing your golf skills and learning how to practice so that you take your game to the course with more success. It’s about making better on-course decisions and managing yourself vs. falling back into the mechanical trap. There are many ways to swing the golf club. Not one way fits everyone. You just have to move the ball from Point A to Point B in a relatively consistent fashion regardless of your swing method.

The over technical golf instruction industry is a big hurdle as they’ve got their arms wrapped pretty tightly around people’s perspectives on improving. Certainly if you’re inconsistent or having trouble moving the ball from Point A to Point B, then it’s likely that you need some mechanical improvements. In that case, find and interview a qualified teacher/coach and tackle your plan head on. But don’t get caught on the mechanical side forever chasing your tail. FINISH your plan with that person then move to the competitive side of practice that helps you perform better vs. swing better with no lower of your scores. As Dr. Fran Pirozzolo says, “An athlete could work to hone their technique until the end of time, and still miss the mark.”

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