I want all golfers and non-golfers that are missing out on the EASE of Golf to learn the true spirit of the game. The acrostic below helps touch on a few starting points.
Effortless technique
ABCD
Synergy
Enjoyable
Think about the nicknames of popular golfers. Ernie Ells is the “Big Easy” or “Easy Ernie.” Larry Mize and Bob Murphy were labeled “Slow Motion.” The aggressive Phil Mickelson feels his good golf swings are languid. Tiger Woods, from the top of the swing to the ball, lets the arms and club fall. Sam Snead’s swing was like molasses dripping from a tree.
Effortless Technique
My math teacher in high school required everyone to change the tire on a car before they could pass the class. A 100-pound girl in the class rebelled and said, “This is unfair! I cannot do that.” He showed us the engineering principles of the jack with levers. Later, he gave us a test and the girl passed easily. The following Friday, all the students went to the parking lot to change a tire. The 100-pound girl had no problem.
Discussions on learning golf often reveal golfers and non-golfers perceive that strong hands and arms are required to force the club into motion. This is not true. Golf simply requires proper technique.
ABCD
Eighty percent of the golfers in the world teach themselves. These golfers are often missing out on the benefits of learning golf fundamentals, resulting is a stressful game using a lot of unnecessary physical and mental energy. What are the first three letters of fundamentals? FUN will result when you follow the instructions below:
• Address
In the address, we have the grip, stance, alignment and posture. If these elements are in place (they do not have be perfect), then the club swings around the ball similar to the way the moon consistently orbits the earth or the earth orbits the sun. Most golfers guide the club.
• Backswing
“The Move Away” or “The Turn” are the same moves when you properly turn your body to the right or left to respond to the call of your name. The backswing is similar to the moves in a tennis forehand and a baseball or softball batter preparing for the pitch.
• Contact
Think of contact like driving a car, typing or riding a bike: your eyes control your body. Wherever your eyes go, your body goes. Wherever your body goes, the instrument you’re using follows your body.
• Delivery
The delivery or follow-through happens as a result of the motions already in place. You do not have to think about delivery; it happens once the golf swing motion is set in place. “Let it happen,” “let go,” “release it” and “let the club do the work” are common phrases describing the delivery.
Synergy
Webster’s Dictionary defines synergy as “to work together, the combined or cooperative action or force of different elements that create a greater total effect than the sum of their individual effects.”
When my 100-pound classmate took the jack and followed the instructions, she lifted the 1,500-pound front end of the car up in the air so that then she could torque the lug nuts off the tire and change it. Most 200-pound golfing men are dumbfounded when the 100-pound LPGA Pro out drives them on the golf course. My teacher’s heart wants all my students to experience the true golf swing that is effortless and exhilarating and, yes, produces results that make you want more.
Enjoyable
Golf is entertaining, exhilarating, effortless and engaging—when you play the correct way. Golf does not require perfection. Say this after me, “Golf is not a game of perfect.” Golf does not require 10,000 hours to be competent…well, it does to be a Professional like “Easy Ernie Els.” I urge you to go have fun with your friends on the course the next time you are invited. However, visit the classroom first— like my Hilton Head Prep classmates—to learn the simple formula for golf success.
Written by Doug Weaver, a former PGA Touring Pro who ranked the #2 Instructor in South Carolina by Golf Digest, who is the Director of Instruction at the Palmetto Dunes Golf Academy and leads “Where Does the Power Come From?,” a complimentary golf clinic and exhibition on Mondays at 4 p.m. For details and reservations on golf clinics, classes, lessons and on-course instruction, call 843-785-1138, 800-827-3006 or visit palmettodunes.com for details.
