Identify and Manage the Interference

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to guest teach at Linville Ridge C.C. in North Carolina. I want to thank the Lutgerts for their generous hospitality and to all the members who participated in clinics and coaching sessions. During my visit I held an indoor session on how to 'Master the Mental Skills'. In honor of the participants and my new followers in North Carolina, today's article covers one of the topics we discussed in the class, 'identifying your interference'.

Performance = Skills - Interference +/- Luck

This formula is the most simple way to describe how our performance is affected and what leads to low performance and lack of improvement. To perform at your highest level, you must be able to identify and manage your skill set AND your level of interference. Let's start by breaking down the formula.

Skills include all the different areas of your game you learn, practice and perform on the golf course. Full swing, pitching, bunker shots, putting, uneven lies, chipping, etc. You also have mental skills which include focus of energy, intensity management, attention control and thought control. Your current skill level can and will affect your performance if you don't learn clear fundamental concepts in your golf game. This is where a really great coach comes into play.

Interference is defined as any internal or external factors that "interfere" with your ability to transfer your skills from your brain to your muscles.

Luck. It's part of golf whether you want to accept it or not. You're going to get bad breaks and good bounces. You will shoot low and high scores. You will hit horrible shots and amazing shots. Learn to accept the uncertainty and inconsistency in golf and you will be a much happier golfer. I promise!

So why do skills NOT transfer to the golf course?

Why are you a 5 handicap on the driving range and a 15 on the golf course? Why do your skills change under pressure? Why do you play great for a few holes and then lose it completely? Simple. Interference. So to improve your level of performance you have two tasks; increase your skill level and eliminate the interference.

So let's first identify your interference. Take out a piece of paper and write down everything that mentally interferes with your current skill level. Your list may include things like slow play, a specific hole, playing partners, your laundry list of swing thoughts, negative self talk, hazards, nerves, letting others down, lack of focus. You know yourself best and hopefully it's easy to identify what mentally interferes with your skill set.

Now here's the thing about interference. Many of the items on your list may not be able to go away. Picture this scenario. You're standing on hole #4. It's a small green surrounded by difficult bunkers and out of bounds left. You're hitting a long club over a deep valley of weeds and heavy grass. And to make the situation worse your playing in a match with your buddies.   One bad swing and your brand new Titleist is bye bye and your partner is now playing alone. SO MUCH INTERFERENCE!!!! You can't escape the pressure of the situation. But you can control your mind and body on this ONE swing.

Managing the Interference

So how can we manage the interference? First, you must develop one or two swing feelings (triggers) you can rely on in your swing. For me I have two swing feelings. "Get back and wait for the target." This sentence probably doesn't mean anything to you, but it works for me. That little sentence reminds me what I want to feel during the swing and to stay engaged to the target. Before addressing the ball you must commit 100% to the shot, club selection and swing feelings. Remember you should only have 1 or 2 swing feelings max. This will help eliminate any extra internal interference.

Next, the majority of your attention should be on the target and the ball flight you want to execute. Your attention should be more external then internal and more narrow then broad. Meaning you want to put most of your awareness on a specific target and allow your body to execute the swing. Having narrow focus means ignoring the hazards, your playing partners, the what ifs and all the internal chatter. When you step up to the ball it's time to feel the swing and execute the shot. Of course this is not a guarantee you will hit the shot exactly how you want, but at least you gave it full commitment without letting the interference affect your swing. This should be your goal with every swing.

True Statement (according to me!): You Have TWO Golf Swings

Yes it's unfortunate but true. Every golfer has two swings that show up on the golf course. The perfect swing and the interference swing. The perfect swing is the one that works when everything is going well. It's the swing that you say "why can't I do that every time?" The swing you probably have on the range or on days when you can't miss. Your interference swing is the swing we tend to make when external and internal factors interfere with our ability to transfer skills from the brain to the muscles. So is there a way to eliminate the interference swing?

As a golf instructor, students will usually come see me when they want to "change" their interference swing. Meaning they will hit a few bad shots on the course and immediately try and "fix" what went wrong in the swing. After an entire round of golf you may end up with 10 new swing thoughts! Confusion kicks in and your performance crashes. At the risk of putting myself out of business here's a better plan. Instead of thinking something is wrong with your swing, learn to distinguish the different between your perfect swing and the interference swing. Identify the interference, improve your physical and mental skills and you will see your interference swing show up less and less on the golf course.

Contact me with questions or for help on finding the difference between your perfect swing and the interference swing.

Four Fundamentals of Putting

photo:sports.yahoo.com

Michelle Wie has been hot on the LPGA Tour this summer. Placing in the Top 10 multiple times and winning the Women's US Open, Wie has proven she is a competitor in the golf world. Her new putting style is unique, effective and has golfers everywhere talking. Here are a few thoughts on how you can become a better putter by following the 4 fundamentals of putting. This posture may look uncomfortable on her back but Wie told Golf Channel's Morning Drive her new posture feels great because she is now using all legs. And she can see the line better than every before.

Now, I'm not suggesting you go out and try Michelle's new posture. Although I can speak from personal experience this setup position feels amazing. What I am suggesting is you can learn from Wie's posture and how you can apply the 4 S's to your personal putting style. Still, Solid, Square, Speed. Keep in mind a good setup position can help accomplish these 4 fundamentals.

Still - Your eyes, head, neck, chest and lower body should remain extremely quiet and still through impact and after impact. When your body is still you have a better change of producing solid impact and maintaining a square putter face. If your body moves a quarter inch your putter face may be affected. The arms and shoulders should be the only body parts moving during the putting stroke. Remember wherever your eyes go the body may follow.

** Practice keeping your eyes and chest facing the ground after impact. **

Solid - There is nothing better in golf than the feeling of solid impact on the putter face. Learning to make solid contact requires a pendulum motion with the putter head. It's a tick, tock motion with a slight acceleration through impact. Be careful not to push the ball. Roll the ball.

** You can accomplish this feeling by closing your eyes and feel the weight of the putter head. **

Square - The putter face should be square to the intended target line at impact. I know this sounds simple but I see golfers, including myself, leaving the club face open or closed at impact. Trying to guide the ball into the hole can cause the putter face to move. Trust the alignment and roll the ball with solid contact.

** Looking to make more 6 foot putts under pressure? Pick a blade of grass located on the front of the cup. This is the spot you want to roll the ball over. Put your attention on that blade of grass and roll the ball over that spot. Instead of focusing on the consequences of missing the putt, focus on the part of the hole you want to roll the ball over. **

Speed - Depending on your handicap level, the majority of your putts are going to be distance putts. This means distance can be more important than alignment and accuracy. The key to becoming a great putter is learning how to control the speed of a putt. Every putting stroke should be a true pendulum with a consistent rhythm. The putter head swings back and through about the same distance. The way to adjust your speed is to change the size of your pendulum. A 5 inch backswing will produce a shorter putt than an 8 inch backswing. Keep the tempo the same for every putt. You don't need to "hit" harder or softer.

Here is a video I put together with examples from Michelle Wie and one of my students. Pay careful attention to how still her body will remain through impact. By staying still in her posture she can make solid contact, keep the putter blade square to the target and control her speed with consistent tempo.

Not sure where to start? Check your fundamentals by starting at the top of the list. Stand in front of a mirror and find a posture that will allow your body to remain very still through impact. If you are standing too upright your body may have to move during the stroke. Please feel free to contact me with any questions about your game.