SWING CLASS
Help, My game’s gone to the dogs!
AJ’s Rule # 1 - Manage Your
Expectations.
Youtube videos, swing advice from
golfing buddies, a few golf lessons
or just taking a break from this
frustrating game are the common
reactions. As the age-old saying
goes, “Everybody falls, it’s how fast
you can get back up”.
By Anokh Jai
W
e’ve all been there
at some point. If you
haven’t, it’s coming! It’s
an unfortunate reality that as a golfer
we will all go through low points in
our game where things just fall apart
and the wheels just come off the
wagon.
Parts of the game that were strong
are now causing havoc, your ball is
all over the place and you are visiting
parts of the course you didn’t even
know existed. Its eventual, our game
is going to collapse at some point or
the other. Period!
It’s the myriad of reactions to this
collapse that sets golfers apart.
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So I guess at this point you’re all
expecting the rest of the article to
unveil the cloak on the secrets to
fixing the game. Wrong. That would
be too easy. But don’t stop reading.
What lies below might surprise you.
So here we go…
For the majority of golfers, golf is
recreational. It’s an escape! And
yet, we expect to hit these pro-
tracer worthy shots and finish with
this great score. We load all these
expectations onto ourselves. Why?
You have a job doing that for you.
What is so wrong in going out and
just - play - golf!!! Not to say don’t
challenge yourself, just know your
limitations. Start with this challenge
- go out and hit 5 good shots. Like
really good shots and you be the
judge.
So the impending golf apocalypse
is here and every round feels like a
losing battle. Your playing partners
are telling you things like; keep your
head down, keep your eyes on the
ball, swing with your arms, turn the
hips, stand this way, stand that way.
You finally make it to the Clubhouse
and drown the round in a cold drink
while pulling up YouTube to quickly
search “golf swing fix”. Scrolling
through the uncountable results you
find one that looks like it might help.
You jump from that video to the next
repeating the routine until you’re
watching Tiger’s epic chip-in at the
2005 Master’s. Have you managed
to fix your problem?
What I’m trying to say here is that
to fix any problem, there are a series
of steps that you should follow.
The first thing is that you have to
diagnose the issue. The next step
is to fix it. Just as you do when you
are sick, you need to know what
the issue is before you can take
medication. There are countless
medications out there but only a
fraction will cure the issue, just like
swing fixes. Find a couple of Golf
Teaching Pros in your area. Do some
research on them, what are their
qualifications, what are their success
rates, what can they and their facility
offer you, visit their websites and
social pages, speak to them and
then decide who you want to go
with. You have to shop around a bit.
Every Teaching Pro has a different
teaching philosophy and you have
to find one who you can understand
and who can help fix your issue.
Communication and clear instruction