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By
Jon Hoecker, PGA Professional
06.15.2004
03:40 pm (ET)
Many of the players I give lessons are looking to improve their swings, and will practice hard to find it. The problem that has arisen from this is many of my technical minded students (many of them are engineers and accountants) have become overly analytical and struggle to take their "new" swings out on the course. They have gotten so bogged down in trying to improve their swings that they can?t clear their heads of the mechanics of the golf swing. To counteract this problem I have developed a drill that forces the mind to become target-oriented and can, and probably should, be performed away from the golf course. All a student needs is a jumbo ball basket or something of the like, 50 shag balls and an understanding that working on their swing should be done on the driving range and not on the golf course. The drill: We simply go through a systematic pre-shot routine and try to see how many balls out of 50 you can pitch into the bucket. The routine can be as simple as taking a practice swing and then taking a deep breath, but the key being, I need them to do the same thing every time before they hit a chip. We encourage the students to do this at least once a day and keep track of their results. Once they get going, I try to have them take it a step further: 1. I will ask them to start to blend in thoughts of seeing the balls landing in the bucket before they chip. 2. I will put a small piece of tape at the top and back half of the basket and have the student try to hit the tape. 3. I also have them try to create the feeling of making perfect contact with the ball. 4. I will ask them to say to themselves "chip it in the bucket." All of these are designed to get their minds off of their swings and onto their targets and feelings of making good contact. If a student will commit to doing this for a month straight, they will be able to re-program their thinking and enjoy playing golf more. Editor's Note: Jon Hoecker is the head golf professional at Brook-Lea Country Club in Rochester, N.Y. He can be reached at 585-247-4577. Copyright 2004 by PGA.com. All rights reserved.
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