Swing Thoughts- The One and Only Swing Thought You Should Have

When you’re standing over a shot and about to pull the trigger, what goes through your head?

You can conjure up a variety of things such as:

-Smooth takeaway (low and slow)
-Full turn back
-Clean contact
-Full Follow through
-Etc, etc., etc.!

After working with thousands of students and applying these techniques myself, let me walk you through a very successful way to manage the “voices in your head” so you can hit the best shots possible. Remember, the key to this technique is the way you approach it.

#1- Picture the shot you want to hit. Think of the result and work backwards from there. What shape? what trajectory? For example, let’s say you had a 150 yards into the green. You might think “I need to hit a high draw to avoid the water on the left and attack the pin in the back left side. I also need a relatively high ball flight because I have to carry a greenside bunker.”

#2- Designate time for practice swing and thoughts. Before you hit the actual shot, when taking practice swing(s), this is the time for “positional” or technical thoughts such as where you arms or shoulders should be or what the shot should feel like to your body.

#3- Cardinal rule- no swing thoughts at all during your swing. I want you thinking of the target and nothing else. Let your body do what you just rehearsed and visualized. An easy way to implement this is to create a “trigger”. This trigger should tell you definitively when to stop thinking and start swinging. For example, my trigger is when I sole the club behind the ball. Once that clubhead touches the ground, my mind goes blank and I start the backswing.

Sound weird? Don’t judge it til you’ve at least given it a shot. And I’m talking about a shot when you are playing a real round, not on the range. Do it when you’re under some pressure. See if it works for you.