First Analysis

Posted under First Analysis

On first analysis, this idea may appear rather weird, but here are the facts in the case. This golfer started to play the game as a youngster, and like a lot of other players, he acquired the knack of hitting a golf ball entirely by imitation. He actually did not learn to play golf -he just grew up with it.

He was accustomed, no doubt, to handling and swinging a golf club for many hours each day. As a consequence, he developed a sense and feel of the club, and from experience he learned that a certain way of handling the club produced a slice and another maneuver resulted in a hook.

In practically every other game, the ball is put into motion, usually with intentional deception. Consider, for example, the serve in tennis, the pitch in baseball, or the pass in football. In these sports, if the player does not have the intuition to sense the play or the instinctive ability to get into position for the play, he soon finds himself sitting on the sidelines.

There is no deceptive delivery in golf, and there is no opposing player to interfere with the play. The ball is on the ground, waiting for the player to act, and the player can take as long as he wants, use whatever club he desires, and follow any method or style he chooses. So, why shouldn’t golf be easy? As it turns out, this free choice of time, equipment, and style is the very thing that proves so often to be the undoing of the golfer.

Uncertain of the club selected, and perhaps a bit more uncertain of the manner in which he is going to use it, the player has a tendency to become deliberate and doubtful. In short, he develops a mental block and a physical tension which destroys his confidence and his ability to execute the shot. Because golf is played with a still ball, it requires a definite plan and style of action on the part of the player.

Although the lie or position of the ball does not always find it setting on top of a nice tuft of turf, at least it is stationary and in relatively the same position to the player on every shot. In games other than golf, the ball is not always in the same relation to the player, and he must act instinctively for this reason.

But in golf, the player trains himself to act routinely. He develops a style, a definite plan of action, and he needs this plan to start and finish each shot consistently.

No one should rush into golf. A plan should be worked out, and when this is done, an understanding of what to do and how to do it soon develops the confidence essential to good performance. By placing himself under the guidance of PGA professionals, a player will hasten results and guarantee performance.

Confidence and relaxation
A most important necessity in any undertaking is an attitude of confidence. This is particularly true in golf, because the player must depend on his own efforts to produce a desired result or effect. Confidence is not something that can be assumed. It is not something a person can wrap around himself as he would a cloak.

Confidence is a state of mind that can only be developed through thought and study. When someone thinks a thing through, so that he thoroughly understands it from every angle, then he has gained a knowledge of that thing.

It is a knowledge of what is required, how to do what is required, and most important, that he himself can perform what is required. Once this is accomplished, confidence is his.

Demonstrations of his ability to produce the desired results will cultivate more confidence in the person, and therefore it can be retained indefinitely. Confidence, therefore, is the result of knowledge, and knowledge, as far as golf is concerned, is of three phases- what to do, how to do it, and proving to yourself that you can consistently produce the desired result. Until you prove it to yourself, you can never have the confidence necessary for a good performance.