Golf instructors often speak of the golf swing transition as a pause between completing the backswing and starting the downswing. They often suggest that slowing down the transition is one of the most important keys to hitting a good shot.
Well, I’m not qualified to comment on the technicalities of the golf swing. However, I am qualified to comment on what for me is an even more important transition in golf psychology. It is the transition from the conscious analytical planning phase of your pre-shot routine to the unconscious instinctual phase of hitting the ball. Unlike the break at the top of the backswing, the faster you can comfortably make this transition, the better and more consistently you will find yourself hitting the ball or rolling the putt.
If you look at the best players in the world, such as Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, you will notice that it takes very little time between taking their chosen club out of the bag and hitting the ball. A recent study suggested that Tiger and Phil consistently take between 11 and 12 seconds to do this and are very consistent over time. If they took longer, they often hit a less-than-good shot; these guys don’t make a lot of really bad shots.
So what do they do in those 11 to 12 seconds? Well, each player has their own idiosyncrasies, including re-grabbing, shaking, breathing, blinking, and many other rituals. Yet they all seem
- take one or two practice swings to feel the blow they visualize playing
- step forward towards the ball and take your position
- align your body and clubface
- take a final look at your goal
- Finally, press the “start button” and swing the club or putter.
What’s interesting is that they don’t seem rushed to fit all of that into such a seemingly short amount of time. They certainly don’t have free time to doubt themselves and that little voice in their head that tells them they are doing everything wrong! In fact, they complete the process as if they are in some kind of trance and that means they are leaving the whole process in their unconscious golf mind, like driving a car or riding a bike.
Now some of the players you see on TV or on the field take much longer to make this transition and the time it takes is less consistent. How well did you see them play? If you saw Sergio Garcia play golf a few years ago, you would often have seen him take an inordinately long time to hit the ball. He had a pained expression on his face that suggested he was experiencing a great deal of negative self-talk and seemed to be ripping the life out of the club as he repeatedly grabbed his hands again. It’s no wonder his golf was inconsistent at best and he certainly didn’t seem to be enjoying his golf.
So how can I speed up my transition from taking out my stick to hitting the ball, I hear you say. Well, one way is to make the whole process an instinctive or unconscious activity. Optimize your own transition process and use it every time you take a shot on the golf course, on the driving range, on the practice green, and in your mental golf practice. You practice and play golf in your mind, don’t you?