My mother was a great golf instructor. She was always telling me, “Stop slouching. Stand up straight.” It turns out that even though Mom never swung a golf club, she was encouraging me in one of the essential elements of any good ball striker: good posture.
Check Your Physical Posture. A dependable golf swing rotates around a fixed axis much like the earth rotates freely on its axis. Imagine swinging a golf club tied to a “hunched over” fishing rod. The club would be slow to respond and the results would be very unpredictable. Now imagine that same driver attached to “Iron Byron,” the mechanical ball striker that revolves around a axis. Its drives go far and straight, so much so that the entire golf industry hangs on its abilities.
Check Your Mental Posture. Okay, most golfers know the importance of good posture and stand tall at the driving range, but posture can slip out on the course. Remember a bad round you had (years ago). You made several mistakes and bounces didn’t go your way. You felt the self-doubt rising. This wasn’t going to be your day. Everyone is wondering what happened to your swing. How’s your mental posture now? When we get in a slump our bodies tend to also slump or hunch over as well. Our mental posture impacts our physical posture . When your “wheels are falling off”…
S.P.A.C.E. yourself!
- Stand tall. Feel like you’re a Christmas Tree (and not the Charlie Brown type). It doesn’t matter how high you are. Anyone can stand up straight.
- Pretend you’re confident. As the saying goes, “Fake it until you make it.” Walk confidently and tall as you stride to your ball and line up your next shot.
- Accept your situation. A ball hit out of bounds is not the end of the world. You can recover.
- Control your breathing. Take several deep breaths exhaling slowly.
- Easy does it. Slow your tempo. Panic only worsens your situation. Get back to the fairway.
Finally, remember what one president said about posture,
“Stand tall as you swing the big stick.”
We hope to see you standing tall in the fairway or on the green.
