Good fundamentals - how do they encourage good golf?
Updated: Nov 18, 2020
When I was a junior I learned from two books both written by Jack Nicklaus. One was 'Total Golf Techniques' and the other was 'Playing Lessons'. They are both written in cartoon strip form and combined clear simple instructions with the pictures. The pictures also often had words such as 'S-L-O-W' or 'FEEL' to exaggerate the meaning!
Another thing I clearly remember from my hours reading was that Nicklaus always used to begin his golfing year with his coach Jack Grout with the phrase "Teach me how to play golf". This meant covering all the main basics...
GRIP
POSTURE
ALIGNMENT
BALL POSITION
RYTHM & TIMING
CENTERING THE IMPACT ON THE CLUB
BALANCE
All of these things may seem so basic that they are often (nearly always) overlooked! One thing I frequently seem to say in lesson is...
"A PERFECT SET-UP DEMANDS A GOOD SWING BUT IT ALSO REWARDS A GOOD SWING"!
This means that that a poor fundamental can require an improvisation to make the shot work. The reverse side of the same coin is that once fundamentals are perfect then a perfect swing is rewarded - this encourages repetition of that perfect swing.
If this approach is good enough for arguably the best payer of all time - THEN IT IS DEFINITLEY A GOOD IDEA FOR EVERY GOLFER! Book your golf MOT now!
