This video from a few years ago is a great advert from Nike and shows just how accurate the golfing robots can be. To hit a ball into a washing machine from 300 yards away is phenomenal.
Many golfers who visit me at Hillsborough Golf Club are looking for that perfect technique and would love to achieve the repeatable action of a robot. This sounds like a great idea but is this really what we need?
The robot has very few moving parts and as a result is able to hit the ball with an extremely high level of consistency. However, us humans have many moving parts and trying to achieve the same level of consistency as a robot is impossible. But one thing we do that is way better than a robot is adapt.
Put this robot on a downhill lie and it will produce terrible results, give the robot a dodgy lie and it will struggle or put the robot on a windy links course and the human will win any contest. This is because we have the ability to adapt.
So, when a golfer asks me to fix their swing and the golfer then spends most of
his/her time on the driving range perfecting their new technique. It should come as no surprise that this golfer will then struggle to take this technique to the course because they have lost the ability to adapt.
The golf course throws up all sorts of different situations that we have to adapt to and becoming too one dimensional is no good for these different situations. Therefore hitting 7 irons from a flat lie to perfect the swing mechanics will not, on its own, improve scores.
Don't get me wrong. If a golfer has a huge slice then they will have to spend time on the range practicing a new technique but what I'm saying is that they should also mix some varied practice into their routine to avoid becoming too one dimensional.
So... next time you visit the range don't spend all of your time trying to perfect a technique. Instead mix it up a little. Hit some shots thinking about your technique but hit 50% of your shots whilst
varying your technique.
Try putting the ball way too far forward in your stance, try hitting shots with an extremely closed face but try to get the ball to a target. Try addressing the ball way off the toe but attempt to hit the middle of the face.
Head PGA Professional, Mark Allen, offers a wide range of coaching packages which cover the areas discussed in this blog. Click here to view all packages