Halloween has arrived, and before the trick or treating began, I decided to jump out on the course for a quick 18 holes. A few of my buddies joined me because the weather was surprisingly lovely for a late October round.
This trip’s focus was explicitly on my hip rotation, following a video I watched my last time out. I made sure that I turned my hips around my spine during my backswing and then drove them toward my target with my downswing. With so much attention to this focus, I ignored my overall score until the round was over. I was pleasantly surprised when I finished the round shooting an 84 when in my mind, I had only been using the time on the course to focus on that one item.
Once I got home, I opened the golf app that I use to record all my rounds and noticed some surprising information.
To my excitement, I had added distance to almost every club that I hit. My attention to swing mechanics led to an average increase of about 10 yards on all of my irons. I wasn’t trying to swing harder or anything like that. I focused on contact and making sure I didn’t sway my hips toward the ball through contact. With this thought process, I was not only swinging smoother with a better connection, but I was hitting the ball with a better attack angle, and that translated to more distance.
Even though I added length to the clubs, it didn’t translate 100% the way I expected. I was missing greens long and leaving balls in the rough on a chunk of the holes. For six of the 18 holes, I added another stroke with the ball landing past the green. I was still working on my chipping, so most of these shots were followed by a two-putt, one with a three-putt. Most of my attempts were from outside the 10-foot mark, which I am inconsistent at right now. Not to say I didn’t get close to a few up-and-downs as I left several putts only inches from the cup.
Overall the focus on the actual science behind the swing led to noticeable and instant results. Heading into each round this winter season, I will be working with the same mindset, one focus per round, building off the previous outing.
I think this round, more than any other, has proven that mindset plays a massive factor—much more than I had ever realized. I was positive all day and focused on my swing each time I addressed the ball. Not where it went, not the hole prior, nothing. There was no clouding of judgment from anger, no harping on foul shots. It was a very relaxing day on the course and got me one step closer to breaking 80 on the scorecard. I am very excited for my next round to use what I learned from today and pair it heavily with some course strategy.
