Are you Trying Too Hard!

It is quite common these days to read or hear the phrase in golf “your trying too hard”. If understood this can be a very useful idiom about how our golf technique works best, however it is more often misconstrued and taken out of context. Not so long ago a young golfer came to me and said he was going cut down on his practice time as he had heard a top player say the same thing and that it wasn’t helping his golf because he was trying too hard. I explained to him that the tour player was referring to his routine at tournaments and that this tour player was spending a lot of time on the range just to kill a lot of the down time he had between rounds (the player in question is one of the most dedicated professionals in golf). The word TRYING can easily be replaced with COMPLACENCY. It’s the same when we are out on the course we should all TRY to give ourselves the best chance of playing well or enjoy our golf, by following our routines, adopting the right attitudes etc.

However the word TRYING can have a very negative meaning. When used as an adjective is can describe – annoyance, frustration, difficult, all the wrong images for god performance. The biggest adverse effect it is going to have on our golf swings is through physical tension. All golfers need to have 3 key components in place to let the technique work best: – physical relaxation, balance and rhythm. These components are inter-related so Physical Tension will hamper the other components.

The next time you’re out on the course make a mental note of your physical relaxation during your swing just let your trained swing take over. Don’t get caught out TRYING at the wrong time.

Paul Thompson

Fellow PGA Professional

Appointments with Paul for golf lessons in Wicklow can be booked via Powerscourt Golf Club Reception: Tel (01) 204 6033 or the Golf Shop Tel (01) 204 6031. Read more about lessons from Paul Thompson by visiting the Powerscourt Golf Club Website.