Really easy I say because I love golf and there are so many areas to cover; what’s on in the news for example Patrick Reed, Tiger et al, slow play, how to improve your game with a tip or a little bit of instruction, an observation about what’s happening in my life, all sorts of topics come up and then the words follow. Being faced with the announcement, which is potentially going to be broadcast this afternoon, of the lockdown lasting until the end of May, I really am going to have to give some thought as to how to structure these articles.
That’s a lot of words with no story. However, I do have a thought about a common thread which could run through the next few weeks. If you have ever been to our Academy at Vila Sol, you may have heard me say that a player’s talent normally hits a plateau based on the bad habits which they have in their swing. The talent is there, almost always, it’s just that the player hasn’t learned how to move correctly due to the bad habits which have been ingrained through lack of instruction or misinterpreted information.
If you Google the question, how long does it take to change a habit the general answer comes back, ‘on average 66 days’. Or as the medical profession are saying, ‘on average 66 days for a new behaviour to become automatic’. If you do something for just over two months you can have a whole new way of moving, especially your golf swing.
So out with the old and in with the new! Beware blunt question coming, “what else are you going to do with your time?” Seriously, what are you going to be doing? Instead of letting the situation you find yourself in get you down, train instead and train regularly and hard.
As I said last week, there are three levels of fitness a player has to have achieved; being physically able to carry your bones over the distance of a golf course and walk off the course with the same level of energy as you walked on to the first tee with, secondly you need to be able to swing the club at least sixty times without any fatigue setting in, and thirdly the one which I can’t help with, which is to be mentally match fit. Sorry, but that one is down to actually being ‘in play’ or in competition mode.
The coaching, which is already online, is free. I have constructed a systematic series of coaching specifically around building great habits without hitting a ball. I have done six so far, on my rooftop, just outside of Tavira. My intention is to do one short session, say two minutes long, on Facebook and duplicated on YouTube every day with a day off on Sunday.
Once I have finished this, I’m going to expound the virtues and importance of the left hand and its wrist in the golf swing. I know, I know, how has such excitement passed you by? Not a single mention of my activity on the mass or social media! It’s scandalous, almost as if the news is being hijacked by another crisis. However, in all seriousness, hopefully there will never be a stretch of time where you will be ‘banned’ from playing golf or hitting balls. Especially for 66 days.
What a chance to take part in a social media experiment, where you have the time and the resources to implement change without any sacrifice at all. I will help guide you through the systematic change.
If you are thinking what experience do I have in this game or even how competent am I in this golf business, have a look at Golf Integrated Academy (Vilamoura) on Trip Advisor and that should go some way to alleviating your concerns.
So please, have a look and if you would like a specific area covered which would be of interest to you please drop a note and I will do my best to accommodate.
See you next week in the paper, or online very soon. Stay safe and healthy in the meantime.