Swing Change

When he was at the pinnacle of winning, his swing was considered perfect from all angles of view. When he is not winning now, so-called pundits tear his posture, mechanics and everything conceivably related to his swing into pieces, and separately come up with various convincingly sounding analysis of enlightenment.

However plausible their theories may sound, they are more self-serving than enlightening (perhaps like blogging)! Commentators can, by and large, say anything they like. The audience can judge for themselves. But for the golf coaches, I cannot help but cynically wonder how good they could really be if they ever participate alongside their students at any PGA tours. If someone is really that good, why doesn't he go play himself and aim to be the coveted number 1 player in the world ranking - instead of wasting time teaching other people competing for it?!

Of course there is always some discrepancy between theory and practice. No golf coach is naive and stupid enough to claim to be the best golfer himself; nor would he ever be expected to be so. But he must have some track record on which to build his credibility. He must be able to at least convincingly demonstrate the direct cause and effect relationship between his teaching and the expected outcome.

The problem with something as elusive as golf is that a cause and effect relationship between ones effort and outcome is hard to be absolutely and consistently ascertained. In order to translate what goes on in the mind, through a complicated coordination of various bodily muscles functions, into a particular ball flight and a specific landing spot on the golf course, it is far far remote from a simply button-pushing mechanism. Otherwise, why would the world top golfers in the right mind ever want to try any swing change? One no doubt only wants to do so in the desire, wish and faith to change ones effort for better outcomes.

Fundamental skills aside, indeed I think it is a matter of faith more than anything else. Golf coaches and commentators can tear down a golfer's swing to pieces. But only the golfer himself can truly, if not accurately, feels for the cause and effect relationship.

After all, no matter how "textbook", superb or cool a golfer swing is, it is the result which counts. But, more often than not, particularly at the superlative level of competition, the difference between outcomes of the top golfers only boils down to their putting strokes. Why do commentators like to make a big fuss out of swing changes?

Of course, that's because we like golf, and its spell!