The fastest way to lose your golfing mind is to make a change in movement without changing your set-up. If you try to flatten your plane like Tiger and Phil without opening your stance, you are asking your brain to process new information to get back to a solid strike. Moreover, your brain has to interpret feedback in an illogical way. Repeating an illogical thought process will always distort the feedback loop.
Pros tend to work on movement first, because they are searching for better results. Tiger almost had it with Haney. He flattened his plane, but he kept his stance square. He blew out his knee and his back – never knowing that the set-up creates and defines the movement, not vice-versa. Furthermore, in violating the natural order of things, Tiger took a year to adjust to his damaging new swing. He won a lot of tournaments while he was breaking down, though.
Recently, Phil has been trying to flatten his approach to his ball. He stated that the reason for his swing change because shaft angle was too steep, too deep into his downswing. The swing he wants to change was a reflection of the cognitive or physiological dissonance between his set-up and intent. Phil is changing his swing without an accommodative (and causal) set-up change.
When Phil or Tiger steps up to hit a driver we all think, “Wonder where this is going?” It’s an adventure every time. We also know every time they hit a fairway, they score. But, Tiger and Phil continue to hit it all over the map.
Every time they shell it into the trees, I’m yelling at the TV, “You can’t do both!” I mean, it seems like they are determined to lose their minds by pitting their swings against their set-ups from the tee. How can these greats not know something that the rest of us know? The answer is easy.
‘Why?’ is never asked. Asking why would invite doubt and risk spoiling the happiness brought about by achievement. Also, why question things that make us special? Isn’t it easier to be blissfully ignorant? I would be. If you have been successful at every level for decades, the answer is never philosophical.
Sports heroes are men and women of action. From their experience, action leads to achievement, which leads to happiness, which leads to Ego, the placeholder for knowledge. Thus, “cogito ergo sum” is not part of the hero vocabulary.
But, if these titans of the turf could apply their athleticism to a better set-up philosophy – the Open Stance – they could keep their ego, happiness, and achievement, without diving into their psyches. The Open Stance is the vehicle that would allow their flattening action to blossom. Employing an Open Stance frees the mind to interpret results without the interference of confused expectations. Only then can efficient movement emerge. Somebody, go tell’em.
John Wright – Founder
The Open Stance Academy