An automatic golf swing

Grayden has been reading my stuff for years. We’ve done a lot of back and forwards via email (don’t think we’ve actually spoken yet) and he has been a regular contributor on many of the blog posts. Grayden’s progress has been real – there’s been ups and downs but I’m sure now he is playing the kind of golf that he is truly happy with. He has now got an automatic golf swing. He’s not worried about his swing, score or others. He is playing the game.

Check out the video he posted. There are some great lessons and insight here and I’ve included more comments below.

I love his forward press. He does this before he takes the club away and I’m not even sure he knows this is happening. The forward press allows you to dance – it makes it easier to flow and acts like a trigger for the rest of your swing. Jack Nicklaus spoke about his forward press but not many others do. It’s an integral part of the swing and definitely needs more discussion.

Here’s a warning: The forward press is not a technical thing. It finds you when you swing the club instinctively – it is not something that you figure out by thinking about or doing mirror work. You move your body one way, and this sets a chain reaction the other. It can’t be contrived or you’re defeating the purpose. Let it find you. You can only get here when you surrender and truly swing the golf club in a way that satisfies you.

His swing is 100% natural. If you removed the club and the grass and replaced it with a stick and sand, he could be smashing rocks on the beach. Can you see that? Many have a poor excuse for a swing because they’re trying to swing correctly. They end up with a tight and overly manipulated version. Can you see his flow?

And because Grayden’s golf swing flows (because it’s an automatic swing), it’s consistent. He strikes the grass in the same spot each time and each swing looks the same. Consistency is what we’re all after and the only way to get this level of reliability is to give up on the dream of building the perfect golf swing. You need to “swing the sticks” and let your own automatic swing come to the surface. Nobody can replicate the ideal swing by studying pictures, reading books and looking at video. Your perfect swing turns up when you get out of your way. You’ve gotta play the game.

Really important point: Maybe should have mentioned this before because it’s vitally important. Grayden’s swing/game is all coming together for him because he can start to “feel” his swing. His awareness has gone up a notch or two and he is getting a beautiful side-affect – remarkable golf. But how can you “feel” your swing and have more awareness? You need to swing in rhythm. And how do you get rhythm? By following the advice above – by trusting your automatic golf swing.

Rhythm (I like the word flow) is our (almost) default position. But we hinder it by getting in the way and trying too hard. So at the risk of repeating myself in such a short article, you’ve got to trust that your learning system is smart enough (it is) to find your own version of a beautiful golf swing (it will).

Watch Grayden’s swing. Watch it a few times and do exactly as he does. Grab a club and head for the backyard – it’s some of the best golf practice you’ll do. The backyard offers a quiet place to get lost in your own thoughts and feelings and away from prying eyes. There’s less ego and more attention to learning.

Afterthought: I need to add that I wrote this without consultation with GP. He may have a different opinion/thoughts/ideas why things are working for him.