Goodbye swing gurus

Badds.com has been doing it tough. He has slipped off the radar and it seems a long time ago that he impressed everyone with a win in The Australian Open in 1999. Only last week someone asked me about Aaron Baddeley and I said I wasn’t sure if he could make it back.

But that was before I saw a recent news article. This gives him hope and maybe he can make it back to the big time. I would go as far as saying that Baddeley will come back better than ever before.

The following quotes come from the man himself. If you’ve ever doubted the automatic process is for you or if top professionals don’t need it, then check these out. I’ll include my own comments below each quote.

The first Aussie Open was my best, ball-striking wise

Ok this one is interesting. He has said this nearly eleven years after he won the Aussie Open as an amateur. Despite lessons with all the gurus and thousands of hours of practise, he has never been able to better that ball striking performance. Interesting, isn’t it?

I hit it really long, straight and I hit every shot down the stretch perfect.

All this crap about needing experience is blown out of the water. He actually took on Montgomery and Norman on Sunday afternoon. He prevailed because he played naturally and automatically. He maximised his chances of performing well by playing golf and getting out of his own way. And he certainly hit the ball well – he was unbelievable!

I felt like I was working too hard (in recent years and) wasn’t seeing enough results

Working hard seems like the right thing to do but it rarely is. Working too much on your swing is a sure game wrecker. If a super talented golfer like Badds can’t do it, what chance do you have?

I’d got away from playing the game. It was too much about the process of the swing, thinking too much about how to do it, rather than just hitting it.

I’ve played my best (not thinking too much). If I have to hit a cut, aim left and hit a cut and your body responds to the shot you want to hit. That’s what I want to get back to.

Did you read that? He has realised that all of the technical BS has not helped him. He is saying that automatic golf works. If you’ve ever doubted the automatic way I hope this will sway you.

If there’s a tree in the way, hook it around the tree. Now I can do that quite comfortably again. I hit a shot last week that was an 80-yard hook. Two years ago I didn’t have that shot.

This is playing golf. It can never be an exact science. You’ve got to let your system work out the minor details. Trying to control every part of your swing is a recipe for disaster – it just doesn’t work.

As you may know I helped Aaron learn his phenomenal putting game. It is purely automatic and helped him become recognised as one of the best in the world. With such a pure putting talent he only needs to hit the ball reasonably well to be successful. When he forgets all the crap the swing gurus have been teaching him and gets back to what’s normal, I have no doubt he’ll have a chance to reach his lofty goals.

Like a lot of super talented people they think they can control the golf swing. It’s not possible. The good thing that’s come out of this is that he has realised it early enough. He is still young enough and has the motivation to get back to where he should be. I rarely make predictions – but if Baddeley can stay on track and keeps following his gut then I think he will win again soon. He certainly has the ability.

Go automatic!

Let me know your thoughts.

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22 Comments

  • Tony Lucas

    Reply Reply May 7, 2010

    Cam
    You are so so right he does need to get back to what he is best at .One of things he quite often do was sing in between shots with his caddie.So Badds get back to what you did best.
    Cheers Lukey

  • Grayden Provis

    Reply Reply May 7, 2010

    Thanks Cameron. Aaron’s comments are very enlightening. Lets learn from his mistakes rather than repeat them. I see Johnny Miller pleading with Tiger Woods yesterday to ditch his swing coach and go back to how he played years ago. [It boggles my mind why Tiger Woods would want ANYONE to tell him how to hit a golf ball] We saw the same with Ballesteros, Baker-Finch…….same old story.

  • Gregor

    Reply Reply May 7, 2010

    Seve used to hit balls so off line they ended up in car parks and bushes and all sorts of places but still managed to get great scores presumably because he knew what he wanted to do for his next shot and then did it. Then I guess someone must have told him that golf would be easier playing from the fairway and he needed to change his swing to achieve this. His natural game deserted him. I even read that at one point he had something like 20 swing thoughts before he hit a ball. Recipe for disaster obviously. Tiger is not a straight driver either but has so much imagination he knows how to get the ball in the hole. Until recenty his offline shots didn’t bother him in the slightest. Maybe in his lay-off period he has had too much time to think about his swing and is now paying the price

    • Cameron

      Reply Reply May 11, 2010

      I loved Seve. He was the perfect golfer in my opinion. Rumor has it he tried to change his swing to win a US Open. Disaster! At one point he was working with a golf swing guru that had 38 rules for him to remember. In one interview he said he had gotten up to 36. No wonder he struggled with his game. This is one of the biggest disappointments in golf. We all missed one of the most artistic golfers the world has seen.

  • grayden Provis

    Reply Reply May 9, 2010

    Hi Cam
    Because I’m unable to play or even practice for the time being I’ve got even more time to write (!)……so I’ve started another blog. Nothing to do with golf but might be of interest to some of the Tribers nonetheless:

    http://www.daggynewgardens.blogspot.com

    Mind you, you can actually practice golf (or anything for that matter I guess) in your head. I’ve often figured out stuff and rehearsed it entirely mentally while walking around the block at night. When I take it to the course the range / next day I’m surprised how easily I can implement it.
    Cheers, GP

    • Cameron

      Reply Reply May 11, 2010

      Good luck with the website.

      One of the things I used to do (have gotten away from it which reminds me) was walk and bounce a ball. It was a great way to clear the head, get some fresh air and work on the automatic process. Will need to do a blog post on this for sure.

  • Grayden Provis

    Reply Reply May 9, 2010

    Cameron said: “Like a lot of super talented people they think they can control the golf swing. It’s not possible”……

    I thought about that and shared it with my golf buddy who is a pretty good putter. He said he went to the practice green for a late afternoon session recently and on a dead flat section of the green tried to putt 3m putts to the hole along the shadow cast by the cup flag. He was dismayed because “as hard as I tried I could only get about 1 out of 10 putts to stay perfectly on the line”. He concluded that this proved he’s not as good a putter as he thought. I suggested it more likely proves that “trying hard” doesn’t work in golf but also that no-one can CONSCIOUSLY control the golf swing just as Cameron says. I suggested that if he had the same 3m putt on a dead flat section of green out on the course he would almost certainly make more than 1 out of 10 of them. He agreed. I rested my case 🙂

    • Cameron

      Reply Reply May 11, 2010

      @Grayden: No matter how good we are we simply can’t control these skills as our subconscious can. Many golfers can’t let go – but those that do are rewarded with a level of play most won’t experience. Worth giving a go if you ask me.

  • Tony Lucas

    Reply Reply May 10, 2010

    Grayden
    I love the way you ended the post (I rested my case)and I feel now I will have to call you Perry Mason.
    Cheers Lukey

  • Bernie

    Reply Reply May 10, 2010

    Hi Cam and all
    Cam, wonderful post as usual.
    Grayden, take care. You are in our thoughts. Hoping you get better swiftly. Nice to know you have lots and lots of of E-MAIL friends.
    Tim, our younger son took up a golf scholorship at a USA University/College approx ten years ago. Whilst his golf did not reach the level of turning pro, he graduated from Uni with two degrees and has worked in the golf industry for the past six and a half years. Yes, your golf is important. However, don’t neglect your studies. I am only new to the auto process and support it wholeheartly. Sounds like it is perfect for you.
    My golf appears to have taken a “turn for the better”. It appears I was taking Cam’s word “my mistake” too literally. Whilst being video’ed a week or so ago, I perceived a basic technical fault with my backswing. I am sure Cam will elaborate in the near future on this and on a number of my other peculiarities. Looking forward to it.
    regards all
    Bernie
    PS. Go Badds

    • Cameron

      Reply Reply May 11, 2010

      @Bernie: Got lots to cover with you. Haven’t received the video as yet but hopefully it arrives tomorrow.

  • Grayden Provis

    Reply Reply May 10, 2010

    Thanks Bernie. And some good advice there too. You’re right. At the end of the day golf isn’t “life” – despite the title of my blog! Cheers mate.

  • 3 Putt

    Reply Reply May 11, 2010

    What ever happened to the Stack & Tilt…poor old Badds.com I hope he makes it back. I still remember him just creaming it around RS without a care in the world.

    • Cameron

      Reply Reply May 11, 2010

      @3 Putt: He sure did.

  • Tim Hardman

    Reply Reply May 14, 2010

    Swing coach gone = Tiger of Old
    C’mon 15 shot romp at the US OPEN (PEBBLE BEACH again)

    Awesome info here guys. Love it

  • 3 Putt

    Reply Reply May 17, 2010

    Great timing for this article – Badds T3 in Texas on the weekend.

    • Cameron

      Reply Reply May 17, 2010

      It was. Great to see Aaron do well and Adam Scott win again.

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