One of the beautiful things with Automatic Golf is being able to maximise your chances of playing well.
All. Of. The. Time.
I’m not saying you’ll always play at your best and shoot record scores.
But you should be able to maximise the chances of success.
It’s a great feeling being able to drive to the golf course and KNOW that you’ll probably be able to play pretty well on the day…
… no matter the course, the playing partners or the event (or pressure you’re feeling).
One of the “hidden” strategies with the automatic approach is letting yourself play with your heart rather with your thinking brain.
“Thinking” golf is limited and not to mention hard work. When the pressure is on, the tendency is to over-think and eventually you’ll overload. Once this happens it’s almost impossible to come back from.
Playing with your heart is different.
You’re putting your trust in your learning system to hit the ball because it’s more than capable to do this.
You’re not bombarding yourself with too many rules or regulations so you have more bandwidth left over to play the game. This can mean you can walk from the course with more energy and enthusiasm instead of feeling busted.
Note: The bandwidth can be used by your learning system to get the club delivered squarely into the back of the ball. This gives you more distance AND accuracy for the least amount of effort. Can you say win-win? One more thing: lots of the swing gurus and teachers will say that we need to “grind” – it’s almost like a badge of honour to be a grinder. But I think this is terrible teaching and just makes the game too hard. Why make it hard when there’s an easier way?
Here’s an everyday situation that I’ve been experiencing for years:
I have an important shot into a green (it could be on the 1st hole or the last).
I figure out the distance I need to hit the ball (this doesn’t need to take a lot of time and why I think we should all use a rangefinder).
Almost always, I let the club choice play out automatically. If I’m feeling pumped I might take a club that’s less than I’d usually hit (i.e. 8 iron instead of the 7). And, I have said for years you’re better off to select the club that “feels” right and make a confident swing, rather than have the “right” club but make a tentative swipe.
Same goes for the target. I won’t over-think the target. I look where I want the ball to go and that’s it. I’m letting my system decide on the precise target and this is not always obvious to my conscious mind.
Then I play golf. I walk in and hit the ball.
There’s way less stuffing around. There are no swing thoughts. And definitely no room for things like, “don’t stuff up and hit the ball over there”.
The club, the target and the swing are almost always taken care of instinctively.
And this is what I refer to as playing with my heart. It’s also a super-fast way to play that leaves no room for self-doubt.
If I were to go down the thinking route I’d more than likely;
Choose a club that seems right on paper
Choose a precise target
Do some practice swings to get a feel for the shot
Work out where I don’t want the ball to go
Now these points all seem like the right thing to do.
But. And this is a really big BUT…
There’s a huge difference between the two;
One option has flow and creativity.
The other tends to lead to playing safe and thinking too much.
And when you add in the complexity of the game, I know which option I’d prefer.
Is there a downside to playing with your heart?
Yes. At first it can seem a little out of control. Many adult learners hate this feeling and won’t give things a fair go.
Counter intuitively, when you give up some of the control (thinking) you actually gain it. Go figure.
So, Automatic Golf is about unleashing your very best instinctive game onto the world most of the time. And I believe if you can play more with your heart and less with your head, you’ll succeed far more quickly and easily.
And it’s way more fun too.
This is what I walk you through in my Golf Bible. It’s really a book (and videos) that takes you away from all the technical “stuff” that disrupts your learning, and gives you something way more reliable.
You can check it out here,