Own Your Natural Golf Swing
Every golfer on the planet swings their own unique way so why not find your natural golf swing? Marcus Bell, aka Zen Golf Mechanic, believes that your own body can help you find the most efficient golf swing for you.
Too often golf instruction conforms you to a method versus finding a method that fits and feels good to you.
Nobody had a better quote than Arnold Palmer when it comes to owning your natural golf swing...
“Swing your swing,” Palmer said. “Not some idea of a swing. Not a swing you saw on TV. Not that swing you wish you had. No, swing your swing. Capable of greatness. Prized only by you. Perfect in its imperfection. Swing your swing. I know I did.”
Arnold Palmer
The King
We are seeing more and more golfers find their natural golf swing. Look at Matt Wolfe, Bryson DeChambeau or Viktor Hovland and his double-pump backswing move. Viktor actually played with that double pump in PGA events.
So don't be afraid to try something unique and new. It could be the missing piece to your own natural golf swing.
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are you the guy on the driving range who
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sets his alignment sticks out
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and has been told that he's got to
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practice
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swinging to parallel to the target line
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a hip high
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with a toe pointing up in the air
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cocking the wrist and pointing the
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button at the target line
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on the backswing rotating the shoulders
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90 degrees
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hips 45 keeping the knee bent weight on
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the inside of the foot
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because if that is you is it right for
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you
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have you ever asked why are you doing it
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because surely we can't all be trying to
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swing the same way
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we don't all fit into the same pair of
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trousers we don't all
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move the same way with different shapes
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sizes and we all see the world
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differently so why are we all told to
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practice the same way
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because surely this is an individual
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sport and so we should have
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our own individual technique but the
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question is how do we find it
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we don't need these for starters
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because that just starts to add
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interference that's conformity
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that's everybody doing the same thing
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and everybody getting the same problems
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if we were all trying to fit into the
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same pair of trousers
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it's going to suit somebody it's going
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to fit somebody so i'm not saying that's
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not right
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or wrong it may suit somebody
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but dustin johnson's over here matthew
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wolf's over here
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who's to tell those guys that they're
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doing it wrong because they've got a few
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quid more than us i guess
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they found a way that works and we can
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use the same process
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we just need to know how so this
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exercise is going to help
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you find your most
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efficient natural golf swing
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by recognizing the movements by
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recognizing the space
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through self-discovery how do we know
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what's right for us
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if we've not explored all the options if
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we're only trying to do it a single way
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that's all we ever know
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you only know what you know so if you
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don't learn anything else then how do
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you know what you're doing is right for
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you
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it's a very constrained approach and if
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we're all doing the same thing
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which you can see on the driving range
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day in day out people alignment stakes
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checking the club face alignment
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checking the shaft positioning
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maybe just maybe that's not the right
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technique
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for them because they've been doing it
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52 weeks a year on the driving range and
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they're still doing the same drills
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they're still having to think where the
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golf club is
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but do we do that in other sports no we
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just play the sport we just find
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our mechanics and we've done it through
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exploration
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so this drill is going to help you
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explore and find your mechanics so
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first of all we need to have some kind
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of conceptual image
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in our mind and we're going to go over
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here and we're going to look at
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this picture and imagine that's us
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hitting
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this way down the range and imagine
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that's the arc of the club head
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traveling around the body
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we've got a red arc we've got a blue art
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we've got a green art but we've got lots
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of variations think of this as more of
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space this is red space
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this is blue space and this is green
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space
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this is not swing plane or any kind of
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swing terminology
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this is just space okay that we're
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traveling through
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or an arc that we recognize because the
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golf club doesn't travel around the body
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on a plane it's so variable it's
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continually changing there's so many
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directional components to the swing
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and to the to how the club moves in
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space that it's not traveling in a
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perfect arc
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but we don't need to recognize that we
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don't even need to try and conform to
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that or feel it
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what we need to do is we need to
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recognize our own movement
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so this drill is going to allow us to
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explore the space
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because maybe swinging parallel and
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pointing the club at the target line and
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lifting the arms or turning
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takes us into a place that's actually
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adding more interference and confusion
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and making it more difficult for your
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body
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to find a functional movement pattern to
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hit the golf ball
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maybe we're putting our body in a
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position it's not comfortable with
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but we don't know that it's
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unintentional we've consciously
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overridden the system and now the body's
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got to try and compensate and create
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some kind of movement
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that you recognize or don't recognize as
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your golf swing
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sometimes it might feel strange but
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maybe that's just the body's
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subconscious
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organization that's its mechanism for
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creating that
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what it seems what it feels is the
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functional
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movement for the outcome that you want
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so
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we're going to explore some space what
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does it feel like to swing red
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red is upright what's it feel like to
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swing blue
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so this is red and blue
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this is how i interpret red and blue for
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you it's going to be different
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your red's going to be different
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tomorrow your blue is going to be
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different to my blue
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your green's going to be different to my
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green it doesn't matter
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all that matters is what is meaningful
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to you that's what you're going to
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recognize
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as your patterns the golf swings just a
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feeling
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and all we're doing is matching a
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feeling to an image of a golf shot this
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golf shot doesn't exist it's just a
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figment of our imagination it's how well
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can we
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create movement in response to our
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imagination and we don't even feel the
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golf swing
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there's latency to this when we make a
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movement when we hit the golf ball
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we don't sense it in the moment it is
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almost instantaneous
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but it's not actually instantaneous so
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actually
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movement is a simulation so we've got to
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recognise patterns
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we've got to know what this movement
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we're making
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is going to do are we acting
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autonomously with a sense of knowing
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with a sense of confidence
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or are we not sure what our movement's
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going to produce and if not
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then maybe we've got to reassess how we
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practice
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so this is the red
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this is the green and this is the blue
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and if you think about
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let's say the wrists what kind of wrist
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notion
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would help me make it red what kind of
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wrist motion would help me make it go
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blue
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and what would help me make it go green
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and then if i want to make a green swing
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so we're making movement with ease we're
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not thinking about
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wrist conditions shoulder positioning
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scapular setting ribcage rotation
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we're just thinking of a whole motion we
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can shift our attention for a moment
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and isolate certain places we can be
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aware because this develops an overall
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awareness
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it's a mindful awareness these thoughts
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come and go we don't hold
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on to them we're aware and then we'll
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let it pass
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i'm aware i can feel something i can
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shift my attention onto my wrist i can
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feel that
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i can shift my attention to my feet my
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hips any place i like but i don't hold
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that attention there
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that is not the purpose for me moving
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the purpose when you move in
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is the golf shot and everything is
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integrated as a system
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so we can be mindful of it but then we
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don't use that same awareness to
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actually
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initiate and execute the movement does
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it feel comfortable to go red
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blue green what's it like going red
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but then green with the wrists okay
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what's blue like blue and red
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blue and green now to help us find this
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all we have to do is play around in
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space
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and find that place find that place
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i'm moving my arms up and down i'm
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moving my club up and down
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it's almost like painting a wall behind
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you where
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is this place that i feel comfortable
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and then when you feel comfortable make
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a swing
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and now can you go to that place without
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doing the exercise can you go straight
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to that place
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can you recognize this place where you
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get
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the most speed
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with ease what's it like up here
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does it feel as easy does it feel as
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effective
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is it balanced can you rotate
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and move with freedom does it feel
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restricted
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where is the best place we need to
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develop this spatial awareness
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what we do need is we need that club
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head
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behind the body this has to be
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behind the center of rotation the center
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of mass of the club has to be
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behind the center of rotation behind the
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pivot
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and then we can use these pivot forces
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to swing the club freely
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and use that centrifugal acceleration
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the club's working for us now but where
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is that
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optimal place to achieve this where's
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the club got to come from to feel that
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effortless power
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well we need to explore the space like
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i'm trying to hit a draw
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does green feel easier
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or red we do have to be mindful when
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we're trying to conform
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to swing ideology if you are trying to
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be parallel
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and you are pointing at the club face
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and you are then swinging up
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is the club actually behind you if it's
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in front
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we've got big problems now trying to
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rotate this
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the way the body reacts is different
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you've placed heavy constraints
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because you've physically put the club
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in a position that's now
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demanding a movement solution from the
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body and you've severely constrained its
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movement potential
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if you were to throw this club where
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does the club go it goes behind
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it's behind the body now you're starting
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to recruit all that stretch recoil from
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the body
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and you've now got physics working for
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you
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you've got the pivot forces the body's
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going to use the ground
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because it has to it's like swinging a
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sledgehammer the body's hardwired for
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efficiency
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we're moving into a place where we're
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tapping into these efficient mechanics
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automatically evolution has given us
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these skills
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we'd have to think about it what we've
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got to do we've got to give the body the
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opportunity to use these
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but if we're throwing in the conscious
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constraints
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early goals maybe just maybe
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the body can't reorganize with
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efficiency in the way that you want for
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your golf swing
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and now we've got confusion in the
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system now it's haywire
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now it's really noisy we're getting
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results we're not sure of i'm doing the
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right thing
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i'm parallel and checking my clubface is
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square and my grip's okay
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and everything but i'm not getting these
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results
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so i'd suggest you go right back
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and explore space with your club
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and movement and develop an awareness
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it's more of an intuitive awareness it's
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a feeling you don't have to look at the
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club
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to know where it is the body knows trust
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the body
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and how do we develop trust we've got to
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take the leap of faith
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we've got to allow ourselves to explore
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and play some shots
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allow what we might perceive as failure
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it's not really it's a learning
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opportunity
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for the next shot and the next shot and
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the next shot and this is how we're
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going to get better it's the ultimate in
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self-discovery
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and you're going to find the efficient
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mechanics but you also know
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the physics behind it this needs to be
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behind me but where does it need to be
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behind me in space and how do i get it
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there
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how do i rotate the body with freedom
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how do i allow rotation through the
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whole body
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not just thinking about how the arms are
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moving because the rest of the body now
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is going to react
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to just enable you to move your arms in
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this way
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and this might not be how the body needs
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to function to create power
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it could be back to front you might be
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thinking about this and in doing so
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we're not using the ground now the way
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that the body would do if we were just
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throwing or kicking or hitting we're not
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recruiting those
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ground reaction forces that the body
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needs because we've
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restricted the system what's it feel
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like to swing
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and go red what's it feel like
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to go blue feel it
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where's blue there's red there's blue
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for me there's green
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have a practice swing
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i'm gonna i'm gonna feel blue even
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hit a shot
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what's it feel like to go green
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now the key to this is to not use the
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ball as a performance indicator
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don't get distracted by the outcome with
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the ball
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we're learning to shift our attention
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onto our movement
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and recognize it so we're disconnecting
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ourselves
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from that ball focused outcome
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just for a second just for just for this
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shot this isn't going to be for the
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whole practice session this is just for
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a
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portion of the practice session so that
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we can actually
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develop an awareness a feel for where we
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are
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because our attention is there just for
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a moment and when your attention's there
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you can start to develop that awareness
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but if i start getting distracted by
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that ball
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my intentions changed i'm now trying to
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hit a ball and i'm starting to
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become dissonant from that body
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awareness
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focus so develop the awareness
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where is this in space red what's red
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like
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what's blue around here this feels like
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blue
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and what's green
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[Music]
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which face which arc makes it easier for
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the fade or the draw
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now we can be mindful of the wrists very
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close to the end of the chain
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is this sending the club upwards
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on red are the wrists sending the club
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around the body more on blue
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or are the wrists sending it more round
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on green
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so let's go let's go red
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let's go blue this feels blue more
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just shallower than red
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and now green
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green blue
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red we're gonna go green now what's
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green feel like
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so now i'm starting to recognize this
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space and i'm starting to develop a
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preference
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because it feels better it feels easier
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i can feel where i need to be
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to move
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with the most efficiency with ease
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and produce that shot that i want give
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it a go
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change the way you practice explore
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and discover your optimal swing
English (auto-generated)
Your Natural Golf Swing Final Thoughts...
I think this type of teaching warrants some diving into even if it helps you identify a motor pattern that is more suited to your golf swing.
Have you tried any of the tips in the video to develop your own natural golf swing? If so, definitely leave a comment below. If not, why not? Leave a comment as well.
Best,
Shawn