The last few years have been good for me. My golf game has continued to improve and I have found a way to play consistently. For the most part I enjoy golf more and I’ve had my fair share of success.

But you can’t win all the time…

My last few matches for my golf team have been a bit of a let down. Not because I didn’t play well but because I didn’t win. Although it’s been a difficult lesson for me to learn, I now realise that I can do everything correctly but still hit poor shots and lose matches. Automatic and natural playing is not a miracle cure. It maximises your chances of playing well (winning) but it doesn’t guarantee it!

My confession today is that I haven’t been the best golfer I can be. Although I have been playing well - I’ve let myself and others down with my poor attitude and frustration. I’ve been expecting to hit the perfect shot at the perfect time. This is not realistic and is putting extra pressure and strain on my system.

Expecting miracles to happen is emotional evaluation. Emotional evaluation is letting your emotions and feelings override what reality is. When things don’t match this unrealistic reality you can feel angry, frustrated or worse.

I’ve taken my eye off the ball and stopped playing golf. I’ve been expecting things to go my way and when they haven’t my frustration and stress levels have risen. By expecting too much I have not been able to handle bad bounces, poor luck and the rub of the green.

To play your best golf you need some emotional detachment to what you’re doing. By letting go of all the baggage, expectations and stories you can break free and experience your best golf. It’s not an easy thing to do but something well worth the effort.

Good golfing,

Cameron

Golfers like to work on their swing and search for the ’secret’ or golf tip that can help them improve. Although I’m not a big fan of quick tips or jumping around looking for a miracle cure, correct golf mechanics are important.

There is so much contradiction available in the golf world that it can be hard to know what is right or wrong. I have found that if golfers get correct information they can swing better and with more confidence. This is always a good thing

In 2004 I was involved in a scientific study of the golf swing. This was a comprehensive study and involved analysis of motion, ground reaction forces and muscle activity. After nine months of researching the scientists had come up with some interesting results. These results contradicted many traditional concepts. Below are three ideas that can help you improve your golf technique;

Scientific Secret #1 - Power comes from your hands and arms, not your body

Most of modern instruction places an emphasis on spinning (turning) your body for maximum power. This is not correct. This spinning and turning causes most golfing problems - most notably a weak slice.

The key for maximum power is to swing your hands and arms. The body acts as a support mechanism - moving in response to your hands and arms. Move your arms first and the body will follow. It should never be the other way around.

Have you ever been stuck under a tree with a restricted back swing, then been surprised at how far you’ve hit the ball? This has happened to many golfers and represents the scientific secrets to a better golf swing. With a restricted backswing you are forced to swing your arms, which is exactly what you’re supposed to do.

Scientific Secret #2 - How to have perfect timing

Golfers report that when they are playing well they have more time to hit the ball. During these times their timing is spot on. Scientific analysis has helped identify the secrets to having perfect golf swing timing. Here they are;

• club head traveling along the target line for a longer period of time
• club face pointing at the target for longer period of time

We termed this the Flat Spot Principle. Learning to perform the FSP will give you an unfair advantage. You can hit the ball with confidence because you’ll know that the ball will travel longer and straighter more of the time.

Scientific Secret #3 - How to hit the ball further with less effort

Science has shown it is possible to get more power without straining and hurting your body. Here are the key concepts for doing so;

• Use a shorter back swing. It was found that when golfers relaxed and attempted a shorter back swing they actually INCREASED the length of their swing. This could help explain why golfers can report better results when they swing easier and take a three-quarter length swing.
• Allow a bending of your left arm (your right arm if you’re left-handed). This not only reduces strain and makes the swing easier to perform, you’ll also give yourself a mechanical advantage. A slight bending of your left arm at the top of the swing reduces the moment of inertia and allows you to start the club down more quickly. This will allow your swing to have more speed at the ball.
• Don’t wind your body like a spring. Turning your body tight or as far as you can is not the right thing to do. This is sometimes referred to X factoring. You should strive for a relaxed and comfortable swing - not one that causes you pain or is difficult to do

A bonus Scientific Secret - The Grip

Learning how to hold onto the club can be a difficult thing to learn. There are many pieces of advice to choose from and deciding on the right one is not always easy. Our scientific data identified two key areas that are most important. Get these two concepts correct and you can forget about the rest;

• Choose a grip that allows you to swing the golf club with speed. This should be your greatest priority.
• Choose a grip that YOU find comfortable - not what your instructor says so

This means that you don’t need to worry about Vardon, interlocking or overlapping grips. Find method of holding the club that satisfies the above principles and you’ll do just fine.

As an extra bonus you may find bulking up your grips to your liking. Get your golf professional to add some extra tape under your grip or experiment with some chunky grips that are now on the market. I should have some of these new grips in stock shortly. If you’d like to learn more please contact me.

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These scientific secrets form the basics of BioSwing. One independent scientist was so impressed with the golf swing model that he described BioSwing as the golf swing of the future. To learn more about BioSwing view my Golf Instruction 2.0 package for full details.

No matter how good you golf swing mechanics are you still need to perform the swing automatically and naturally. I still believe this to be golf’s most important skill - when you have good mechanics and can automate that swing you will become the best golfer you can be.

Good golfing,

Cameron

Do you want to play better golf? Most golfers that write to me do but the vast majority don’t know how to do it.

First of all let’s define what better golf is.

My simple version is being able to play good golf out on the golf course. For most golfers this will be hitting shots and scoring as well as you do in practice and in non competitive rounds. If you hit the ball well on the practice tee but lose the plot once you step onto the first tee, you haven’t learned how to play the game yet.

If this sounds like you the game will become frustrating (if it isn’t already) and you will feel like you’re not maximising your potential.

What’s the best way to start playing better golf?

Traditional instruction likes to focus solely on the golf swing and in particular golf swing mechanics. Thinking about your swing (especially while you play) is one of the worst things that you can do. Here’s why;

You become attached to your golf swing. You can’t hit a shot without analysing what went right or wrong. Hit a good shot and you’ll try and replicate it. Hit a bad shot and you’ll try and find a remedy. I call this emotional attachment and it doesn’t allow you to play your best golf. It’s also hard and tiring work!

When I ask golfers to describe to me the best shot or round they’ve played invariably they can’t remember HOW they did it. These situations are like magic and only result when you can let go of your attachment to to golf swing. Letting go enables your instinctive learning machine to take over and perform the skill the way nature intended.

Consciously controlling your swing, worrying about what others think, playing safe and thinking too much about mechanics is a form of emotional attachment.

A friend of mine helps men meet and attract women. It’s not as seedy as it sounds. It’s a reputable business that teaches non confident men how to find a partner in a natural and real way. He is a real world version of Hitch and in a silly kind of way golfers face similar problems.

My friend went on to tell me that guys that struggle with dating think too much and over analyse. They will walk up to a lady worried about what everyone is thinking and usually try a cheesy pick up line, thinking that is the right thing to do. It isn’t.

The golf equivalent is thinking that you’re no good and relying on some quick fix tip to help execute the shot. This rarely works either.

Over thinking and emotional attachment seems like the right thing to do but it is holding you back - no matter what you’re trying to achieve.

The solution? I’m not going to offer you dating advice here, but if you want to improve your golf game then I suggest you take my three round challenge.

For the next three games you play allow yourself to swing with freedom and enthusiasm. Hit the ball in a way that feels good to you. Clear you head of technical thoughts and worry. Let go and stop thinking “how do I do it?”. Tee the ball up and hit the stupid ball!

You’ll have to put thoughts of score and results out of your mind. It’s the only way to make a breakthrough but is well worth the effort. I have found that keeping track of your “free” swings is better than keeping score. See if you can make a natural and free swing at least 75% of the time. This is a good aiming point.

Learning to let go of emotional attachment is not a comfortable thing to do. It will feel weired and even a little scary. But it is something that you have to do if you want to experience better golf. Better golf is just the beginning - after ‘better’ comes remarkable and this is something worth aiming for.

Good golfing,

Cameron

Here’s a list of things that make playing golf more automatically and natural worthwhile;

• Driving to the course knowing you’re going to play well
• Focusing on playing golf rather than on golf tips or other gimmicks
• Playing to your handicap (or better) more of the time
• Having a strategy to successfully negotiate first tee nerves
• Playing better under pressure than you do normally
• Hit the ball further without trying harder
• Less likely to get injured
• Hitting shots that you never thought possible
• Practice less but perform better
• Improve after each game that you play
• Breakthrough the confusion and frustration of traditional instruction
• Make the right decision more of the time
• Play to your full potential
• Beat players who have more talent than you
• People will call you talented or a “natural”
• People will think you’ve got some special gift or god given talent
• Golf becomes easier and less of a mystery
• Open up the possibility for remarkable play or something magical to happen
• Play with inner confidence and enthusiasm
• Have more fun

If you haven’t experienced automatic learning and playing then you’re missing out. It’s well worth the effort and taking the time to find out more.

Good golfing,

Cameron

Have you ever been playing well and then for some stupid reason you hit a terrible shot? A shot that is so bad that it rocks your confidence and makes you wonder where it came from?

It happened to me on Sunday. I was playing well. I had just nailed a tee shot on the 10th hole and had a fairly easy approach to the green. For reasons I haven’t worked out (and never will) I hit an ugly pull hook with my eight iron that left me little or no chance for a par. I must say I was shocked by the shot and a little embarrassed. A few members had come out to watch the match and I don’t think they were impressed any more than I was.

After chipping out I made bogey and lost the hole.

The par three 11th is a short hole. As luck would have it I needed the 8 iron. I would be lying if I said the previous hole didn’t enter my mind. It did. In years gone by I’m sure I would have made many practice swings and tried to work out what had gone wrong. Then I would have tried to incorporate those thoughts into the next swing. This is something that never really worked for me and I believe is NOT something golfers should do.

What did I do?

I accepted the shot as a bad one. I realise now that bad shots are part of the game. I have long since given up on the belief that I can hit every shot perfectly. This still doesn’t stop me from doing so - I’m just more realistic these days. This mind-set allows me to swing more freely and take the good with the bad.

My secret weapon is to get my mind in the present and automate my golf swing. The benefit of doing this is my mind is not thinking about the last hole, the bad swing or what could possibly go wrong next while I’m executing the current shot. I’m in the now. For the small amount of time it takes me to hit the shot my mind is in a good place. I’m relaxed and have no self-doubt. I can worry and think about things after the shot is made!

The process I used is as follows;

I focussed on what I wanted to do. I worked out how far I had to carry the ball to clear the front trap, I took into account the wind and hole location. I determined an 8 iron was the perfect club - it would clear the front bunker and finish below the hole on the hard and fast green.

To help get my mind in the present I listen for outside noises, I remember listening to chatter in the distance, birds chirping in the trees and passing traffic in the distance. I’m now ready to hit the ball.

I follow my automatic process - walk to the ball and then execute the shot. For that brief time I’m in the perfect place. My mind is calm and my confidence returns. There’s no self-doubt, concern or worry. My subconscious is doing what it does best - hitting the golf ball.

This process allows me to bypass the negativity of a poor shot and all of the conscious chatter that golfers like to have. Most importantly it gives me a process to get my round back on track after hitting such a bad shot on the previous hole. In this case the shot as perfect - it landed safely on the green and I was able to win the hole.

If you are continually let down by stuff ups and the odd bad shot or two then the automatic process can help. You will always hit bad shots - but you should be able to minimise the damage and not let them totally destroy your round completely.

If you have any thoughts I’d like to hear from you.

Good golfing,

Cameron