Yesterday I played golf with a slightly crazy and ultra fun friend, Jeanette. Her father was a teaching pro so she’s been playing for a long time and probably got a lot of great golf tips over the years.
She goes through a round with impeccable etiquette, a casual demeanor and hilarious commentary, and playing golf with her is a complete joy. We also give the cart girl a lot of business when we play together, but that’s beside the point.
Everyone has their own swing thoughts and I know mine change from time to time depending on what part of my swing needs the most focus. Slow and smooth, spine angle, and eye on the ball are some of my recurring favorites. Yesterday I discovered Jeanette’s swing thoughts and the personal system she uses to keep them in mind. Her swing thoughts were somewhat surprising to me, but the delivery method was classic, quirky Jeanette. She had this slip of paper taped under the bill of her visor:
I guess I should have asked her if the name Ashley had significance but I was too busy laughing. Never heard the swing thought “You da man” before. But she definitely is da man.
I got the feeling she had been using this system for quite awhile and that “Ashley” was very important and had become something of a security blanket for her. But with Jeanette, you have to expect the unexpected. She abandoned her swing thoughts in the bathroom stall after the 7th hole. I went in second and found Ashley taped to the wall behind the toilet and quietly rescued it for a memento. She hammered her drive on the 8th, made a solid par and finished the round with only one blow up hole. I guess yesterday was the magic day when she finally had the swing thoughts she needed set to memory. And Ashley has been set free.
I think it’s brilliant and that others might benefit from it. Whether you need to think of alignment or take your mind off those pesky details and just “look good” – there’s something here for everyone! Personally, the less I think the better I play.
If anyone out there has heard of other unusual or unique swing thoughts or systems, I’d love to hear them!
July 9, 2007 at 1:48 am
My Swing is a Thought, but I have no idea what I am thinking at the time I am swinging…here is one of my favorite swing thoughts.
http://innovativebusinessgolf.com/2006/05/12/casting-not-exclusive-to-bass-tournaments/
July 9, 2007 at 3:09 pm
My swing thought is “make the move.” I actually say it to myself quietly before swinging. The move, my move, is to turn the shoulders. That’s pretty much it. And stay down and through. I’m a big proponent of few, very few, swing thoughts. If there’s too much going on in the head when you try to swing a golf club, things tend to go badly.
July 9, 2007 at 5:02 pm
My swing thought the other day was ‘it’s under a f**ing tree’. That was shouted in the rough on the hole behind me as I was going through my pre-shot routing 😉 Low and behold, I proceeded to block my tee shot…and end up under a…yeah you guessed it…lovely tree!
Apparently I need to work on the mental side of my game!
Oh, and nice work on the new layout, looks great!
July 9, 2007 at 5:43 pm
I’m afraid I’m still at the, “keep your left arm straight, bitch!” stage. It hasn’t been working too well so I’ think I’ll try ASHLEY.
July 19, 2007 at 8:45 pm
My current favourite is one I found in a golf mag. It’s ‘rotate and wait’ – stops me from swinging my arms through too fast -pretty basic (but that’s my golf!)
http://rather-be-golfing.blogspot.com/2007/06/thanks-paul-lawrie.html
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