In my last blog, I talked about reconnecting your body by reconnecting with your Golf Feet.
I talked a lot about grounding yourself and getting in touch with the way your feet interact with the surface below them. I'm guessing that a lot of you -- especially those of you who've met me -- may have thought that was a little bit Zen coming from a guy like me.
I don't look like someone who spends a lot of time contemplating the "Third Eye" and how Chakras get aligned. But even if you're not deeply into yogic ideas, there's no way you can ignore the mind-body connection when it comes to golf.
If you've been away from your golf game for a few months
due to the weather -- or anything else -- the most important way you can get your Golf Body back into the game is by reintroducing your Golf Brain back into the game.
This is going to be fun.
For what you're about to do, you're not going to need a golf club, stability ball, or resistance band.
Heck, you don't even need to get out of your seat. We're going to work on helping you visualize what you need to do the first time you tee it up this year.
If you've reconnected with your feet like I talked about in my last blog, it's time to now use that grounding to visualize what you entire swing is going to feel like. And I purposely said "feel like" instead of "look like" for a reason. I really want you to feel what your body needs to do when it swings the club.
While sitting down and reading this, I want you to imagine yourself at address.
I want you to feel the four corners of both feet. Ideally, I'd have you do this with your eyes closed, but then you wouldn't be able to read the rest of what you're supposed to do. So, do it once with your eyes open and then continue to do it with your eyes closed.
I want you to feel strength and stability from your feet through your knees and into your hips. This stability is what's going to allow you to hit the ball accurately every time you swing a club. Feel stable and anchored.
Where are your hips -- and what are they doing?
You need to create pelvic stability. The muscles in your hips and lower back are what controls movement of your pelvis. And without a stable pelvis, it's anyone guess how your posture is going to be. The position of your pelvis is going to dictate posture. If it's tilted forward, you're going to have too much of an arch in your back and if it's tilted backwards, you're going to have a C-shaped spine and a rounded back. Neither will let you play your best. A neutral pelvis will give you let you assume perfect golf posture.
From address, let's visualize your takeaway and backswing.
Keeping your lower body strong, grounded, and stable, picture yourself beginning to rotate your upper body to your right. You're not moving your upper body to the right. It's staying in place and rotating. A giant screwdriver inserted in the top of your head turning your upper body clockwise. You should feel this deep in your core.
Where do you see your arms during this rotation?
Is your right elbow still against your side -- or is it raising up and away from your body and turning into a chicken wing. If you need to, visualize holding a towel under your arm to keep the elbow in contact with your body. I don't want you to actually use a towel -- because I know you've already done that drill a billion times -- I want you to visualize it.
At the top of your backswing, how do you feel?
You should get a sense of your weight being in the outside heel of your right foot. I want you to be aware of your shoulders. There should be a slight tightness in your shoulders and core. Your legs should still feel stable and strong with noticeable tension in the inner parts of your thighs.
Now, that giant screwdriver starts turning your upper body counter-clockwise. Feel your spine and posture remaining strong through the rotation. Your arms are retracing their path downward. Your right foot starts to rotate internally. Eventually, your right knee will be facing your left knee. Your weight is now moving into your left side.
Do you feel balanced?
As your weight is shifting to your left and toward your target, are you still in control of your body? As you move through impact and into your follow-through, are you in charge of your body -- or is momentum taking charge? Imagine finishing with perfect balance, control, and stability. Imagine looking up and seeing the ball landing dead-center of a narrow fairway.
Oh, and if you're living up north and dealing with mountains of snow, I want you to imagine all of this happening on the most pristine, warm, and beautiful day you can imagine.
Feel the sun warming your muscles and keeping them loose. Imagine birds chirping and reminding you that spring is just around the corner. Take a few more swings and feel your Golf Body.
Think about the first time that you're going to throw your clubs into the back of your car.
It's not that far away.
© 2014 joeydgolf.com
