If you have played golf for more than one season, then you have experienced the disappearance of swing syndrome. Attack without warning, regardless of skill level.

To quote the late Bobby Jones in his masterful book, Secrets of The Masters: “you always feel that you are running away from something, without knowing exactly what or where it is. “

In most sports, solid mechanics and dedicated practice offer some guarantee of constant improvement. In golf, however, there are no guarantees.

The first step toward consistency is accepting that the results are out of your control. The second step is learning how to minimize the effect of the swing syndrome that wears off by deliberately controlling your attention.

In my experience with over eleven thousand students, most golfers who attend once a week assume faulty memory is the culprit; you must have forgotten to lock your left elbow or shift your weight or lift your wrists or …

While hitting yourself can provide some satisfaction in alleviating masochistic tendencies (which is universal for all golfers), it only serves to exacerbate the symptom. Trying to rationalize the collapse usually leads to a never-ending cycle of troubleshooting and bug-fixing which in turn manifests itself in the proverbial blast hole.

Contrary to popular belief, the culprit is not forgetfulness, but rather trying to remember all the nuances of proper technique. The secret to a speedy recovery is to redirect your attention to the feel of your best shots.

Every golfer has heard that golf is a game of sensations. How you feel is a by-product of your attention. What you pay attention to affects how you feel; the better you feel, the more likely you are to create your best swing.

At least a third of the time in a round of golf is walking / riding between shots. Use the time to mentally replay past success and recall the prevailing feeling.

Have you ever been trapped behind a student driver? Have you ever wondered why they go so slowly? The student is trying to pay attention to everything; Oncoming cars, traffic lights, when to apply the brakes, etc. They have not developed the ability to distinguish between attention and awareness.

Regardless of their skill level, every golfer can consistently play to the best of his ability by focusing on the desired results rather than repeating the mistakes of the past. The biggest mistake in traditional golf instruction is asking a student to constantly remember mistakes instead of relying on their natural ability to just hit the damn ball!

Thank you for reading.