Golfers have always been susceptible to over thinking due to the nature of the game and the seemingly endless stream of opinions and information on how to swing. Bobby Jones once said that it was a “horrifying state of affairs.”
There is nothing wrong with being technically minded as long as the student understands why they are being directed to attempt a certain change or to make certain it actually fits with the students pattern. So much advice given to golfers doesn’t even pertain to that individuals needs.
Here’s what I tell my students. If I do my job well and I was to audio tape an entire lesson, only 20% of the verbiage used should be technical in nature while 80% of the discussion should be explaining why I’m suggesting it and how it fits with what we’re trying to accomplish. I can’t tell how many times I’ll be working with a new pupil and I’ll ask why they are doing a certain thing and they say, “I don’t know, I was just told to try it.” Then through more discussion we find out they weren’t even told why it was suggested and they didn’t even understand the concept.
Here’s my number one rule, I don’t have a student work on any technical concept unless they 100% understand why I’m asking them to work on it and how it’s fits with their swing. Then we work on drills and exercises to make the transition from technical in nature to a feel. That’s when we use a lot of video analysis so they see how everything fits and how the potentially bizarre feeling drills will help them develop new and better habits. Bottom line is, technical is fine only when first introducing a concept but then it’s about understanding and feel.