By Steve Conrad, NGCI

 Golfers all too often get tangled up with thoughts that their swing needs to be or look like this or that, and this can stifle any creativity or "personal stamp" that turns Natural Golf swing concepts into their own personal Natural Golf swing. Playing with only a few clubs will likely be an eye opening experience for many.  Recently Ken Martin, our Direction of Instruction, told me a student of his went out with only three clubs and played her most enjoyable round in a long, long time. 

Playing a round with only a few clubs can actually get you closer to fulfilling your potential as a golfer because you'll swing clubs with new feelings and you'll engage your creative side, you'll probably hit shot types that you never thought of previously or thought you could ever hit.  After all, golf is about getting the ball into the hole in as few shots as possible and to that end if you only have three clubs with which to accomplish this you'll let go of that mechanical side and let your creative side take over.

Give it a whirl and have some fun with it, never mind how your swing looks.  You can still accomplish the Natural Hold, Single Plane Setup and Drive the Ball to Your Target while being creative with shot making, I know I do.

So, when you have some time, take one or just a few clubs out for a round of golf and play. This can be very empowering and give your confidence a great boost. 

For instance, your normal 7 iron (pictured above) may go 145 yards but you have a 160 yard shot so you'll have to do something different than "normal".  You can swing much harder to gain the distance, you could also move the ball back in your stance, or you could roll over your wrists through impact to hit a hook that runs farther...all of these could increase distance.

If you had to hit the same shot over water and there was a bridge in front of you, you could even bounce it off of the bridge to get it close.  Similarly you could manipulate a sand wedge to affect trajectory and spin, you could even purposely "blade" or "skull" a shot (hitting the ball right on its equator) to create the distance you need.

So often we get tangled up in mechanics, trying to do everything by the book, and the next thing you know we're playing golf swing the whole round and not hitting golf shots.  Next time, be different, explore your creative side - choose to play golf and let your swing be a result of the shot you want.

Enjoy!

Steve

 Steve Conrad  was certified in July of 2001, he lives in Ravenel, SC which is located just outside the historic city of Charleston.  He became a Golf Professional in 1995 when he began teaching in the Jimmy Ballard Jim Colbert golf schools, he taught for them in Melbourne, FL, Tampa, FL, and in the greater Boston area.

He is the "Ask a Natural Golf Instructor" in the Natural Golf Chatroom where he has contributed over 500 posts.  He says "check it out when you have time, there's some pretty good content in there".  

He may be contacted via email at sconrad@naturalgolfci.com