The late Moe Norman is renowned as one of the best ball strikers to have ever lived. He achieved 55 career Canadian tour victories, 33 course records, and seventeen holes in one. Even late in life, professional golfers such as tiger woods, David Toms, and other big names, would stop to watch him hit balls, in awe of his pipe line accuracy. Tiger woods once described him as the only person who owned their golf swing.
One of Moe's favourite sayings was "the golf ball is the bullet, the clubface the trigger...now AIM and fire!"
Essentially, Moe understood that you must learn to trust your swing and renowned sports psychologist Dr Bob Rotella shares a similar philosophy stating that "you must train your swing then trust it".
How can we learn to trust our golf swings?
Trusting your swing involves swinging without any conscious control and there are many things that golfers can do to promote this.
1) Develop a sound pre shot routine that becomes instinctual even at the most pressure filled situations! This routine should include a physical routine as well as a mental routine. Ideally, the physical routine should be easy to repeat whilst the mental routine should involve a 3 step process including an analysis of the shot at hand, a rehearsal of movement, and cues that help you to 'let the shot go' (Visual and/or Verbal). Louis Oosthuizen favoured a visual cue, a red dot painted on to his glove helped him 'let his shots go' during his 2010 British Open win. In an interview he stated, "I needed, like, a trigger just to get back in the moment...and whenever I look at it I know...just to compose myself, focus on this shot, forget about everything around you."2) Practice your short game! Believing that you can get up and down from anywhere will defiantly reduce the pressure you face on your shots to the green and help you to trust your golf swing.
3) Learn to see what you want to see! Practice visualising successful shots at home, on the range, and golf course.
Moe strived to trust his swing. Check out these videos of Moe in action.
