52. You don’t have to look at the ball during the swing, only be aware of its presence on the ground in front of you

Most golfers find it extremely difficult to make the swing with the ball the same as their practice swing. It seems the very presence of the ball fills the golfer with violent intention! It’s easy to make a swing without the ball because you are under no pressure to produce a shot. Achieving an effortless swing and a balanced follow- through seems a natural thing when there is going to be no result involved.

It does not seem natural to be effortless however when the ball is present. It now seems more logical to put ALL the effort into that part of the swing before impact in what is the mistaken hope that this will give maximum output in the shot.

So the practice swing that had a feeling of “Oneness” about is now split into two parts and they are before impact and after impact. The very presence of the ball for many players literally dissects their swing into two pieces. To the greater degree that you are obsessed with “hitting” the ball the more this dissection of the swing comes into existence. The more split the swing, the worse your results become. An imbalance occurs because all the effort is loaded into the before impact half of the swing, where the ball isn’t, leaving the after impact part drained of dynamics. Martial arts students can relate to this point as they are instructed to punch beyond the target 

It needs mentioning at this point that the top player will not “look” at the ball as much as a struggling handicap player. This means he will be less physically involved with an action that is directed at the ball. He simply makes a swing that the ball happens to be in the way of. That is why top players are able to swing with an effortless grace whether the ball is there or not. Struggling golfers remember; you don’t have to look at the ball during the swing, only be aware of its presence on the ground in front of you.

An unbalanced action lacks co-ordination and does not allow the player to get into the necessary position to bring the club to the ball on a consistent basis so consequently all the power you create does not find the mark. Think of it this way; the positions you go through to arrive at a balanced follow-through include the position necessary for good striking. Focus on finishing the swing well and you will give yourself a good chance of making consistent shots.