When you make any new physical
movement, the subconscious mind begins to absorb the information.
However, this new information can only retained for a very short
period.
Therefore you have to keep repeating the same movements
over and over again before it is fully retained in the long term
memory.
This short term memory retention is
a tool that can be put to very good use on the golf course, especially
for those of us who cannot devote the time needed to fully programme
the long term muscle memory.
For example, it is easy to perform the
action of rotating the hips towards the target area in order to
begin the down swing movement when there is no golf ball in front
of you.
However when it comes to combining the
new movement with the action of striking the ball, the mind becomes
confused because you are having to concentrate on carrying out
two actions simultaneously, the action of rotating the hips and
the action of striking the ball - one you are familiar with and
one you are not.
So when you are on the golf range or
on the golf course, always take about three or four practice swings
and concentrate fully on the new movement, which in this example
is to ensure that you begin to rotate the hips towards the target
area whilst holding the shoulders at the end of the back swing
movement for a milli-second.
You will find that as long as you
carry out the full swing quickly after the practice swings -- i.e.
before the short term memory retention facility begins to fade -- the subconscious
mind will retain the basic information for whatever action you
are trying to learn and allow the new movement to be carried out
in semi-automatic mode, leaving the mind free to to concentrate
on striking the ball.
This memory retention facility is applicable to all aspects
of the golf swing, so whenever you are trying to change a part
of your swing, use this method.
But remember you have to keep repeating a movement over and
over again before it enters the long term memory and thus become
an automatic movement.
