Last month, I talked about putting and that “line and speed are all you need.” This statement has a direct correlation with this month’s tip of “the golf ball ruins a good golf swing.” There are few guarantees in golf; but there is one absolute the majority of the time, the ball will remain at rest until the club strikes the ball. With this in mind, there is no reason to hit the ball. The golf ball is just in the way of the swinging club. So the $64,000.00 question is, “Which is more important? The swing (how) or the target (where).” With this in mind, here is a way to stop hitting the ball and start swinging the club at your target.

Start every practice session with a plan for your practice session. The plan should consist of a stretching and warm-up period, followed by hitting a few short shots, followed by mid- iron shots. This warm-up is to help you get the cobwebs out of your body and loosen up your muscles. Once you have loosened up and are ready to practice, whatever you are working on in your swing, work on the swing for the next part of you session. Focus on the fundamentals of the swing not the mechanics. We have covered the fundamentals in previous tips.

Now that you have worked on the swing, the most important area of the golf swing moves to between the ears. I still believe that your swing is a blueprint and that blueprint never changes. Tiger Woods has gone through some different “swing changes” in his career, but has his swing changed or have parts of his set-up changed that make his swing appear to be different? I do not believe his swing is different at all. Only the position of where the club is in his swing has changed.

Therefore I offer that the four important parts of the golf swing are: The Grip, Alignment, Set-up and Impact Position. At this point your TARGET is now all that matters. Where do you want the ball to go? When you free up the mind and stop focusing on the golf ball and focus on your target, all of a sudden the ball starts going more towards the target. Don’t get so hung up on the swing.  FOCUS ON THE TARGET.

So the burning question remains, “Which is more important? The swing (how) or the target (where)?” Your swing will not change.  You have physical restrictions that may not allow you to swing the club like a PGA Tour player, so focus on the target. Practice this and if you have any challenges with this, please feel free to contact me at the Trilogy Golf Club at Vistancia.

On behalf of the entire Bunker to Bunker team and all of us at the Trilogy Golf Club at Vistancia, I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year.

Be sure to tune in to the Bunker to Bunker Golf Show every Saturday morning from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. or on 620KTAR AM or on the internet at ktar.com; and click on the SportsTalk button for more tips and updates on all of the week’s golfing news in the Valley and around the world. Join me, Marty Monaghan, and Jim Hill for a comprehensive look at the golf world every week.