Timing Has Nothing To Do With Feel

Some instructors promote numbers when fixing swing problems. They believe there is an ideal movement rate away from and back to the ball. They have extrapolated an average timing ratio of backswing to downswing among elite players, and applied it to all shots in golf – even putting.

Until Jordan Spieth arrived, these instructors preached putter movement in a 2:1 ratio. However, his 1:1 ratio called that method into question. But, now that his timing has slowed to its current condition, he misses putts he never missed two years ago. Why? Because, timing has nothing to do with feel.

Feel is an individual expression, in motion, of our psychological and physiological makeup. Why would instructors try to shoehorn golfers into a mental movement trap? Easy… because instructors don’t yet understand that movement is a reaction to a plan. Furthermore, our plan is as unique as our reaction to it.

I was watching my young student do the tee drill while putting, and I noticed the evolution of his putting stroke as he worked. I was sitting on the patio talking to him about how good his putting stroke is. Each putt was a perfect expression of the intentional plan he executed and the feedback of the prior putt.

I told him to be aware of his movement from putt to putt while obeying his plan. He agreed he noticed his movement changed. However, not once did I talk of timing. I explained feel is independent of intellect, planning, or desire for control.

Golf is about practiced, intuitive cooperation with your plan. Feel is much more about submission to the shot and commitment to executing a quality stroke. Commitment, cooperation, and execution cannot happen without an intention. Therefore, neither can they exist without a need. In short, if you don’t need to make it happen, it won’t happen. That is the credo upon which the Open Stance relies.

Open your stance, and play golf.

John Wright – Founder
The Open Stance Academy