33 strokes off in one year to break par

One of the key techniques that I teach in the Break Par Blueprint is to allow yourself to drop back to very short swings when your game is off.  It’s possible to put together a very decent round by simply using a 3/4 swing and our confidence at this level is usually vastly better than it is at a full swing.  So if something horrible (e.g. a vicious slice or hook) has crept into your swing you should feel comfortable to drop back to a 3/4 swing until you can iron it out.

It’s amazing how fundamental this advice is and how much it is used at the very top levels of the game.  Effectively I stole it from Jack Nicklaus who always said he would, if his game was off, happily go right down the bag to a wedge if he felt that was the only club he could have confidence with.

Likewise watching Tiger on the range warming up before the US PGA I noticed (as nearly all these guys do) that he started with half wedges.  That means that the greatest golfer in the world is simply grooving confidence in his sitting ability back into his mind as he warms up.

I discovered a wonderful clip of the great Ben Hogan demonstrating how the swing is made up on the Ed Sullivan show.  He makes it look so simple but in many ways it is.  Please try not to overcomplicate the swing and remember that a full swing is simply an extended version of a very simple movement:

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