It is simply amazing how something as pointless as hitting a little white ball can provide valuable insights into life situations that really matter. Nowhere is this clearer, than in the power of your setup.
In golf, how you address the ball accounts for at least 90 percent of the resulting shot. A golf swing takes about one second from start to finish, so if you begin out of position, the chance of recovery is pretty slim.
To tie this concept into an all too relevant life situation, think about driving a car — or your teenager driving a car. If your hands are at 10 and 2 o’clock, and your eyes are on the road, your unconscious mind has a good chance of successfully avoiding an unexpected obstacle. However, if one hand is on the wheel and the other is checking your iPhone, your chance of success, regardless of driving ability, decreases dramatically.
The decision to look at the iPhone while driving is a conscious choice, just like addressing a golf ball. The reaction to the obstacle in the road is an unconscious response to sensory stimuli, just like a golf swing. Success in both situations comes when your conscious and unconscious minds are aligned and working in harmony.
Tour players’ swings look so effortless because they set up their bodies in a way that allows their unconscious mind to swing the club freely. In essence, your setup builds trust between your “thinking” brain and your “doing” brain. When we practice golf, we should be practicing handing off responsibility from our conscious, thinking brain, to our unconscious, reactionary brain. We give up control to gain control.
This is easier said than done. One of my favorite golf instructors, Fred Shoemaker, author of “Extraordinary Golf: The Art of the Possible,” often has his students throw clubs. He has them set up to an imaginary ball with the intention of throwing the club down the range toward the target. The results are, in the language of his teaching philosophy, transformational. Students see the swing that’s possible when they set up to literally give up control.
We crave to maintain control throughout our golf swing, just like we desire to control many aspects of life. But the best swings come when you trust your setup enough to give up control and, like Arnie says, “swing your swing.” This is true in so many aspects of life.
Successful parents trust their children to make good choices because of the setup they’ve provided, not because they are always standing there making decisions for them. Similarly, great business leaders do not micromanage their employees; instead, they trust the setup of their company and their employees to get things done. Your setup should enable you to do the same. It should put your body and mind into a position that allows your unconscious, natural ability to takeover.
Remember that the swing takes less than a second — you cannot control it. You have control over your setup, just like you have the control over the decision to text while driving. Make the right choice and practice it.
It takes a lot of work to build the trust required to let your natural swing come out, but the alternative is a frustrating battle between your free swinging unconscious and your conscious desire to control.
