[My brain hurts] Golf Technique Conundrum

I have had a break from Golfgooroo for the last month. And I’ve enjoyed it. A chance to refresh the batteries and focus on some other important projects. In fact, over the last month I don’t think I’ve ever written and worked as much (work is certainly a four letter word).

It seems every year I also have a good think about the direction of my golfing business and plan for the future. It’s a good idea (I think) because it keeps me moving and on the edge. It’s not always comfortable but I now try and embrace this as a sign I’m doing something good. Pesky hates change and I hate him for it – but I always have the last say and he rarely dominates my life like he used to.

One thing I’ve been battling with is my thoughts and ideas on golf technique. Most know me as the “natural learning” guy and probably think I’m against all sorts of technical coaching. I’m not. And if I’ve made any sort of mistake with my writing over the years it’s that I’ve over emphasised natural learning and given the impression that technique is not important. This is not the case. I’m not against golf technique or trying to build a better swing. I’m just against this line of thinking all of the time.

At some point, no matter your technique, you’ve gotta get outside and play the game. You’ve got to swing the sticks and leave thoughts of your swing alone. In my mind this is truly the only way you’ll unlock your subconscious and the magic that goes with that. If you’re consciously trying to swing the club, you inhibit your ability to experience better golf. Golfgooroo has primarily been about encouraging and helping golfers be brave enough to think less and play more.

And I feel I’ve done a good job at that.

But golfers want more. And I feel I’m uniquely qualified to help golfers learn a better golf swing technique because of the research and biomechanical anaylsis that I’ve done. The swing model is called BioSwing and you may have seen it floating around. Here’s the thing.

Golfers love the swing stuff. Tips and tricks sell magazines and get people talking. And BioSwing has certainly gotten it’s fair share of comments and interest. This is another battle that I’ve had because mental/automatic/learning stuff is interesting to me, but a vast majority of golfers couldn’t give a stuff about it. I attract some diehards (maybe “passionate” is a better word), but the mass golf market is lost to me. Not a great business decision let me tell you.

So I’ve been battling a decision to jump back on the technique bandwagon or keep doing what I’ve been doing with natural learning and automatic golf. Here’s what I’ve come up with.

I’ve reworked BioSwing to include the natural learning principles I’m more well known for. BioSwing has gone from a major biomechanical study of the swing, into an optimised swing model and now it’s more of a complete learning system. In fact, I’ve been busting my nut to develop a way of coaching swing technique so it’s as simple and stress free as possible. I’ve got a lot more to say about this and my next post will shed more light.

BioSwing has also received some significant investment. The investors loved the concept and have thrown enough money at it to produce some high quality videos and generally professionalise the set-up. If you’re interested you can check out the BioSwing video for only $1. Considering the entire video production cost close to $40K, this is a very generous price.

You can watch a sample over here.

This is just the first step. As mentioned, I’ve got another announcement in the next few days. Keep your eyes peeled.