Why most golf instruction has things the wrong way around

Received the below email from Max.

Hello Mr Strachan. I’m Max from Florida. I’m 16 years old and play high school and junior golf (tournaments.) I feel that I have a decent golf swing and I have been able to shoot in the mid 70’s at times with my swing.(that’s good for me!) However, I do have a little over the top move in my swing which has produced some inconsistent results in my swing.(shanks, slices, etc…) I have tried to implement some of the techniques of your bio wing and It has helped some, but I would like to rid of the ott move so that I could hit a nice draw. My swing is below, and if you don’t mind I would be very appreciative if you took a look at it.

Here was my response:

Hi Max, please call me Cameron 🙂

Thanks for your email and sending your video through. You have a great swing and I strongly recommend that you don’t mess with it too much. You have all the potential and time in the world to become a very good player. So please don’t get caught up too much with swing specifics – I know the swing seems really important to you, but swinging freely and without fear is the best thing for you right now (probably the best thing you’ll ever learn to do).

So get outside and play the game. Hit lots of shots, try and see how many different shots you can hit (hard, soft, low, high, slice, hook, fade, draw). Work the short game – learn to hit a good lob shot and don’t forget to practice your pitch shots. When you can do all of this and mix in your own style you’ll become a very good player – way better than you thought possible. In fact, you’ll start shooting around 70 and from here you can do anything.

The best players on the PGA Tour learn to hit the ball first and then worry about the swing second. Your golf swing will find you – not the other way around. Almost all instruction in the golf world has it the wrong way around – there’s too much thinking (and worry) about technique. Sadly, young players like yourself get caught up in it all the mess and start over thinking the swing. From here all sorts of ugly things happen, like shanks and slices and nasty hooks. So swing that club and don’t worry about the specifics of the golf swing too much. From what I see, you have all the talent to become a really good golfer.

One more thing: you should read the Inner Game of Golf. This is the only book you need right now (you could read my blog too, www.golfgooroo.com/blog)

At this stage in Max’s development there’s no need for BioSwing or any other swing technique. If he applies the above ideas his swing will sort itself out and will be way better than anything I or other golf coach can tell him.

I didn’t include his swing video here because it’s not important for the message. His swing was fine and can only get better in time. His over the top move (which was almost non existent by the way) will no longer be an issue.