ART OF WATCHING

There is an art in watching as well as in playing. It is all a question of where the mental focus is placed. For example, when you look casually at a golfer in action you get a general picture of him without being able to pinpoint any detail. But, if you zoom in and concentrate on one point at a time, and a meaningful picture starts to take shape. It is not a bad plan whilst viewing swings on youtube or better still, live at a tournament to spend considerable time looking at a particular detail in a number of players, comparing them with one another. One section could be on the gripping, another, stances, next body turns, and so on. You’ll be surprised how quickly you begin to recognise the good points and how soon you learn to observe changes in technique to suit particular situations.

  —  the shifting of hands around the shaft, opening or closing of stance, the positioning of feet and club in relation to the ball, and many other variations which trained watchers can spot.

The most important end-product of intelligent watching is the gradual improvement of one’s own game. Sub-consciously you assimilate the actions of the experts and learn painlessly to follow their examples as much as your limitations will permit. Even the casual spectator absorbing nothing but the general picture will improve in form for a time after a week of watching golf. This improvement could be greater and more lasting if he uses his zoom-in attention often.