Just Hit The Damn Ball!: How To Stop Thinking and Play Your Best Golf by Dave Johnston, B.A.,Psy. - HTML preview

BONUS CHAPTER

Excerpt from
 
The Gorilla Is Loose: Your Innate Swing Unleashed!
 

Chapter 1: Rattling The Cage

After taking a series of lessons from various instructors, my game deteriorated from scoring in the seventies to barely breaking one-hundred!

The advice was always the same, “… it takes time to ingrain new techniques. You have to regress before you get better. It just takes time to ingrain new muscle memory.” 

How long would it take?

That depended on how much I practiced. Dissatisfied with the vague standard answer, I began a twenty year search for a system that would guarantee constant improvement.

The first step in my search for a different approach to learning the game was to see the golf business from the inside-out.

I obtained a position working in the Pro Shop at the Scarlett Woods golf club in Toronto. I played twice a week and hit two-hundred practice balls every other day: a paltry regimen compared to the touring pros, but enough to guarantee some degree of consistency.

You would think.

I experimented constantly, hoping to discover some eclectic secret that would elevate my game beyond the level of swing mechanics.

I read hundreds of books, listened to numerous self-hypnosis tapes and actually bought a dozen swing training aids to try and ingrain some proper muscle memory.

It seemed hopeless. I could hit practice shots on the range like Fred Couples. More often than not, I played like Fred Flintstone. One of the regular patrons at the golf club was kind enough to tolerate my emotional roller coaster and we set up a regular Tuesday afternoon game

After a particularly frustrating front nine, I resolved to just forget score and whack the ball around.

The fourteenth hole at Scarlett Woods is a short, 320 yard par 4. There is a large tree guarding the green about 240 yards off the tee. My standard play was to hit a number three iron and layup, in order to have a clear approach shot.

Not today. 

I grabbed the Driver, took one look at the tree and blasted away. The ball sailed over the tree and landed in the middle of the fairway about 20 yards from the green!

My partner gasped open-mouthed and exclaimed: “The gorilla is loose!” (Yes Harvey, this was the first time you uttered those immortal words.)

That was twenty years ago. It’s taken me that long to figure out how to re-create that shot more often.

If I can do it, you can too!

Coming Soon:

Limitless Golf: The Power Of Beliefs
Audio Book

For updates, please check out : www.davejohnstongolf.net