Early movement exercises causing confusion on the golf course

[Peter]

At day four and loving everything Tathata! But . . .

The first few days of exercises are amazing, and I can already sense important changes coming in my swing. For instance, the pull back exercise suggest obvious improvements for my backswing. Is that the “whisper” you mention?

I know the full 60 day program will be a fantastic journey. But at Day four, the transition is confusing. I play in the low 80’s, so I have a “swing”. And that swing is different from the swing the early exercises are “whispering.” So what do I do on the first tee, or when I am standing 150 yards from the green?

My back swing has already changed from the pull back exercise and it feels more natural. But incorporating the various movements related to the forward swing seems premature. Yet I find myself instinctively applying the surfing movements with my lower body and the Snap-to-level and Hug-through-impact movements to my swing. But I have not changed my ball placement in my stance. Nor I have incorporated any of the many other things I expect to learn in the remaining 56 days. Consequently, these new movements that felt natural in front of your video seem new and uncomfortable in the middle of the downswing. I am topping balls when I try to incorporate these new movements or just hitting poor shots.

My mid game fix was to focus on just the pull back exercise in my back swing and then just swing hard without conscious application of the other movements. This works very well with my irons and hybrids but the longer driver is not there yet.

What advice do you have during this transitional phase? I am tempted to incorporate the binge watching technique I learned from Netflix.

[Shawn]

I feel your pain. I am debating even finishing the program. I just finished the day 17 lesson, I am playing worse now than when I started.

[Peter]

Shawn- I feel you feeling my pain.

I am at day 15 and the word I would use now is not confused, but erratic. And I am even more erratic now than I was earlier. But the other word I would used is excited. Some of my erratic shots are of the very positive variety. Drives 50 yards longer than any I remember. Iron shots that look like those shots on TV where they paint the trajectory. And then I top another shot, something that has not been a regular part of my game for decades.

What I am beginning to understand is that the stretching exercises are giving me the potential to put much more of my body into each shot. But the Tathata approach is obviously different and too often old mechanics sneak into a shot. And those old mechanics mixed with the Tathata mechanics, and fueled by my suddenly more supple body produce some spectacular misses.

At the moment, the excitement is winning out over the frustration caused by the erratic shots. And then there is this: my 65 year old body feels much younger. I walk and carry on a hilly course. Pre Tathata 18 holes left me sore and in need of hot tub. Now, after only a few days of the stretching program, I am thinking about the possibility of playing 27 holes.

One more Tathata bonus. I think my current erratic phase will pass, and leave me with a higher handicap. Followed eventually by the much lower scores my good erratic shots are whispering about. This could be a beautiful thing.

[Tathata Staff]

Hi Peter,

Thank you for reaching out to us with your questions and comments. Great to hear about your recent improvement a little further into the program, now halfway through Chapter 2!

Peter and Shawn: Regarding your question about the confusion you are experiencing in this “transitional” phase and incorporating the movements into your swing, one thing to note and remember is that the training is designed to simply just be “training.” You will get to learn some really simple movements, as you are coming to know. You are also learning and seeing how the greatest players and athletes move!

When it comes to playing however if you try to go out and do everything you are learning all at once, what will end up happening is you will have too many swing thoughts. Let the training build into your body and build into your golf swing naturally. The more you do the movements the more they will become a part of your golf swing. Leave the training in your living room. Let the movements build the same way we would give our body patience if we were going to train and build muscle in the gym or in other sports!

Golfers have been mis-led in many ways to believe that a new club or a new tip is going to be a magic pill and solve all of our problems. We are introducing the concept of training into golf for the first time so let the training be yours. Do everything you would naturally do on the course in terms of your golf swing knowing that over the course of the program your movements will evolve and grow.

Also please feel free to see the additional training options available on the website where you can send in your swing to receive customized personal feedback and routines, along with online follow ups, and live training.

Peter you mentioned in your first post that you are topping the ball, here is a video of Bryan discussing in detail what may be happening if we top any shots.

Student Q & A: Forward shaft lean to stop topping the ball?

Thank you Peter and Shawn for the time and energy you are putting into your training! Let me know if you have any further questions, we are here to support you along the way!