Golf Sense or, the Change of Movement

A gentlman from England, Roy Palmer, sent a book my way, titled “Golf Sense." The book promises “practical tips on how to play golf in the zone.” Ahh, the zone. Fine place to vacation, and we’d all like to live there! Most of us have played our best golf while temporarily restrained, against our will, in the zone.

Golf Sense has no interest in swing technique. Instead, as noted on the cover, observe, think, act, achieve and connect are the watch-words of this mental and physical deconstruction and reconstruction. I’ve read through the first four chapters and have had to go back more than a few times, to reconsider what I’d read and to reassure myself that I understood it. In my mind, that is one hallmark of a well-constructed technique, method or book. It forces you to reconsider, and at the same time, you want to reconsider.

One of the things that makes me laugh is found on the back cover. David Balbi, the NCPGA Teacher of the Year (northern California? northern Cornwall? which year?) writes “I am very encouraged about the techniques in your book and would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone.” Honestly, the book deserves a better recommendation than that! The other thing that struck me was the affirmation of Mr. Palmer as a teacher of The Alexander Technique, a movement system. I scrubbed around their website and found that the connections between the AT and GS are quite strong. Here is something that I’ve yet to run across in any other golf teacher’s repertoire: a focus on rewriting personal thought and movement as approach to the golf swing.

In addition to planks and other core exercises, I’ll now be utilizing Mr. Palmer’s tips on movement, thought, approach and reflexes, to improve not only my game, but also that of the high school players that I coach. I suspect that Golf Sense will demand a fair amount of my time and my thought energy. I also suspect that I prefer it that way. You might, too.