Exaggeration drills

[Golfbeat]

There has been a lot of discussion about the "on plane" golf swings (if there is such a thing) and how to get there from a swing that is not on plane. Most instructors, including those contributing on this Forum, use exaggeration drills to instill a new habit which ultimately should result in a student getting on the correct plane or close to it. The risk seems to be that the drill will result in the student over doing it and creating another swing flaw which will have to be corrected with another exaggeration drill and so on and so forth.

 

Should instructors not rather give drills that are not an exaggeration but are correct and on plane? I was motivated by starting this topic based on a suggestion of Jim Waldron and after studying the seemingly totally opposite drills of Mike Malaska (Mr. Steep) and George Gankas (Mr. Shallow).

 

I would be interested to see what our instructors and players have to say!

[airjammer]

You can't replicate a feeling that you have never felt before...sometimes you need to exaggerate a move a foot in a drill to get a noticeable difference in full speed. I think you will have all the teachers tell you that you need to have a follow up lessons to so they can tell you when to stop working on that particular part of your swing.

[Golfbeat]

Well if someone shows you or guides you to do it correctly you will be able to feel that. Why the need for exaggeration which you will then feel as correct and which will then need to be changed again? Or, as Monte says, too much of a good thing isn't good.

[iteachgolf]

I don't like exaggerations. I tell people what they should do and show them how to do it. It will FEEL exaggerated at first but they aren't chasing the feel. They are chasing proper mechanics. Like I said feel can help you reproduce mechanics but it's not the best way to learn them. You do the move correctly and however it feels it feels. At first the feel will be exaggerated but will become less so very quickly. Your feel will change every day. Which is why it's important to not chase feels. You need a point of reference to ensure proper mechanics and then whatever it feels like that day is what it feels like

[juststeve]

I know some very good teachers that utilize exaggeration drills. My teacher Manuel de la Torre does not. Early in our teacher/student relationship he assured me that he would never ask me to do anything that would produce a poor shot if I actually did it. He also assured me that he would never ask me to do anything that I can overdo. I think he is able to take this approach because his teaching is focused entirely on the way the club moves. Move the club properly and the resulting shot will be fine. Since there is only one optimal; way for the club to move he teaches that to the exclusion of many things other teachers, including some excellent teachers, focus on. Were he teaching what others teach he might well need exaggeration drills to get people to do what they need to do.

Steve

[gators78]

[quote name='Golfbeat' timestamp='1451393267' post='12774972']
Well if someone shows you or guides you to do it correctly you will be able to feel that. Why the need for exaggeration which you will then feel as correct and which will then need to be changed again? Or, as Monte says, too much of a good thing isn't good.
[/quote]

If a student ends up doing what they're supposed to, do we really need to scrutinize how the message as conveyed?

[Jim Waldron]

I advocate for ideal or "model" body movement patterns ONLY (with a few exceptions for advanced players) when doing slow motion mirror practice, especially in the early stages of making a swing change.

Exaggeration drills or intending to do the opposite of whatever your number one swing motion flaw is, are useful for half speed swings in the early stages, and then later on at full speed.

Exaggeration drills tend to work well only for golfers with good feel sense awareness for their body motion, and a clear focused mind. They also only tend to work well for a golfer with a swing that is good enough to break 100, ie not so well for high handicaps and beginners. Anyone with a weak mind/body connection will also likely not benefit from those drills.

E drills act kind of like "shock therapy" to move the subconscious mind Swing Map off of its current stuck position with that bad flaw, and into new uncharted territory.

In the ideal world every piece of swing instruction - written, verbal or video - would have a label that said: "this is an exaggerated intention drill to be used ONLY by golfers with the Over the Top swing flaw (example)" or "this is the ideal way your body and club should move at this segment of the swing" or "this is an Awareness drill ONLY - not a drill advocating for moving your body or club in any way".

[Shaggie]

[quote name='gators78' timestamp='1451402240' post='12775362']
[quote name='Golfbeat' timestamp='1451393267' post='12774972']
Well if someone shows you or guides you to do it correctly you will be able to feel that. Why the need for exaggeration which you will then feel as correct and which will then need to be changed again? Or, as Monte says, too much of a good thing isn't good.
[/quote]

If a student ends up doing what they're supposed to, do we really need to scrutinize how the message as conveyed?
[/quote]
I agree. Drills are very important in learning golf swing. Isn't every drill an exaggerated move to train yourself different aspects of swing.