Hit Impulse

[Ty Webb]

I have fought, and continue to fight ,the hit impulse from day one. Could anybody suggest some drills, thoughts, etc. that can help me with this?

Cheers

TY

[shankenstein]

I might seem stupid for asking this, but what is 'hit impulse'?
Does it mean that you are fighting yourself against trying to knock the ball 500 yards?

[Ty Webb]

To me, the hit impulse is getting to the top of the backswing and then attempting to hit the ball as hard as I can instead of swinging the club and the ball getting in the way. I can hit 100 balls well (with little effort and a slow downswing). The impulse to hit further creaps in and I end up pounding balls. I am a left hander who plays right probably due to my hockey days. If I wanted to shoot the puck harder (slapshot), I would hit it harder. Not sure how to rid my mind of this evil.

[upanddown]

What helps me is visualizing throwing a softball underhanded. Do this a few times (for me with the left arm since I shoot left) before hitting the shot. It gives me the feeling of letting my arms drop and attacking the ball from the inside rather than over the top.

[Golfpeasant]

That's a tough one to answer Ty...golf is a tough game period. I have my hit impulse days, and by the 13th hole, I remember for the millionth time that its the complete rhythm, not the force, that gets the ball going. Find if I focus more on making a complete follow through, I do better.

Here's one approach that helps me avoid the hit impulse, and produces straighter shots. Instead of doing a complete complete backswing, I make sure I do a complete follow through instead...if my arms come back to halfway, and I do a fairly good body turn back, that prevents me from overswinging (the arms have less distance to travel and less trouble to get into), and the follow through makes me do more consistent hits. I also make sure I strikek down on the ball.

Too much thought can ruin it too, so I just remain conscious of the follow through, and forget the rest. But some days, nothing goes well. Two weeks ago, I couldn't drive a ball, yesterday, 100% straight and long.

[shankenstein]

I used to do the same thing and got a drill from my coach that really helped me control my tempo and keep things under control.
It's an old drill that Davis Love used to make his students do.
Using your driver and your normal full swing, hit 20 balls trying to only get the ball to the 150 sign, then hit 20 balls to the 200 sign and finally 20 balls to the 225 or 250......
After finishing the drill, do it again.
This really helped me get rid of the mindset that the driver can hit the ball to infinity distance and reminded me that it's more technique rather than muscle required to get the ball to fly past the 200. It's an effortless power, not powerful effort drill.
Whenever I notice that I'm aflling back and trying to send the ball to the next town, I do this drill a few times and it gets me back on track.
Good luck.

[byerxa]

I have the exact same problem. When I swing with a nice fluid accelerating tempo starting from the legs up, I hit the ball great. But then the "hit it" impulse comes through and the train wreck begins. It used to take me a whole round to get myself out of the nasty "hit" habit, but now I can rectify it within a few shots. I am working on really keeping my arms and hands out of the picture and getting my body to almost pull everything through. It is getting better and I am slowly working away from the hit impulse, but it has been difficult. I am already pleased with my ball striking improvement, and once I can overcome the occasional "hit seizure" I will be laughing (as far as ball striking is concerned).

Also, like a previous poster said, when things are bad for me I slow down and just focus on swinging the club and getting the ball into play. On the days when I am struggling, I find I have to continually "re-boot" and really simplifiy the swing and not worry about distance.

[BC MIST]

I have fought, and continue to fight ,the hit impulse from day one. Could anybody suggest some drills, thoughts, etc. that can help me with this?

So what are you anxious about? Is it just hitting a bad shot or a series of bad shots? Losing a ball? Having a high score? Being ribbed by your buddies?

Having a “hit impulse” is based on emotion, in this case, fear. Emotion is present for every shot that we hit, both from the pleasure of hitting a good shot and the anger resulting from hitting a poor one or from the fear of failure. Therefore, the key is to not to deny any emotions, but to simply be able to control them. Allow yourself to feel whatever you feel, for a very short time, and then forget about it, whether from a good shot or a bad one. Allowing emotion to dominate you just makes it more difficult to swing freely so acknowledging it allows it to subside while denying it allows it to fester.

While suggestions have been offered on how you can adjust either the mechanics or the rhythm of your swing, they do not address the real problem and no “drill” will do this. Focusing on where you want the ball to end up and how it should get there, before you swing, is essential for a good shot. Focusing on possible negative results almost guarantees negative results. After you decide what shot you want to play, you must set up and swing in a free flowing manner, while thinking something that is NOT golf mechanics or results related. What you decide is your choice. While I have mentioned the Clear Key approach before, there seemed to be little interest, but it works, plain and simple. However, because we are constantly bombarded with swing thoughts to use by the golf magazines and commentators, we use them and inconsistent shots results. Again, plain and simple. Get your mind off how you swing while you swing and you will swing better.

On the practice range we work on the mechanics of our swings in order to improve potential results. Bad shots on the range mean little as we just tee up another ball and let’er go. However, a bad shot on the course may mean a bogey or worse so many golfers cannot take their practice range swing to the course because they are too concerned about the results. Therefore, it only makes sense that, as part of your practice range routine, you do something to simulate what you have to do on the course. The Clear Key “32 Ball Routine” does just that for you. 50% of your shots on the range are simulations of your shots on the course, while the other 50% are shots where you work on your swing. Practicing this routine allows the real swing that you have to come out, and reduces/eliminates your “HIT ANXIETY.”

[shankenstein]

'hit impulse' was descirbed in earlier posts as the feeling of wanting to swing the club hard and send the ball as far as possible.
I don't feel that this is created by fear, but rather the want or desire to hit a ball with any club (such as a driver) as far as possible.
I read in a book by Jim Flick that most players have an attainable distance associated to each club between PW to 3 wood, but their driver is more often than not tagged with a distance capability of infinity.
I suggested the 150, 200, 225 drill in order to help the player set an attainable distance or target with the driver and also to show that uncontrolled power (created by the hit impulse) doesn't create any more distance than proper technigue does.
I stand by this drill as it has greatly helped me get away from trying to smash the ball to oblivion.

[BC MIST]

'hit impulse' was descirbed in earlier posts as the feeling of wanting to swing the club hard and send the ball as far as possible.
I don't feel that this is created by fear, but rather the want or desire to hit a ball with any club (such as a driver) as far as possible.
I read in a book by Jim Flick that most players have an attainable distance associated to each club between PW to 3 wood, but their driver is more often than not tagged with a distance capability of infinity.
I suggested the 150, 200, 225 drill in order to help the player set an attainable distance or target with the driver and also to show that uncontrolled power (created by the hit impulse) doesn't create any more distance than proper technigue does.
I stand by this drill as it has greatly helped me get away from trying to smash the ball to oblivion.

There is nothing wrong with your drill and there is nothing wrong with hitting the ball hard. In fact, we should all hit the ball as hard as we can to achieve maximum distance off the tee. If a smooth swing gets me 150 yards with an 8 iron, and a hard one gets me 165 yards why would I not just swing hard? The assumption is that a hard swing is a poor one because you swing hard, and this may not be the case. Swinging hard is NOT "hit impulse." Hit impulse results in the backswing NOT being completed throwing the swing out of sync and you out of balance and results in poor shots. It occurs because of anxiety.

How many players have you seen take a beautiful, FULL, practice swing, and then whn they try to hit the ball, their swing is shorter, choppier and out of sync and balance? Likely most of us? This is not because they are trying to hit it hard, but because of hit impulse(anxiety). Watch a practice chip shot where the wrists stay firm right through the swing, then when they hit the ball, the wrists flip. This is hit impulse(anxiety).

A golfer unconcerned about the results will not have any hit impulse, but may swing out of his shoes.

[shankenstein]

Good comments BC Mist. I've read alot of your posts and have gained valuable info from each one I've read. I wish I had read the one regarding buying clubs before I bought my new irons. I don't like the shafts I have and now I'm stuck with them unless I dole out alot more money to get them changed. I likely wouldn't have bought them if I had read your suggestions first.

I've heard hit impulse described as both the desire to hit 'out of your shoes' as well as cutting the backswing short and messing up timing. I only offered an answer based on the 'posters' description of what they described hit impulse as.
If I answered based on your description of hit impulse, as you said, a drill would have been useless. It would more of a mental issue then rather than technical. I offered technical advice as the user described his 'hit impulse' as the first of the two descriptions.

I agree that you should swing as hard as you can to achieve maximum distance, but only as hard as you can where you can still control the club or stay within your swing. I have a maximum speed that I can swing where I know I can still maintain proper timing and achieve good contact on the ball. Any harder and my timing is messed up and a poor shot normally results.
I practice increasing power and hitting harder at the range, but try to bring my trusted game to the course play as I've practiced to.
You've mentioned Clear Key approach. What is that? I'd like to read more about it. Do you have a link that describes it? Is it a swing method or a mental approach to making shots? I've been reading 'mental game' advice from teacher's that are very technical based and I find that their mental advice rends up being technical.
I'd like to read a different approach.

[Shivas Irons]

I have fought, and continue to fight ,the hit impulse from day one.
TY

I fight this impluse as well, but for me it's with my boss.

[BC MIST]

You've mentioned Clear Key approach. What is that? I'd like to read more about it. Do you have a link that describes it? Is it a swing method or a mental approach to making shots? I've been reading 'mental game' advice from teacher's that are very technical based and I find that their mental advice rends up being technical.
I'd like to read a different approach.

Well, the Clear Key approach is different and from my chair makes all the Bob Rotella stuff seen like finger painting, while this is a PhD thesis. Others may disagree.

Check out http://www.clearkeygolf.com/director.htm and begin your journey into a mental approach which makes more sense than anything I have ever read and from experience, it works. Carey Mumford will sell you an ebook about key golf, but he also provides you with a wealth of free information. If you have questions, just email him and he will answer. Try emailing Bob Rotella for free advice.

The approach is simple: While playing, you use a clear key, a phrase, a poem, a song, a saying, that you repeat from the time you put your hands on the club to play a shot, until the shot is completed and the ball is on its way. Your mind is not on some mechanical aspect of your swing which most of us are guilty of, and which leads to poor results, or on the negative results that can occur with a missed shot. You learn to go from "Manual" which most golfers call their preshot routine, through a "Transition" phase, to "Automatic" which allows your subsconscious golf swing to come out. Your subconscious swing is always better than your conscious one and finding a way for the subconscious to be dominant is the goal.

I tried this initially with my putting last year and it worked well and then I played a full round using a Clear key. Believe it or not I got to 6 under par after 17 holes from Greensmere's black tees, when I suddenly allowed myself to think of results, " Gee, if you make birdie here, you will score a 65." Predictably, I made bogey, however, it convinced me that the approach was a sound one.

IMO, it is worth taking a look at and if you do, please let us know what you think of it.

[SwingGuru]

I can hit 100 balls well (with little effort and a slow downswing)

That my friend is the start of the problem. The pros swing back much faster than you think, and they do it with the big muscles of the body, not the hands, so they are performing a whole lot on the backswing. It just seems smooth and relaxed because the technique is being applied with the big muscles, and the motion is fairly flawless. And only Jay Haas, and one other guy I can't remember swing slowly going back. Haas pauses more than anything.

The swing takes about a second from start of backswing to impact. That my friend is fact. Buy a metronome and set that baby to around 60 or 61 and time your swing to it. Your 'Hit Impulse' will be a thing of the past. And one more thing - Initiate the swing with the large muscles (torso, hips with a slight shift then turn motion). You'll thank me later....