For most golfers, sneaking off to the range for more than an hour per week isn't really feasible. Most of our golf swing practice is going to be done at home: In our garage, or yard, or in front of whatever mirror we can find.
But can that actually help? The answer is yes—more than you think.
That's according to Dr. Luke Benoit, a PhD in motor learning and the brains behind the game improvement RYP Ignite program, (which golfers can sign up for right here)
As he discussed in part 1 of Golf Digest's Golf IQ podcast (which you can subscribe to here!), or listen to below.
Dr. Benoit says practicing away from the range can often be better for the swing change you're trying to groove.
As long as you do it the right way...
📉 Why hitting golf balls can be counterproductive
Let's say you want to change your golf swing, because you know that changing your swing will help you become a better golfer in the long term. That's probably right, but there are a few problems.
- When you practice a new movement you'll feel uncoordinated at first.
- When you have a golf ball in front of you, your goal is to hit the golf ball.
- As a result, your brain defaults to the familiar movement it knows.
"The golf ball gives you two competing tasks. I'm trying to hit good shots while I'm trying to change my swing. I had a dual task." Dr. Benoit says. "When you have a golf ball in front of you, you are totally incapable of thinking about changing to the degree you need to."
In a nutshell: The golf ball gives you feedback you don't need when you're early in a swing change. The golf ball doesn't matter just yet: The first step is getting comfortable with making the literal move.
isaro
🥇 The best move to practice in slow motion
Dr. Benoit says that there's one swing move in particular that golfers should prioritize practicing in slow motion: The transition move.
For a few reasons:
- The transition move is crucially important—and one all pros do.
- The transition requires a very specific sequence to perform correctly
- These moves happen too quickly to think about during full speed swings.
"I start with the pivot of your golf swing. I call that the engine. Let's put the engine on first," Dr. Benoit says. "Let's take care of the hard part first, which is your terrible transition move which creates a terrible impact. I'm gonna give you that first, and then I'll put it on a backswing, and it's actually pretty easy to attach a good backswing later."
In a nutshell: The transition move is both very important, and very difficult to change at high speed. Setup and backswing are comparably easier to change. If you're going to work in some slow motion swings, use them on your transition.
✅ How to use slow motion swings the right way
Dr. Benoit says he's had huge success using slow motion golf swings to make big changes to golfers' swings, using the following method:
- Make a slow backswing (about four seconds)
- Make a slow motion transition, then pause
- Finally, swing through at full speed
- Over time, you can eliminate the pause
"The big thing here is you're trying to make it feel radically different, and get comfortable in those movements," Dr. Benoit says. "You have all the time in the world to set your backswing perfectly. And then you're gonna go full speed on the way down."
In a nutshell: The goal here is, essentially, to teach yourself how to move into, and then out of, these new positions. If you don't let your brain know that it can do this safely—and how—it's going to keep defaulting to the old habits it knows. That's why slow motion swings can help.
Once again, check out Dr. Luke Benoit RYP Ignite program right here.