Committing time to improving your golf swing is great, but you must use that time wisely to make real, long-lasting change, writes Chris Paisley
Since my last column, I’ve started a new chapter in my coaching journey at Rio Pinar Golf Club.
It’s a facility about 20 minutes from where I live, and it’s undergoing major investment in its course, academy and overall infrastructure. What really stood out to me when talking with the team was the ambition behind the project and the quality of coaches already involved.
One of the coaches is Dr Rob Neal, who is widely regarded as one of the leading 3D biomechanics coaches in the world.
I’ve joined the team to specialise in short game, putting and on-course performance – areas shaped heavily by my own playing career. It felt like a great fit, not just in terms of my skillset, but also the freedom and trust they’ve given me to build something of my own.
So far, I’ve been working with a real mix of players – from young juniors to experienced amateurs and professionals – and I’ve also had the opportunity to assist with several two-day golf schools. These were run by Rob alongside Craig Hanson, an experienced coach based in Germany, who joined him for a six-day run of schools. Being part of that environment was incredibly valuable, not just for the number of players I saw in a short space of time, but for what it revealed.
That brings me to the main point of this column – discussing how few golfers truly understand how to practise.
At these schools, players were receiving world-class information. They were given clear feedback, simple drills, and a real opportunity to improve. However, as soon as they stepped away to practise on their own, most of them did the same thing – they hit balls.
They also hit them quickly… Ball after ball, every 10-15 seconds, trying to apply the change immediately at full speed. Few of them made any real attempt to learn the movement. There were no rehearsals, no pauses, no slow-motion work, just repetition of the same swing, often with more confusion added in.
This is something I probably took for granted given my experience as an amateur and professional. If I’m working on a change, I might only hit a ball every few minutes. The majority of my time is spent rehearsing – stopping halfway, exaggerating the feel, building awareness of what I’m trying to do as that’s what change requires.
Your brain has to learn a new movement pattern, and if you go straight into a full-speed swing, under pressure, it will default to what it already knows. That’s why so many players feel like they can’t do it – they’ve never actually given themselves a chance to learn it. If you can’t perform the move slowly, or in pieces, you have no chance of doing it at full speed.
So, if you’re working on your swing, take your time. Slow it down, rehearse constantly and hit fewer balls but make each one count.
It’s also really important to be honest with yourself. Do you actually have the time and commitment to change your swing?
If you only play once a week and rarely practise, you may be better off focusing on areas like short game, putting or course management – areas where you can make quicker gains. Simple setup changes can also be extremely valuable as they can alter your swing without actually altering the movement.
Swing changes are possible, but they require patience, consistency and a willingness to do the unglamorous work over a longer period than most people realise. In the simplest terms, it all comes down to understanding you have to learn to walk before you can run.
