Beyond Groupthink: Learning to Trust Your Instincts in Golf

The worst thing that can happen when you take up this game is that you start questioning your instincts. Once that happens, you can lose belief in your own abilities — and that confusion grows quickly.

Early mechanics cannot possibly execute your instincts when you first start; there’s a gap that needs to be closed. Give it time.

When you’re searching for answers, remember: golf instruction is largely groupthink or regurgitation. Every era forms a consensus based on current influences — the winners of the time.

When Hogan wrote, the idea of swing planes took over — there was a “right” geometry of a good player.

 Then came the Palmer finish — everyone chasing that helicopter follow-through, thinking it was the cause.

 Jack’s heel lift had its followers. Then came Faldo and Norman — quiet legs, models of control. Not violent like Jack.

When Tiger started winning, science was just starting, and so was the era of the X-factor — a time when injuries became common.

Now we are in the era of shallow shafts and distance obsession. None of the YouTubers can play on tour. 

None.

Truth has never changed: the swing is all relational in its components.

Even what seems like a fundamental flaw may not be. Payne Stewart with his early extension. Montgomery or Furyk with lifting backswings.

For those new to The League, I’ve broken down several greats — showing how they do things that, when pieced together, make them true ball strikers. This theme will be continued.

You’ve got to understand the framework they’re applying, not mimic it directly. It’s not about what to do — it’s about how to think for yourself.

Groupthink doesn’t lower your handicap.