DEVELOPING PROPER MUSCLE MEMORY IN THE GOLF SWING SEQUENCE:

THE QATSPY The GOLFER’S SPORTS PAGE

By: Charles W. Boatright

Applying the MAC System to Your Golf Swing Sequence

One of the cornerstones in The ESPY Golf Swing Coach techniques is to establish muscle memory by developing Mentally Applied Checkpoints, or MACs, to your golf swing sequence. The MAC system allows the golfer to develop muscle memory and divide the golf swing into two distinct stages. The first stage is the address and the second stage is the setup and execution of the golf swing sequence. Each of the stages has checkpoints that the golfer can use to develop a golf swing sequence routine and muscle memory, instead of just swing thoughts. I posted the WARNING SIGN to inform golfers about the dangers of having swing thoughts on the golf course.

We may very well learn the golf swing fundamentals and mechanics using our conscious mind, but I can guarantee you that we will perform the golf swing sequence using our subconscious mind on the golf course.

In the MAC system, the address stage has 5-mental checkpoints, while the takeaway golf swing sequence has just 4-mental checkpoints. Both are covered in Section 4.4 of my book. These checkpoints start as a conscious practice routine at first, but will develop into a subconscious routine behavior. The benefits of the MAC system is that it allow the golfer to develop:

• Their muscle memory.
• Their confidence in their golf swing sequence and routine.
• A self-coaching technique that they can actually use on the golf course to identify errors.

Applying the ESP Technique to Your Golf Game

Like the majority of skills we learn, the process starts with conscious self-coaching techniques of consistent practice until these become a subconscious behavior, or muscle memory. One subconscious behavior that the golfer needs to develop in their golf game is called  Driving Hypnosis, or ExtraSensory Performance. While Driving Hypnosis is unsafe for driving a vehicle down the highway, it works great for driving a golf ball down the fairway.

We used this same process in learning to walk, playing baseball/softball, football, basketball, cycling, and other sports. If you had to consciously think about every element in driving, for instance, you would become a nervous wreck. The same case occurs in golf. If you have to think about every element in your golf swing, you would have mass confusion in your head and on your hands. What starts out to be a very intense, conscious learning process, of learning the ESPY Golf Swing sequence, becomes a very natural instinct. One reason is that The ESPY Golf Swing sequence is based on a self-coaching technique called Apperception.

One huge advantage of the Apperception technique in the ESPY Golf Swing sequence is that it allows the golfer to Sync/Preset, or PROTRACT, the wrists, shown in the Sync and Preset or Protract Figure below. This is like the Sync/Preset maneuver the golfer learned from their baseball swing sequence. The Sync/Preset allows the golfer to establish 80 percent of their golf swing just by properly setting the wrists with two simple elements (SYNC and PRESET). This Sync/Preset maneuver engages the subconscious mind and sets up the proper swing plane, as shown, to get the golfer into a more confident and powerful position in their golf swing. There are very few things that can replace confidence and perseverance in a golfer’s game. Confidence and perseverance build the important muscle memory that the golfer is relying on to make a consistent golf swing.

Like the golfer stepping into the batter’s box, the ESPY golf swing technique can become so familiar with three simple elements (Sync, Protract or Preset, and Yaw) that the golfer’s mind can relax and perform the golf swing without thinking. The golfer’s mind and executing the golf swing should be on autopilot. The golfer’s muscles are acting in a natural auto response. How many times do you remember stepping into the batter’s box and thinking about your golf swing mechanics? I would guess NEVER!

The 5-4-D MAC Package Self-Coaching Technique

The 5-4-D MAC Package allows the golfer to develop an analysis of their own golf swing to maintain their confidence and consistency level during practice sessions and on the golf course. A great method to apply the 5-4-D MAC Package system is to take a practice swing in the pre-address routine, like standing behind the ball looking down range and running through the 5-4-D drill, before taking the address position.

This is like rehearsing the golf swing in slow motion. Sequence is the best way to establish a dependable routine for rhythm and tempo in the golf swing sequence. The subconscious mind prefers to follow a sequential process, rather than a random process. The subconscious mind can perform at a higher level if there is a repeatable routine, so ROUTINE IS KEY. In The 10-Mental Rules for Golf, Rule No. 7- If there is a conflict between the conscious and subconscious mind, the subconscious mind wins out with what it has been trained with.

This is where our golf game is like the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hype Syndrome. We may very well learn the golf swing fundamentals and mechanics using our conscious mind, but I can guarantee you that we will perform the golf swing sequence using our subconscious mind on the golf course. This is why muscle memory development is so much more important to develop during your practice sessions than swing thoughts. The temptation for the golfer is to think their way through their golf swing sequence. WRONG THING TO DO!

The best way to develop muscle memory is with what Sports Psychologist call Sports Mental Imagery. This is the reason that I use three props in my practice sessions and on the golf course listed below:

1. I mentally trade in my golf glove for a pair of boxing gloves.
2. I use the batter’s box as a Mental ZONE, like I’m stepping into it to use my modified baseball swing sequence.
3. I mentally picture my *right elbow and shoulders as sprockets on a 10-Speed bicycle to produce POWER/SPEED.

(*) I’m right-handed, so all references in all my articles are for the right-handed golfer

The Drop Element, the Last Element

The last checkpoint is represented by the letter “D,” the drop element. This is a key element to execute the downswing properly. This allows the golfer to deliver power, speed, and control through the Strike Zone. I pictured my left Hypothenar and the right thumbnail passing through the back of the imaginary Strike Zone Box, instead of the clubface hitting the ball (refer to illustration).

This also allows the golfer to keep their head steady and down through impact, instead of lifting or moving the head out of the address position. The neck is considered an extension of the spinal axis. This is probably one of the most important checkpoints in the golf swing sequence not to overlook in your address position. Raising your chin off your chest where you can place your fist between your chin and chest is a great setup position.

This will help the golfer to maintain the proper alignment in the spinal axis. The cervical part of your spine should be treated as an extension of the spinal axis and receive just as much attention as your spine does. Also, the gap between the chin and chest allows for the upper arm, or for those more flexible individuals, their lead shoulder, to pass under the chin as a checkpoint. The 5-4-D MAC self-checked system is a great golf technique to use in your golf swing to develop and maintain the golfer’s muscle memory.

If you remember the movie Top Gun, with Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis, you would remember a popular song by the Righteous Brothers, called You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’. In golf, your loving feeling is your muscle memory. The golfer will soon experience a bad relationship with their golf game, if they lose their loving feeling, or their muscle memory.

The entire 5-4-D MAC system is a simple and an easy golf technique to follow, to avoid frustration. Golf is designed to relieve frustration, not cause frustration. So, let’s improve our golf game using a self-check system, one of the cornerstones of The ESPY Golf Swing Coach. Purchase your copy of The ESPY Golf Swing Coach from the links below, or visit your local bookstore:

My book can also be purchased at Edwin Watts Golf Store in Jackson, Mississippi. Phone No. 601-956-8784

820 East County Line Road, Ridgeland, MS 39157

My book can also be purchased on-line at:

Amazon.com

Barnes & Noble

Health and Fitness Program Golf Exercise for Power

This book is based on a self-coaching forum (ASPEN Pyramid) that provides the beginner and advanced single-digit handicap golfer with a safe, ergonomic classic golf swing for more power and control, without debilitating injuries that are common with some modern-day golf swings. As part of the ESPY Golf Swing Coach is a workout program designed especially for golfers and an effective diet program detailed below.

Please take advantage of my SR-925 Diet Program, where I lost 6 inches in my waist in 3- months (FREE of CHARGE) with the CASPER Workout Program, detailed in Section 20 of my book, great golf swing workout:

   

One component in my CASPER Workout Program that I follow is using a Medicine Ball to perform what I call Stocking the Shelves, illustrated below in the figure:

Please include an exercise routine in your weekly schedule.

ESPY Golf Swing Coach- Rhythm Without the Blues

THE LOCKER ROOM a source for golf tips

Learn How to take your baseball-style golf swing sequence from the batter’s box to the tee box.

(Time-lapse photography that I reviewed during my Xerox Box Golf Research Project comparing the golf swing vs. the baseball swing and how similar the Sync/Preset Maneuver are in both swings.)

For Comments or questions please contact me at 1-888-514-1228 Mon – Fri from 9 am to 4 pm CT Zone.

A Recommendation for your Golf Game:

I would like to recommend an interesting radio program that I regularly listen to from my home state Arkansas on my I-Heart Radio app on KARN 102.9 FM station, out of Little Rock, AR. They air a golf show called Arkansas Fairways and Greens, at 7:00 AM CT each Saturday morning, hosted by Bob Steel, and co-hosted by Jay Fox and Charles Crowson. Bob occasionally as has his guess Alex Myers with Golf Digest and Ron Sirak with Golf Channel. I was interviewed on his show about my book, The ESPY Golf Swing Coach. This show is worth tuning into for golf news and information.

Jay Fox is an Administrator with Arkansas State Golf Association that discuss amateur golf and rules of the game.

Check out my full library of BLOGS @ www.espygolfapp.com/blog or purchase your copy of “The ESPY Golf Swing Coach” @ www.espygolfapp.com/store.

Facebook – The QATSPY Golf Approach
Twitter – @cwboatright
Google+ – ESPY Golf Swing Coach
YouTube – ESPY Golf Swing Coach

Once you learn WHY, you don’t forget HOW!

YouTube Videos:
https://youtu.be/ZGVNrIw_wlo (Cam & Cam-over elements)
https://youtu.be/K2FDHZ3AX9w (Figuring your proper swing plane)
https://youtu.be/TO82PMO6G8M (Developing muscle memory)

Two decisions that you can make for yourself and your kids are to get a copy of my book and place the book and a golf club into their hands. You will never look back, but only forward. You will not miss with this for yourself and/or your kids.

Until next time– Be Synched, Tee-to-Green, with The ESPY Golf Swing!