It is said that it takes 10,000 hours to learn a new skill. However if you listen to Josh Kaufman, he has arrived at the figure of 20 hours to learn a new skill. So are you willing to put in approximately 40 minutes each day over the period of a month to learn a new golf swing? Given the former figure, I’ll take the latter. I think we can somehow find 20 hours to create a new golf swing.
I heard something a while back. The amateur golfer will work on a new golf swing until he or she gets it right. The professional golfer will work on a new golf swing until he or she can’t get it wrong.
So what do you want to change in your golf swing? I’ll go first. I need to shallow my golf swing. I do not slice the ball. If anything I have a draw which sometimes gets out of control into a hook. However my downswing is awfully steep and I know with my left shoulder leading first, I’m losing speed in my golf swing.
So how are we going to get there? We have 20 hours of work to put in. But let’s not call this work because let’s face it. This is golf. This is practice and there isn’t anything that says you can’t practice your task while you play a round.
We are not all in the same position. Whether that is money, time, proximity to a practice range, golf shed, if you might be close to a golf course, access to instructors, etc… So know where you stand and what are you willing to do to learn a new golf swing.
Our motto: No excuses. No matter what.
I have a golf shed or what I oftentimes call a golf cave. About 50 feet outside my house so I really have no excuses. A mat to hit off of, an impact screen to hit into, and a SkyTrak launch monitor if I want to see some specifics about ball speed, distance, ball flight, etc… Beyond that if you have a good cell phone or DSLR or even a slo-motion camera, all the better. I have YouTube and a couple of favorites that I follow for doing the exact task which I am going to change which is shallowing the club in the golf swing. So Clay Ballard and Mike Malaska will work well for me.
- Instructor
- YouTube
- Golf related books or articles covering swing mechanics
- Cell Phone, DSLR, or Slo-Motion Video Camera
- Mirror
- Practice, Practice, Practice
Instructor
A qualified golf instructor can get you on the right path. They can teach the basics including grip, grip changes, the mechanics of the golf swing and then provide feedback as you are trying to incorporate changes into your new golf swing. I’ve had change in how I hold the grip, change in lie angle, and help with stopping the casting of a club thanks to golf instructors.
YouTube
What a fantastic site for following those with great swings. From Wisdom in Golf, Malaska Golf, Top Speed Golf, Be Better Golf, SagutoGolf, Steve Johnston PGA, Nick Taylor Golf, Peter Finch Golf, Meandmygolf, etc…. Quality players and instructors who share their golf knowledge through YouTube.
I only recently found out that within a 10, 20, 30-second or so clip you can gain a nugget or two from Instagram. I like kawamura28, for simply showing his technique for swallowing the golf club. Same thing with jchowngolf. The bottom line is to find someone who is where you want to be and follow them.
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Golf related books or articles covering swing mechanics
Many golf related books are not specific to one topic but if you do a little search online, you may find some coverage of the fix you are trying to work on your golf swing. There are many articles which cover tips with putting, driving, how to knock it closer from 100 yards in, ummm errrr shallowing the golf club like this snippet from Andrew Rice Golf, etc… The bottom line is to initially take some time and find a couple of books, articles, YouTube videos, or Instagram posts which cover the topic you are interested in.
Cell Phone, DSLR, or Slo-Motion Video Camera
The video further above is of me using my Google Pixel 7 Pro cell phone. Note to self that the camera should be around wrist height and in-line with the wrists then all future videos should be shot the same way.
I also bought what they call a high speed webcam from AliExpress with the 2.8-12mm lens. When combined with some software called Kinovea this will allow a video to be taken a set amount of time before a golf swing (actually the noise of contact with the golf ball). So like 2 seconds before a golf swing and then a few seconds afterwards. You can see this video below. I don’t normally swing this slow 🙂 but slowed this to about 1/10th speed to see my golf swing in action.
Mirror
It never hurts to have a mirror. Either faced to the side of you or behind you, just a simple glance and slowing down your swing can show faults or pick up when you are in the slot, shoulders straight, alignment correct, weight on the correct foot, etc… While a camera or video works well, it never hurts to have a mirror handy.
What Are You Working On?
Maybe you are working on increasing speed in your swing. Perhaps it is swallowing the golf club? Increasing lag? Increasing ground force in the golf swing? Working on putts from within 12 feet? Have an end goal in mind and get to work.
Practice, Practice, Practice
How long does it take to learn a new golf swing? Take out a diary, notebook or whatever you might want to call it and track your practice time. 20 hours is what we are shooting for in-so-far as an amateur golfer is concerned. A good rule of thumb is to hit about one ball a minute on the golf range, although I can tell you I hit double that. So 1000 balls at a bare minimum with the thought process along with drills of what it takes to change your swing. So again, how long does it take to learn a new golf swing? The answer is as long as it takes and my golf swing is a work in progress.
