On Technique

Playing golf today, I tried something new. I completely forgot about technique, and focused only on the objective. Boom. Great flow, great ball striking. As good as ever.

After some good shots, I began to cling. "Huh, so doing this with my arm gives me good results". Next shot, a shank.

There. Are. Too. Many. Details. Our brains can handle them easily, but we (the concious part of our brains) can't. Our job is to aim!

"Technique" kills our performance because it moves our aim: from the initial pursuit, to The Doctrine of Technique. We now don't allocate all our brainpower towards hitting the best shot; now, we invest some on the perfect lower body movement, or on a specific hand position, or on many small things at once...

But then the same caveat I always have: "So how can I advance? How can I learn, if I never focus on technique..." Well, don't focus on technique, yes, but do focus on objectives — and small, intermediate objectives too. Of course! So, I know that in order to hit the shot I want, the clubface has to come square to the ball. That's an objective. Maybe I conjecture that in order to have a square clubface my left arm has to be straight. Ok, another objective, we can try that. Then, when trying, we have to be aware of the result — if it worked or not. And this last part is key. Providing clear feedback to our brains is the best way to tell it what it needs to strengthened or forgotten.

Aim, my people!

Ahh, what a wonderful tool, the brain. And what a wonderful sport, golf.