Skills vs Fundamentals: Why you're probably overvaluing the wrong one

BY RYAN WILLIAMS PLAYER DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL

Every once in a while, golfers fall into grooves when they cannot miss. The ball flies exactly in the manner they envisioned and the strike feels pure. If the player is lucky, getting into that “zone” can last an entire round; perhaps it lasts only a few holes; or, perhaps it is just one shot that perfectly fits the image in the player’s mind. These are beautiful moments and unfortunately, they occur at all too seldom a frequency for most golfers.

If I may, I would argue the “zone” is closer to our natural state as human beings. Want proof? Ask a friend to toss you a golf ball or a tee next time you’re playing. In ten years of asking players to toss me a ball, never once has the ball flown way over my head, bounced at my feet, or been thrown so hard that I feared for my life. Just about every time, the ball finds my hand gently without having to make any great adjustment to make the catch. Think about what happens for the person making the toss when they are given the task: their brain interprets what is being asked of them, their eyes see how far my hand (the target) is away, then their hand and arm simply react, instinctively feeling how much effort it would take to toss the weight of a golf ball appropriately.

Human beings tend to perform tasks best when there is as little

interference as possible. Imagine playing golf as freely as young children play tag or as instinctively as a father and son playing catch. My guess is that it has been a long time, if ever, since golf has felt that way to you.

You may be wondering, what about fundamentals? In a game as complicated in golf, surely it is very important the club and body are moving properly to produce a solid strike. I would 100% agree with that and would be lying if I didn’t say a large portion of my time coaching is spent cleaning up technical aspects of someone’s swing or short game motions. That said, once a player develops the ability to get around the course even somewhat efficiently, many are far too focused on the motion itself while playing a round of golf and not focused enough on their ability to achieve the desired ball flight. In other words, they are too heavily valuing fundamentals (what the club and body are doing) at the expense of skills (what the ball is doing).

The last statement begs the question: Do you believe the swing creates the shot? Or do you believe the shot creates the swing?

The first option implies if you do the “correct” things within the

swing, the shot will work out. This is the strategy most employed by range rats, the type of player always looking for the next swing key to ensure good golf. After poor shots, their mind goes straight to grip or some technical detail or they cannot wait to ask their instructor for help. What they’re really looking for is validation; the most confident players do not desperately search for something to believe in. It’s a bit like the needy romantic partner always needing reassurance. It may provide validation in the moment but in the end is temporary.

The players with the most self-belief allow the shot to produce the swing. They understand intimately their fundamentals and manage them efficiently but do not stress over them. Once they’ve performed their drills or made sure their fundamentals are in a place from which they can predictably be changed as needed, the best players concern themselves with their skills.

Tiger Woods, for example, in the three times I’ve seen him in person, has never once played a shot on the driving range without a target and a shot shape

in mind. He epitomizes the difference between “making a swing” and “playing a shot.” What stood out was just how specific he was with the intention off each shot in practice. It was as if he was fully priming his mind to be working in the way it would need to during his actual rounds. Those three occasions on which I got to observe his range sessions were in 2010, 2012, and 2019. In each of the three years, he had a different swing coach and a markedly different swing each time. Despite his different technical focuses, when preparing to play his best, Tiger, like other great players, was far more concerned with his ability to achieve ball flights than for his swing to look a certain way.

Do you fall into the trap of hoping a swing you’ve “grooved” will work for 18 holes? Does the game feel like a test that’s impossible to remember every answer? If so, give these driving range skills challenges below a shot!

Scatter Drill:

• Aim a target in the center of the range and the intentionally send the ball to different targets

• You are not allowed to change your aim with your feet but you can change ball position

• The goal is be able to send the ball in a straight line in any direction

9-Ball Drill:

• Have shots come down on a target with 9 different shot shapes

• Low: hook, fade, straight

• Mid: hook, fade, straight

• Hight: hook, fade, straight

“Blissful Ignorance” Drill: My Personal Favorite

• Waiting until the swing has already begun, have a friend tell you what shot to hit immediately after the swing starts

• Beginning: push, pull, high, low, straight

• Intermediate: hook, fade, straight’

• Advanced: low hook, high straight, medium cut (for example)

Be like Phil Mickeslon and Seve Ballesteros and set out to improve your skills! I’ll see you all on the course soon!