I have a friend who has recently taken an interest in golf. Knowing that I have a system for tennis based on 'feel' not mechanics, she questioned me about utilizing this system to learn golf. Can it be done? I told her it could, and we discussed the various aspects of learning to play with your own individual style, form and personality without being short-circuited by excessive technique.
 
She caught on quickly, understanding that the body has the ability to unconsciously self-correct with sensory feedback from repetition - similar to learning how to walk or learning how to ride a bicycle. I cautioned her that if she read books or magazines or listened to the commentary during a golf tournament she would encounter a preponderance of techniques.
 
The next time I visited with her she had just purchased a golf.com magazine. "Look at this!" she said and pointed to an article. I read the opening paragraph and was shocked! A young phenom pro golfer, Rickie Fowler, had written an article explaining his golf philosophy. Below is the beginning of the article that made me stand up and cheer. A standing O!
 
The article is "Unleash Your Inner Power!" by Rickie Fowler:

"I'm not your typical Tour player - before I took the game seriously I raced motorcycles in the deserts of the Southwest. I've never looked at my swing on video - I rarely think about mechanics, and sometimes I take a practice swing before I hit a shot and, well, sometimes I don't. For me, golf is about feel and swinging free, like you couldn't care less about your results. I know that might be hard to accept, especially if you've been struggling to hit the ball straight or have contact issues, but hear me out. When you're able to build trust in what you're doing and simply 'let it go,' power creeps into your swing as if by magic."

1. Failure. When you miss a shot do not say a word or even think about the failure. You just keep remembering, "The next shot is more important than the last mistake."


2. Mechanics. During the match do not think about mechanics. There is no time to tell yourself to bend your knees, keep your eye on the ball, keep your head still or anything. Repetition practice will give your strokes that feel.