Can David Leadbetter be so Wrong?

Golf teachers like David Leadbetter or Dave Pelz are super if you want to hear some smart sounding putting or driving tips.

But, if you are just learning to play golf, my advice is stay well clear of these golf encyclopedias. And my reasoning behind this is simple... Our bodies, or the parts that do the movements (muscles, joints, tendons etc), do not understand English. If they did then you could probably tell me what the knees are doing when you walk, run or jump.

But the only words I hear when I ask this is..."They bend". And this is not quite true because it is the leg that bends and the knee joints roll to accomodate this.

I also find that when people try to explain what is happening when they are walking, their movement becomes rather strained and forced. Just like most of the golf swings I have seen throughout my career.

So waken up all of you golfers out there and stop telling your bodies how to move. I often play catch with my students before a putting lesson and both catching and throwing are movements that are carried out without verbal commands.

Oh yes they are coming from that little voice inside our heads. You know the one. He or she, sometimes tells us that we are stupid, an idiot, or even stronger, a fcuking moron.

All because we didn't manage to hit the ball well after all of his/her precise commands. I call this voice my Gremlin. We all know this Gremlin, he's the one who says, "I don't like him" when you are sitting with company. Of course you do not relay this to the person but your Gremlin can go to town inside your head during a polite conversation with the same person.

When I am playing golf, especially when I am putting, my Gremlin gets to rediculous levels of criticism. A second or two before I am about to stroke an important five footer for birdie or par, he comes in with,

"Don't pull it left, like you did last time!"

This usually provokes me into hitting the damn thing too far to the right and when I do, my Gremlin tells me what a Dork I am.

Does this chastising from my Gremlin help? Not in the least. But I'll bet on the very next green, I'll let him do the same or similar all over again.

I even catch myself thanking him for his untimely tips and stand there and take his praise or criticism depending on my result.

Now if my playing partner was to come in with the same kind of chatter as I was about to putt and then chastise me for any mistakes, I would probably wrap my putter round his head.

So what can we do? Click here to read more on this interesting theme.