I spent my early tears in golf committed to the goal of building a REPEATING GOLF SWING. Through my high school years, the REPEATING SWING was the hot topic. We were all trying to develop a big muscle swing that was easy to repeat and that would never breakdown under pressure. Ben Hogan was my hero, and his 1957 book, Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf, was my golf Bible. I practically memorized the 127-page book and I kept a copy in my bag at all times.
Hogan wrote, "It is utterly impossible for any golfer to play good golf without a swing that will repeat"; and I took it to heart. It seems the golf industry took it to heart as well. For years, everything I read was based on the assumption that success in golf was predicated on developing a REPEATING SWING.
Then one day I read Michael Murphy's book, Golf in the Kingdom. I enjoyed the book and remember chuckling to myself when Shivas Irons, the central figure - a mystically gifted golf professional - told his playing partners that he never used the same swing twice. I remember thinking how absurd it would be for a great player to make such a ridiculous statement.
Today I laugh when I think about the years I spent in the useless pursuit of a REPEATING golf swing. There are an endless number of factors that will determine how you will swing a golf club at any particular time. While your mindset will obviously have the greatest influence, your physical condition, flexibility, energy level, address position, alignment, and even the weather will all affect your swing as well.
Since all these factors are interrelated and constantly changing changing, you will never swing EXACTLY the same way twice. Unfortunately, most golfers become preoccupied with trying to swing their golf club EXACTLY the same way every time. When they can't (because it's impossible), they complain about how frustrating golf is.
It's time to clear your mind and forget about creating a REPEATING GOLF SWING. You'll never have one and you don't need one. Golf is not about static conditions and perfect mechanical repetition. It's about changing circumstances and you ability to adapt to those circumstances. When golfers center their attention on trying to develop a repeating swing, too much emphasis is given to swing mechanics. Trying to play golf through focusing on technique just doesn't work. You end up playing GOLF SWING instead of GOLF.
In his book , Bobby Jones on Golf, Jones writes, "A few disasters resulting from a desire to display brilliant technique are enough to harden even the most sensitive nature...Once the round in under way, the business at hand becomes that of getting results. Nothing else matters."