It has been said that the first 12-inch drawback away from the ball is the most important part of the golf swing. If you can master taking the club back correctly for the first foot of the back swing without picking the club up, rotating your forearms, taking the club too far to the inside and all these other swing killers, you can become very competent and develop power and consistency over the golf ball. But then again there are a few more inches to go through before the swing has finished!
Call me old-fashioned but I feel that the golf swing is sometimes dissected, taken apart and analysed way too much by so-called swing experts. It takes just an average of three seconds from the start to finish of any given golf swing and from experience, if you try to comprehend every little moving part of this series of intricate movements, you'll wind up not being able to hit a cow's backside with a cricket bat!
Over-analyses have led many fine golfers to lose confidence and when that starts to happen, you will find yourself on a slippery downhill slope. Keep it as simple as you can expect several bad shots during a round, because trying for perfection will drive you to the nearest mental institution, for those unfortunate golfers seeking perfection, therefore joining a disillusioned group that tried to find something -- that's just not there!
Out of Bounds: Let's face it -- golf can be a struggle, so accept it. Mr Pars is a great example of the 'struggles' of the game. He missed the one-under-par cut line by one shot last week in the 3M Open with two of his consistent par rounds. However, he tells me he's on the verge of breaking par this week in Memphis.