This week is all about getting ready for the upcoming golf season. I’m going to deliver some real gems so you can follow along too. I just want you to be ready when the season opens up soon… the Masters theme music is already playing in my head.
You’ll be getting a stretching and warm up to make your body move better for the golf swing… swing grooving drills, and a podcast of how to put it all together.
Today, I’ll teach you the ‘secret grooving technique’ Rich and I use to help our golfers become Single Digit Handicappers… and just this week we added a new Single Digit Handicapper to the family:
Jeremy slashed his handicap in half… and to be honest, I fully expect him to be around a 3 or 4 by the end of summer. He’s taken action… even in a cold weather state.
Jeremy applied the principles we teach inside the Single Digit Blueprint.
I am asked all the time, “What makes the Single Digit Blueprint so special?” Well, it all comes down to trust.
Trusting your own swing… trusting your own game… and not depending on tip of the day pro’s or quick fixes to ‘cure’ your broken game.
What makes the Single Digit Blueprint work is simplicity and focus that develops this trust.
And I think trust really comes down to having a reliable, and repeatable swing… which creates self-confidence.
Almost every golfer I’ve ever spoken to wants a ‘grooved’ swing… and I think deep down, this is why every golfer wants a grooved swing.
And I think we can all agree that trusting your game results in better shots and ultimately lower scores. Trust erases all doubt in your mind.
- Grooved = repeatable.
- Repeatable = dependable.
- Dependable = confidence.
- Confidence = trust.
- Trust = Self-confidence.
Trust gives you freedom to plan your shots instead of worrying about the results.
My experience tells me that not many golfers have trust in their game.
If you know where the ball is going to land, you will aim better, score better, and enjoy the game more.
Simple.
Well, not really…
Acquiring a grooved swing takes time, energy, and patience… and you need to know what you are doing.
Pounding ball after ball at the range is probably grooving the WRONG THINGS.
How has that process worked for you by the way?
This is where having a plan in place allows you to focus on the right things to groove.
If you want to groove the perfect chipping stroke, putting stroke, driver swing… you need reps.
Further, you need PERFECT reps. This ensures you are training your mind to control your body properly. The only way to do this is through a method I have stolen from the Russian Spetsnaz… the Russian special forces.
And Special Forces may seem a ridiculous place to find a breakthrough for golf.. But not really… they do tough things and are asked to often do the impossible and be dependable… and that’s where dependability becomes ‘mental’ more than physical.
Let me explain.
The golf swing is a chain reaction. One event after the other. Get it right and the ball goes where you wish it to.
Fire off any link before its ready in your swing chain, and disaster strikes.
That’s why it is so important to develop the proper neural pathways using Greasing the Groove.
After all, the nervous system controls your body. The nervous system sends signals to your muscle fibers to contract. The more often you use these neural pathways the better your technique becomes. The stronger you become.
As the signals become more frequent, the better you become… the more efficient you become… and the stronger you become.
What we are doing is creating a neurological groove. The more we do it, the deeper this groove becomes. It becomes easier, it becomes repeatable… and more efficient.
I don’t care what swing style you use… it’s irrelevant.
You can use Greasing the Groove to groove ANY golf swing or movement… David Ledbetter’s “A Swing”, Moe Norman’s “Single Plane”… or Nick Faldo’s flowing and powerful modern swing.
It doesn’t matter.
And I think that’s what makes us here at Golf Aggressive unique in that we don’t care what swing style you use. We only care that you get better.
So how does Greasing the Groove work?
I learned Greasing the Groove from a Russian Special forces trainer named Pavel Tsatsouline. Pavel learned GtG from the Hebbian Rule… and by applying it to the special forces he trained.
Pavel uses the Hebbian Rule aka Greasing the Groove to make his athletes stronger without using more weight to do so.
“Muscle failure is more than unnecessary – it is counterproductive! Neuroscientists have known for half a century that if you stimulate a neural pathway, say the bench press groove, and the outcome is positive, future benching will be easier, thanks to the so-called Hebbian rule. The groove has been ‘greased’. Next time the same amount of mental effort will result in a heavier bench. This is training to success! The opposite is also true. If your body fails to perform your brain’s command, the groove will get ‘rusty’. You are pushing as hard as usual, but the muscles contract weaker then before! To paraphrase powerlifting champ Dr. Terry Todd, if you are training to failure, you are training to fail.” ~ Pavel Tsatsouline
Basically, the more often you do something the better the BRAIN becomes at performing this task. The brain actually becomes stronger. The brain becomes hardwired to perform that task.
Remember Charles Barkley and that awful swing? His wiring was hardwired to the point it almost couldn’t be undone.
Ok, so how does this all apply to you?
Well, I’ve got a few rules on using Greasing the Groove for the golf swing that I’ve developed after working with my students:
Rule #1 – Perfect Practice.
In order to ‘practice perfect’ we need to remove ‘hitting’ from the equation. We practice the movement over and over again. Boring yes, effective? HELL YEAH!
Rule #2 – Random and Frequent.
To get the best results from Greasing the Groove, the sessions need to be short, random, and frequent.
Ideally, you will want to perform your Greasing the Groove movements roughly 15 minutes total each day. This time will be spread out over the course of the day.
Another way is to do GtG on the hour, every hour. Not only will this give you a break from work… it will also prepare you for the frequent breaks we find ourselves in during a round of golf. You will be able to snap right into your game by doing random practice.
Rule #3 – Aim for a minimum of 500 reps.
Rich and I usually have our golfers station a club next to their recliner or desk at their office… or both. When you get stand up or sit down, you will perform 5-10 Greasing the Groove movements.
The movements can be anything really… grip, setup and alignment, posture, the takeaway, etc. You only do the movement up to a stopping point. You won’t perform the entire swing. Again, we are working on programming the mind in a chain reaction.
If your goal is 500 grooves and you perform 100 per day randomly, you can expect to have that particular movement grooved in about 5 days… although more is always better and serious golfers will want to up this to 1,000 reps.
You might be thinking, “That’s a lot of reps and time.” Well it is, but is it really?
How long have you struggled with your swing and your game? How many hours do you spend at the range without significant and lasting results?
I think when you compare my grooving technique against what you’ve been doing… my way will be superior and worth a try.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Right before the season is the perfect time to start grooving.
Rule #4 – Avoid Long Practice Sessions.
Once you hit 500 reps of GtG in your home or office, it’s time to hit the practice tee.
Again, you are going to aim for 500 reps of Perfect Practice while hitting a golf ball.
Greasing the Groove works off Perfect Practice. So if your mind begins to wander, your body is tired, or you just aren’t feeling it… stop your practice session.
We don’t want to groove any bad habits here.
And lastly, I want you to focus on what the Perfect Movement feels like… and if you aren’t sure how to perform a takeaway… or don’t think your grip is right… you need to hit up your PGA Professional to make sure you are on the right path.
Even better, you can hit Richard Guzzo and I up inside the Single Digit Blueprint members area. We have put together Greasing the Groove movements for every aspect of your game.
=> Click Here to Use these Grooving Drills So You Can Build a Repeatable Swing
Fairways and greens,
Christian Henning, NASM-CPT, gfs
Director of Performance
“Don’t Wait For Luck – Golf Aggressive”
PS – If you are serious about wanting to break 80, 90 or even 100 this season… take a peek behind the curtains at the Single Digit Blueprint to see how other golfers just like you are doing it!
=> Join the Single Digit Blueprint and Get Instant Access to EVERY Greasing the Groove Drill
