What To Focus On During Golf Swing (3 Options)

Written by Todd in Online Golf Instruction

The golfer should be focused on the target, a simple swing feel or at the max 1-2 swing thoughts.  Among the greatest golfers, you will see various areas or ideas on what the golfer should focus on.

We have all been there!

We get over a shot and start thinking about our hips, shoulders, clubface, and the list goes on.

What usually happens to this shot where we are thinking about every little part of our swing?

Yes, it normally is a poor shot!

Golf is a difficult game!  One day you could be playing at your top level and the next day it might feel like you haven’t golfed for 5 years.  

So we try to return to the swing thoughts that worked in hopes of finding something to help get us through the round.  After the round, we head to the driving range in hopes of either finding that swing thought again or finding a new swing thought!

If a golfer isn’t going to have complex swing thoughts, what should they be focusing on during the golf swing?

What To Focus on During the Golf Swing

Update: I have found that a focus on the target with a swing thought like “speed past the golf ball” has worked wonders for me. The less my swing thought is on a specific body movement and more on an intention, the more success I have experienced!

Options for what to focus on during the golf swing:

  • The Target
  • A Swing Feel
  • 1-2 Swing Thoughts
Hold your swing at the end to build the feels in the golf swing.

Option 1: The Target

If you talk to most high level golfers, when they are playing their best, the swing is effortless.  They are more than likely seeing their target and making a quality swing that sends the ball flying in the direction and with the right amount of curve.

The shot is hit the right distance and they head off to the next shot.  They are free of thoughts about past poor shots or the difficult shots upcoming within the round.  They have confidence in their swing and are hitting the ball where they look and intend the ball to fly to.

Golf is almost effortless at this point and everything feels in sync and the shots are flying at the target.

In the past several years, I have come across Shawn Clement who is a major target focus advocate.  He wants to golfer to assess the shot, establish a flight plan, determine an intermediate target and one off in the distance, create the setup that allows the golfer to hit the shot and keep the mind focused on the target throughout the swing.

Resource: Shawn Clement: A Target Based Instructor that can help your game!

I have played some wonderful, swing though free golf with this approach.  It is rather liberating and can help the golfer play more stress free golf and stop worrying about if they are in the right position at each level of the golf swing.

“You swing your best when you have the fewest things to think about.”

Bobby Jones

Here is a video to get an idea of what Shawn Clement teachers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBeP98jE7PI

Option 2: A Swing Feel

There are also plenty of golfers who play the game by feel.  They may focus on certain positions when practicing at the range or during practice rounds, but once the actual round begins or the tournaments starts, the focus is on the feels that they have established during the training sessions.

Recently, in a podcast I heard a golf teacher explain that Bryson DeChambeau, even with all of this technical work with a launch monitor, is searching for feels that produce certain numbers on the launch monitor.

He is then able to know what feels produce a draw, a fade, a high shot, a low shot and so on.  He is able to take those feels to the golf course and hit the shots he is seeking.

I have also heard Mike Malaska, one amazing golf instructor, talk about establishing the feel in the pre shot routine.  The golfer then takes that feel to the shot and assess how the feel worked out at the shot before leaving the spot where the golfer hit the shot.

My current feel that I am playing with is all in the left hand.  My thought/feel is that the club face is controlled by the back of the left hand.  I have been able to play some quality rounds with this swing feel.

Resource: What does a good golf swing feel like?

The most ironic part about swing feels is that many golf instructors will tell us that feel is not real in the golf swing, but is producing something that might work.

In the long run, the feel like start producing different outcomes and the golfer is headed off to find another feel that will work.

“I’m about five inches from being an outstanding golfer. That’s the distance my left ear is from my right.”

Ben Crenshaw

Mike Malaska: Talking through shots and swing feels with Be Better Golf:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyCYUaThyg4

Option 3: 1-2 Swing Thoughts

“Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated.”

Arnold Palmer

We have all played with a swing thought or two and have played our highest level golf.  We get excited and the thought creeps into our minds that we have “found it.”

What we believe we have found is the swing thought that we can use for hte rest of our golf journey.  We are excited, we head home, go about our normal business and return to the golf course the next day or two.  All of a sudden that swing thought that we thought we “found” no longers works and we are back to playing our average golf.

In my experience, most swing thoughts will last from anywhere between 1-8 rounds or about a week max.  I believe what happens is that we get overboard with the swing though and the move that is working becomes too much and we start to overdue.

I have heard a professional golfer explain that the golf swing is like a shower, sometimes you need a little more hot water, but too much hot water will burn you.  So you need more cold water, but too much cold water makes for a miserable shower,

Our work on the practice range is about making the swing better, finding the swing thoughts or feels that then taking it to the course with a focus on the target.

Next Steps: What Should I Focus On In The Golf Swing

I would highly recommend utilizing a launch monitor like a Bryson DeChambeua to match up the feels that produce certain numbers or shots.  While it would be amazing if we could also just focus on the target and hope that our mind and body takes over, developing the feels that work week in and week out are essential to long term consistency in the golf swing.

The instant feedback that is provided from a launch monitor can help not only improve the swings, but build our awareness of if we do something, then this is the result or the outcome of that feel.

I use a Skytrak Launch Monitor and have utilized it over the past 4 years.  I have played over 800 rounds in my golf simulator setup and have been able to get really close to a scratch golfer from where I once was around a 6-7 handicap.  The ability for instant feedback on the following data has been helpful:

  • Ball Speed
  • Spin Rate
  • Spin Axis
  • Launch Angle
  • Carry and and Total Distance

While many do not have the money to spend on a Trackman or Flightscope there are some more affordable options for the amateurs that can help you build your feels, play all winter long and have a great device to take with you to the range!

Here are the top 3 options to check out:

The perfect lab to work on the golf swing!

Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better

What does this mean for you?  I believe in the following recipe to get better:

1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor.  Here are some options:

Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:

2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed.  Here are some options:

Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:

3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier.  Here is a series on breaking through:

We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.

4 – Practice Frequently

Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system?  It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:

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