Secret Confessions of a Rogue Golf Coach

C o p y r i g h t 2 0 1 4 - P r e s e n t A u t o m a t i c G o l f

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http://www.AutomaticGolf.com

Secret Confessions of a Rogue Golf Coach

What’s all this about?

Cameron Strachan here. I think a little differently about the game and my ideas contradict a lot of what you may have been told in the past. I didn’t set out to upset the apple cart, it sort of just happened when normal ideas didn’t work for me. The “rogue” tag is self-imposed and enforces my belief if you want to be successful (no matter what it is you do) you have to be prepared to walk your own path. You need to be brave enough to do your own thing. If you do what everyone else does you’ll be “average”. Average is safe, but it’s also boring and unlikely going to help you be the best you can be. When you stand up to conformity then remarkable things really can happen.

So I asked the hard question, “what is the best way to improve my golf?” and set out to find the answer.

My journey has taken me all over the world and along the way I’ve met some interesting people and discovered all sorts of theories. I’ve had to weed out the whacky and strange, but I believe I’ve come up with a better way of approaching golf and shooting lower scores. It’s better because my theories work with you and not against;

This is not about rebuilding your golf swing and starting over (that’s just too difficult and doesn’t work too well). You’ll learn how to tap into your natural swing and this, in my opinion, is the quickest and fastest way to light your game on fire.

It’s not some sort of quick-fix that you’ll read in a golfing magazine or see on the Golf Channel, but rather, it’s a new and fresh way of approaching golf. It’s based on how we learn every other skill and contains a fair dose of common sense. I’m not sure why it is, but a lot of modern swing instruction


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complicates an already difficult game. What’s needed is less complication, theory and information and instead, a blueprint on how to apply knowledge so you can get the results you desire.

This is what this work is all about. It’s “proper” learning that will make golf fun again. If you apply the lessons then you will see your golf change for the better.

This is also a different kind of book. It’s based on hours of conversation I’ve had with Evan, a golfing mate of mine. The format is more me and is light-hearted but also straight to the point. I didn’t see the need to produce a tedious golf manual. God knows there’s already too many of them.

My strong advice is to read the book, let the concepts sink in and think about them. Sleep on them if you will. But at some point you’re going to have to cross the line and get outside with a golf club in your hand. There’s nothing better than actually doing something. The doing is where the action is.

The biggest mistake I see in golfers who don’t succeed has nothing to do with their skill or talent. Those that fail do so because they don’t apply what they learn. They tend, for the most part, to be too scared to do anything. They freeze because of the uncertainty.

So don’t let fear hold you back. We should move towards the fear as this allows us to have some real breakthroughs with our game. And this might be the most important lesson of all:

Don’t be afraid of the fear, embrace it because that is where the really good stuff lives.

Thanks for dropping by and please let me know if you have any questions.

Good golfing,

Cameron Strachan

Queensland, Australia, 2013


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Why This Book Will Change Your Golfing Life

I first met Cameron when he was teaching from an indoor studio in Melbourne. I had seen an advert in the local golf newspaper and I was intrigued to learn more about this guy claiming he had a better and simpler way of approaching golf.

I was interested because I had known Cameron through the Victorian amateur golf scene. He could play quite a bit and actually made a bit of a splash a few years earlier, when he turned up, almost out of nowhere, and started winning events and performing consistently. So I knew he could play and he wasn’t just some “internet” guy peddling some rehashed information or looking to make a fast buck.

He was sort of inspirational too because he had once been a PGA Professional but felt so strongly about the poor level of coaching during his training, that he decided to pack his bags and go it alone. There aren’t many people that have the courage to buck the system, let alone stand up to over 100 years of tradition in such a conservative sport. But Cameron isn’t afraid, and in my opinion, this is his greatest strength.

His 60 minute lesson blew my mind (he actually over-delivered and gave me close to two hours of his time). Up to that point I had been some sort of golf tragic, having spent thousands of dollars each year on golf clubs, devices, lessons and magazines. I believed I had heard it all and wasn’t quite ready for what I experienced.

Cameron spoke in a different way, he was calm and had an inner belief about what he was doing. He wasn’t interested in my ball flight or how good the shot was - but he was fascinated with MY feedback. He kept at me to tell him more about each shot,

“Evan, how did that feel?” “Can you feel any difference to the last one?”


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“Why didn’t you like that shot?” “Can you hear the clubface strike the ball?” “On a scale of 1 to 10, tell me how you’d rate that shot?”

At first I was a little uncomfortable. It was strange for a coach to ask these sorts of questions. Normally, you rock up for a lesson and get told what to do or work on a specific part of your swing. But this is NOT how Cameron teaches. Actually, he hates the word “teach” and prefers “coach” or “coaching”. He says “teaching” is just telling someone what to do and is all about conforming to the norm. And it’s the reason why most of us dislike school so much, because we get told what to do. But we’re not encouraged to,

• Do what feels right for us

• To break the mould and explore

• To try something different

• To have fun

For the most part, teaching is all about getting you to conform and not buck the system. Cameron says modern golf is more about teaching. Shame really. But coaching, well, this is an entirely different story and something that Cameron is incredibly passionate about.

“Proper” coaching makes golf fun. And don’t think this is some airy fairy way of playing golf. When you’re coached correctly you get improvement and with improvement comes a deep satisfaction. And this is truly fun.

I went from that first lesson with my head abuzz. I was pumped. Cameron showed me some things and made me realise I’d upset my natural learning system and, despite my best intentions, all of the lessons, clubs and gadgets had interrupted my natural state.


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I’m a technical sort of guy. I work in IT and it can be hard for me to let go. But this is exactly what Cameron got me to do - he asked me to “remove the straitjacket” and see what would happen. He told me to “man up”, to be brave and walk towards the apprehension I was feeling.

To my surprise, by using less thought and analysis I could still hit the ball. I couldn’t believe it! I was actually able to hit the ball better by trying less. I know this goes against the grain, but this is exactly what Cameron likes us to do. Break some of those old-fashioned rules and go for it.

My first game out after the lesson was one of my best. A 68. I had a freedom I hadn’t felt in years and it was like being a kid again. It was the first time in a long time where I had truly played the game - I forgot about the swing, score, handicap, playing partners and all the stuff golfers like to worry about. I teed my ball and played.

If your golf has hit a roadblock, I can guarantee you’ll get something positive if you stop trying so hard. It’s simple advice, but is a fundamental of Cameron’s coaching.

Over the next few months I caught up with him regularly and I became his business mentor of sorts as I helped him spread his word to a wider golfing public. As a complete golf nutter, and someone who can’t get enough of this crazy game, I wanted everyone to experience the magic of his coaching ideals.

Throughout the year I quizzed him with questions, took notes and we even recorded a conversation.

What follows is the result of our conversations and I doubt you’ve ever seen anything like what is presented here. It’s an honest look at the golf instruction industry and why it has failed you. It also goes deep into the correct learning process and highlights Cameron’s unique golfing path. Cameron has created a fun and fresh golf learning publication and has presented it like only he can.


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This work will change you, of that I’m sure. The only question you need to ask is, are your ready for it? The coach will only appear when the student is ready. And like me, you may have to take a deep breath and be brave. None of what Cameron coaches is going to hurt you or your game, but it’s different so many will resist the message. Don’t. Apply what you learn because it really will change your golfing life.

Read every word and hear the passion of a guy who really understands this golf coaching caper. It’s my pleasure to introduce to you my coach, good friend, master golfer and golf coach, Cameron Strachan, as he shares with you how to play Remarkable Golf.

Enjoy,

Evan Spargo (the Golf Geek) Melbourne, Australia


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Part 1: Getting Started

Evan: G’day Cameron. I think it would be a good idea to go back to the beginning and give everyone an idea of your golfing past. Your story is an interesting one and really shows why you do what you do.

Cameron: At the risk of boring everyone, here’s a snapshot of my early golf career.

My grandparents bought me a set of clubs for my 14th birthday. My birthday is early March, but because they lived over 3 hours away, I didn’t get the clubs until Easter 1988 (early April).

I was desperate to play golf and I couldn’t wait for my first game. I had been quite successful up until this point with soccer, tennis and athletics - basically, if it involved a ball or running, I was able to do well.

But that first game was a disaster and not much fun. I scored 156 and my grandmother made me count every shot. The first hole was terrible, 17 hits from memory. But if nothing else, I’m determined and when we got back home I went straight out to the backyard to work on my game.

The next day we played again, this time getting a worse score. I was over 160.

And I tell you this to highlight that I had no special talent for the game. A huge frustration of mine is people say, “sure Cameron, this all sounds good and all, but you’re a natural - golf comes easy to you”.

But it didn’t. I was so frustrated at those early games because I had read somewhere that Greg Norman was able to break 100 in his first games out and got his handicap down to scratch in no time. I wanted to be like him but I was miles off.

By the end of the Easter holiday my score was down to 127. It was an improvement, but still a long way from where I wanted it to be. My grandfather was a 90 shooter, and I at least wanted to beat him.


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I trotted back to Melbourne with my tail between my legs. Golf certainly had me beaten but I didn’t give up.

There was a horse paddock near my home and this became my battleground. I spent hours there, hitting balls and getting lost in my own little world.

My biggest concern was the odd nasty horse and losing balls. The paddock wasn’t some manicured fairway, it was pretty rough, and the little creek running through it was overgrown - any ball landing there was almost certainly lost.

I had a great setup. I’d climb the small hill and be able to hit balls down and over the creek. The horses had sort of worn out a patch of ground that I used for my target. It was perfect! A small target, surrounded by the creek and long grass.

My shots had to be pretty good, as anything astray would result in a lost ball. I didn’t have a lot of money for new balls, so each shot had my full attention.

I had no idea at the time, but these practice sessions were perfect. I wasn’t worried about my swing at all - not one bit. I was more concerned about my objective.

Evan: Getting the ball over the creek?

Cameron: Yes. That was my goal. And bit by bit I was getting better. I worked out a nice little swing that could hit the ball fairly consistently. I can’t remember exactly, but I think my record was 22 shots in a row onto my makeshift green. And keep in mind it was probably a shot of 140 metres, off rough ground, using beaten up balls.

I also want to add that too many young kids today wait until they have the perfect environment to practice in. They want the manicured fairway, the nice new balls, fancy clubs and the brand new driving range. There’s nothing wrong with having all this fancy stuff but there’s also nothing wrong with roughing it.


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There’s a guy at my club who’s got a tonne of talent and skill but he’s also lazy. He’s waiting for things to happen but I think he’ll be waiting for a long time. Best thing he could do is grab some balls and go hit them at the footy ground next to his house - he won’t because it’s not good enough. He’s waiting for the “perfect” environment to come his way.

The horse paddock was rough and the grass wasn’t ideal but it was all that I needed. Those shots across the creek absolutely were some of the best practice I’ve ever done.

Evan: So you developed your own unique swing that worked?

Cameron: I sure did. And I really didn’t know what I was doing. I was just hitting balls and having the time of my life. My parents rarely saw me, only for dinner time.

I’d end up at the horse paddock most days. Before school, after school and on weekends. And I knew I was getting better because I was hitting the ball so much better. It really was a great time.

Evan: What sort of scores were you getting now?

Cameron: They were coming down. I remember this one game where I played with my good mate and his dad. They were both golfers and I was quite nervous. When we hit off, I recall being surprised at how inconsistent they were. They both hit the ball all over the place and they had no control. This didn’t make a lot of sense because I was able to hit the ball straight and clean - I rarely had a bad miss-hit by then.

On the 7th hole, I still remember it was like yesterday, I struck a wedge that landed on the edge of the hole. The ball didn’t go in, but it left a huge pitch mark around the hole and the ball finished an inch from the hole. It was at that time, the best shot I had ever hit.


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And I was playing well, despite the nerves, my scoring was on. On the 16th hole, this time with a nine iron, I hit the flag with my approach. It was another easy birdie and I was on fire. I couldn’t believe it because my score was only a few above the par of the course.

The last hole was a shortish par three. I stepped up and hit the ball to 10 feet. I felt amazing. I two-putted for a par and signed for a 76. I was over the moon. My friend and his dad both scored in the low 90’s. They weren’t sure what they had witnessed because I had told them I had only just started playing - which I had. But they suspected something was wrong (that I lied about my golfing past) and we didn’t play much after this incident.

My routine after golf was back to the horse paddock. I’d work on different shots and practice those that gave me any issues. I couldn’t get enough golf, no matter how long I stayed out there.

My twin brother and my other mates were all off catching fish, playing computer games, chasing girls, but not me, I was hooked on golf.

Evan: You were starting to shoot some low scores?

Cameron: Yep, this one time I ran straight to the golf course after school and hit off. I was only going to play 9 holes but I was going so well I kept going. The last few holes were played in the dark, but I came in with a 70 off the stick.

I need to point out that this wasn’t a championship course, it was the local public course and it was fairly easy. But I was playing well and really starting to get my game in shape.

Not long after that round I went way better and shot a 64. It was the same story as last time. Run to the course and played as many holes as possible. The funny thing in this round was playing with the same mate where I shot 76. The poor guy, he sort of fancied himself as a golfer and I was shooting these ridiculous scores each time we went out. He sort of gave up on golf after this.


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That round I had 9 birdies and an eagle. I was on fire. The eagle came on a short par 4 - I drove across the water and sunk the putt. The entire round was magic - I felt like things were going in slow motion and I seriously couldn't miss. It was almost like the hole kept getting in the way.

Evan: Is this the slow and heavy you talk about?

Cameron: Yes! I didn’t realise it at the time but when I was playing well my swing felt “slow and heavy”. I understand it better now and it is like this:

When the swing feels heavy I have this sensation that I can move the club with power. It’s a funny sensation because it’s not a bad heavy that’s going to weigh me down - it’s more like the club feels like a weapon that I can move with power and really smash the ball.

Heavy things are easy to feel and when you can “feel” you have tremendous awareness in what you are doing. From here golf becomes easier because you’re learning each time you swing the club.

The slow part refers to the sensation of time. It sort of feels like I have more “time” to hit the ball. If you listen to champion athletes they’ll tell you that when they’re in the zone they feel like they’re in slow motion - almost feels like time stands still.

It’s an awesome feeling to have and it all comes about when we truly play the game. I know we’ll get deeper into this as our conversation continues. The only other thing I’ll add for now is the opposite of “slow and heavy” is fast and light. When my swing feels this way I know I’m in trouble. I have no time to hit the ball and everything is all over the place.

I think many golfers play this way because they’re simply not aware of their swing. They’re blind and it’s a huge problem in the game.


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And here’s something else for you: These quick rounds before dark are an excellent way to get yourself into the moment. The courses are generally quite and you have the place to yourself.

And because you don’t have a lot of time, the chances are you’ll play quickly. There’s less fussing around. And this is exactly the mindset you want, look at the target, choose a club and then go for it. A lot of the extra thought just gets in the way. I’ll cover this in more detail later, but these “sprint” rounds are a very good thing.

Evan: Your play attracted a bit of attention in the club, didn’t it?

Cameron: It did. Not sure because of the scores I was shooting but because of the amount of golf I played. It wasn’t unusual for me to spend hours on the putting or chipping green. I really couldn’t get enough.

Early the next year the club had a new scholarship program. It involved weekly lessons and free golf and range balls. This was too exciting for me, I had to get one!

I took a bunch of the applications and spent hours filling them in. I used my best handwriting and got my dad to check for mistakes. If I wasn’t happy with it, I’d tear it up and start again.

I must have filled in the application 20 times - but it worked because I got past 1st base and received an interview.

My parents were really supportive. They saw how much I loved the game and wanted me to excel. They drove me to the interview and I got to meet a bunch of the coaches. The hardest part was answering the questions, the easiest part was hitting balls.

The interviews were done inside a sports stadium and they had some nets setup next to the interview table. It was a quite well done as a big company was behind the sponsorship. When it was my turn to hit, I just did what came


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naturally to me. I thumped the ball as hard as I could, the ball crashed into the net and the momentum of the strike brought the net down.

It was my last hit.

For a while I thought I had done something wrong. The only thing the pro told me was not to swing too hard - he had a twinkle in his eye when he said it though.

The next few weeks were tense. I couldn’t concentrate at school and I would rush home to see if a letter had arrived. There’s nothing like a wait to teach a young kid patience.

It was a Thursday, I got home and there was a letter from the sponsor of the scholarship fund sitting on the table. My heart was beating and I was nervous to open the letter. I really wanted this scholarship, more than anything and I wasn’t prepared for missing out - I had my heart set on it.

The first word I saw was CONGRATULATIONS

“Yes”, I screamed and I pumped my fist. I was in.

Evan: Cool. What was involved with this scholarship?

Cameron: There was a lot of coaching. Each week, me and the three other winners would meet at the course for some intensive coaching. We’d get some lessons in the morning and get to play the course in the afternoon.

It was like Christmas. I really couldn’t believe that this had happened and I pretty much had all the range balls and golf I could handle for an entire year.

Evan: Tell us about the coaching.

Cameron: It was quite technical. The coach had a video camera and he’d take shots of our swing and we’d get to watch them back in a small video room. He’d draw lines on the screen and talk to us about swing plane and body pivot. He’d also compare our young swings with those of the superstars.


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At the time I thought it was fantastic. I’d take what was being told, absorb it and then try and implement into my game. I was so dedicated. I would do anything to play better and improve.

It wasn’t unusual for me to grab multiple large buckets of balls, and sift through them throughout the afternoon. I must have hit thousands of balls that year. Every now and then the pro would stop by, take a look and offer more words of encouragement. I would have been his best student, as I did everything asked of me.

Little by little things started to unravel. One day, while in the middle of a lesson I hit a shank. The ball went sideways. This had never really happened to me before, maybe only once or twice when I first started. But shanking wasn’t something I was used to.

Shanking was a real pain. The ball went sideways off the club, leaving a nasty vibration in my hands. It was awful.

While out playing, I would start missing the fairways by miles. My bad shot was this weak blocked shot - it would also go sideways. My confidence was starting to take a hit.

The coach told me to keep practicing. So I did. Harder and harder until my hands bleed. The warning signs should have been going off that something wasn’t right. But I trusted what was being taught and I really wanted to succeed.

At this point I really didn’t have a life. It was all golf. Socially, I was really awkward. I was shy and the fact I spent most hours absorbed in golf didn’t help. It was a true obsession that was getting out of hand.

I don’t really regret much I’ve done, but that time of my life was pretty ordinary. It wasn’t a highlight that’s for sure.

Evan: So how did you get out of this?


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Cameron: It took a while because the traditional mindset is fairly ingrained - the scholarship lasted all year and I was continuing to practice hard. But something deep down wasn’t sitting too well with me. I knew something was wrong.

My shyness probably didn’t help here. I was too scared to stand up for myself and just kept plugging away. Thinking that things would eventually turn out for the best.

Evan: Did they?

Cameron: Eventually my dad stepped in. He’s a straight shooter, and street smart. He also sees things a little differently. He was successful in business mostly because he wasn’t afraid to do things his way.

And this basically meant making the software he produced really simple. He hating making things any harder than they needed to be. For him, the success of his product was keeping all the technical stuff hidden from the customer - they could turn on their computer and get their work done.

A lot of programming, and this probably still happens today, is the engineers forget about the end user, they make things too complex, because they think the software is about them. The poor client is forgotten about.

So my father was pretty successful. It took him a while, but he eventually sold out to a large USA company. The success of the business largely built on his innovative operating system that “just made sense”.

One day he pulled me aside for a father and son talk. Here’s a snapshot of what he told me:

“This is garbage! This pro doesn’t know what he is doing. You know how to play - look at the scores you used to be able to shoot. Look at all the events you won. You can’t play now.


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I don’t get it! Why are they messing with your swing so much? I don’t play golf, but if I look at all the great champions, they have a unique style to them. What’s wrong with your style?

NOTHING!

Get rid of the coaching and go back to playing how you know how.”

Evan: Wow!

Cameron: It was pretty powerful stuff and it hit me right between the eyes. His talk coincided with a member of the club telling me about a book called, The Inner Game of Golf.

That book is a revelation. If you haven’t read it you should. All golfers should own a copy. And read it. At least twice. The message today is as relevant as it was the day Tim Gallwey wrote it.

The book talks about natural learning and takes you on a journey as Gallwey applies his inner game techniques to his own game as he attempts to break 80 for the first time.

I think I read the book from cover to cover in one night. I couldn’t put it down because the stories spoke directly to me. It was almost like the book was written for me. And for the very first time I could see where I had gone wrong. I understood what natural learning was and how this differs from everything I had been taught by the pro.

It also highlighted what my dad was telling me. So it all made sense and it came along at the right time. Not only did the book tell me that too much technique was not a good thing, it told me what I could do to fix my issues.

The book was able to bridge the gap between what I thought was wrong and what my father was telling me.

Evan: What’s the main message in the book?


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Cameron: It’s simple. Distract your conscious mind for the duration of the shot. Basically, stop thinking so much and learn to play automatically.

Evan: So how did all that work out for you?

Cameron: It was quite amazing. I went down to the fairway and started swinging - I stopped all of the analysis and really just started hitting the ball in a way that felt good to me. And then something incredible happened.

My swing started working again. My awareness went from thinking swing, to just feeling the clubhead back and through. And the more balls I hit the better I was doing. It was fun and also a relief that I still had my old swing. I hadn’t lost my game, it was hiding just below the surface.

And the best thing was then taking it to the course. By forgetting all the rules and regulations that had been drummed into me, I was able to hit the ball really well out on the course. I would look where I wanted the ball to go, then walk up and swing away. There was no concern, thought or panic. I put all the trust into my system that it would be able to hit the ball for me. And for the most part it did.

It was like I had removed the straitjacket and unleashed my swing onto the world. And I like that term, “remove the straitjacket”. It really sums up what happens when you start thinking less and playing more. It’s like you’re playing with more freedom - almost like you’re taking an arm from behind your back.

I think there’s a mental and physical straitjacket here too. You need to physically let go that’s for sure, but you also need to mentally let go of all those technical bits of information to truly play with freedom. It’s a big step and something I truly hope golfers can get to experience.

Evan: You have told me this is where you went on a bit of a learning curve. Can you expand on that?


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Cameron: Sure. I don’t want to exaggerate here and give people the wrong idea. But I really did unlock my A-game pretty quickly. And this is the beauty of the automatic process, it gets to the heart of your skill and lets your real game shine through.

There’s no real downtime where you have to learn something new. All you’re doing is unlocking the swing/game that already exists inside you.

So I went on a tear. I played 14 games in a row of par or better. I was a new man and this culminated with me winning my first ever monthly medal. I shot a 68 off the stick and got my handicap down to scratch for the first time. In fact, I went from a struggling 4 handicapper, to a scratch marker, and I did it really quickly.

I was back. I had found my old mojo and it felt fantastic. It was so much more enjoyable to drive to the course and knowing that I was going to play well. I want to expand on this further:

The sensation that you’re going to play well, even before you get to the golf course, is something I don’t think many golfers ever get to feel. It’s so uncommon for the simple fact that most of us spend all of our energy on trying to fix the golf swing. We never ever get to the point where we leave our swing alone. We don’t ever say,

“You know what? I’m just going to go play today. I don’t care about my swing or how I do it - I’m just playing”

Evan: You’re right. I know in my case I never went to the golf course to just play the game. I always had to be thinking of something or working on some sort of drill or swing thought.

Cameron: And for the most part Evan, this doesn’t work too well. You disrupt your system from doing what it does best. All of the thinking, analysis and trying just gets in the way. And because you’re disrupting your system, you miss out on all that’s really possible.


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The feeling of control, like you have when you know you’re going to play well before getting to the course, is really powerful. Golf becomes more than some unhealthy obsession - it becomes a pastime that gives you real enjoyment.

Evan: So this automatic/instinctive stuff is vitally important?

Cameron: It is. In my own case, at this point in time I only had a beginner grade understanding of it and wasn’t 100% convinced I knew what I was doing. Sure, I was having more fun and I was playing great but I still lacked the conviction to trust what I was doing.

You might not believe this Evan, but four days after getting to a scratch handicap and winning my first monthly medal, I stopped doing what I was doing and started on a radical new swing system.

Evan: You’re kidding?

Cameron: Nope. It’s embarrassing looking back on it now but I really wasn’t that confident in myself. I was easily led astray and bought into the marketing hype that was being peddled.

So for the second time, I stopped playing golf my way, and adopted something that someone else said would work for me. How stupid is that?

The lure of playing on the professional tour, working closely with the new coach and being a sort of pinup boy for this new system was all to strong for me. I was taken hook, line and sinker.

Evan: I can’t believe you did that!

Cameron: Like I said, it’s embarrassing now but at the time I believed in what I was being told and believed that the guys running the show knew what they were on about. I really thought that I’d be on the PGA Tour in a few years and making millions of dollars.


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The truth was miles from that. The next two years really were a bit of a disaster for me. I played poorly and didn’t have much to show for all my hard work.


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Part 2 - The issues with golf instruction

This section goes into greater detail about the problems with traditional instruction. If you’ve ever had golf lessons and struggled badly, this part will shed some light on why you failed.

This is also a continuation of a conversations I had with Evan from above - I get pretty blunt here, but it’s important.

Evan: So what happened? By now you had some sort of understanding of what was happening, why weren’t you able to take the instruction and apply it without wrecking your game?

Cameron: I don’t think any human alive can process lots of technical information and still play decent golf. Compounding this, was the quality of information I was receiving - it was pretty bad.

So no matter how talented you think you are, you can’t beat your internal system. You’re not special or talented enough to take in the information and play how you want. When it comes to actually playing good golf, you’ve got to work with your inbuilt learning system, rather than against.

So despite knowing enough about learning to be dangerous. And also having some history with having my game ruined, I went back for more and got punished.

I have a strong desire to please, so I went headfirst into the training regime. There were a handful of drills to do and boy did I do them.

Morning. Noon and night. I did thousands of those stupid bloody drills. I was dedicated as could be but things didn’t actually work for me.

Over time, I managed to completely destroy my swing. I once again had lost the flair and the magic and because I was doing so many drills, my swing started to resemble the drill and not a proper golf swing.


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And this is a really important point: A lot of golf instruction uses drills to help a golfer get a “feel” for a part of the swing. This is OK in small quantities, but you have to realise that swinging the club and hitting a ball is the best drill you can do. These “part” drills that focus only on a part of your swing can destroy your natural swing, and if you do too much of them, your swing can resemble the drill. From here you’ve lost the focus on what it is you’re doing, which is hitting a ball to a target. This is exactly what happened to me...

Evan: Tell me, don’t you have some of your own training aids? And how are these different from the drills you’re talking about? Wouldn’t using training aids conflict with your message here?

Cameron: Brilliant question! You’re dead right here Evan, I do have my own training aids but there is a huge difference.

The training aids don’t artificially guide or manipulate your swing in anyway. You are forced to learn the correct motion all by yourself. If you happen to make a bad pass at the ball, then you’ll get instant feedback. And it’s instant feedback that allows learning to take place.

Plus, I strongly encourage students not to spend all their time using a training aide. They should take a few swings with the device and then some without. The last thing you want is to rely on the tool to help you swing. It’s incredibly important that you learn to swing the club without the aide because you can’t use anything when you’re on the golf course. Training aids and drills are learning tools, but they’re not a replacement for the actual skill. Use them to guide you, but don’t treat them like a security blanket.

In my own case I stopped thinking like a golfer and became too focused on doing the drills. I wrongly believed that if I did enough drills I’d learn a good golf swing - but it doesn’t happen this way. The very best drill is swinging a golf club and hitting a ball (or chipping or putting etc).

I wasted a lot of time and destroyed my game in the process.


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Evan: Sounds frustrating?

Cameron: Sure was. And it wasn’t like I wasn’t trying. I wanted to become a better player really badly. I wanted to succeed and I wanted to win.

But I had taken my eye off the ball again. I had let others dictate to me how I should swing. And to me, this is one of the biggest crimes in the game. You can’t have people tell you how to strike the ball. Sure, good coaching can point you in the right direction and speed your learning time, but it’s not possible for someone to “tell” you how to learn the entire thing.

Nobody, and I mean nobody, knows your swing more than you do. Despite what you’re told, or even what you believe, it’s really not possible for someone to tell you how to swing. The motion has to come from inside you. It has to be something that you own and makes sense to you.

Here’s the issue as I see it.

You go to a golf coach for a lesson. Because of the way he has been taught to coach, he most likely will put your swing on video and play it back to you. He’ll pause, rewind and even draw lines on the screen to highlight your issues.

You’ll probably get a bunch of things told to you, a few drills to do and some swing thoughts to fix it. You’ll then be on your own.

This is what happens almost all of the time. And almost nobody questions it! Nobody has come along and said,

“Is there a better way to do this?”

Evan: Until you!

Cameron: I shouldn't say nobody because people have questioned it, and there are some coaches doing some really good things. But for the most part, the stock standard way exists and it isn’t challenged.

Evan: Why don’t people challenge it if they know it doesn’t work?


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Cameron: Now were getting to the root of the problem. I firmly believe that the reason we don’t challenge things is because we’re not brought up to do such things.

We’re taught to conform to the system.

And any deviation from the system is frowned upon. This line of thinking is drummed into us from day one and continues,

at kindergarden at primary school at high school at university at work

All the time. And a lot of the rules aren’t there because they’re right or beneficial, they’re there to make life easier for the organisations. They don’t really care about you. They really don’t.

I know this sounds radical and a little harsh, but if you look at all the people who do things that we find remarkable, people who are doing amazing things, almost all of them buck the system. They are doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing.

And this is why they’re successful. It’s usually because they’re brave enough to stand up and walk their own path. They don’t follow the system and they thrive because of it. They probably get ridiculed and heckled along the way, but at some point we stop and say, “wow, what you’re doing is amazing”.

And it’s the same process for all of the golf coaches out there. They have to conform to the system too. When they go through their training they all dress the same and are taught exactly the same thing. And they are definitely not encouraged to think outside the box. I have two stories that highlight this.


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1. A certain portion of a PGA Traineeship is theory. You learn all sorts of stuff from business management, first aid and coaching ideas. There’s even intensive weeks were they pretty much lock you up for the duration and throw all sorts of information your way. There’s some good stuff and bad, but it was definitely interesting. Then there’s the assignments. These are handed out most months to test your knowledge and grade you. One assignment was on coaching and I did something based on my experience up to that point in time. It had a strong natural learning flavor to it but it was solid work. I put a lot of time into it and was happy what came out. But I failed. And I failed because I didn’t drink from the traditional golf book. It was disappointing because I believed in what I had submitted and knew it was correct.

2.Another time, when I was working in the shop, my boss, a PGA Professional, came up to me and started discussing this and that about coaching. He wasn’t really that interested in golf, he was more of an intellectual, but chose a career in golf because of his high achieving personality. Anyway, we were chatting about some of the young kids and he asked my opinion on why they weren’t performing. I said they were struggling because they weren’t playing instinctively, that they spent too much time on the fairway and not enough time on the golf course. My boss snubbed my answer and reached for the PGA Manual and told me not to veer from it. He was adamant that the boys were playing badly because they hadn’t perfected their technique. He went onto say something about their swing plane or some other crap.


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And that way my experience in the PGA system. Any sort of deflection from the norm wasn’t met with anticipation, excitement or knowing. It was quickly shot down and with any flames extinguished. What really annoyed me was that the people telling me this weren’t golfers - they were academics, trained to think a certain way. They had no passion or love for the game. And keep in mind, I wasn’t just making this stuff up - my ideas had all been based on my experience with traditional instruction - a method that had totally failed me.

So this horrible mindset leads to very little innovation or improvement. The young pros all go through the system thinking the same, acting the same and teaching in the same way. They’re all little clones of the system - good little boys that have been trained not to think for themselves and definitely NOT to upset the apple cart.

Evan: Do you think they will ever change?

Cameron: It will take time because large organisations move very slowly. It’s also a conservative sport that likes to stick to tradition. They hate change.

I don’t worry about them anymore. There has never been a better or easier time to spread a message. My blog is read by thousands of people each month, and I even publish a magazine that attracts an ever increasing audience. 20 years ago this kind of thing would have been impossible to do - but not today. It’s actually quite easy.

The hard part is believing in what you do. When most others are doing something one way, but you come out and do it another, it feels strange. It’s uncomfortable. And it upsets some people because they don’t understand.

And in the early days it used to worry me. I’d get a horrible email from someone, or an old friend wouldn’t speak to me because I went against “his” system and it would really affect me. I had trouble sleeping and I thought about giving it away or doing something else.


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I had doubt. I had fear. But I knew deep down I was on the right path and that someone had to stand up. I still don’t like getting negative email, but I’ve learned to embrace it and now know, that if I’m getting this kind of thing then I’m doing a good job. At least that’s how I deal with it.

I’ve drawn a line in the sand and some people will naturally be against me. And that is fine, because some others will be with me. Sitting on the fence seems like the safe thing to do, but it’s actually dangerous. There’s no future by being on that fence.

And this is how the rogue golfer tag came about. I definitely didn’t start out to be difficult and different for the sake of it. It’s just that the regular way didn’t work for me and when I started digging deeper into learning and performance I realised that much of what we’re taught doesn’t work so well. When I told my story many of the conservative types didn’t like it.

And I see the same thing in all walks of life. There’s alternative medicine that is now accepted by a large percentage of the population, real estate agents that do things “their” way and plenty of online stores that have changed the business landscape forever. Change is everywhere and golf will be no different.

I feel I’m a bit of a pioneer because I’m not afraid of going against the system, but this is exactly how things evolve and get better.

Evan: So what are the biggest problems with traditional coaching?

Cameron: How long have you got? Here’s one of the most serious issues I see.

Almost all modern golf coaching activates the left brain. This is our analytical brain - it does all the thinking and analysis. When you’re told to rotate your wrists and swing on plane, that activates the thinking part of your brain.

And the problem with this is the part of your brain that performs a golf swing uses a different part of your brain. The part that performs a motor skill has no


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function for language. So it doesn’t matter what you tell it; it doesn’t have capacity to understand.

Let me put it this way.

If I tell you to cock your wrists and swing on plane, your adult mind understands this perfectly. You know what you have to do. But the part of the brain responsible for the swing doesn’t work like this. It can’t take that instruction and perform a proper motion.

So what you get is an ugly sort of over-controlled action that looks stiff and unnatural.

Evan: Sort of sums up a lot of golfers’ swings.

Cameron: It does. And it’s ugly because your system is manually trying to do the swing. It’s trying to cock your wrists and swing on plane. But it can’t. You’re overriding your own system and it can get ugly. Really ugly.

But then it gets worse.

Evan: What, it can get worse than this?

Cameron: We haven’t even started yet. It can get way worse than this.

So you’re struggling, your swing is horrible and you’re getting all sorts of terrible results. What happens next?

Evan: You try and fix it.

Cameron: Yes. You try and fix it with more information. You feed more words into your left brain, words that your golf brain can’t really use.

So the worse you play, the more info gets fed in. The more info you feed to your system, the more it struggles.

It’s an awful merry-go-round that is the cause of poor scores the world over. It’s the main cause of frustration, annoyance, anger and golfers quitting golf.


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But it gets worse.

Evan: How can it get worse than that?

Cameron: Try this on for size.

When you’ve been struggling for a while; and it could be 5 minutes, 5 months or 5 years something really strange happens.

Evan: What? What is it?

Cameron: You get tired and you stop feeding all that info into your brain. You give it a rest for a change because it is an exhausting way to play. You sort of snap out of all the thinking.

Then guess what happens?

Evan: [not sure] You play better?

Cameron: YES! When you finally give things a rest your subconscious takes over and does what it does best.

It hits the ball for you. And if you’ve been playing golf for more than a while, you’ll get some good shots. You might even get that unexpected good round that comes from nowhere.

Evan: But I don’t see where you’re going with this. Why is this bad? In my world, good golf is great!

Cameron: The good stuff isn’t the problem. The good stuff highlights your potential and gives you an injection of confidence and a surge of enthusiasm. It may just reignite your passion for the game and help you renew your membership for the following year. No, the good stuff isn’t the issue.

The issue is what happens after you play some good stuff. What invariably happens is your left brain goes onto overdrive,


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“Why am I hitting the ball so well?” “What am I doing right?” “I think I’m swinging slowly, this is why I’m hitting the ball so good” “I hope I can take this swing into next week, I’d be a certainty to beat Freddy!” “I’ve worked it out. I’ve finally got this golf thing worked out”

Evan: Arrgh. You’re right. This is exactly what happens. I’m guilty of this - my mind starts spinning as I attempt to work out what has gone right.

Cameron: And then what happens?

Evan: Bad golf.

Cameron: Yes. you return to the crappy golf because you are using the wrong part of your brain. You are trying to use your analytical part of your brain to work out why you’re playing well and then replicate.

But can you see how crazy this is? You’re playing well because you’ve stopped thinking. You’ve been able to light up your game because you’ve backed off for a bit and allowed your subconscious to take over.

But the second you get some success, your left brain kicks in and disrupts the process. It’s just crazy and almost no coach understands this. They keep feeding your brain with more instructions and this will almost certainly cause a short circuit.

And this gets incredibly frustrating for you because you keep getting a sniff of your true potential. And each time you think you’ve got it worked out, BANG! You’re back to where you started.

And the whole story repeats itself. You get mostly bad golf with just enough good thrown in to keep you interested. But the good stuff rarely lasts and you spend most of your days trying to work out why.


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And the solution is right in front of us! But we can’t see it because we’ve been brainwashed into thinking that our golf swing is the most important thing and we’re too scared to think outside the box.

In fact, we’re often not scared to think outside the box, we don’t even know to think outside the box because we’ve been conditioned not to. Doing something a little differently doesn’t even register with us because we’re so used to going with the flow. It’s almost like we’re in some sort of learned helplessness. It’s a sad reality of modern society.

You don’t know what you don’t know. So you keep doing the same thing over and over again but expect a different result. It really is madness!

Evan: So it really is just a matter of letting go and not worrying so much?

Cameron: Real breakthroughs are made when you understand what is going on here. When I tell golfers to stop thinking so much and swing freely they’re not really listening. They hear the words, but they’re not taking them in.

But when I explain that the part of the brain responsible for the swing can’t explain or understand language, that language confuses and gets in the way, my words make more sense.

This is no exaggeration: Every golfer, of every standard will play better golf if they learn to stop thinking so much when they play. If they can learn to swing freely and naturally they’ll almost always have a breakthrough of some description. And a breakthrough isn’t always going to mean a record score. It can be much simpler than that, but maybe more profound or meaningful.

Here’s some examples,

- the realisation that you’ve got the necessary talent and skill inside you

- that traditional instruction has let you down

- the feeling that you know HOW to play better and more consistent golf


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- being able to play as well, or better, under pressure

- the ability to deal with nerves and pressure

- learning how to control your mind

- discovering that golf is not has hard as you’ve made it

- actually enjoying the process of playing golf

- getting more out of golf than you have previously

- learning something each time you go play

- really “getting” the game and understanding why you play

-more satisfaction/enjoyment/meaning

- inner trust and belief in yourself

- the feeling of “knowing” you know how to play

- better performances with less stress and anxiety

-more awareness of their swing

These concepts are far removed from traditional instruction. You’re unlikely to hear a pro talk about “why you play the game” but this stuff is important if you’re going to get more from golf.

Yes the swing is important. But real breakthroughs are going to go deeper. They are going to give you real satisfaction and allow you to play your very best for the longest period of time.

The odd bad shot doesn’t need to be met with analysis or concern. Your bad shots need to be accepted as part of the game and you need to trust that your subconscious will learn from it.


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Improvement and learning doesn’t always happen at the conscious level. You’re not always going to be able to explain why you’re playing better - in fact you can’t - because language is not part of the deal. Things will feel right or you’ll have a certain feeling, but you won’t be able to explain things fully. It’s just not possible. Our language is terribly limited when it comes to explaining our feelings.

So stop trying. Accept this as normal and move on.

And this is getting back to the golfing mindset again - but golfers struggle to leave well enough alone. They like analysing. They like thinking. They like knowing what they’re doing right and wrong.

But it’s a flawed mindset and it’s holding you back. If playing good golf is important to you then YOU must stop all of the analysis. You’ve gotta stop fighting for control and let your right brain do what it does best. Your job is to enjoy the experience.

Playing for fun has always been a bit of a throwaway line. You can’t play for “fun” when you’re trying to control every part of your swing. It’s not fun when you feel your brain is about to burst. And it’s certainly not fun when you stand on the tee and can’t hit the ball. It’s horrible. It’s the opposite of fun and as a result, very few golfers can enjoy golf.

This is sad.

Fun happens when you get out of your way. No one has been able to teach fun to you because they’ve overloaded your little brain with 134 swing thoughts.

But when you can stand in the middle of the 18th fairway, after another good drive and hit that 5 iron onto the middle of the green to set up another 3 pointer, golf starts smelling really nice. When you’re able to bypass the nerves and the feelings of self-doubt and perform like a master, golf becomes the best sport in the world.


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Good golf. Scratch that. Great golf happens when you learn to work with your system rather than against. I’ve been calling this brand of play Remarkable Golf for years now. It’s “remarkable” because you never know how great your results will be. When you stop the rot you may just surprise yourself at how good your golf can become.

Evan: You talk about how our system doesn’t understand language too well, what can we do instead?

Cameron: Instead of feeding our system more information on top of more information we need to learn to feel what is going on. To “feel” requires awareness and awareness is the key to making significant progress with your game.

Tim Gallwey uses a “back hit” exercise throughout his coaching. To do it you need to feel the clubhead from the start of the swing then say “back” when it reaches the top and you say “hit” when you strike the ball. You can’t do this exercise without awareness.

Awareness stops our conscious mind dead in its track. It needs to take a back seat while the subconscious performs the motion. This is how we’re designed to do things.

I have another story that explains this further:

Babies go on an incredible learning curve in their first year or so of life. They learn to crawl and walk plus thousands of other motions - like feeding themselves and playing with toys etc. I’ve read that some learning experts believe these skills are some of the most complex we’ll ever learn.

And guess what? We learn these skills without the aide of language.

And it get’s even more interesting when you consider this. How would we go if we could understand language before we learned to walk?

Would it be easy, like it is now?


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Or, would it become impossible, like golf is for many thousands (or millions) of people?

I personally believe that the human race would die out. I’m sort of serious here because our parents would make learning to walk so hard, that almost no baby would ever get off the floor.

“Keep your head still Mary” “Make sure you keep your balance. Don’t overbalance. Look at mummy do it” “Not like that! You’ve got to swing your hips like this and then move your arms like this” “C’mon Billy, we’ve got to take you to walking classes now” “It’s time to practice your walking Billy ... your coach says you’re starting to get somewhere”

Even when kids can understand language, they rarely know enough so we can’t confuse them (or they don’t listen anyway). That’s why ankle biters can often pick up sports, like golf, really quickly. Much faster than adults anyway. And it’s why adults marvel at what young kids can do...

This all sounds ridiculous because we don’t learn to walk this way, but this is exactly how many of us try and play golf. We have gotten away from what comes naturally to us. We believe we can think our way to a better golf game and we can’t.

Evan: So you gave up on traditional ideas and pursued a more instinctive one?

Cameron: Yes. I stopped the rot so to speak. After almost two-years of stuffing around I once again gave up on the lessons and all the coaching. I walked away and went back to playing golf my way.

The turning point (there is always a turning point) was during a competition round where I was partnered with a mate of mine. I wasn’t playing that well and was struggling badly. The short version is my mate walked off the course -


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he couldn’t be bothered putting up with all of my terrible play. I think I missed every fairway up to the 15th hole and he called it a day.

I was shattered. Not only was my play absolutely terrible, but I let my mate down. He was hard on me, but at the time I felt like I deserved it.

At the crossroads, I had a decision to make. I could keep stuffing around, trying to swing correctly and follow the path of others, or I could go back to what worked for me. I stood up and decided then and there that I would play golf my way.

Evan: You drew a line in the sand.

Cameron: I did. At that moment I decided I wasn’t going to put up with shocking golf. I was fed up with all of the crap and I wanted to return to my winning ways. After two-years in the golfing wilderness, I was ready to follow my own path.

I realised at this point the golf world had failed me. All of the lessons, swing changes and coaching hadn’t worked.

Evan: What did you do?

Cameron: I slept on it. I was over golf and decided to tackle it again in the morning.


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Part 3 - Making Change

Evan: Righto. We’re getting somewhere here. So essentially, what you’re saying is that too much thought, analysis, technique and swing changes are not a good thing?

Cameron: Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying. And I know this sounds counter-intuitive but if you overload your brain with all those things golfers like to think about, you’ll play worse, not better.

And no matter what your conscious mind is telling you right now, the technical way of playing golf is NEVER going to work for you. You are not talented enough to bypass your learning system.

Evan: I’d now like you to go over how you got out of this golfing slump. What did you do the day after you woke from your golfing hell?

Cameron: Good stuff. It’s a long story but I guarantee you’ll get something out of this.

On the Monday morning after hell day I woke with something bubbling away inside me and a resolve to do better. I had a big tournament the following weekend and was determined not for a repeat performance.

I was a serious golfer and had a part-time job in a metal foundry that helped pay my way. Each morning I would get up at 6am, drive to the factory and cut 6 metre lengths of steel in half. It was a horrible job, but funded my golf addiction and gave me perspective on life (at least that’s what my parents told me).

Work lasted 4 hours. There was a 10 minute break at half time and then straight back into it. During the worse days the steel was heavy and the clock slow. Some days were definitely better than others. On the good days my mind would race as I’d solve the problems of the world and try and figure out my golf game. The four hours would fly by and I’d be outta there. I’d be changed and on my way to the golf course in 30 seconds. I never did one minute of


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overtime or felt bad for the workers who had to hang around for the rest of the day.

This day was going to be different. Today was the day I was going to work my golf game out. I left work in record time and headed straight to the golf course.

But there was a small problem.

I was just standing there, staring down the practice fairway, not sure what to do. I was a blank canvas, the world was my oyster but I didn’t know where to start. You could call it a golfer’s version of writer’s block.

Has this ever happened to you? You’re on holidays or recently retired and you think that now is the time to work on your game – but when you get to the practice fairway you don’t know what to do. Strange, isn’t it?

Experience tells me that many of us start hitting balls for the sake of it. There’s little objective or plan. We get exercise rather than any sort of improvement. It’s also a waste of time.

Things were different for me now, I was fed up, I had drawn a line in the sand. I wasn’t about to start wasting time and making the same mistakes. I really wanted to get my game back. I was desperate to get this golf thing sorted.

If someone pointed a gun to your head and said,

“Righto, hit that ball to that target. If you miss I’m gunna pull the trigger”.

What would you do? Do you have enough trust in your golf swing to perform or would you panic and start to shake?

It wouldn’t be a nice situation to be in, but this was the way I was thinking. I was desperate and needed answers. Take no prisoners if you will.

Here’s what you wouldn’t do.

You wouldn’t worry about your swing. And you wouldn’t care about HOW pretty the shot looked.


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Your focus would be on getting the ball to the target – not on the swing. You’d be focused with a clear goal (ball to target). All you’d want to do is find the target and your wouldn’t care how.

But this is not how most of us think. We like pretty. We’re obsessed with HOW we do it. Most of the time we’re so focused on HOW that maybe we forget what we’re trying to do in the first place.

Hitting the ball to a defined target has to be the goal.

We’re making progress here. Golf is all about hitting the ball to a defined target. We get to choose the target and the club that will do the job. Sometimes this is not easy,

“is it a 6 iron or a 7?”

or

“Should I layup or go for it?”

But you have to choose. Not choosing only leads to confusion – you’re a rudderless boat or a small business without a proper plan. You’re destined to fail.

Do you always have a clear goal on every shot? And don’t get lazy and say yes because you’re always trying to get the ball into the hole. Perfect shots are nice, but they’re not realistic. You miss a lot more than you make so you need a plan that can work around the fact that you don’t find the hole with every shot.

My little brain worked something out rather profound here. I realised that my game had no direction. I was playing a lot but not getting the results I wanted because I never defined them. I was too lazy to even choose a target. I was hoping for the best and getting a mixed bag of results – mostly crap.

Does any of this sound familiar?


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Evan: Sure does. I’ve been there and done that. Almost like I lacked a real purpose. And I reckon that most golfers, most amateur golfer at least, wouldn’t have a very clear target.

Cameron: Here’s a good bit: The reason I wasn’t focused was because I was so concerned about my swing. At this point I was taking a lot of golf lessons, weekly lessons on trying to perfect my technique. Maybe it was my fault, maybe the pros but most likely a combination of both. But I was lost and some sort of consistent game seemed like a long way off.

Choosing a target is only part of the equation. You still need to be able to get the ball there.

Hitting the ball is the hard part.

It would be nice if we could walk up to the ball, hit it and have it find the target each time. Nice, but it’s not realistic for most of us. In saying that, I believe all of us have the talent to hit the ball to target more of the time, but we need a slight mind-shift for it to happen.

Here’s what I mean.

We all try and hit the ball dead straight. We obsess with alignment and make sure we’re square. We love to see the ball fly dead straight. But is this obtainable? I think not.

To hit the ball dead-straight is almost a fluke. The clubface needs to be perfectly square and your swing path right on line. If either is slightly off, the ball will curve left or right. But if you didn’t care about the ball flight, only with getting the ball to the target, what would you do?

This is also profound because many of us have a natural shot shape. If you forget about all the crap and swing naturally, your ball flight will be predictable. It won’t fly straight, it will curve.

But we fight this predictability. We want to hit the ball straight. It’s rubbish. Most of the golf professionals we watch curve the ball. Almost all of the legends of the game maneuver the ball in some way. Try this on for size;


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Jack Nicklaus hit the fade Greg Norman hit a fade Gary Player played with a hook shot Tiger Woods loves working the ball Bubba Watson hits all sorts of shots but rarely a straight one

I remember a story from Harvey Penick. He used to give golf demonstrations during baseball games and would get the crowd to yell out shots they wanted him to hit.

“Hit a big slice” – Penick would hit a slice “Hit it high” – he’d hit the ball high “Hit it far” – he’d whack the ball over the back fence. “Hit it straight!” – That would always get him.

The straight shot is a myth. It’s not easy. It’s almost impossible.

I’d also found something funny with my game. When I was in trouble off the tee and needed to hit a curved recovery shot, I was almost always able to do so. That never really hit home to me until I really started to think about the game and the magic of having a clear intention (goal) for each shot.

For me the hook shot was easy. I could aim to the left and curve the ball back to the right (please remember I’m left handed). I rarely missed the shot. If someone put a gun to my head, I could definitely hit a hook shot time after time.

Things started making sense.

1. I wasn’t choosing a predetermined target

2. I wasn’t choosing my shot. A shot I knew I could hit each time

At the risk of repeating myself: Almost nobody gets this.We’re so preoccupied with convention we haven’t stopped to consider if there’s an easier/better way of playing the game. We don’t even realise that the chances of already having a good game inside us is extremely high.


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Evan: Agreed. There’s a lot of information out there but there’s not a lot that is as simple and profound as I’m hearing right now.

Cameron: I picked out my 8 iron (the 7 and 8 irons a great clubs to work with. They are long enough to get good distance but are short enough in length to make learning a little easier) and set up two targets about 5 metres apart down the fairway.

My goal/objective was to start the ball at the left target and then curve it back to the right one.

Note: I’m left-handed.

Pretty simple, eh? It was simple but vastly different to what I was doing previously. My mind wasn’t occupied with swing rules, technique or any other rubbish. My goal was very basic:

Start the ball at target #1 and draw/hook it back to target #2.

My “natural” swing and subconscious would be free to work out all the minor details – like hitting the ball.

This way of playing is very normal for me now. It is second nature. It’s automatic. But back in the day I was full of all sorts of excitement. And I was excited because I was getting results. The ball was able to find the target most of the time. I’m not exaggerating here. I was experiencing success more often than failure. For a struggling golfer this is big news.

I changed clubs. This time a 5 iron. The targets moved further away and I separated them a little (the longer the club the more sidespin you put on the ball – the more they curve) and once again I was getting success. Wow! This really does work.

I went through all of my clubs and kept getting a successful result. I could start the ball to the left target and it would come back to the right. At some point during this practice session I was joined by my mate. He was like me, battling around the amateur circuit, trying to find a game and hoping he could “work it out”. He was inconsistent but had plenty of promise.


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I didn’t say anything to him, just kept hitting my draw shot. He went through the standard routine – which was like my old routine – hit and hope. After a while he stopped and said, “Strachan, you’re flushing the ball today, whatchya working on?”

“Not much”, I said. “A bit of this and a bit of that. But yeah, they’re coming off really well.”

I struggled to contain my excitement. I knew I was onto something and it was different from other times when I thought I had “found it”. But I never told my mate what I was on to. Not sure why, but I didn’t want him to laugh at me and think I was weird, I just kept doing my thing. Interestingly he never spotted the fact I was playing with a draw/hook shot. It could have been the fact he was more concerned with his own game but I suspect that to the unsuspecting eye the shots look like they were going straight.

Normally, when hitting balls, something would almost always click and I’d start hitting the ball like a champion. But it would never last. The second I changed clubs or target, whatever I had found would be lost. I’d then spend the next hour/week/month/year searching for it. From here golf became some sort of unhealthy obsession of always tinkering and always on the lookout for the little bit of magic. But it never lasted and it was so bloody frustrating never being able to replicate good results.

I finished up with a hard, low two-iron. For about the 134th time that afternoon, the ball started to the left and curved back towards target. The shot was flush and it felt good. Really good.

By now I wanted to go play. I had an urge like I hadn’t had in years to go out and play the game. It was like being 14 again, how I would run home from school, grab my clubs and then run to the golf course. I was excited and couldn’t wait to go play. Golf was good again and I felt there was some light at the end of the tunnel.

Evan: Let me get this right. You pretty much didn’t change your swing or anything like that. You committed to the target and attempted to hit the ball with your shot?


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Cameron: Yes. Pretty simple concept, eh? I should also add that curving the ball makes you way more accurate. Here’s what I mean.

If I try and hit a ball dead straight and manage to do it, then fantastic, I’ve hit the perfect shot and I’ll be in great shape. The problem is the ideal straight shot is extremely difficult to do - it’s close to impossible.

If I do make a mistake the ball is likely to go left or right. My misses are completely random and therefore hard to control.

When I stick with my shot, let’s say a draw, the game changes. It’s almost like cheating.

1. It’s unlikely I’ll hit a fade/slice. I don’t know why this is the case, but when you lock in your shot, that’s what you get. You might over or under do the amount of curve, but you’re not going to get the double-cross, where the ball goes the other way.

2. Because you know what the ball is doing you swing with more confidence. You can aim at the trouble and then move the ball away from that trouble.

3. You have more margin for error. You work the ball towards the target, you can aim left and move the ball back to the right. If you under do this a bit, you’re still in good shape. If you overdo the curve, even by a bit, you’ll still be way better off.

4. You get better really quickly. Because you hit this shot nearly all of the time you get lots of practice at it. The more you do it the better you get.

5. You have a crystal clear objective each time you play. This is key. You’re telling your brain exactly what it is you’re trying to do. Your subconscious then finds a way to do what you want it to.

6. It looks really cool. When you’re able to maneuver the ball around the course and hit the shots you intend, it feels great and looks fantastic. It’s just how the pro’s play.

7. You almost need an excuse NOT to hit your shot. Even if the course design or hole location doesn’t suit, you can find a way to play your game.


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Evan: This is so simple but makes sense! I want to go hit balls right now. What would you say to someone who says they don’t have a natural swing or shot shape?

Cameron: Mostly this is resistance to learning. If you’ve been playing for any length of time you’ll definitely have a preferred shot. Remember, if I held a gun to your head what shot would you try if you absolutely had to find the target?

But because a lot of current instruction is focussed around the quick-fix mindset, we’re not encouraged to think, “gun to your head”. It’s all too easy to go find another tip, coach, club or something else. But when you’re forced to do something, when you’ve got no other option, good things can and do happen.

And this is a really important part of my coaching: I’m asking you to think like a professional or serious athlete. You have to remove the backup plan and stop relying on the fact that you can hit another ball.

Evan: It’s a good point. You’re not saying go find some magical new swing - all your asking the golfer to do is trust his own best version of his swing. I like it, a lot.

Cameron: Tick. Exactly. And if you’re a keen golfer, who has been playing for a while, there will be a shot that you’re comfortable with. You’ve just got to trust yourself long enough to make it happen.

And I can guarantee that your new favourite shot will not be straight. You’ll want to curve the ball. For many this will be a fade/slice but it can be whatever you want it to be.

Evan: How did you go when you took this new mindset out onto the golf course?

Cameron: I can still remember this like it was yesterday. The first hole was a left to right dogleg par 4, downhill with a large green, protected by a tiny bunker on the front left.

The course is no longer here (long since been taken over for a housing estate)


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but the opening tee shot was a good one. The tee was on the high point of the course and the neighboring mountain range offered the perfect back drop.

I aimed for a spot on the left side of the fairway, chose the 3 iron and let rip. My swing, instantly freer than the week before, produced another perfect shot. The ball found the fairway and I ran after it. This was almost too good to be true.

The second shot was 140 metres to the pin. I chose the 8 iron, aimed left of the pin with the clear intention of bringing the ball back to the right. Whack! I nailed it. The ball started drawing back towards the flag. The ball was all over it. It looked like it would go in. For a moment I thought I had slammed dunked the shot. I hadn’t. I had airmailed the green by 15 metres.

Evan: Really?

Cameron: Yeah. The shot was pure but it went too far. This was going to take some adjustment.

I repeated my little mission throughout the round. I was having such a good time that I kept playing. I wanted more and I certainly wasn’t stopping after the 9th. The day was full of memorable shots. There was the odd bad shot but nothing too disastrous and absolutely nothing that bad that could dent my enthusiasm or confidence.

By the time I reached the 18th I was pumped. I was walking on air. The last was another left to right dogleg but this time a par 5. It returned to the high point of the course, so although it was only 424 metres, it played much longer. My drive was a beauty, it hugged the middle of the fairway and once the curve took affect, followed the shape of the hole. I absolutely nailed it and received another injection of confidence.

Where was this feeling last week? I was a new golfer and hitting shots I hadn’t experienced in a long time.

My drive finished past the 150 metre markers. This was a long drive, further than anything I’d hit before. It was almost like I was inside someone else’s body, I couldn’t believe what was happening but it sure felt great.


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I chose the 8 iron for the approach. Felt my body adjust to the left and the club pointing in the direction of the hole. I swung. I knew instantly that it was a great shot. The ball took off high into the sky, it was a towering shot that did exactly what I’d hoped for. It came down right on line with the flag. The uphill slope obscured the putting surface so I didn’t know how close the ball had finished.

It was close. The ball had plugged 6 inches from the hole for a tap in eagle. I was in a haze. I couldn’t talk. I was in shock. What have I done? Have I worked out golf?

Not sure what score I had shot but I was well under par. The 8 iron into the last was perhaps the best shot I’d ever hit. Plus there was the long drive and all the other interesting experiences from the day. I started out as a confused and frustrated golfer, it was ending with me feeling like a master.

I washed my face with cold water. Spent a few moments on the putting green to gather myself and then went home. I slept well.

Evan: So you sort of worked things out? Being able to take your game to the course is such a good feeling. I must say, with all the golf I’ve played, it hardly ever happens.

Cameron: It doesn’t happen that often for the reasons we’ve spoken about. But I wasn’t home just yet. I still needed to test my theories.

Playing well one day is great. Being able to reproduce it is something different altogether. This is something I’m sure you’ve experienced time after time. For club golfers, the frustration lies in shooting a good score one day and then the next day playing like a beginner. Maybe more annoying, is feeling like you’ve approached both days in the same way but getting results miles apart.

As golfers, we all have the ability to shoot a good score. Very few of us can do it consistently. This is the challenge.

When I got to the course the next afternoon I knew what I needed to do. There was no need to work on my swing or try something new. I needed to be clear with my objective and let fly with my natural swing.


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And once again I got similar results. I could start the ball left of the target and it kept coming back to the right. It was too easy. It didn’t matter what club I used, my draw/hook shot was reliable.

Could golf really be this simple? I had tried so hard for so long and never experienced any sort of real success (for many years at least. When I first started playing I won a lot and was on a sharp learning curve – things got ugly when I tried to change my technique). So the week went really quickly. I worked each morning at the foundry and then headed for the golf course in the afternoon. The ball was on a string and I was feeling confident about the weekend tournament. I was ready.

Evan: Let me get this very clear because it’s important. Once you started freeing up your swing and playing with your draw, you stopped working on your golf swing?

Cameron: Yes. I was done with all of that. I was 100% focused on playing my shot with the most free flowing swing I could muster. I didn’t give a stuff about HOW I was getting the ball to the target. All I cared about was finding the target.

Evan: So how did you go in the tournament?

Cameron: Amateur golf in Victoria can be a bit of a mission. Although Victoria is small compared to the other mainland states, it’s big enough. Almost all events are 36 holes and we play all over. The Shepparton Open was a 72 hole event, with 36 holes played on the Saturday and then 36 more on Sunday.

It was a new event. Two smaller events combining to produce a bigger and better event. 72 hole tournaments were not the norm so this event attracted a class field.

I used to travel to these events with a mate of mine and we’d share the driving. Shepparton was a 2.5 hour drive, and with an 8am hit off, it was going to be an early start.

I couldn’t sleep. When I closed my eyes I couldn’t stop thinking about the


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week. I had gone from hopeless, to feeling like a champion. And something was buzzing inside me, I sort of knew I was going to play well this upcoming weekend. This never happened to me. Normally I’d be nervous as hell and worried about embarrassing myself. But something was different here and I couldn’t get to sleep.

I tossed and turned all night. I was still awake at 4am. Fed up, I got up, had a shower and got ready. My mate arrived at 5am and we were off.

The drive to Shepparton from Melbourne is pretty easy. It’s highway most of the way and I wasn’t driving anyway. I had pulled rank and was trying to get some much needed sleep.

It was no use. I was all worked up and edgy. My state probably resulted in me feeling sick. At first I thought it was nerves but then the nausea set in. I wanted to vomit. I wanted the car to stop. My mate took a wrong turn and we got lost. Shit! Why does all this stuff happen to me?

We finally got to the golf course a few minutes before 8am. I was a strange colour of green and feeling like death warmed up. I couldn’t hold back any longer

Baaaarghhhhhf!

I spray painted the car park with my cornflakes. I felt better and then heard,

“Would Cameron Strachan please make his way to the 10th tee. Your group is waiting for you”

Great. No warm up. Vomit breath and now I have to go play. I found the tee, shook hands and tried to get myself organized. I stole some time by getting the playing partners to hit first.

The nerves kicked in. I reminded myself to stick to the game plan. This was novel. Normally I’d get more nervous and try and remember how to swing the club. The thought of a game plan settled me and kept my mind quiet. So far so good.

The 10th hole was a dogleg to the left. It didn’t suit my draw shape but I wasn’t


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about to let that stop me. The hole was actually a good one, there was a fairway bunker on the inside on the hole and thick trees to the right. The no-go spot were the trees on the right.

I chose the 3 wood and went for it. It wasn’t that great a shot (no surprise really) but it was manageable. It started low and then hooked to the right. It ran through the fairway but stopped short of the trees. Remember? Playing with a curve increases your margin of error.

I wiped the rest of the vomit from my mouth, had a drink of water and took off to find my ball.

Because the tee shot had gone too far, I was blocked out slightly by the over hanging branches. The shot required a low draw. Perfect! This is my game. I can do this. This isn’t too hard. I hit the ball my way and saw it start low and then bend around, running up on to the green. This is easy!

“Great shot”, said my player partners.

Two putts later and I had a par. It’s always nice to start with a par isn’t it?

The early part of the round wasn’t that exceptional. I was finding the fairway with my draw shot and then hitting the green with the approaches. All really standard and how you’d think a low handicapper should play. But it’s not.

My playing partners were all over the place. Hitting wild hooks and crazy slices. They made bogeys and doubles and were making my “par golf ” look good. The 7th was a short par three with a bunker eating into the right edge of the green. The Superintendent must have been in a bad mood as he had cut the pin behind the bunker. From the tee it almost looked like the pin was in the bunker.

“This is bullshit, it’s not fair”, said one of the guys. “How are we supposed to play this hole?”

I wasn’t worried at all – actually, I had a shot to get the ball close. I grabbed the wedge aimed further to the left, hooded the clubface closed and swung. The ball came out low with a big banana shape draw. The ball pitched in the middle of the green, scooted forward and then spun to the right, about 8 feet


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from the hole.

Evan: Let me butt in here. If the hole was reversed and the pin and bunker were on the other side, how would you play it?

Cameron: Good question. This is a matter of dealing with reality. Not every shot is going to suit us so we have to accept this. Problems arise when we get cranky and try and change “our” shot. There are times when we must hit a different shot, like when we’re behind a tree, but for the most part, we should stick with our favourite one.

Evan: So you’d play your draw shot?

Cameron: Most likely. I’d aim at the pin and draw the ball towards the middle of the green. It wouldn’t end up that close, but it would be safely on the green.

Evan: But aren’t we trying to get every shot close to the pin?

Cameron: I think this attitude causes golfers a lot of issues. They push too hard. They try too hard. They put too much pressure on themselves. They would be far better hitting “their” shot, even if this means hitting the ball away from the flag.

Some shots are NOT going to suit us so we need to play conservatively. But others ARE and it’s these shots we can play with a more positive outlook. I say “outlook” over “attitude” because even those really conservative shots require a positive attitude.

Let’s get back to the story.

I made the putt for birdie to go under the card. I was making progress - this was a shot of a tour player, not some left-handed golf hack who last week was pathetic.

The 9th hole was a par 5 and once again I found the fairway. Not all of my shots were coming off pure. There was a bit of ugliness about them but most shots were in play. I was not driving myself out of the game.


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This is such an important part of golf. You are never going to stripe every shot pure – that’s not the game. There will always be some rubbish and a huge key is to ensure that a majority of your bad shots are still in play.

My drive on 9 was just behind my playing partner’s ball. I selected the 2 iron and played my now favourite shot. The low draw. It was easy for me and I could rely on it. In fact, up to this point in the round I had used it off a couple of the shorter par 4’s with success. It was a “go-to” shot.

Years later I can still remember the feeling of that shot. It was pure, “Mother’s milk” as a friend of my likes to say. It sailed low and hard and headed for the green.

“Great swing”, said one of the guys.

Great swing? Wow. This had never happened to me before. These guys were commenting on my swing. To this point in time I couldn’t ever recall a playing partner telling me I had made a “great swing”.

The other guy hit his 3 wood, he was trying to get onto the green. He also hit a good shot. I was walking up ahead and noticed the ball further from the green wasn’t mine. It was the guy who had hit the longer drive. I stepped aside and waited for him to take his shot.

There was some confusion when he reached the ball because he probably thought it was my ball. I started further back than him and hit a 2 iron. With a head start, he had struck a good 3 wood.

“Are you going to play your ball Cameron?”

“Mate, that’s your ball, it’s a Titleist 3 and I’m playing a two”.

He was surprised. My ball was at least 30 metres in front, just short of the green. Rattled, he dumped his ball in the bunker?

“Christ! How far do you hit that 2 iron? I nailed that 3 wood and am miles behind you”.

It was an awesome feeling. For the first time in competition I was really


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playing the game. I was striking some great shots and playing what I now call Remarkable Golf.

I chipped close and made birdie. I turned 2 under the card, my best score ever for 9 holes in a serious competition.

Two things got my attention as we walked to the pro shop for some much needed nutrition. One, the wind was really howling. I hadn’t noticed to this point, either it had just picked up or I was completely in the zone and oblivious. And two, my feet were killing me. My new shoes were giving me hell and I could feel two blisters brewing on the back of each heel.

I was playing too well to care about the blisters and the wind wasn’t an issue for me. My draw shot was able to bite through the wind and keep me out of trouble. The murmur around the pro shop was the course was tough and the scores high. I didn’t know what the complaining was about but I suppose when you’re playing well you tend not to notice the trouble.

The second nine was uneventful, I made eight pars and a solitary bogey. On any other day I would have been thrilled with shooting 1 over for nine holes but I was ho-hum about it. Neither thrilled nor upset. It just was.

My score of 1 under was the best of the morning round. A local lad had shot par and some of the better players had come in with 73s and 74s. I was leading! This was something new for me and I was determined to stick with my plan. While most of the contenders probably thought I would fade away, I knew better. I had a weapon – I had the basis of a winning routine.

My game in the afternoon was predictable. I kept setting up for my draw shot and the ball was finding the fairway and greens. The wind was strong so it wasn’t easy to make birdies, but I was making lots of pars. I knew I was going well and unless someone was having a brilliant afternoon round, I was still going to be in front.

I got distracted a few times, especially on the right to left holes that didn’t suit my draw shot. Instead of going with the flow and playing them conservatively, I got ahead of myself and tried to play the slice. Learning to shape the ball both ways is a great skill to have but when leading your first


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tournament and having so much success with one shot, it was stupid to change. I made some bogeys but was able to birdie others to keep the momentum going.

When I reached the 17th hole I was level par for the afternoon round. The blisters on each heel were biting hard and I was looking forward to getting those bloody shoes off (why one would wear new shoes for a massive weekend of golf is still beyond me. I used to do a lot of silly things back then when it involved golf).

The 17th hole was a tough one. The wind was hurting from the right and the hole swept around to the left. I was nervous. I wanted to finish the round off strongly. I certainly didn’t want to do anything crazy and ruin all of my hard work. I also learned from some of my earlier mishaps and stuck with my “go-to” shot. The temptation was to hit the driver over the corner of the dogleg, leaving a shorter shot in. But this was risky. I had to fight the wind and any shot going too far left or right would find serious trouble. I chose the 3 iron instead, aimed for the centre of the fairway and hit one of those low bullet draws. The shot came out nicely, the wind negated any hook spin and the ball found the fairway.

The approach was a little longer than I wanted but in no trouble, sitting 182 metres from the pin. With the wind now helping slightly I chose the 6 iron and played another perfect shot. It’s hard to describe the satisfaction and joy a shot like this brings. A perfect shot – the ball flying exactly how you want and imagined it would. It’s this that makes golf such an enjoyable game. It really is like magic. And when you can hit a “perfect” shot under pressure the satisfaction is intensified. Par.

The 18th hole spooned the 17th. This meant the last hole bent around to the right, suiting my draw shot. The only serious trouble was far right – if I happened to hit a snap hook the ball could go out of bounds. This was no time to do anything stupid, all I needed to do was make one good swing and I’ll be in great shape. It’s funny, despite having the best golfing day of my life, there was still some self-doubt.

- don’t hit a snap hook


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- don’t lose your ball and take double bogey

- you’re under the card for 35 holes, you’ve never beaten par before, don’t stuff things up now

- you don’t deserve to play this well

- if you have a really bad hole here you could lose the day

- if you win today you’ll have to make a speech. What are you going to say? You don’t like public speaking, you’ll be nervous.

I call that little voice in your head Pesky. Pesky is a shit! And if you pay too much attention to him you’ll never play your best golf. Pesky likes to be the centre of attention and wants all the accolades for stellar performances. He is also all too willing to protect you from making mistakes, this is why he feels it necessary to point out every possible scenario. Pesky is a distraction and you’ll play way better if you ignore him.

Standing on the 18th hole that day I didn’t understand Pesky as well as I do now. He had dominated my golf life for the last few years but I was too blind to see the destruction of his ways. But today was different. Pesky wasn’t an issue. He wasn’t bugging me and I was playing golf the way I wanted. I was free and it felt better (except for the pain of the blisters) then any other day of golf I’d played.

I absolutely nailed the last tee shot. I hit three-wood and it came off like a bullet, darting up the fairway and then having the draw spin and wind push it around the corner. It was a pure shot, one that comes right out of the middle and has something special about it that separates itself from all of the other shots we hit.

My mate was playing the 17th hole as I reached my ball in the fairway. He walked over and shouted out,

“How ya going knackers, still ripping it?”


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“I’m doing ok mate”

“What’s your score?”

“Level par this arvo”

“Really? Good going, finish it off”

I think he was surprised that I was still playing well. The wind was howling and the tree-lined course certainly had taken some causalities.

My mate waved to his playing partners, indicating with a single finger pointing to the ground that I was one under the card for the day. It felt good to be the centre of attention but I still had work to do.

The second shot was around 100 metres. The pin was cut front left behind a deep bunker and the wind was coming from the left – making the shot even harder.

This was no time to back down – with a mini crowd watching I hit a controlled wedge. The ball will never draw much with these shorter clubs, but I still played for one. In this instance I needed to allow extra or the wind, so the ball started left of the green. It took off on line and drifted back to the flag.

The ball came down gently, right on top of the flag. I couldn’t see the putting surface as the shot was uphill and the lip of the bunker was raised.

“Great shot knackers!”, said my mate as he trundled off after his ball.

The ball was 3 foot past the pin. It had landed only inches from the hole and pulled up quickly. I waited as my playing partners finished off their game, mind racing, reliving what had transpired on this day.

Pesky was also kicking in.

“Don’t miss it, you’ll feel bad”

“Don’t three-putt”


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“Just tap it close and settle for par”

I hit a shocker of a putt. Actually left a small downhill putt short of the hole, it was the worse putt I had hit all day. Pesky had gotten to me but I didn’t really care. I tapped in and had achieved my best ever golfing achievement.

Evan: You left the putt short? Bloody idiot!

Cameron: I know. It was a bad putt. I got out of my routine on that one.

Once the score card was signed I took off my shoes. Relief! My poor feet were in bad shape but nothing a well-deserved beer couldn’t solve. My mate gave me some ribbing over missing the short putt on the last but I had a 6 shot lead and had won my first 36 hole event.

The world was good.

I slept like a log – no sleep, 2.5 hour drive, vomiting, blisters and 36 holes of golf will sort anyone out.

In the morning I had a strange feeling. Normally when I played two-day events I was miles behind. I had no chance of winning and would be getting to the course early to make up numbers. But this Sunday morning was different. I was leading and was playing in the last group.

The leaders were paired together and I was joined by two really good players, guys who had won events before, and were somewhat veterans of the amateur scene (despite us all being around the same age). This was a test for me, never had I slept on a lead and never had I played with good players vying for a tournament win.

I wanted to do well. Deep down I knew I had played some great golf the day before. But I also knew that many would see it a fluke. If I bombed out then I’d lose respect and my fellow golfers would see me as a one hit wonder. I was determined to show everyone.

The previous week’s events had really stirred me – I think this is where the internal resolve came from. I was a different golfer and riding a wave of success that I wasn’t about to leave.


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Over breakfast I made a commitment to stick to my draw shot from the tee. I also decided to play conservatively on the trouble holes and not get distracted by playing stupid shots – the draw was my go-to shot and would (hopefully) keep me out of too much trouble.

The 2nd day was contested over another course. This one was longer, more of a championship course. The fairways were certainly wider but heavily tree lined. The key was certainly to get the ball in play from the tee and do everything possible to find the small greens. Any sort of miss, either from the tee or the approach would leave little chance of saving par.

The practice putting green was right near the first tee and it was a lot of fun to stand around as the leader. The attention was nice and it was a surprise to receive so many handshakes and pats on the back. I’m not sure many other sports would have the same camaraderie. As 9.30 am neared I got more and more nervous.

The first hole was a straightaway par 5 but tight. The huge Eucalyptus and Pine trees overlooked the fairway. It wasn’t that long a hole, but a premium was placed on accuracy. A few guys had to run back to the tee because their opening shot had remained in trees. Not ideal.

When my turn was called to play I teed the ball on the right side of the tee. This gives me the best angle to start the ball left and let it draw back to the right. It was the same routine I had followed on every drive the day before and I wasn’t about to stop that. Another thing that had worked well for me was to swing hard. I noticed when I really let go and let rip, I was hitting better and better shots. Where previously I’d try and swing “slow” or “slower” I was going for it and almost swinging flat out.

Evan: Hang on champ. What are you talking about here? Hitting the ball hard goes against the grain. Aren’t we meant to swing slowly/smoothly etc?

Cameron: I know. It’s crazy and one reason why I’m so against the norm. I have found time and time again the best way to get out of a slump is to hit your way out. Just stand up and swing like there’s no tomorrow.

When you’re under pressure, I have found you should swing hard. Trying to


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baby the ball or steer the swing almost always leads to disaster. So yes, I reckon you should forget about swinging slow and just bust the ball. Give it a go, it will surprise you.

My opening drive was a ripper. It came out with a high draw, easily outdriving my more fancied opponents and leaving a little under 200 metres to the green. It was a good start and it felt good to be walking. I had even solved the blister situation by packing each heel with around 10 Band-Aids. Things couldn’t be better.

I flushed a 4 iron that found the fat part of the green. Two-putts later and I was off with a birdie. If a par start is good, a birdie start is awesome. The 3rd hole was another par 5 and my superior ball striking found the front of that green in two – I made another birdie and was looking good. My opponents couldn’t keep up with me, they were falling behind.

When I stood in the middle of the 8th fairway I was 2 under for the day and playing nicely. This approach needed some precaution – the pin was tucked way right with a deep drop off to the right. This was no time for anything fancy - I stuck to my plan of avoiding serious trouble by aiming well left of the pin and hitting the draw shot – by now my play was second nature – the shot finished 15 feet left of the pin by the time it had stopped rolling. I replaced my divot and continued on. I was learning stuff here, it was like this type of strategy made the game easier – there was no need to go for every shot, golf was more about playing the percentages and then letting things happen.

The putt was easy – straight uphill and I nailed it in the middle.

“You’re putting really well”, said Tim, one of the playing partners.

“Yeah, I’m seeing them well”, I replied.

I was a little annoyed with Tim’s comment. “Putting well?”, was he serious? I didn’t think my putting was anything special. I was making most of the short putts and I was certain I hadn’t had any three-putts, but I was hardly setting the greens alight with brilliant putting.

“The boys yesterday said you made everything you looked at. Putted the spots


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off the ball”, said Tim.

“Oh, ok.” I didn’t know what to say.

These guys were kidding themselves. Here I was, absolutely ripping the ball from the tee and hitting almost every green and they think the reason I’m playing well is because of good putting. I thought they had lost the plot.

There may have been some story telling on their part to help justify (to themselves) why I was playing so well. It’s often the case in the amateur game to explain a good round, especially by a higher ranked player. If a player has a great score it can often be attributed to incredible putting. It’s a little unfair because putting is a large part of the game but in my case I thought they were wrong.

The conversation rattled me a little. A pull hooked my drive on 9 (another par 5) and made my first bogey of the day. I was angry that I let them get to me and more annoyed that I had dropped a shot on the easiest hole on the course. Both playing partners birdied the hole, further annoying me.

I thought back to how bad things were the same time last week. My mate Gary was pissed off at me, I literally couldn’t hit the ball and I’ve never felt so pathetic on a golf course.

This helped get my mind back on track - I stopped feeling sorry for myself.

My consistent play continued on the back nine. On the 17th hole I was 4 under for the day and completely over any nerves. I was focused too, not worried about anything or anyone, I was playing my game.

The 17th hole is a beauty, it’s a tough par 3, about 185 metres in length with a green that sits sideways at you. You hit across a small valley, over a bunker and then try and hold the narrow green. The pin was tucked to the left behind the cavernous bunker and the shot was crying out for something to be played safely right of the pin.

I felt I was hitting the ball too well to be playing safe, I wanted to go for it and make the round something special. I selected the 5 iron and went for the hero shot – my goal was to hit a high hook and try get the ball close.


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Whack! It was another fine shot. It looked like it was going to be close as the draw worked perfectly and the ball was coming down just to the left of the flag.

Thud! The ball failed to clear the lip of the bunker by a bee’s knee and buried itself under the lip. From here I took a couple of swipes to get out and made a 5. It wasn’t ideal but I was pretty pumped about the shot I’d hit into the green – these special shots I was hitting were adding up and I had only been going a week. How good was I going to become in a few months?

I pared the last for a two under 70. I was three under for the tournament and now had extended my lead to eleven shots. 11 shots! Even Greg Norman couldn’t lose from here.

The only real issue were the blisters. The band-aids had worn (or moved) and the blisters were giving me grief. And it was hard to get going after sitting down for lunch.

Evan: You poor thing!

Cameron: I know I needed to toughen up.

They say the hardest thing to do is win for the first time. History is littered with guys who take years and have lots of near misses before they have a breakthrough win. Before this event I had never gone close to winning an open amateur event. I’d won things at a club level, but nothing outside of that.

It was a strange feeling to play the last round with and 11 shot lead. When I started birdie, par, birdie my lead was 15. 15 shot lead with 15 holes to play. This is when things hit me - I was playing out of my skin and making some of the best amateur players in the state look ordinary.

Pesky duly stepped up to the plate. On the 4th hole I hit my only blocked drive of the weekend. Instead of starting the ball down the left and letting it draw back to the right, the ball started left and went further in that direction. It all came about because Pesky screamed, “don’t go right!” at the top of my backswing. I was silly enough to notice and made some funky move that ensure the ball didn’t visit the neighboring houses. He is good like that Mr.


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Pesky.

Bogey.

On the 5th (par 3) I had a shocker. I over compensated the block shot and hit a pull hook. I then dumped the pitch into the bunker and had three putts. 6! A triple bogey. In the space of two holes my lead had gone from 15 to 10. I was starting to think. I was trying to work out a way to lose. I was playing the same way I normally did. Arrgh!

The fact that I was so far in front settled me. Here’s the conversation I had with myself on the back of the 6th tee.

“C’mon Strachan. You’re miles in front and need to get it together. You’ve played two bad holes and there’s nothing to panic about – get your shit together”.

The little pep talk helped. I shot par on the 6th and normality was restored. There’s nothing like a solid hole to get you going again. It’s exactly what was needed. Sometimes we can try too hard and just get in the way – the solid hole at the right time certainly steadied the ship.

By the back nine I had almost wrapped the thing up. The only issue were those nasty blisters. By the 15th I had to take my shoes off between shots – this was the only way I could walk. Each time I tried to slip the shoes back on I’d rip the inflamed wound further. At one point I even considered playing in my socks.

I finished really badly. I bogeyed the 16th and 17th holes and took a double up the last. My last drive was a complete disgrace, a massive block cut deep into the woods – was almost like Pesky wanted to have the final say and didn’t want me to walk off the course with a positive last experience. He is a complete bastard at times. But I still won (I think by 7 shots)/

Despite the finish, I was thrilled. Tired but thrilled. I beat a very good field over 72 holes. My new approach to the game had proven to me I could play and gave me many lasting memories. I thought I was going to win every week and I had finally worked this golf thing out.


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Evan: What would you put your bad finish down to? Or didn’t it even bother you?

Cameron: Yeah, I shot 81. I think I only needed to shoot 78 and I would have cleaned up, winning both 36 hole events and the overall. So I was a little disappointed.

I have thought about that last round a lot. I’m not sure why, but I think I was trying to figure out my mistakes and learn from it. Not sure if this is the right thing to do because over analysing is rarely a good thing. But if your are going to do it, best you do it after your rounds.

I put it down to a combination of the tiredness, blisters and the moment. I had never won before and it really was a big thing for me. It proved I could play and play quite well. I hit enough good shots that weekend to make me feel like I could be a really good golfer. I got over the disappointment pretty quickly.

If you’re keen, I’d like to tell you one more really important story about this golf learning curve I was on. It involved the following week at the next tournament stop.

Evan: Yeah, go for it. I’m learning a lot here.

Cameron: The following week I was down to play a country pro-am. This meant another early start and a long drive. But this time I did the driving and didn’t get car sick. I was also confident of playing well. The draw shot showed no signs of leaving me and I had played and practiced well during the week.

I was hitting off the 10th tee and was paired with an amateur guy I knew well and a very good professional player who had had some success on the pro tour - he hadn’t won anything major, but he finished well up in some tournaments and was prolific on the Pro-am circuit.

The amateur section was nowhere near as strong as last week and my goal was to win that and beat some professionals along the way. My confidence didn’t last long...

The 10th was a par 3, downhill and not too difficult. I didn’t fully commit to


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the shot and left the 6 iron out to the left. It didn’t draw back. It wasn’t a biggie, but I felt slightly deflated as I wanted to hit a nice shot in front of the 100 or so spectators occupying the starting holes.

Then things got ugly. I overplayed the chip and run and hit it over the green. Was short on the second chip, ran the first putt too far past (was trying too hard to make it) and ended up taking triple bogey. Ouch.

There’s nothing like a triple to dent your confidence and bring the ego back to earth. It was the worst start possible and I didn’t want to be there. The entire thing was a debacle and I threw away at least two-strokes.

“You’re an idiot”

“You’re better than this”

“It’s not fair”

“You come all this way and you play like this”

My mind was racing. And things didn’t get any better, I bogeyed the next two holes and seriously wanted to go home. My game was lost and I had reverted back to my old ways.

I’d like to say that I was able to turn things around. I didn’t. The weekend was a complete waste of time and I played terribly. The positive memories from the previous week were gone and I had a four-hour drive to contemplate what had happened.

This three-week stretch was the most important in my short golf career. I had stumbled upon something that allowed me to play well, but I was also fragile, not quite ready to step up to the plate on a consistent basis. If I’m honest, my game had improved but I wasn’t able to replicate the really good form that saw me claim my first victory. It took me years to work it all out and the journey still continues. But I’d like to share with you the most important aspects of what transpired. Best of all, these are the take home lessons you can apply right away.

Clear Intention: The biggest thing the draw shot gave me was a clear


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intention of what it was I was trying to do. I now think this is the most important thing you can have when trying to play golf. For many years I was sort of playing something that resembled hockey. I didn’t really know what I was trying to do. Worse, for much of the time my mind was obsessed with swing rules and technique. This is not a good combination for playing your best.

Here’s the process; On each shot, I would firstly try and find a way to make my draw shot work for me. I found that even if the hole shape or pin location didn’t immediately suit, I could find a way to compensate. Usually this meant a conservative strategy (playing away from the hole), but this was typically better than trying to manufacture something contrived.

A clear intention is like having a well laid out business plan. You would never go into business without planning some of your steps – golf should be no different. An intention is more than picking a target. “Target only” thinking quickly results in you getting sloppy (read lazy) and falling off the band wagon.

If you’re going to move the ball a certain shape (and I strongly advise that you do) then you will probably pick two targets.

Target #1 will be where you want the ball to start.

Target #2 will be the ball’s final resting place.

This process is pure positive thinking. You’re not fumbling about working out every minute detail of the shot, you’re determining your key objective,

“where do I want the ball to go?”

All other garbage is removed and you have laid the foundation of a solid routine.

Further point: There is no need to get too precise. If you think you need to lay out a plan that involves hitting the ball at the left edge of the fairway at a launch angle of 34 degrees and then have the ball curve back towards the target at 150 metres and then come down exactly 15 feet left and 23 feet short of the flag, then spin and roll to stop next to the hole, then you’re over doing it.


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There’s a bit of a experimenting to do. You need to be precise enough to be clear, but don’t overdo it so the planning takes too long is becomes tiresome.

Evan: Why can’t we get too precise? I remember seeing something from a sports psychologist who says we should be very precise.

Cameron: It depends on your definition of “precise”. If you overdo it I think you’ll overload. It’s also draining, taking lots of energy, plus a lot of time. So I would keep it straight forward enough that you have a clear memory of your target, but don’t go overboard. As mentioned, you will most likely need to do some experimentation.

Here’s the next key step.

Accepting of result: This approach will prove one thing to you…

… you don’t hit many precise shots.

You’ll find that many of your shots are nowhere near how you planned. You may become discouraged. Don’t. Welcome to golf.

It’s a hard game and it’s not about hitting perfect shots. It’s more about making sure your bad shots are in play and therefore you’re not racking up huge scores.

When you do hit a “perfect” shot you’ll get a huge boost to your confidence. You’ll feel special. You’ll know you’ve beaten the odds and played a “Remarkable” shot.

But please don’t get upset at the lack of these ideal shots. It could also be a sign that you’re being too precise. Back off a little and give yourself a chance – you’re not Tiger Woods. For many this will involve increasing the size of the landing area and avoiding serious trouble like deep rough and bunkers.

Better Shots: By choosing to play a certain shot shape you’re drawing a line in the sand and saying, “This is my swing. I own this swing and can rely on this giving me better shots more of the time”.

You can plan your way around the course much better and can avoid the nasty


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trouble. When you commit to “your” shot your learning system will respond by giving you the kind of golf you know you can play. You’ll unlock the golf beast waiting to be let out.

Plus, you’ll continually develop and improve this shot over time. It will seriously keep getting better and better for you. After a few months you’ll have hit this shot 1000’s of times and you really will start to feel that you own it.

Simplistic approach: Instead of having to worry about a million things each time you play, you only have a few things to consider:

- can I hit “my shot” here?

- If so, how far have I got and what club do I need?

- Hit the ball

If for some reason you can’t play your favourite shot it’s probably time to play safe and hit the ball into a spot where you can then can play something you’re more comfortable with. Simple.

You’re avoiding all the noise and garbage that exists for many golfers. You’re not thinking technique, you’re playing the game. And playing the game is a million more times more fun than playing “golf swing”. It really is.

A benefit here is you’ll play more quickly and have less interference. Golf will become more of a dance and less of a struggle. If you can’t dance I’m sure you know what I mean.

When you’re under pressure and need to play well (like when you’re golfing with your boss and you really want to beat him) then you have a way of doing so.

What you’ve got is;

- definite shot each time

- pressure shot – a swing that you can rely on


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- A way of avoiding trouble. You use a smart game plan to play away from danger areas

- Your game is working with your instincts. You’re playing your way.

- This breeds confidence

- And it’s simple so it’s easily repeatable.

These are such important points, they really are. But almost no golfer is getting taught to think like this. But it’s fundamental to finding success.

Automatic is king: When I first starting playing this way I had little understanding of the automatic process. I knew I was onto something, but still too young to truly work it out. It’s this reason I was still a little inconsistent.

Years later, when I go over that 72 hole victory (surprisingly I still have some very good memories of specific shots and situations), I know I was playing automatically. The next week when I stuffed up I wasn’t. Too stiff. Contrived. And trying way too hard. Forcing things to happen rather then allowing them too. In a way I was “trying” to replicate the results from the week prior instead of allowing things to happen.

Learning to play automatic is the most important skill you’ll ever learn. It overcomes any shortcomings and is the single biggest influence of maximizing your chances of playing better golf.

Please note: I said “maximizing your chances”. There are no guarantees here – you can do everything right and still shoot a bad score. You can also do a lot of bad things and shoot a good score. Your mission is to understand the difference.

Automatic Golf puts the odds in your favour. And this is a pretty good deal if you ask me. A mad punter will travel the ends of the earth to get a slight edge – I think you should do the same. Automatic is the glue that holds your game together. If you can’t learn to automate then you’re in big trouble. Automatic allows your game to flow and gives you every chance to play remarkably. Remarkable golf is the most fun you’ll ever have on a golf course.


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Evan: This is great stuff Cameron. I’d like to use the remaining time to go over your process for playing automatically. I want you to spill the beans on Remarkable Golf.

Cameron: Let’s do it.


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Part 4 - Remarkable Golf

Evan: Ok Cam, we have covered some ground here today. Let’s get to the guts of your method of playing better golf - it’s time to spill the beans on this thing you call Remarkable Golf. So what is it and how does it tie in with automatic?

Cameron: Automatic Golf is simply approaching golf in the same mindset that we perform all other skills. We’ve mentioned riding a bike, throwing a ball and driving a car. I know these analogies have probably been done to death in golf but it’s very important that you learn to approach golf in the same way because if you don’t golf will always be way harder than it needs to be.

And please don’t think you can bypass the process, believing you have some special talent. You don’t. I don’t know why it is, but many golfers will hear these words but ignore them, still thinking they can work on their technique when they play. You can’t. Doing so is breaking Mother Nature’s code, and sets you up for failure.

One of the hardest things we have going for us as keen golfers is the fact our brain never slows down. It’s always chatting and telling us what to do;

- don’t hit the ball in the bunker

- don’t 3 putt

- if you play well today you’ll be leading the averages

- don’t stuff up this shot, you’ll look like a fool

- etc


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This nattering goes on and on. And it can be quite distracting. I call this voice in your head Pesky, and if you don’t know how to control him, you’ll be in trouble.

So here’s the deal. You can’t stop your mind thinking. At least I don’t think you can. A thinking and active mind is part of being human - and we don’t want you to NOT be human.

The trick is to learn to control your mind for the duration of the shot and the best way I know how to do that is to count numbers in your head or sing a song.

Here’s how it works.

Your conscious mind is occupied with the counting or singing, while your subconscious is then free to do what it does best.

Evan: Hit the ball!

Cameron: Exactly. I know this sounds easy, and it is, but it’s also profound.

A lot of my critics say I’m against all technique. This is not the case, because technique does have a place, you just need to know when and how to use technique to your advantage. Others also think that I want people to step up to the ball and just “hit” it. While I may give this kind of instruction to an overly technical golfer, it’s also not quite true.

The beauty of this automatic system is that it allows you to have the best of both worlds. You can think all you like. When I say “thinking”, I’m referring to all sorts of things, including,

- practice swings

- drills

- checking score card


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- working out your handicap

Whatever! But they key distinction here is this “thinking” must be done behind the ball. You can’t be thinking and playing at the same time. This isn’t going to work.

So once you’ve made up your mind on your shot (you’ve chosen a club and got a target), you walk into the ball while you’re counting or singing a song.

Evan: And you stop counting when?

Cameron: This is a great point. You should continue counting until after the ball has been struck. This helps you keep distractions away for the duration of the swing.

Let me make this point really clear. You can think. But it must be done behind the ball. When you’re behind the ball and planning, you are free to do what you like.

On some shots you may want to take your time and take a lot of information in. On others, you may do all of your thinking really quickly. The bottom line is, it doesn’t really matter how long you take or what you do behind the ball.

The key concept is, that once you’re ready to move, you start counting (or singing a song) in your head and you continue until after the ball has been hit.

You’re a bit like a computer. You program what you want first and then when you’re ready to go, you hit the “enter” key. You are not worrying about all the possible things that could go wrong. You’re not thinking about the score. You’re not focussed on the trouble. You are simply focussed on the counting.

Evan: What about the target?

Cameron: Evan, this is another vitally important point and I’m glad you’ve mentioned it. My thoughts here differ from a lot of what you probably have heard and done in the past. Here goes:


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You don’t want to be focused on the target when you are walking in and hitting the ball. You can do this behind the ball and in fact should be part of your routine. But once you’re on your way in, your mind is on the counting.

Evan: Why? I thought we needed to have a strong image of our target?

Cameron: You do need to have a clear idea of what your target is. This is your goal. But filling your mind with thoughts of target when you’re in the act of striking the ball takes your mind out of the moment.

If you’ve read any sports psychology books you’ll know that for the most part, they talk about being in the moment, or in the now. Your mind is not thinking about the last hole, or trying to predict the future.

I agree with all of this and think you absolutely 100% need to stay in the moment.

But when you start thinking about the target you tend to break the habit of being in the moment. You start going forwards. You start thinking about all the good and bad stuff that might happen on this shot. You may try and visualise the path of the ball or get a flashback to last time you were in a similar situation.

And none of this helps you. When your focus comes off of the counting, you can come away from the present moment. When this happens, you’ll unlikely get the result you’re looking for.

Evan: So it’s only counting once you start walking to the ball.

Cameron: Yes. And here’s a neat little trick to help you do it.

Instead of walking to the ball with your eyes focused on the target or some other place, I like for you to fix your gaze on the ball. So you’re walking to the ball with your eyes on the ball.

Evan: Why is that?


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Cameron: Because it will help keep you in your own little bubble. You’ll maximise your chances of staying in your own little cocoon of concentration.

Looking at the target is a distraction that we don’t need. Keep your eyes on the ball and you’ll find this helps.

Evan: Ok, this is making sense. But what happens when I get to the ball, won’t I need to look at the target to make sure I get aligned?

Cameron: Listen up. This is another part of the game that has many golfers completely fooled - and a big reason why we can’t swing freely.

Your learning system (your subconscious) is more than capable of walking into the ball and getting set to the target. You don’t need to consciously try here or override and take over.

I’ve tested this so many times and I haven’t yet seen a golfer who can’t do it. Getting set to the target is a tiny fraction of the game and something we don’t need to waste a lot of energy on.

Here’s what happens. When you walk to the ball you’re counting away with your eyes fixed on the ball (or somewhere near the ball). When you reach the ball you set up to the ball like you’re going to hit it. And here’s the good part.

99 times out of 100 you’ll set yourself up perfectly for the shot at hand. In fact, you could even pull the trigger and hit the ball without another peek at the target.

Evan: Really? Once I get to the ball I can hit the ball without reconnecting to the target?

Cameron: Yes. And you should try a couple of things here.

1. Go through the above routine and just prior to hitting the ball, check your alignment. Place a club on the ground and see where you’re pointed. I’m willing to bet you’ll surprise yourself.


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2.Go through the above routine and hit the ball without looking up. Walk in, get set and then hit. This will surprise you too and might just free up your swing to a level it hasn’t been before.

Evan: Do you recommend NOT looking all the time?

Cameron: No. Over the years I’ve refined the strategy a little. By all means, if NOT looking works for you then go for it - I believe you can play awesome golf like this.

But what I’ve found is that the pressure of competition can cause a few short circuits and actually hitting the ball without checking the target can stress us. So, a bit like a pilot will go through a checklist before takeoff, I want you to take a quick peek at the target just prior to hit off. This is your last spot-check.

If you lookup and the target doesn’t appear to be where it should be or something doesn’t seem right you MUST stop and start the process again. Don’t fiddle about and try and set up differently. This is manual control and will fail. Back off and start over.

On the other hand, if everything is red and rosy, you’ll get a kick of confidence that all is A-OK and you can swing away. You can swing like there’s no tomorrow because you know you’ve done everything properly.

Evan: Wow. It all makes sense. There’s only slight variances from a lot of traditional instructions, but these difference are quite profound.

Cameron: They are. Automatic Golf won’t make you swing like a freak and it’s not trying to make you uncomfortable, by getting you to do things you simply can’t do. The whole process is about helping you get out of your own way and letting you play golf in the most natural and instinctive way possible.


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Your task. Your most important job on every shot you hit is to keep your conscious mind occupied for the duration of the shot. I can guarantee you, if you’re able to do this, you will be successful.

Evan: Do I always have to count/sing?

Cameron: In the early days I think you should. This is something that you have to learn to do and will take some discipline. Some golfers forget, so you may need to keep reminding yourself. There’s no magic pill here, either you have the guts to do it or you don’t. If you’re not going to do it then there’s not much help for you. New clubs, swing tips, lessons or other gimmicks will never work for you.

But after a while. And this could be a year or two down the track, something really amazing happens that will take you golf to a completely new place.

Evan: What is it?

Cameron: Automatic Golf becomes automatic. So you don’t have to think about what you’re doing. When you go to play, the process above will be as normal as riding a bike.

Evan: So I can stop counting?

Cameron: That might happen. Or you may just count in your head without knowing you’re doing it. The entire process will become second nature. You won’t really think about it. I find it almost impossible to go out and play with conscious control - I’ve got so good at “not thinking” that I can’t play with a lot of thought going on in my head.

So even if I get bored, or am just mucking around, I still rarely leave playing automatically.

If you ever get to this point, and you will if you stick with it, your golf will take on an entire new look. You’ll play with more energy and your level of


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performance will take off. You will find you won’t need to practice as much and you’ll play far more consistently.

I believe it’s the holy grail of golf. When automatic golf becomes “automatic”, you’ll become a master golfer.

Evan: I’m intrigued with all of this. What you’re saying is that in the early days Automatic Golf will work, but will require a little bit of discipline but at some point, it will go to an entirely new level and become, well, automatic?

Cameron: Yes. The hard part from a coaching point of view is getting people over the hump. As a people, we have become accustomed to instant gratification and almost nobody is prepared to look long-term. We want things yesterday.

And this mindset has been taken advantage of by the golf industry. All of the quick-tips, and promises of immediate distance is aimed at the instant gratification attitude. But it’s all short-term and really doesn’t last.

My belief is you should do it right from the start and be left with something that will give you years of joy and satisfaction. The really funny part is this:

If you apply Automatic Golf, and do it right, you’ll reach your golfing goals more quickly then any other way.

So AG, is actually quicker...

Evan: Argh, Automatic Golf is really a quick fix.

Cameron: Let’s not confuse people.

Evan: You spoke about energy before. One thing that I have noticed is that I definitely walk off the course feeling better. It’s like I have more energy and are less tired.


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Cameron: That’s because you’re not busting your balls trying to play correctly. You’re working with your system, not against it. Let’s look at driving a car to explain my point:

When you drive across town in peak hour you are performing thousands of little tasks without even thinking about them,

- changing gears

- turning the wheel

- braking

- accelerating

- working out where you’re going

And all this is happening at the automatic level. You don’t have to consciously worry about every action. And this is really important.

Because if we had to consciously think about all the stuff required to drive a car we’d be utterly exhausted by the end of the day. We’d have no energy to left to enjoy ourselves.

But isn’t this exactly how many of us play golf?

We try so bloody hard that it we get worn out. Where four hours of golf should be filled with fun and enjoyment, it almost kills us. Well, maybe not quite, but you know what I mean.

You walk off the course feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck. You’ve got no energy left and if you’ve played poorly, you’re most likely frustrated and annoyed. And all this leaves us feeling really bad.

And this is a shame. Only a small fraction of golfers get the true enjoyment and satisfaction that’s on offer. I’m convinced that many golfers are unaware


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of how they really can play or that there is an easier way. Look at this email that I received today:

After 40 years I am not enjoying the game any more, my mental health takes a beating every time I step up to the ball .I walk around in need of anger management yet in theory my game is technically better than it ever was.

I’m not making this stuff up. But this is how many golfers play. It’s actually sad.

Automatic Golf works because you’re allowing your subconscious to do what it’s supposed to be doing. You’re no longer fighting your system, you’re working with it and this takes less energy.

-You’ll have more strength to swing with power

-You’ll make better decisions

-You’ll play better

-You’ll walk off the course feeling better, more alive

And this I can assure you, is far better than the alternative.

Evan: So it’s like you say. Automatic Golf really is like playing golf in the same way that we drive a car.

Cameron: Yes. 100%. But I think it gets even better than that. Over the last few years I’ve been researching into AG quite a lot. I’ve been thinking about it and have made more breakthroughs.

Evan: What have you found?


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Cameron: Automatic Golf allows you to apply the 80/20 rule to your game 1

in a positive way.

Evan: What’s the 80/20 rule?

Cameron: It was a principle discovered by a guy name Pareto - and basically it says for many events 80% of effects are created by 20% of the causes. Here’s just some of the things that have 80-20 rule applied

20% of the richest people account for 80% of the wealth

80% of profits come from 20% of your customers

You spend 80% of your time in 20% of your house

Evan: How does this apply to golf?

Cameron: Instead of trying to do a 100 things each time you play, you focus on a some key areas and forget the rest.

Evan: So focus on 20% of the tasks that give you 80% of the result.

Cameron: Something like that. I don’t think the actual numbers are that important, and they’re only a guide anyway. But what is important to grasp, and really understand, is that you can do a few things really well and get a greater than anticipated return.

I personally feel with my game that I’m sitting around 5 - 95. I no longer worry about all the things that golfers worry about. For the most part all I need to do is,

- choose a club

- pick a target

I have written extensively about the 80/20 Rule and golf performance in the Cameron Strachan Letter. See www.1 -golfgooroo.com/resources to learn more


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- walk in and hit the ball

This is the 5%. I’m not stressing about my handicap, I’m not worried about my swing, I’m not thinking about what this shot will do to my score. I leave all this stuff behind and just hit the ball.

In return, my system gives me close to my full potential. At it’s my potential. I’m not saying I can beat Tiger or Phil or anything like that. I get close to my potential based on my age, skill, dedication and application.

There’s always room for improvement, but you’re playing automatically, improvements are small and happen without too much conscious input.

So your swing will get marginally better, but you won’t notice. There’ll be a slight tweak to your chipping action but you won’t know or your concentration will improve but you’ll hardly know why you’re playing better - you might not even know.

When you apply AG properly, you get massive results based on the amount of work you do. It makes golf easier and far more rewarding. You’re doing the bare minimum but getting the biggest return. Most of all the hard stuff (like working out how hard to hit the ball or even, how to hit the ball) is done at the automatic level.

Compare this to the old-fashioned way we play. You hit off the 1st tee and there could be a million bits of information going through you. Your brain is spinning while you’re trying to hit that ball. Here’s just a few things that will go through an untrained golfer’s mind;

- swing slowly

- how do I hit the ball further?

- keep head down

- what did I do last week?


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- I hope I don’t embarrass myself

- why is that guy looking at me?

- swing smoothly

- what was that tip I read in Golf Digest?

So you’re bombarding your system. You’re doing everything you think possible but not getting anywhere. It’s tiring and incredibly frustrating because you feel you’re working hard and should be getting results.

Evan: It’s the opposite to Automatic Golf. This is more like 95-5. You are trying 95% of what’s possible but only getting 5% of your potential.

Cameron: Exactly. And how crazy is this? It’s just completely crazy but golfers all over the world are trying to use every ounce of their energy to think their way to a better game. But it just doesn’t work.

Evan: This is brilliant. It’s all really starting to make sense.

Cameron: It sure is. So when you’re automatic you don’t need to focus time and energy on all things. You can forget about;

- working out how hard to hit the ball - what sort of swing to use - how to align correctly - how to take the club away - how to swing correctly - even decision making can become automatic

Your subconscious takes care of all of this. All you have to do is allow it to do what it wants. Your main job is keeping out of the way.

Evan: Yeah! I like it. You really do make it easier by applying automatic. Can you give us a brief rundown of the process one more time?


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Cameron: Sure. When you get to the course and you’re ready to play here’s what you want to do for each shot.

1. Work out what you want to do when you’re behind the ball. (never over the ball)

2.Choose a club that will do the job.

3. Walk up and hit the ball while occupying your conscious mind.

Evan: It’s pretty simple, isn’t it?

Cameron: Yes and it’s a recurring theme with our conversation. Simple. But essentially you’re breaking your game down to it’s most basic form and doing the bare minimum to get a solid result.

Evan: I’ve gotta ask, what about my swing when I play automatically, is that going to improve?

Cameron: Not only will it improve, but it will continually get better over time. The more you play, the better you’ll get at hitting the ball. Like I mentioned above, you may not be aware of it, but you will definitely get better.

Because you’re not trying to control every inch of your swing, you’ll develop a beautiful free flowing action.

Evan: You speak a lot about “flow” in your coaching. Why is that?

Cameron: I’ve always like the word flow. It sums up the golf swing nicely. A river flows, it’s beautiful but also powerful.

When I go to the driving range, and see all those golfers working on their swing, I don’t see a lot of flow.


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But go to the local park, and watch the kids kick the footy or throw a ball and you’ll see flow everywhere. You can only get flow when you’re uninhibited - flow finds you, rather than the other way around.

I first heard flow when I heard one of Australia’s best coaches talk. Her name is Joyce Brown and she used to be the coach of the Australian Netball Team. At one point she was mentioned about coaching an Australian Football team, but that never happened.

Joyce was speaking at a golf coaching conference that was dominated by technique. Her presentation stood out and she encouraged (almost begged) the coaches to let people develop a flowing motion and not fill their minds up with technical thought. That presentation made a serious impression on me. But I’m not sure the others heard her.

When you flow you have rhythm. With rhythm comes feel and when you can feel your swing you’ll be aware of what it happening.

From here you’ll swing better and better. More power is a natural side-effect as is accuracy. Your swing starts and finishes with how well it flows. And the only way to let it flow is to stop trying to control it. You’ve gotta get out of your own way and swing automatically.

Evan: You were involved in a biomechanical study into the golf swing that helped unlock the mysteries of the swing. How does that information tie in with what we’re speaking about today?

Cameron: That’s actually a great question. One would think if they had access to the correct information on the swing that they’d be able to then apply it to their game. Unfortunately this is just not the case. The part of the brain that understands language is not responsible for performing the golf swing. So there’s a mismatch of concept there.

No matter how hard you try to integrate the skill, you can’t do it. Does that sound familiar?


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Evan: Sure does. I battled for years to fix my swing. Nothing really worked that well for me.

Cameron: After the biomechanical research I got to travel around the world with these biomechanics to a sports science conference. It was there that I got to rub shoulders with some of the smartest people I’ve met. These guys and girls have dedicated their life to sports research and had some interesting observations.

And the recurring theme was that the scientific information is only a part of the puzzle. The huge breakthrough in sports performance come from being able to coach it. Essentially what they were telling me was this,

“It’s ok to have this fantastic information on the golf swing. But use it wisely. People can’t just take the research and apply it their game. You have to coach them and make it easy.”

They pretty much told me that we’ve uncovered most of the mysteries of the physical action of sports. That we’ve reached a point of diminishing returns when it comes to understanding technique. Maybe we’ve learned all there is to know about technique, but we’ve got a long way to go when it comes to coaching.

So I went to work. I tried to simplify the data and make it more user-friendly. I removed the complexity of 100,000 pages of numbers and got it down to a small manual.

Evan: And that’s what you call BioSwing?

Cameron: Yes, Bioswing . It’s a biomechanical swing that has been described 2

as the golf swing of the future. But this work isn’t directly about Bioswing because I’ve made an even more important discovery that relates to it.

Evan: What is it?

visit www.golfgooroo.com/learn-bioswing to see more2


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Cameron: Bioswing was all about giving you a simpler golf swing that is easy to learn. The data showed a way that could give any golfer more power and accuracy while reducing stress and strain on the body. So it was an important discovery.

And here’s the interesting bit. When a golfer learns to implement Automatic Golf they naturally adhere to the principles in Bioswing much better. They adopt a simpler and more powerful swing.

Evan: Really? How does that happen?

Cameron: I think it all has to do with efficiency of motion. Our body is an amazing tool, and if you allow it to do it’s thing, it will find the right way to do something.

So when you step aside and get out of the way, you naturally learn a golf swing that follows the correct laws of biomechanics.

At least, you learn a swing that is far better than anything contrived or artificial you’ve been trying to do.

We are getting back to the 80-20 rule again. Mother Nature will get you a long way there, you just have to trust her. And it certainly makes life easier.

I’d also like to add that I’m really proud of the work I’ve done with BioSwing. It has been a journey. The information started out as a swing model and it has morphed more into a learning methodology. It now ties in with my thinking about HOW we should learn to play golf, it’s less technical and more free flowing. I probably should call this the New BioSwing.

Evan: So what your saying is that we no longer need to take golf lessons and try and fix our swing?

Cameron: What I’m saying is that we are learning machines. If we allow ourselves to learn how we’re designed, then we will learn much faster and much better than we thought possible.


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Coaching is vitally important. It’s hard to learn anything from a book or video and one reason I love coaching. I have set up my own facility to give serious golfers one-on-one private instruction. This is the absolute best way to improve your game - nothing else comes close.

But I can’t get to everyone and the Internet provides a vehicle to spread my story and share my concepts with the world.

Also, I’ve designed a number of training aids that quicken this “natural” process. They encourage you to get to the better swing more quickly. But they do so in a way that ties in perfectly with everything we’ve discussed today.

But in saying all this, if you can’t get coaching from someone who understands golf and natural learning, or you don’t have properly designed training aids, then you’re best bet would be to play as naturally as possible in the first instance.

Then you’ll find it far simpler to make changes to your game. Swing naturally first - get a good understanding of what comes naturally to you - get a solid platform to work from if you will - and then make any corrections to your game. It’s far simpler this way.

Evan: There’s that “simple” word again. Earlier today you spoke about the importance of finding “your” swing. Can you expand on that and tell us how to take this swing to the golf course?

Cameron: A perfectly straight shot is very difficult to hit. You need so many things to work in your favour that a straight shot is almost a fluke. You are way better off discovering what your natural shot shape is.

For many this will be a fade or a small slice. And there is nothing wrong with this - it’s a perfectly acceptable way to play, and is exactly how Jack Nicklaus played for his entire career.


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So instead of trying to hit the ball straight, you play for your natural curve. It’s pretty simple really.

Here’s a good story to illustrate.

Robert Allenby is an exceptional player. He has had a bit of a rough time of late, but he can certainly play. I think it was back in 2001 when he won at The Honda. One of the par 3’s has water all down the right side, and on the last day the pin was cut in the back right of the green.

The obvious shot is to aim at the left of the green and fade the ball back towards the pin. This is the obvious thing to do and something no coach or commentator would argue with.

But it’s not obvious for Robert Allenby - his natural shot is a draw, and quite a big one. While every player was playing safe or trying to fade the ball into the green, Allenby aimed right over the water and hit a big sweeping hook close to the pin.

I love this kind of stuff. It’s playing golf and going against the grain. When you think about it, why should he adopt a different shot? It’s madness when you have such a reliable shot in your bag.

Further. I think maybe he has gotten away from this kind of thinking over the last few years. He seems to be listening to too many people and not playing golf the way he wants. I saw him when he was a young guy and he was unbelievable - and there’s no reason he can’t get that flair and excitement back into his game again.

But it can only happen if he learns to trust HIS shot once again. We all need to learn to trust our own shot because this is the only way to play remarkably.

(continued on next page)


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Part 5 - Taking it to the golf course

Evan: Cameron, a lot of your material is aimed at getting the golfer to play better “when it truly matters” - which is out on the golf course when under pressure. I’d like to pose some specific questions to you that cover playing golf.

Cameron: Sure. The golf course is where it happens and it’s my experience that a fair chunk of modern instruction has forgotten this. We get fed a lot of information about swing and technique, but actually playing the game is left out. Let’s do it!

Evan: Great! As a golfer, I know how hard it can be to get the round off to a good start. Can you give us some ideas on how to nail the opening tee shot?

Cameron: This is one of my favourite subjects because I used to struggle badly with the first tee shot. One of my worst examples was once when trying to qualify for a professional tournament. I was playing quite well at the time and the course posed no problems to me.

On this day I got to the golf course way too early, so I was hanging around the tee for a long time. This was my first mistake - because I didn’t want to be late, I got the course early. This is fine, but I should have gone away and done my thing. Putted, hit balls, had something to eat and generally warmed up. But waiting on the 1st tee was stupid.

By the time it was my time to hit off I was overly nervous, stiff and a bit tired. You know how doing nothing sometimes makes you tired?

Evan: Yes.

Cameron: The 1st hole was an easy one. Nothing to it. A short and straight par 4. A birdie chance and really an easy par. There was virtually no trouble to get into so I really couldn’t have asked for a better hole to start my round.


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But I completely botched it up. I hit this half shank top.

Evan: A half shank top? What is that? [laughing]

Cameron: Don’t laugh. It was a horrible shot and I still have nightmares about it. The half shank top pretty much went sideways along the ground. It ended up under a bush only 50 metres from the tee.

Evan: Ouch.

Cameron: Yes. It hurt. And I was embarrassed and really annoyed at myself. I always had a way of stuffing up when things mattered. I took a triple bogey and was pretty much out of contention.

So I know the pressure of the opening tee shot. There is no better way to get the round off to a great start by finding the fairway and hitting a solid one.

Here are some ideas to help you:

- It’s just one shot. No matter how important the round is, the 1st shot still only counts as one. From a completely honest point of view, it counts the same as every other shot. This little mindset often is enough to help you relax.

-Must strive to become automatic. Golf is hard. The ball sits on the ground and we have this long stick to hit the ball. With a score card in our pocket and people watching, there is a lot going on. We are being pushed to the limit and our minds are racing. In saying this, your automatic system is perfectly capable of hitting the ball. It doesn’t care about the score, the people or the pressure. So the more you can follow the information presented above, the better you will do.

- Swing freely. This is related to the above. But a huge mistake is to try and steer the shot and try and “get the ball in play”. This is completely the


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wrong way to go. You need to swing freely - almost like a dance - and let rip. This maximises your chances of hitting a good one because your subconscious will be activated. I have found that it can be a good idea to choose a shorter club and hit the ball as hard as you can.

-Presetting. I love this and it works for all important shots. Just don’t overdo it as it will lose its effectiveness. Here’s the go. Tee the ball up, get into your setup position and get comfortable. Look around, at the target, surrounds or be aware of what you feel. Once comfortable, back off and go through your full routine and hit the ball.

Evan: Why does presetting work?

Cameron: Because when you actually get to the ball you’ve had the experience of being there before. You know what it feels like to be there, so there’s nothing foreign. It gives you a little confidence boost and it helps you nail that first tee shot.

Evan: Cool. What’s next?

Cameron:

-Play quickly. I don’t think you ever want to stuff about and take a long time to hit the ball. Extra time rarely helps you. In fact, and this is getting back to the 80/20 rule again, you see around 90% of everything you’re going to see in the first few seconds. Extra time rarely does help. All you need to do is pick a target, choose a club and go! I know this sounds easy but it is all you can do anyway. Rarely does taking extra time help the situation too much. And it could be that playing too quickly is better than playing too slow.


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- Don’t stress about bad shots. I know this is easy to say, but the opener is just one shot. And if you’re are going to make a poor start, you have the rest of the round to make up for it. Consider this, A few years back I was playing in a large club event. As far as my club went, this competition was the biggest each year. All of the members got behind it and it went over a full weekend. There was even a huge dinner on the Saturday night, with the leading 16 pairs presented to the members. It was a big deal. As luck would have it, my partner and I managed to be leading after the first day and it seemed half of the club came out to watch us play. I was first away and proceeded to hit a terrible shot. Not sure what it was, but I skied the ball and it only traveled a short distance. There were laughs and a few heckles - I was embarrassed, but I didn’t let if get to me. Now when I hit a poor shot it’s a trigger for me to relax and swing more freely. On this day I stood up on the next tee and hit a belter straight down the middle. I didn’t let the poor opener get in the way. I’m sure way too many golfers let first shot dictate how they’re going to play. It’s just one shot. That’s the best way to look at it.

-Take a moment to center yourself. I do this almost by default now on every tee shot (I probably do this on most shots, but I definitely do it on the 1st tee shot). Here’s what I do. Just prior to walking in and hitting the ball - by now I have chosen a club and am clear on my target - I close my eyes and take a second or two to hear the birds, wind or any noise. Or, I might look at a tree or cloud formation. Or I might just scan my body to be aware of any feelings/emotions I might have. It doesn’t take long but it works a treat.


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Evan: Why does this work?

Cameron: It works because it gets me in the moment. In the now. If I’m listening, seeing or feeling what is happening right now, then I can’t be worried about the future or be stuck in the past. I’m 100% in the moment and this gives me every chance of staying there for the duration of the upcoming shot.

Evan: Exactly where you should be. This is a sneaky little drill, but I like it.

Cameron: It is sneaky because nobody knows you’re doing it. But it definitely works and I’ve been doing it for years. In fact, you can use a variation of feeling/hearing for the duration of the shot. It works particularly well if you’ve tired of counting/singing.

I’ve got one more tip. - Hit your shot. This is a biggie. The temptation is to sometimes hit the shot that everyone else hits or the one you think the course designer wants you to play. I reckon this is rubbish and something you should stop immediately.

It’s your game and you must learn to play YOUR shot. And the more you play the shots you’re comfortable with, the better you’ll do. I see golfers freeze on the first tee (even good players) because they try and do things they’re not comfortable with. If I can put my finger on one thing I’ve done really well in the past it is having the guts to play my best shot from the first tee. I hardly ever fails. Here’s another fun story.

It was a few years ago now, but I was playing a Pennant match for my golf team. The opening hole was a dog leg left with water through the fairway on the right. I watched all of my team mates struggle with the hole. Some hit


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driver into the water, others tried to lay up with an iron but left such a long shot in that they made the hole harder than it needed to be.

For me, I can hit a fade/slice with my driver all day long. It’s my shot and I love to hit it (note: I started with a draw on all my shots but found that I could hit the fade better with the driver. So I stuck with it and haven’t looked back. I still hook my irons which makes for an interesting conversation piece). Also, I’ve also gotten good at making a flowing and free swing with my driver - it’s almost like a free hit, I can step up and just let rip and I hardly ever hit a bad one.

So on this day I took drive out, walked in and smashed this slice around the corner. I got a few claps and a pat on the back from my caddy. I didn’t really see what the fuss was about - I hit MY shot and it’s easy.

I need to make this point really clear: Golf becomes infinitely more simple when you learn to play your shot the majority of the time. It really does. Your job is to find the kind of shot you’re good at, then learn to hit it when the pressure is on.

Evan: Awesome. Cameron, tell me, what about when you’re playing well, maybe really well, but all of a sudden you hit a few bad shots. What do you do then?

Cameron: To be honest, this is golf. You can’t play well all of the time and you have to accept the odd bad shot - even a really bad one every now and then. Golf is hard and it doesn’t take much for you to lose the radar. Automatic Golf is great, but it’s not foolproof. Bad stuff will happen and you need to be ready for it.

My first advice is not to panic. One shot is not going to destroy your game/score/handicap/career. Many times, if you shrug your shoulders and get back into the routine you’ll be fine. A bad shot will be just that - ONE BAD SHOT. Nothing too serious here. Look at the major winners and there will be an


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instance, and maybe even in the last round, where they hit a terrible shot. Bad golf is part of the game and learning to accept this is part of your golfing success.

If you feel yourself losing the round or getting tight then you need to STOP. Take a deep breath, relax and remind yourself to play the game. We let golf get to us. We get carried away with the score and situation and start over-thinking. This is a waste of energy and it doesn’t help.

Almost always, poor golf is caused by getting away from subconscious playing. We go from automatic (which is why we were playing well) to manual. It’s a disaster. You’ve got to trust yourself to keep swinging freely and keep thought to a bare minimum.

If this happens to you a lot there is no quick fix. You have to have more awareness of your feelings and emotions, and this will help wake you up when you start thinking poorly. The worst thing you can do is go into overdrive where you analyse every part of your swing/game and start making stuff up to justify your poor play.

“I’m swinging too quickly” “It’s too slow out here, I hate playing when it’s slow” “My swing has gone off, I’ve lost my swing” “I don’t like this course - never have”

These are stories. They are not real and are detrimental to your game. You’ve got to avoid telling stories and strive with ever fibre to play as naturally and as freely as possible. It’s the only thing you can do.

Evan: What happens if that doesn’t work?

Cameron: Quit golf [joking]. Seriously, it’s part of the game and sometimes we will have bad golf. It might not even be bad golf as such, you may hit good shots that don’t go where you want, there could be some bad luck or the putts might look good but not drop.


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And there is nothing we can do about it. I know you’ve all heard this before, but do you believe it? You need to understand this at a deeper level so you’re less likely to be put off by some poor golf. Here’s something profound.

Why are we so worried about the odd bad game of golf? Why are we scared to hit a bad shot? It’s crazy, and the entire world seems to be going mad. Take football here in Australia (and it’s probably the same everywhere) but everyone (fans, media and clubs) have become obsessed with winning. If a team has one bad game there’s analysis, calls for sacking, panic and all sorts of nonsense.

I don’t see what the issue is because mistakes and poor performance are vital to improvement. Mistakes and bad stuff are good for learning. Ask any successful person about their life, and I bet they talk about how good the mistakes they made were to their development - they probably wouldn’t change anything they’ve done.

But us crazy golfers have gotten ourselves into a state, that we’re too scared to even take the club away, just in case we hit a poor shot. Can you see how crazy this really is?

Not only does golf become really boring and tiresome, you don’t learn anything. Without learning there is no performance. So it becomes a vicious cycle of bad golf after bad golf.

Here’s something else which is totally stupid but I see all the time.

Let’s say you have a bad game and want to do something about it. You head to the driving range to iron out the problem, thinking you know what you did wrong.

But what happens?

Evan: You make the problem worse.


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Cameron: Yes. You tell stories and you end up making things worse. If you do have a really bad round please just move on. You will naturally learn from it and there’s no need to hit the panic button and ruin your game. I don’t see anything wrong with accepting one bad game and moving on. You’ll almost certainly play better next time and won’t be on the merry-go-round of trying to fix everything.

This is another area I feel strongly was part of my rejuvenation as a player. When I stopped worrying so much. When I was prepared to play my best and accept a poor shot or two and when I didn’t lose the plot after a poor round I became way more consistent. It was chalk and cheese.

Here’s a quick story: My last year playing for my golf team was perhaps my best. I won 7 out of 8 matches. The match I lost, which came fairly early on in the year was a complete debacle...

... I couldn’t hit the ball. I hit 4 balls out of bounds on one hole. I missed some short putts. I gifted my opponent 3 or 4 holes. I wasn’t playing normally. And no matter how much I wanted to play better, I just couldn’t get things going.

10 years ago I’m sure that round would have ruined my year. But not this time. I brushed it off as a poor round - a fluke of bad luck and nothing else. The rest of the year was awesome and everything clicked into gear and I played some of the best golf of my life.

I’m sure if I hit the panic button and changed things too much I would have ruined my game and not gone onto have such a great year. I believe this ability to NOT panic is a huge asset.

The best part for golfers is this requires no real special talent or the need to rebuild your game. You can start with a better attitude right now.

It’s almost like you’re giving yourself permission to make the odd mistake and this frees you up. No longer are you bound by all those limiting beliefs and


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formulas. You’re free to swing the club in a way that truly satisfies you. How do you think that is going to work for you?

Evan: It’s a good point. You’d be more likely to bring your A-game to the table and less likely to be distracted by the odd poor shot.

Cameron: When your golf game isn’t going so well the temptation is to try really hard to fix it. To “work harder”. It seems like the right thing to do. What I’m saying is counter-intuitive, but might just be the answer to help get your game going in the right direction.

Evan: Are you saying one shouldn’t try and solve their swing issues after poor golf?

Cameron: If the problems are ongoing then maybe you’ll need to do some tweaking and fixing. But I’ll still argue golfers, for the most part, will do better if they back off and not get too worked up too early.

Evan: I’d like to hear your thoughts on dealing with nerves and pressure.

Cameron: Despite what you read or think, all golfers get nervous. The best players have learned to accept the nerves as normal - as a sign it’s your body’s response for getting ready to play. Poor players, and those that choke and ruin a good game (like I used to) try and fight them. Here’s some ideas to help you battle with nerves - sorry if there’s more overlap here, but this is important.

Nerves are normal: It’s part of playing the game. So don’t fret if you start to feel a little uneasy. It’s normal and a part of entering the arena. Accepting them is a huge part of the game.

Place your awareness into the nerves: This is a little deeper, but place your awareness where the nerves are. What do you feel? Don’t judge or try and change, notice what is happening and how you feel. I bet if you can do this you’ll feel a whole lot better. It’s funny how this works


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Focus on what you want: This is huge and basically all positive thinking is. Instead of thinking or placing your attention on all the bad stuff that COULD happen, learn to place your attention on what you want;

where do I want the ball to go? (this is perhaps the best question you can ask yourself. It leaves no room for any crap to enter your system. It’s a simple but profound question that can keep you on track). You are not asking, “where don’t I want the ball to go?” You are focussed on the positive outcome. When you get good at this it will happen by default and all the trouble - OOB, rough, water and hazards etc will become less of a factor.

When you feel the nerves getting to you keep asking, “what do I want to do?” or “where do I want the ball to go?” and you’ll cut through the nerves. The clarity that comes from having a clear goal helps settle you.

Breath: It’s a simple but effective strategy. The first time I hit on this breathing thing was in a golf final many years ago. It was my first final and all of my mates had come out to watch as did my parents. At this point, serious success had eluded me and I was feeling the pressure - I wanted to perform well in front of family and friends.

I remember breathing deeply and slowly throughout the round. My caddy thought I was going to hyperventilate, but I kept on breathing. I can’t remember a lot from that round other than the fact I played really well. I made a bunch of birdies and won easily. I do recall being angry that I couldn’t keep on playing - I was playing so well and having such a good time it was annoying being forced to stop when the match was over.

Relax: When I was in the middle of the biomechanical golf research, one of the scientists gave me a great exercise to help relax. Instead of focussing on the entire body, he asked me to relax my face. He got me to clench and scrunch my face and then let go. This helped relax and I could feel the blood running into my face muscles.


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My scientific friend told me that research had shown that when your face is relaxed the rest of the body will follow, including your mind. It’s great advice and I haven’t found a better or easier way to stay relaxed. It works quickly too - almost like a form of active meditation.

Focus on your automatic routine: Essentially all I’m saying here is to keep focusing on your routine. Doing so naturally helps you cope with the pressure and keeps you in the moment. It’s too easy to get side-tracked in the moment and lose the plot. We start looking for ways to make mistakes. We tend to do things differently. As boring as this sounds, you’ve got to keep playing the same way shot after shot.

It is sort of boring, but nothing is more exciting when you start hitting quality shots under pressure. Nothing. So it’s a perfect compromise - do the boring stuff well and you’ll be rewarded with exciting golf. Golf really can be full on contradictions.

Evan: What are your thoughts on when a golfer gets distracted?

Cameron: If you’re distracted at any point of the routine you MUST start over. Here’s what I’ve found.

In the early days, you can get distracted quite a lot. Your mind is racing, you have lots of questions going through your head and you will struggle to stay on course. This is Pesky fighting you. Pesky doesn’t like change and he’ll do everything in his power to get you to return to your previous (poor) golf game.

So you’ll find yourself backing away from a lot of shots. Please don’t let this bother you - it’s normal and you’re allowed to do this.

After a while you’ll settle in nicely into your automatic routine. You’ll get less distracted and you won’t need to back away from as many shots. This is the time that you’ll really start getting benefit from Automatic Golf. It will make sense and you’ll start to SEE and FEEL what it is all about.


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This little phase-in period is why I suggest all golfers perform the 3-round challenge when first starting out. The three rounds are enough for you to get comfortable with AG and experience some golf changing results. These good results will hopefully be enough to convince you that it’s worth pursuing.

The bottom line is this: If you are in the process of walking to the ball and/or getting set and you get distracted, then back off and start over.

Evan: What are your thoughts when you encounter a really difficult shot?

Cameron: Pre-setting helps (see above). You should definitely use it for those “important” shots.

But like everything we’ve discussed today, you really don’t need to do anything differently. I’m convinced that the very best players just keep doing the same thing over and over again. Yep, they feel pressure and are aware of the big shots, but they don’t let that stop them from doing what works. I just don’t see the point in changing your routine because it’s an important shot.

Taking your time, swinging slowly and being careful just doesn’t work that well. Become very clear on what it is you want to achieve, then have the courage to swing without fear. It’s the best way of playing better shots under the pump.

Another strategy that I recommend and have used with great success is to take a few seconds to gather yourself. It’s basically the same strategy I mentioned from the first tee:

Scan your body for any tension. Don’t think and analyse, just become aware of what’s there. Or you can close your eyes and listen for any sound. Can you hear the birds? Or what about your breathing?

You can also become aware of your thoughts. Again, you’re not doing anything with these thoughts, just noticing what’s going through your mind.


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The point here is to get yourself into the moment and clear the mechanism. It’s almost like a reset button that gets rid of all the garbage and has you ready to play your best. To be honest with you, I do a form of this on most shots and it has become a part of my routine.

The bottom line here is I think your routine needs to be simple. When the pressure mounts, and it will, you need to simplify. The golf world is full of a lot of information and this is just adding to an already complex game.

But learn to take things away. To focus on the one or two things that are most important, your golf game will have a clarity and a freedom that will perform under pressure.

Again, it seems counter-intuitive. It’s seems too easy. But this is exactly why I think it works so well.


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Part 6 - Short Game

Evan: Let’s talk about the short game. So, how important is it?

Cameron: I could talk all day about this. I really could. And I know all golfers have heard how they should practice their chipping and pitching and we have all been told a million times how important it is. But golfers as a general rule still have terrible skills around the green.

The best way I can share my point is with a little story. I’ve told this many times but it is still the best way I know how to highlight the importance of chipping and pitching.

One day I was mucking about on the practice putting green while waiting for a mate to arrive. A fellow member came up to me and challenged me to a little putting competition - I was all for it.

So we went around the green, going backwards and forwards. After nine holes the member said, “I can’t believe it! We’ve had the same score. How can a 15 handicapper equal a scratch marker over 9 holes?”.

I decided to teach this guy a lesson and asked him, “would you like a chipping comp?”. In his over confident state he agreed.

So off we went. The first chip was pretty easy and I hit a good one. The member didn’t get his ball on the green (he duffed it short). I was already 1 stroke up.

The second chip was a little tougher and I hit a nice shot to around 3 foot from the hole. My new friend over-compensated for his first attempt, but in doing so skulled the ball over the green into some bushes.

“lesson over”, I said.


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He now knew what I was on about. Putting is a pretty simple skill and if you can keep out of your own way and play automatically, it won’t pose too many issues for you. And for the most part, golfers are able to do this with their putting game.

But chipping is an entirely different ball game. The average punter has poor skills and will quickly get found out. In this case, the member, was 3 or 4 strokes behind after only two holes. Add this up over the course of a round and the numbers are huge.

And here’s the really funny bit. If you add bunker shots or lob shots, the numbers are even more staggering. Higher handicap players waste so many strokes around the greens, it really isn’t that funny.

Evan: It’s a good story. Old Mate thought his game was pretty special because he was able to keep up with you over nine holes of putting - but you almost embarrassed him within two chips?

Cameron: Yep. And if you’re not sure how your short game stacks up, then you should have a little competition with a good player or the pro at your club. It might be the best lesson you get in a while.

Evan: Good advice. I might take you on after we’re finished here. When it comes to chipping, can you give us some good pointers please?

Cameron: Sure, these are some ideas that will help you get the ball closer to the hole. I should add, that is all you’re trying to do with a chip shot. Getting all fancy pants is rarely that useful, your goal is to get the chip shot as close as possible to the hole. It doesn’t matter how you do that and I will start by saying that for most golfers the simplest way of chipping is to,

- keep the ball on the ground: If this means putting from off the green then you should do it. I have been teaching golfers for years to chip with a 6 iron. This gives the ball a little airtime and then it runs along the ground. Putting can be just as effective but you need to ensure there’s no rough or


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uneven ground. The 6 iron works great because the ball gets airborne early and then can scoot up towards the green and then onto the hole. It’s my belief that the world’s chipping problems would be solved if more golfers learned to chip with a 6 iron.

- chip off the back foot: The biggest mistake you’ll make with chipping is hitting the ground first. This happens when the ball gets too far forward in your stance. Not sure why it is, but forward seems comfortable for many. This is fraught with danger however because to hit the ball you are tempted to lunge and slide (to get to the ball) and this is never a good thing. If you don’t slide you’ll likely hit the ground first - and this is worse than sliding. When the ball is back in your stance you’re more likely to hit the little ball first. Hitting the ball first makes chipping easier and more consistent.

- place hands forward: This is infinitely easier when the ball is back. Hands forward provides the impetus to the stroke. It helps in getting a clean stroke and ensures you have a slightly descending blow.

- practice: I know chipping practice is boring but you must get out there. If you’re not a fan then get some Almost Golf Balls (Google them) - they make practice more fun.

- burn, bury or lose your sand iron: Please don’t start out with this club for chipping. Wait until you’ve mastered the 6, 8, 9, pw first.


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- see chipping as golf: What I mean here is this; many golfers look at chipping as the bit we do after we make a mistake. It’s more than this, it’s a serious part of the game that needs your full attention. Improve your chipping and the rest of your game will shine.

Evan: Is it true you used to be a really bad chipper?

Cameron: Some would say I still am. But I used to be horrible. I got into some bad habits, mostly trying to always hit the lob wedge and hit those spinning chip and pitch shots. They are really hard. When I stopped the rot and played the simplest shot I could think of my game improved out of site. I totally changed my outlook with chipping by following these 3 rules: 1. If I can putt I will putt, every time.

2.If I can’t putt I’ll use my 6 iron (or maybe a 3 wood or the 8 iron).

3. The sand iron is last resort.

I do have a funny practice habit though.

Evan: What is that?

Cameron: I practice my chipping a lot with my lob wedge. I find that it is actually a really hard club to use properly for chipping - but practicing with it makes all those other easier shots (6 iron, 3 wood etc) seem ridiculously easy. When I get out on the course and can use my putter instead, it’s almost like cheating.

Plus, the practice with the lob wedge isn’t wasted. If you need the lob shot you’ll know how to use it properly. But please limit its use, it should always be used as a last resort.


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Part 7 - Putting Evan: You’re famous for teaching Aaron Baddeley the “look and shoot” method. Can you tell us about that?

Cameron: I wouldn’t say famous! Aaron was struggling with his putting game. To be fair he was only 15 or 16. He had the world at his feet but I don’t think I’ve met a more driven person. He hated losing, like really hated it and had to win at everything.

I was about the only guy in the club that he couldn’t beat consistently. It was about this time that I started working things out for myself. I was playing better and was even starting to win some events.

Automatic Golf was starting to form in my head so I showed Aaron some stuff I was working on. He was naturally very good at ball sports and he took to the putting stuff like a duck to water. He would look at the hole and pretty much whack it in the back of the cup.

He was brilliant at it and spent hours (and I mean hours) learning to look at the hole and then shoot. He had no fear and he would do this time after time. We also did some stuff on alignment - but I don’t think that was anywhere near as important as his “look and shoot” routine.

Aaron is more “automatic” at putting than anyone I have ever seen. He is like the young kid in your club who can out-putt everyone, but only better. It was almost freaky how good he became and in my opinion it was all down to his brilliant automatic routine.

There was a time when AB was close to having his putting game ruined. He was playing in the South Australia Open as an amateur - he got a bit of publicity for his great play. On the Saturday he made a lot of putts but on Sunday he missed a few (it happens).

The commentators couldn’t help themselves:


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“He’s putting too quickly” “This routine will not hold up under pressure” “His inexperience is showing up here”

It was all a load of rubbish but some of this got back to Aaron. He called me up on the Sunday night worried about what people had been saying about his putting. Here’s the conversation we had.

AB: What do you think Cam, is my putting routine too quick?

CS: How do you feel about it?

AB: It feels great to me. I just look at the hole and knock it in.

CS: Do you feel you can putt well in tournaments with it?

AB: Yep, I sure do. I tried a bit hard too make a few putts today - I was trying to win and hit them a bit too hard, that’s why I missed.

CS: I wouldn’t change your putting for anything. You putted brilliantly on Saturday and have been for months now. Stick with it mate. There’s nothing wrong with what you’re doing.

History will show that Aaron went out the next week and won The Australian Open while still an amateur. He beat Greg Norman and Colin Montgomery down the stretch and his awesome putting was, well, awesome.

I’m glad he didn’t change. Here’s the good bit about this story.

The same commentators who the week before said he was too quick etc etc all changed their tune. They were now fans of his putting style. Golf commentators are best listened with the sound turned off.

Evan: I like it!

So how can we all learn to putt better?


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Cameron: You need to automate. Putting is less about skill and talent and more with learning to get out of your way. It’s a simple skill, it really is and I believe all of us have the ability to roll the ball along the grass.

How hard can it be?

Evan: It’s pretty basic when you look at it that way. What about reading greens?

Cameron: This is my favourite part of putting. Reading greens should be: look at the hole, let your subconscious decide all the minor details and then walk in and hit it.

There’s no need to burn a lot of energy trying to work out the break and getting all precise. Putting is not an exact science. I can’t stand how slow professional golf has become and how much time they take on the green.

The other day I saw a guy take about 90 seconds to line up his putt. Granted, I’m watching from the couch and he is playing for a lot of money but the putt looked pretty simple. Straight uphill from around 12 feet. He looked at it from every angle, walked back and forwards, took multiple practice swings and then left the damn thing short!

It’s just maddening. And young kids see this and copy. I just don’t get why golf is getting slower and slower. It’s not good for the game in any respect. Something needs to be done.

When it comes to reading a green you need an approximation of what the ball is going to do. A little bit left to right or right to left. You really can’t look at the putt and determine exactly what the putt is going to do.

Evan: Why can’t we? Why do all the pro’s line up their ball with the hole?

Cameron: On straight putts it’s fine to line the ball up to the hole. But when the putt breaks, trying to predetermine the break is stupid. And it’s stupid


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because you don’t know how hard you’re going to hit the putt before you actually hit it. Does this make sense?

Evan: Yes. It’s a good point because the amount of break is also determined by how hard we hit the ball. A firm putt won’t break as much as a soft putt.

Cameron: Correct. And even if you say to yourself you’re going to hit it softly, you still can’t see into the future and know exactly how hard you’re going to hit it.

So an approximation is all you need. From here, you can take a deep breath, walk in and make the best stroke you can.

And the more you can keep out of your way, the better you’ll do. And the best way to keep out of your way is to putt automatically.

Evan: Pretty simple.

Cameron: Yes, and there’s that simple word again. The worse thing you can do is “try” and make a putt. I hate to see golfers “give the putt a go”. Invariably, they run the thing way past the hole and it would have no chance anyway. You want to strive to become as natural and automatic on every putt you have - you’ll make some, but you’ll become really good at getting the long putts close and then sinking the majority of short one.

Evan: That reminds me of how you told me to practice my putting. Work on getting 30 - 40 footers inside three feet and then learning to make most of the 3 foot putts.

Cameron: Yeah. I got that one from a sports scientist. We can spend a lot of time practicing all sorts of putts, or we can practice the putts we’re going to have the most of. This is the 80/20 rule applied to putting.

Evan: 20% of possible putts account for 80% of your score?


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Cameron: Yep. The 20% are the 30 footers and the 3 footers. If you can do these well then you’ll also learn to putt all the other distances quite well.

Evan: Like 6 footers and 15 footers?

Cameron: Exactly. I’d go far as saying if you do nothing else but get good at making putts from inside 10-12 feet you’ll become an excellent putter. The goal with a long putt is to get it close to the hole - and this task is quite easy if you just look & shoot. If you’ve got a solid routine for the shorter putts you won’t miss too many.

Evan: What advice do you have for practice before a game?

Cameron: I like to see golfers get a feel for the speed of the greens. This isn’t always possible because not every course as a practice green, but if they do, go hit some putts and learn the speed.

It’s also a good idea to go through your full routine and knock in some of those shorter putts. This reminds yourself to stick to your routine. The practice putting green is not a time to be working on your technique or changing your stroke. You pretty much want to look at the hole and knock in some putts.

I wouldn’t spend hours hitting putts - get a feel for the green speed and commit to your routine and you’re good to go. That’s it.

We’ve all heard the stories of the golf professional who get to the course early and spent two-hours on the green prior and then went on to win the tournament. They are good stories, and I think that’s all they are. Stories. More golfers would have a bad putting round than a good one after two-hours of practice. There’s just not that many positive things that can come from a long practice session like this. You’re more likely to get bored and start making changes.

Evan: What do we do if we miss a putt or two early into our round?


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Cameron: Keep going. You’ve gotta keep putting. There’s no need to change anything. Sometimes we miss putts, it’s normal and it’s going to happen. The less you panic and stress about the odd miss, the sooner you’ll get your game back on track.

The worse thing you can do is throw your hands in the hair and think you’ve lost the plot. From here you’ll over-think, fiddle, fidget and get in your own way. This is “adult brain” thinking and will almost certainly result in you losing your way.

Successful putting has more to do with keeping out of your way than anything else. It’s not a difficult skill, we all can be great putters if we can learn to look at the hole, get set and pull the trigger.3

I know I’m repeating myself, but the more simple you can keep your putting game the better you’ll do. You really just have to trust your learning system and keep out of your own way.

Check out my resource page for more putting advice - www.golfgooroo.com/resources3


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http://www.golfgooroo.com/resources

Part 8 - Practice

Evan: I know you’re not a fan of golf practice. But can you give us your ideas on practising golf so we improve?

Cameron: Let’s get one thing straight. I’m not a huge fan of “normal” practice - the kind where you go to the driving range, work on your swing for a bit and then head home. This is not typically that beneficial - you get more exercise than improvement.

I’ve been saying for a long time that you must practice like you play, not play like you practice.

When you’re at the range, you want to be hitting shots to a target and treating the shots like you’re out on the course. This means you want to work the ball, change clubs and try shots you’re likely to face on the course.

I love to see golfers have clubs strewn everywhere and pick all sorts of random targets. Golf practice has gotten too precise. We go to these sterile driving ranges with nice mats, we lay clubs on the ground for alignment, we start with the short clubs and work our way through - it’s all very nice and pretty, but is golf really like this?

I think not.

So don’t be afraid to ramp things up a little. Hit a 3 wood, then a pitch and follow that with a 3 iron. Try all sorts of different shots to varying targets - don’t give your system a chance to get comfortable.

Evan: So you’re saying that “drill’ practice is out?

Cameron: The type of practice where you hit the one club from the one spot to the same target is completely outdated. This type of practice definitely gives you exercise and very little improvement.


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After the 2nd or 3rd hit you’re working on memory - you’re not challenging your system to lean/explore or adapt. It’s the worse kind of practice you can do.

Evan: What about working on our swing, when can we do that?

Cameron: By the way, I’m not against anyone working on their technique. But you should limit this type of practice to 5 - 10 minutes. Always. And I mean always, try and spend a good part of your session hitting balls like you’re out playing.

If you’re the kind of golfer that loves working technique and swing changes, then do this away from the driving range. Go into your garage and spend some time on the mechanics when you’re not hitting balls. Go through the swing in slow-motion, feel the swing and see if you can incorporate the changes into your swing.

If you want to hit balls the best strategy here is to do so in a net. Your focus will be on your swing, not on where the ball is going. A huge mistake golfers make when in practice mode is to work on their golf swing while hitting balls. They become distracted with where the ball is going or the result of the shot.

They are doing too much. If you’re working on your swing, then work on your swing. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t be working on your swing, hitting balls and trying to hit targets all at once. This is a recipe for disaster.

Indoor practice into a net (get some Almost Golf Balls) keeps your focus away from ball flight - your attention should be on your swing and what you’re trying to fix.

Now when you get to the driving range you’re free to let rip with your best swing. You’ll be practicing like you play and you’ll be teaching yourself to play golf out on the course. Far too many of us, and I was one of the worst at this, keep tweaking and working our swing without any real thought/plan on


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playing the game. So it’s no wonder so many golfers struggle with their game when they finally make it to the golf course.

There’s another type of practice I think is potentially the most important type of practice you can do.

Evan: What is it?

Cameron: It’s playing golf. Instead of heading to the driving range, see if you can go play instead. Even if you can play a few holes, this can be some of the best practice you can do.

-You are training yourself to perform where it truly matters. The practice fairway can be a distraction for serious golfers. The golf course is where it happens.

- You are free to explore and try new shots. You can even go to certain spots on the course that have given you trouble and find a way.

- It’s fun. I can’t think of anything better than playing a few holes. It’s way better than those terrible driving ranges.

- You get some exercise too. You’re out in the fresh air, walking, hitting balls and having a good time.

I know this sounds really obvious, but how often do we do it?

Evan: I know before I met you I definitely spent too much time on the fairway. I think your point is this;

If you want to be a technocrat and work on your golf swing then spend your time on the practice fairway. If you want to be a golfer, someone who plays the game and maximises their potential, then go play.

Cameron: Spot on. The more you play, the better you’ll get at it. And here’s one final point on this...


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... don’t treat the golf course like a driving range. By all means hit two or three different balls, but no more. Don’t stand on the 1st tee and hit 25 shots from it. This will upset the greenkeeper but it’s defeating the purpose. You want to keep mixing your shots up, hitting the same shot from the same spot doesn’t work. Please remember, you want to practice like you play, not play like you practice.

Evan: You’ve said to me that you don’t practice anymore and that with automatic golf you don’t need to practice. Can you explain what you mean here?

Cameron: I definitely don’t do regular practice anymore - haven’t done it for ages. When I do visit a driving range, which is hardly ever, I get bored quickly. With AG the focus is on playing the game, so I prefer to head to the course and play a few holes. What I mean is that the focus isn’t on working and making golf like a job, it’s on having fun and playing as much as possible.

When AG kicks into gear for you I doubt you’ll spend much time at the range either. It’s just not necessary. Playing golf gives you all the practice you need and your swing/game/talent/skill is gradually getting better and better. It’s just like how we do most other things in life so I don’t see why golf needs to be any different.

Once we get over the uncomfortable stage of learning to drive, how many times do we go practice? Or do we just drive and see our skill improve over the years.

Tennis players play, even when they’re practicing. Cyclists cycle. And runners run.

Golfers should “golf ” more. Leave the boring type of practice to those really analytical people who don’t really like the game anyway.

I want to make another point that is vitally important here:


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When you practice your golf game properly. When you play more and get away from those horrible golf driving ranges you might not be aware of your improvement as much.

It could be that you might think you’re not getting better. But you’ve got to hang tough. You’ve got to be patient. Here’s the thing.

The type of practice where you stand in the one spot and hit the same shot can result in some very good short term gains.

You can actually start to feel you’ve mastered the game and you’re going to set the world on fire. But this type of practice has a terrible side-effect...

... results are very short term.

The second you change clubs, or do something different or go to the golf course, there’s almost no retention. You lose the magic.

Has this ever happened to you?

You think you’ve got things worked out but before long you’re back at the start again. It’s frustrating. It’s incredibly frustrating.

And this used to happen to me all the time. I can remember this one time where I was absolutely flushing the ball on the range. I was belting my 4 iron like a champ - I couldn’t miss. My coach was impressed. My mate was impressed.

When I got to the course I played like a stupid drunk man. I couldn’t hit the ball. I lost the magic.

Proper practice might not seem as good because improvement might not be as obvious. But there’s so much more retention. You are actually learning and getting better bit by bit.

This was a huge revelation for me. Despite some amazing short-term gains, driving range practice was actually hurting my game.


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But learning to play and practice on the golf course actually worked. Do it long enough and I know you’ll get a breakthrough. The golf course is where the magic is.

One of my favourite books is called Mind Swings (Masters and Burns). And there’s a great chapter that talks about Learners and Naturals.

The Learners get regular coaching and do normal type practice. They essentially get fed a lot of technical information and are encouraged to keep feeding their system instructional advice.

The Naturals don’t get any of the technical instruction. They are forced to keep thinking to a minimum and are told to just “play” (in this case putt).

The Learners appear to get better results early. The Naturals appear to be lagging behind.

But when the research offers a monetary gain through a competition (to add pressure) something amazing happens.

The Naturals come out on top. In many cases they perform better under pressure. The poor old Learners come unstuck. They, for the most part, perform poorly.


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Part 9 - Random questions

I enjoyed the informal question and answer type format of this document and wanted it to continue with the “random question section”. The following list of questions (and statements) have been compiled over the years:

I’ve been asking every golfer who comes to www.Golfgooroo.com what their biggest frustration with golf is and I’ve got quite a list.

I’ve been able to reflect on the questions and come up with answers that please me. I’ve tweaked and prodded these quite a bit and I hope you get a lot out of them. There’s also some overlap from above, but this is done to highlight the importance of the concepts.

Enjoy...

I want to play consistently, how do I do it?:

Consistent golf can only happen when you learn to play subconsciously. If the word “subconsciously” doesn’t work for you think naturally, instinctively or automatically.

Any motor skill that is performed properly is actioned by our subconscious. There’s little or no input from our conscious mind. Over thinking or trying too hard for manual control just gets in the way and disrupts the entire process.

Here’s the best part that is not really understood by a majority of people who play golf: Your subconscious only knows one way how to perform the task - when you perform naturally, you’re only going to be delivered the way you know how. So this is the secret to learning to play consistently.

Your subconscious is not going to give you a strange swing or some random shot you’ve never hit before. It’s only going to bring your real golf swing to the surface. And if you can learn to not fight your subconscious, this swing will keep showing up time after time.


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http://www.Golfgooroo.com

- when you’re nervous

- when you’re playing an important round

- when you’re on the last hole and you need to hit a good shot

- whenever you want to play well

Your subconscious doesn’t care about your nerves or the situation - it’s job is to perform the skill to the best of its ability.

When you play automatically you’ll get your best swing/putt/chip most of the time. There’s nothing else that can happen.

If you struggle to play consistently and wonder why you can play well one minute but terrible the next it will be because you’ve disrupted the flow and interfered with manual control.

And this is my favourite part of learning to play automatically: If you can embrace the beauty of this way of playing I’ve got some great news. Not only does your subconscious only deliver your golf swing, it resists any variation to it.

What this means is that when you learn to automate, and you start to experience good swing after good swing (just like you sometimes get in practice), your system will fight any deviation from it.

The human system has an inbuilt safety mechanism that makes it really hard for us to learn new skills once they become automatic. This makes sense when you think about it.

If we forgot how to walk one minute, or decide to manually override our natural walking style we’d be in big trouble. The same goes for,

- driving

- running


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- eating

- balance

Add your own skill. But this knowledge is profound for the golfer and should be enough to convince you to play automatically.

AG is almost like cheating. It doesn’t guarantee perfect golf (because golf is imprecise, there’s way too many variables to truly master the game every time we step out onto the course) but we greatly maximise our chances. And it’s this advantage that puts the odds in your favour.

A gambling man will do anything to get an improvement in his odds - AG gives you this advantage and it requires no special skill or talent because it’s one of the most natural things that we posses as a human being.

When you start to play instinctively and see the results that come your way you’ll get a boost in confidence. You’ll feel better about your game and from here you’ll play more consistently. You would have heard the saying, “confidence breeds confidence”, AG gives you the confidence and it is no longer down to luck. It’s all about maximising your chances of playing your best and this leads to more confidence.

I have given Automatic Golf a try and it’s not working:

I can guarantee you’re struggling to let go and you’re thinking too much about what you’re trying to do. The adult mind (I call it Pesky) doesn’t like giving up control and it certainly hates change. So it is fighting you and making things difficult for you. So it’s highly unlikely that you’re following the process outlined.

I recommend that you play a few games of golf without any pressure. Head to the course by yourself and play as freely as possible. Let go of any thoughts and forget about controlling the swing. Let it flow from the 1st tee until your last putt. This process will give you your natural (and best) game.


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My hope is you’ll then be able to transfer this mindset/attitude to every game of golf you play.

I just want to get my swing correct before I try AG:

This is a false belief. Your best swing will only show itself when you’re playing automatically. Conscious control (or thinking you are able to manual manipulate the swing from start to finish) gives you a mixed bag of results and doesn’t allow for you to experience any sort of consistency.

So you’ll always be in fixing mode and therefore never be at the stage where you say, “OK, my swing is perfect now, I’m ready to play automatically”.

If playing good golf is important to you, then you need to remove the straitjacket and start playing automatically from today. This is the best, easiest and quickest way to light your game on fire.

How long does it take for AG to take effect?

This is the wrong question in my opinion and is stuck in a traditional mindset. The world is fascinated by quick-fixes and instant gratification. If you’re looking for a quick fix then you probably should be playing another sport.

Results can happen quickly if you’re able to keep your conscious mind out of the way. For many this can be a struggle and my own experience tells me there’s going to be a learning curve. The hardest thing is trusting your subconscious to do what it is you want it to do - but it is perfectly capable of hitting a little white ball for you.

A better question to ask yourself is, “can I afford not to play automatically?”

If the thought of driving to the course knowing you’re going to play well or learning something from each outing, or getting deep satisfaction from your golf game really excites you, then you MUST adopt a more instinctive and natural way of playing the game.


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I think my golf clubs are holding me back, do you think I should get a new set of clubs?

I wouldn’t rush out and buy a new set just yet. I call it the “myth of the fancy tool” and it has its origins in this instant gratification mindset. The thinking is we can buy a pill to solve our issues or we can buy a better game. No matter what the club manufacturers tell you, golf clubs and balls are limited by the rules of the game. Read: they don’t go any further and if you have an open clubface at impact, the ball will slice.

By all means, get yourself a good set of clubs and even purchase an expensive set if that makes you feel good. But nothing is going to help you play your best golf if you can’t learn to swing those clubs without fear. You need to be able to swing freely and without fear of the consequences. If golfers could do this more of the time then we’d all play much better and have more money in our pockets because we wouldn’t be rushing around looking for the next miracle cure or special club.

Sidenote: I believe if more golfers could play without fear the golf industry would boom. Golfers would play more and therefore spend more. At the moment the marketing is all about false promises and hope - “more distance” and “play like the pros” etc. This is a story for another day.

What do you think of rangefinders?

These are the best bit of technology in recent years and should be compulsory for all regular golfers.

- they speed up play

- they give you an accurate distance very quickly

- they are better than a GPS because they give you accurate distance to your target and not an approximation

- they teach you how far you actually hit the ball. There’s no guessing


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They also work beautifully with AG. You get your distance right away so there’s one less thing you have to concern yourself with. Because you know with 99.99% accuracy your real distance, you can choose a club with confidence. There’s less stuffing around and you will play better as a result.

I also think rangefinders should become legal in professional tournaments. It would definitely speed up play and promote the game in the right way. If golf can be sped up, even just a little, will make the game more attractive.

My game is a shambles, I don’t know where to start:

What tends to happen in this situation is nothing. The golfer is so overwhelmed with their poor golf, that doing nothing seems like the only choice.

Here’s my take...

You really do need to take a step back and stop being so hard on yourself. Chances are you’re overly serious with your game and you lack a lot of confidence. I’m also willing to bet that you’ve taken a lot of lessons, tried new clubs and generally think a lot about your game.

But this needs to stop, at least for a short while. All of the thinking and analysis is not helping you. It slows you down and inhibits your ability to play with flow. My best advice for someone who is seriously struggling is to head to the range and hit the ball without a care in the world - almost like you’re going to “hit” your way out of the slump.

This little step is really hard for many because they struggle to let go. They want to control the motion from start to finish and believe they’re able to. If this sounds like you but you’re still unhappy with your golf, then I think it’s time to realise there is a better and easier way.


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This “removing the straitjacket” approach will give your game some perspective. You’ll actually start to find your true game and the chances are you’ll see some improved performance.

At the worse level some golfers see themselves as “hopeless” and this is how they define themselves. They live and breath being hopeless and they start to like the attention this brings. The only way out of this is a dose of honesty and some reflection.

Automatic Golf makes a lot of sense, I can see the merits but I think I want to continue with what I consider to be the “normal” way:

This is your Pesky mind leading you. We all like to fit in and not appear to be going against the grain. By doing what you consider “normal” you give yourself an excuse;

“I’m not playing any better but at least I’ve done everything I was told to by my coach”.

Automatic Golf is more confronting. You’re putting your trust in yourself and you’re standing up to Pesky. He will want to fight you all of the way and you’re removing any form of excuse.

Yes it’s confronting. Yes it feels uncomfortable at first. Yes it’s a little different from the traditional technique or golf swing mindset.

But this is why you should do it. You should move towards the fear and not away from it. This is where you will find your greatest enjoyment and achievement. Your Pesky mind is a little shit - he thinks he is protecting you from failure but he is only guaranteeing it.

My mind is always active, how do I slow it down?

The first level of concentration is discipline. You need to be aware of what your mind is doing - this doesn’t mean you’re analysing, you’re just observing.


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And you may need to remind yourself so you don’t slip back into concentration ignorance.

Observation shines a whole new light onto your golf game. When you’re observing you can’t be analytical - you are just seeing what is. And when you can do this you’re in the moment. This is an important step because you are no longer fighting the thoughts and your mind. You are simply noticing what it is actually doing.

You may also be surprised by HOW much you’re thinking. It may even be confronting. But becoming aware of your thoughts, letting them come and go is the best way to slow them down.

I get really nervous before important shots, I can’t help but think negative thoughts:

Stop fighting your mind. It can’t hurt you and there’s nothing to be scared of. Accept the thoughts as normal and learn to become aware of them. Awareness will stop the negative power and diminish their regularity.

Put your awareness into your swing. Can you feel your grip throughout your swing? Or what about the clubhead? Learn to distract the bad thoughts by getting in the moment.

When you can feel what you’re doing right now you’re in the moment. This stops all the bad thoughts and gets you into the ideal frame of mind for success.

Scan your body for tension. What can you feel?

Are your aware of any emotions? Where are they hiding?

What can you see? What can you smell?


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All of these little tasks get you out of the past (or future) and right into the NOW. It’s where you need to be.

For way too long you’ve been led to believe you can control the motion for the duration of the shot. You’ve been filling your mind up with all sorts of instructions and tips - but have they helped?

Put your attention onto what is happening right now and you’ll do just fine. You’ll can play exceptionally well when you’re nervous.

How do I hit (insert problem shot here)?:

Stop trying too hard for a start. We attach negative emotion to shots that we have had trouble with in the past and therefore struggle to let go. We approach these problem shots with a busy mind, and from here failure is all but guaranteed.

I blame this on the modern mindset which tends to take a “more” approach to improvement. The more trouble you have the more information is fed to you. This only compounds the problem. What is needed is less information and an ability to automate the stroke.

I would approach all of your problem shots with a simplistic approach. Start by asking yourself, “what do I want to achieve”. Wait for the simple answer.

“I need to cock my wrists, rotate my body, swing on plane and release the club down through impact” is NOT a simple answer.

“I want to hit the ball to the target” is the answer you need. This “simple” objective is all you need to get going in the right direction. From here, grab your club (the one giving you the issue) and swing like you can’t fail. You’ll only be able to do this if you remove all the mental interference and focus on a neutral thought, like singing or counting.

And please don’t be in a rush. If it’s a difficult shot, it may take some practice to learn to hit the shot successfully.


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I don’t have any rhythm:

This is because you are over-thinking and trying too hard. When you can feel your swing from start to finish you’ll swing in rhythm. It’s not possible to “feel” and not swing rhythmically.

But most try too hard to swing properly and miss the point. Your rhythm will find you when you get out of the way and “feel” your swing. You can’t try and swing rhythmically, it doesn’t happen that way.

Most of the world’s ugly swings are caused by over-thinking and control. But let the worry/thoughts/stress go and you’ll open up a whole new ball game.

How do I get aligned properly:

This is another part of the game that has been over analysed. Lining up should happen naturally and easily. It requires little conscious input from you. In a perfect world, you look at your target, walk in to the ball, get set and you will be aligned properly for the upcoming shot. Try it, and I dare you to find otherwise.

What normally happens is this:

We walk to the ball worried about the upcoming shot. Our minds are filled with lots of thoughts/ideas/tips on hitting a good shot. When we reach the ball we spend time and energy on our alignment - we check our feet, we fidget and attempt to connect with the target. Golf becomes contrived and even a little stiff. We may be able t0 pull off good alignment, but we’ve lost all flow and automation for the shot. From this position we manually attempt to manufacture the shot - but this is all but impossible. The result is a weak pass at the ball and another unsuccessful shot.

So you’re much better off to trust you subconscious with the alignment. It happens easily and with way less energy on your part. You main role is to be


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clear with your intention (where do you want the ball to go?) so your instincts know where to hit the ball to. Alignment should become automatic and one less thing for you to worry about.

It’s also fun to play around without worrying about alignment. Instead of stressing about your score and where the ball is going, maybe you could play in a way that gives you the most enjoyment. How would you swing the club if you didn’t worry about where your feet pointed?

How do I hit the ball further?:

The easiest way to hit the ball further is to swing freely. I’ve been telling golfers for a long time to “swing like there’s no tomorrow” or “swing like you know you can’t fail”. This mindset causes you to relax and let your free flowing and natural swing shine through.

There’s little physical or mental tension so your body will work more efficiently. You’ll also maximise your chances of hitting the ball on the sweet spot, further adding to the distance you produce.

Don’t be greedy. There’s only so much extra distance you’ll be able to find. There’s no magic here and the reality is you’ll only be able to find 5 - 10% extra length. If you can accept this you’ll be less likely to bust you gut searching for anymore. You can get on with playing the game and avoid all other distractions.

Another point: Golf shouldn’t be an ego thing. If shooting good scores is important to you then please don’t become obsessed with distance. More distance is good, but it’s not the entire game.

And the funny thing here is that the less you stress and obsess about hitting it further, the more powerfully you’ll strike the ball.

How do I stop choking?


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It all comes down to over thinking and analysing. Like it or not, when you’re playing well you are doing so because you’re NOT thinking - you’re playing the game and your mind is in the moment.

Every golfer has found themselves playing well at one point. The usual drill is to think your way out of the zone. Your conscious mind makes up a story or two on why you’re playing well.

“I’m swinging slowly”

“My swing is on plane”

“I’m turning better”

It has nothing to do with this. You’re playing better because you’ve let your subconscious take over and do the work it is designed to do. The second you start telling stories, the flow will be lost. You’ll revert to conscious control and the game will seem hard again.

The best way to stop choking is to stay in the present. Keep following the process outlined above and resist all temptation to think your way around. The present moment is choke proof - you’ll only get you real swing to show up and nothing else.

Essentially, all you have to do to NOT choke is to play the same way that got you into the good position. You don’t need to do anything differently.

I just can’t do what you’re saying:

You need some focus and discipline. Of course you can do this - it’s more likely you’re scared of giving up control.

If I put a gun to your head and told you to swing freely you’d be able. You would quickly forget about all the crap and just swing the club. And this is the mindset you need to take with your game. It’s no good to still hang onto your


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old habits and then sorta try AG. You need a clean break. Leave the old stuff behind, and give a more relaxed, natural and beneficial approach a fair go.

There is no halfway point with Automatic Golf. Either you give this your full attention (and pick up a few scars along the way) or approach it with a half-hearted attempt.

I’ve always remembered this statement from Gerry Hogan,

“Scars are always found found on champions but never on cowards”.

The choice is yours.

I’ve been playing for years. I hit the ball well but I’m looking for something that will give me more. I really want consistency and enjoyment. Can you help?

If you’ve been playing for years then I’ve got no doubt that you have a reliable golf game somewhere inside you. The hard part is letting it out. I’m also sure you’re a bit of an accountant type, you like thinking and analysing so the thought of letting go doesn’t sit well with you. It actually makes you edgy.

But if playing better and more consistently is your thing you have to give up some control during the execution phase of your golf swing. This doesn’t mean you can NEVER think and worry about your game - you absolutely can. But the thinking has to be done before you hit the ball. If you can’t let go and continually want to consciously control your swing then you’ll never be the best golfer you can be. Golf will be hard work and won’t give you anywhere near the full enjoyment on offer.

What you need is a B.O.A.R

B - Belter

O - Of


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A

R - Routine

Your routine has two distinct parts, Physical and Mental.

The physical part of your routine is less important. It’s not that important because it offers you some flexibility here. And it refers to all the motions you make while getting set to hit the ball

- waggles

- looking at the target

- how you walk

- practice swings

- etc

The most important part of your routine is the mental part. This is less flexible and if you don’t give this part right you’ll jeopardise your entire game. And it doesn’t matter how good your physical routine is, if you’re mental routine falls apart you’re in big trouble.

The critical element with the mental routine is being precise in your objective:

where do you want the ball to go?

what’s your target?

and what club do you need to do the job?

These questions are at the heart of positive thinking and help you stay focussed on the job at hand. It’s amazing how many golfers DON’T give themselves a clear objective on each shot. Golf becomes a “hit and hope” affair and is the main reason golfers are inconsistent.


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If you haven’t got the courage to choose then golf will let you down. But when you have a clear objective, you are giving your system clear instructions on what you want it to do. It’s a bit like having a clear business plan. When you know what you want to do you are most likely to achieve a positive result.

Once you are clear on your goal you can pretty much walk into the ball and hit it. In time, you’ll work out which physical parts suit your game. You may choose to walk quickly and have no practice swings. Or you may find a few practice swings and a good look at the target suits. The choice is yours, but if you’re going to nail your routine, you need to make sure the mental part of it is solid.

A B.O.A.R can help you get your game on track and it will absolutely give you the consistency that you’re after.

How do I work the ball? I’d really like to be able to shape shots

What’s stopping you? That may seem a little harsh, but there’s absolutely nothing stopping you getting out there and hitting all sorts of shots.

Low ones. High ones. Left and right benders. The choice is yours. Go for it.

Too many of us are waiting for the answers, believing this is what’s holding us back. Yep, you’re going to need some knowledge, but you don’t need too much of it.

If you’d like to move the ball, the easiest way is to think in terms of the spin imparted on the ball. For a right hander, a slice will spin clockwise and anti-clockwise for a hook.

If you hit a big nasty slice then your goal is to hit some shots with anti-clockwise spin. How do you do that? That’s the million dollar question and unfortunately words are not enough.

You need to grab a club and go swing. Learn, explore and feel what you’re doing.


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You can vary the height of the shots by playing around with the clubface position. A closed face will hit the ball low while and open face makes the ball go higher.

But I can’t tell you exactly how to hit each shot, you are better off learning this yourself. Experiment and have some fun and see what you can do with a club and ball.

A different way of playing golf: I learned a lot about ball flight and shaping shots by playing with my five iron only, including putting. Golfers are spoiled by having 14 clubs to choose from. When you’ve only got one club you are forced to learn ways of adapting.

With the 5 iron you are going to try for a low powerful shot for the most distance from the tee and then the opposite with a shorter approach.

A few years back I was playing with a younger member of my club. He was having an ordinary day and had spent most of the 1st nine holes complaining and whining about his game. He really started to annoy me and I decided to teach him a lesson on the back nine.

I parked my clubs by the putting green and took out my 5 iron. I challenged him to a match - his 14 clubs against my one. He looked at me like I had rocks in my head, he couldn’t comprehend I could play golf with just my 5 iron. He was up for the match, thinking it would be an easy victory.

The first hole was a 380 metre par 4 and I deliberately missed the green short and left to avoid the bunkers. I was then able to chip and run the ball close and tap in for 4. My mate made a dumb bogey. 1 up.

The second is a short par 3 surrounded by bunkers. Normally it’s an 8 or 9 iron that’s lofted high into the air. This wasn’t an option for me and my little friend was laughing, thinking my only shot was a chip and run up through the bunker . I was having none of this.


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I aimed my body way to the right and laid the clubface miles open. I swung hard and the ball took off high right and then faded back to the left (I’m left handed). The ball came down on the green, spun and checked and finished 10 feet from the pin. The pressure was on, and the young kid choked under the pressure. He blocked his tee shot into the right trap and couldn’t get it up and down. 2 up.

We both parred the 3rd, a long par 4. but I was able to get home with two extra long 5 irons.

The 4th is a par 5 and these are the easy holes when you plan them right. The trick is to leave yourself a straight approach so there aren’t any bunkers to go over - essentially allowing an easy chip and run onto the green. It’s sort of easy because the 5 iron is relatively straight forward to keep in play and be more accurate with. On this downwind par 5 I was left with a 55 metre chip and run onto the green. I negotiated this fine and walked off with another par. Still 2up.

On the 5th I over-cooked my fade on the approach (it happens, golf is never an exact science) and the ball ended up in a bunker. “I’ve got you now, you’ll never get out of that bunker with a 5 iron!”, said my mate. He should have known better.

The lie was good and there’s a shot for this situation. But to do it, you need to think outside the box.

The key is to turn the 5 iron into the same loft as a sand iron and the only way to do this is to hit the shot from your knees. And this is what I did and was lucky enough to make perfect contact. The ball popped out high, landed on the green and trickled past the hole.

Old Mate’s jaw hit the ground. He couldn’t believe it. I’m not telling you to show off, it’s all about getting you to think a little differently and realise there


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is more than one way to play golf. We are free to try all sorts of shots but most of us are stuck in first gear.

This isn’t a story about me beating a young kid with one club. It’s the same lesson I wanted him to learn, that you can play decent golf all sorts of ways - you just need to loosen up and get out there and give things a go. Using a 5 iron only pushes your learning system and gives you no way out.

And when you push yourself like this, learning to hit fades and draws and other shots becomes much simpler.

What about recovery shots?

It’s the same deal. You need to explore and create and LEARN these shots. Please don’t wait for someone to TELL you what to do - this is old-fashioned learning and isn’t that effective. Rather, get a club and go have some fun. Try different shots and go to the part of the course that has given you trouble.

Can you hit a ball low under the tree branch?

Can you hit from a downhill lie?

Can you play from a divot?

What about hitting high, can you do that?

Can you swing from the opposite side?

Golfers hardly ever step outside of their comfort zone. They play safe. You need to move to the edge and forget about score and handicap, instead, focus on having fun and what you learn. This will be some of the most fun you’ll have.

A story: A few years ago I was caddying for a friend of mine. He’s a good player but is stuck with a traditional mindset.


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On one hole his swing was impeded by a tree branch, it wasn’t ideal, but there was a way he could maneuver the ball towards the green. Instead, my mate chipped out sideways:

“What are you doing?”, I said. “You could’ve played a big hook and got the ball near the green.”

“Oh, I didn’t even see that shot!”, was his reply.

Do the pros use Automatic Golf ?

I’m convinced that all great performances are performed automatically. When you see Roger Federer win at Wimbledon or Messi kick some amazing goal, they are happening at the automatic level.

And golfers are no different. The guy who wins most weeks generally has a few things going for him:

- somewhere along the way he gets a bit of luck. A good bounce or some other break that keeps a large number off the card.

- he putts well. Putting is a black art and sometimes it’s possible to putt well, only to see the ball miss. But when you win, the putts drop - at least more of them find the bottom of the hole.

- he/she is playing automatically. They are in the “zone” or whatever you call it. And they’re able to stay there for a longer period of time. The luck part comes into play when they invariably lose concentration and it’s just a matter of how they are able to manage this. If the luck goes their way they can snap back into the right mindset and the world is good.

But the thing is that most golfers attribute success to a swing change or some technical aspect they’ve been working on. So while I’m convinced successful golfers are playing automatically, they won’t come out and say it.


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It almost sounds like you’e saying, “near enough is good enough”

Yes, that’s a good way of looking at it. For years I tried to build the perfect golf swing and do everything the golf pros asked of me. It was definitely me trying to fit in and conform to the norm.

But slowly, very slowly, I realised that this technical application wasn’t working for me. What was the point of all this work if I couldn’t play any good?

I’m fairly certain that most golfers already have a decent golf swing inside them. It’s just that it doesn’t come out very often because it gets sabotaged by all of the thinking/analysis/worry that golfers like to go through.

But when we learn to think less, to stop the worry then our “real” golf swing shines through - it comes to the surface.

Now this swing might be a little funky, appear awkward and go against the norm, but it’s your swing and you WILL be able to play great golf with it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this golf swing.

I don’t think I’ve met a golfer who has maximised his game with his own unique swing. Most of us are only scratching the surface.

I’ve been playing automatically for years now and have a really good understanding of the learning process. And while I’ve had some success with my golf and feel lucky with the level of play I’ve reached, there’s still a way to go. I haven’t taken a lesson in years and still feel that Automatic Golf and natural learning can give me more. I don’t need to change my swing or overhaul my technique, there’s no point.

I hope this is making sense because near enough is certainly good enough. I know plenty of golfers who have spent years trying to build a nice golf swing and play perfectly but who have failed. What they fail to realise is that a more


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natural approach will give them better results and more quickly. While the natural approach my appear slightly “ugly”, it works better.

Your mission is to accept your natural way and get on with things. Get outside and play the game and don’t let your ego tell you otherwise.

Why do I always self-destruct on the course? I feel like I’m following the procedure but I’m not as consistent as I’d like.

This has been coming up a lot lately and I’m certain that you’re playing way too aggressively. You need to back off a bit and realise that not every shot you hit needs to be “magical”, “special” or that “winning’ shot.

There are transition golf shots where you simply need to get the ball somewhere in the paddock with the least amount of fuss. And I can be certain that these transition shots SHOULD be played with a conservative game plan.

Don’t get me wrong. You MUST still swing freely but you’re not taking driver and going the rip or you’re not shooting at the pin. You are essentially playing safe and moving your way around the golf course with the least amount of fuss.

When we look at other sports we see exactly the same thing. I was chatting to my good mate Scott Barrow about this. He came up with some terrific 4

analogies that explain the transition process perfectly. Here’s a summary of what Scott said.

Scotty B: Golf is a lot like the Tour De France in the fact that the leading riders can’t win every stage. They appreciate that some days are spent back in the pack and their goal is to finish. These days are used to recover so they are mentally and physically ready to attack when the opportunity presents itself.

See www.whatspossible.com.au4


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http://www.whatspossible.com.au

He then added this beauty...

Scotty B: Barcelona FC has been the best soccer team in the world over the last 7 years. They play an attractive style of football but this doesn’t mean that every pass is a game changer. They don’t always split the defense with pin point kicks and spectacular play. There’s lots of basic stuff that is used in a lead up - they players are waiting for the right moment to attack.

Some golfers get such a confidence surge with AG that they think every shot needs to be played flat out. So they,

- Hit driver from every tee

- Shoot at all the pins

- Swing flat out

- Try and birdie/par each hole

I’ve been saying for a while that AG can be boring. “Boring” is probably the wrong word, but essentially, you SHOULD take a more conservative strategy, especially with the longer clubs. Your goal should be to keep the ball in play and move your way around the course.

I say “boring” because it seems like you’re always playing safe. But what happens is you’re really starting to swing with confidence and start to trust your instinctive game. From here it’s all good. You naturally play more consistently and you’ll also be able to play more aggressively when the moment presents itself.

I should also add that there’s nothing boring about playing consistently well under pressure. There’s huge satisfaction to be had when you can take your game to the golf course.


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Sometimes good golf is less about hitting the amazing shots and making birdies and more about navigating your way around the course in the minimum of fuss. Sometimes we’ll hit the career shot, but most of the time we’re simply playing our game - keeping the ball in play and keeping out of trouble.

Cameron, I’m a huge fan of Automatic Golf and your teachings. I have been following you for years and I like your ideals. I have found myself in the last few months making too many mistakes and getting distracted. I feel my game isn’t where it should be, what do you recommend?

Two of my best clients asked this question (or something very similar) in the same week and here’s a rundown on what I think.

If you feel your game slipping then I think it’s a sign to ease up a little. It’s very easy to fall into the trap of over-trying and thinking too much. Some golfers, and I’ve made this mistake a lot, is to simply try too hard to make Automatic Golf work. So I would take a deep breath and let your game find you.

You can do this by playing a form of carefree golf. Get out onto the course and let things fire. Don’t think about what you’re doing too much, just get a sense of where you want the ball to go and the club to get it there.

Then hit.

And enjoy the process of hitting the ball. Please don’t get caught up in the process of AG or anything else. Just hit the ball and have some fun with it.

I’m sure this will help reset your golfing system and allow you to find your best swing again. Best results will happen when you forget about the score and competing. Just play. Go to the course when it’s quiet and just let your game flow.


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Another thing I’ve done when I feel my game is off track is to hit some balls (for around 20 minutes) with a very relaxed attitude. My thoughts aren’t on WHAT I’m doing with my swing, it’s almost like, how radical can I get?

So I hit big hooks and huge slices. I hit the ball low and then hit it high. I change clubs often and really just mess around.

This is a very good practice routine to get you out of thinking and into a fun learning kind of mode.

When you’re learning and having some fun (enjoying the feeling of hitting the ball or watching the ball or just being outside) it’s hard not to get the performance you’re after.

Sometimes, we forget the good stuff and focus too much on results. From here it’s easy to slip into bad habits and before long your game is a mess.

I like your story and I can sort of relate to similar things in my game. My issue is you seem to be a much better golfer than me, you’re a scratch golfer and I play of 19. I’m never going to be able to shoot a par round. So my concern is will Automatic Golf and your ideas work for me, or is it just something that works for better golfers?

One of my biggest frustrations is when people ignore the natural learning message because they don’t think it’s for them because they aren’t “talented” enough.

Talent is bullshit. When I hear people say, “Sure Cameron, it’s easy for you to say relax and hit the ball without conscious thought because look how well you hit the ball. This isn’t going to work for me”, I get a bit frustrated.

I have learned to hit better shots and become a better player because I have embraced AG. I have learned to get out of my own way. And as a result a better game has found me.


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And I think it works for all golfers. You might not play to scratch or shoot lots of birdies, but it will help you play your best version of the game.

We’re all made from the same flesh and bone. We’re all essentially hardwired the same way. So, if you learn to trust your inbuilt learning system and become less obsessed with swing technique you’ll get more from your game.

I’m not going to promise lower scores right off the bat. That may happen but what I’m talking about is much deeper than that.

What would it mean to you if you could play much more consistently without the struggle, strain or stress?

Or how about finding greater enjoyment and satisfaction - being able to connect with the game in a deeper way?

I feel strongly that most don’t get anywhere near the benefits from golf that’s on offer. Too many of us are stuck in a rut and victims to the score we write down or the handicap we play off.

But these are just stupid numbers. We shouldn’t feel that our golf games are measured by these numbers. We should strive to play the game in a way that satisfies us.

Will Automatic Golf work for you?

That’s up to you. Because what I’m talking about is embracing a form of play that’s so far removed from traditional thinking I’m sure many will struggle to take the leap.

It can be scary. We are a passionate lot us golfers and we are emotional and attached to our golf game. But at some point, if you’ve had enough and the game has thrown enough shit at you, you’ll feel compelled to make a leap.

What have you got to lose. Like a lot of things in life there’s two ways of doing something.


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There’s the hard way. And then there’s the easy way.

In my mind Automatic Golf is the easy way. There’s less stress, there’s less stuffing around and there’s certainly less bullshit to concern yourself with. You can play how you want and the choice really is yours.

Automatic Golf is not some miracle cure or quick-fix. It’s a lifelong commitment to playing the game. To learning and having fun and ultimately

being ready to play your best golf.

The principles are in line with how we do most other skills in day to day life. For the most part these things are performed automatically, without a lot of fuss or mucking about. We burn less energy and we probably don’t even notice how we are actually performing them.


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Watch any successful athlete when he (or she) is in the zone and I can guarantee they’re not worried about their form or some technical aspect. They are performing. They’re in the arena. They’re playing the game.

You can choose to ignore this fact and go about things in a technical way, or you can get with the program and play your way. Let your instincts take over and maximise your chances of playing your best.

The choice really is yours.

The traditional approach to golf - constant tweaking and worrying about swing technique is hard. It’s boring and very unrewarding. I’m offering you an alternative that works for all humans. You just have to be brave enough to do it.

I’ll leave you with the diagram below. It comes from Timothy Gallwey’s book, The Inner Game of Golf . This book is before its time and is very much 5

relevant today. It will still be relevant in 500 years. All points on the triangle have equal importance and natural learning (AG or instinctive learning etc) is the way to make it happen.

See http://theinnergame.com/5


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http://theinnergame.com/


Part 10 - The Next Step

Evan: Cameron, you’ve given us a great insight into your ideas, story and Automatic Golf, but what’s the next step - what can a golfer do right now to start seeing improvement with their game?

Cameron: You need to get off the couch, grab a club and start swinging how you want. It’s easy to read about the improvement process, it’s easy to watch a video or even go have a lesson. The hard part is applying what you learn.

If improvement is important to you, then go do something. I’ve given you a tonne of ideas today and you can start anywhere you want. My advice is to go hit some balls or swing a club in the backyard. But whatever you do, strive to play more freely and and find your natural swing.

From here you can take on the 3 Round Challenge. Go play without fear or concern for three rounds. Have some fun and see what happens. It’s my hope that something remarkable happens that convinces you of the accuracy of the information presented.

Don’t be scared of adding your own flair to your game. I’ve given you a blueprint of sorts, but I haven’t given you every ingredient so it’s up to you to add the things that make your game exclusively yours. So don’t be scared because there’s no right and wrong when you’re improving and having fun, it’s all part of the learning process.

I know I’ve already said this but ...

... too many of us are scared to trust ourselves to play golf how we really want. And this annoys me because this really is the path to play remarkably. There’s no other way.

It’s not possible for anyone, including me, to tell you exactly how to play better golf. But with good coaching and support, you can be pointed in the right direction. It’s then up to you to go for it and play like there’s no tomorrow.

The easiest thing for a teacher to do is fill your mind with a hundred bits of information. They can tell you about your grip, stance, backswing, swing


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plane, downswing, release, impact and follow-through. This is easy and requires very little skill.

It’s way harder to say just enough to give you a spark and then go quiet. But that’s sort of my goal here. I haven’t overloaded your brain with too much (I hope not) so it’s now up to you to write the rest of the story. Go on, go get your club and start swinging YOUR way, you won’t be disappointed. And when you do you’ll realise how great golf really can be.

Two more things:

1. Some golfers like to see my ideas in action. They want to get a grasp of what it’s like to swing without fear and see what it’s like to perform. I’ve put together a multi-media site with lots of video and supporting material that show you the process in more detail. You can see more here, www.AutomaticGolf.com/simple

2. A huge part of this learning methodology is staying on track. It’s easy to get sidetracked and fall off the wagon. Most do it. In fact, I need to constantly remind myself to not lose focus and get distracted. To help keep you on the right path I recommend becoming a subscriber to my email list. Tt’s FREE and I write 3-4 emails most weeks. All of which helps keep you focused and helps remind you to play with more freedom . 6

If you have any questions then I’d love to hear from you. I’d also like to hear your feedback on how this information has helped your game. Please forward your comments to [email protected]

That’s it for me. I hope you start to play golf with more passion and enthusiasm and truly start to trust your game. Go for it!

Good golfing,

Cameron Strachan

go to https://www.automaticgolf.com/blog/6


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https://www.automaticgolf.com/blog/

Other stuff you can do

If you’ve come this far and want to dig even deeper into the natural learning process then please check out this golf webinar. The video goes for around 60 minutes and it’s 100% free.

www.AutomaticGolf.com/webinar

See more on putting - https://www.autogolfshop.com/putt/

See more on the golf swing - https://www.autogolfshop.com/bioswing/

See more on my most important discovery - https://www.automaticgolf.com/simple

Full list of products - https://www.automaticgolf.com/products/


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http://www.AutomaticGolf.com/webinar

https://www.autogolfshop.com/putt/

https://www.autogolfshop.com/bioswing/

https://www.automaticgolf.com/simple

https://www.automaticgolf.com/simple

https://www.automaticgolf.com/products/

Secret Confessions of a Rogue Golf Coach

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Transcript of Secret Confessions of a Rogue Golf Coach