Feel vs. Technical -

[TourIQ]

Can you get too technical with the swing and mechanics?

Can you learn and play good golf based on Feel alone?

Are most GREAT players Feel oriented, rather than being Technical?

Some coaches teach Feel, while others teach the Technical side of the coin [like Leadbetter].

Many say they are FEEL players when they do not know what FEEL even means?

Does your learning style support one method over the other.

A quote from Albert Einstein "It would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would make no sense; it would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure." Now this to me explains the aspect of FEEL :rofl:

I once seen a guy with a scoccer ball between his knees practicing his chipping. On the putting green he looked stiff and technical. Then he goes and gets a ball out of his golf bag and I said to myself 'WTF'. Again real stiff and technical, probably couldn't break 100.

Can a player be very technical about how s/he approaches the improvement process but be totally a feel player once they get onto the course?

Do you think more professionals are Feel oriented and most amateurs / hackers are Technical oriented, or vice versa?

Sorry for the rank, lets discuss Feel vs. Technical.

[Heits]

I think the majority of the tour players are technical. I think the basics of the golf swing are founded by Feel, and grows Technical. There are obviously a number of pure feel players out there as well, most notably Lefty.

I think the Feel vs. Technical also relates to the whole "artsy person vs mathematical person". Are you right or left brain dominant? There are a number of quizzes/tests available to figure that out and I would bet if you would find a direct relationship between the two. .

Naturally, I think this also relates to game management throughout a round... do you Feel your way throughout and make shots dependant on how you feel, or do you make and stick to a game plan and decide that you're going to hit this shot in this situation and not stray from the norm?

As for hackers... I think they're normally over the top (no pun intended) technical because they've never found the true feel of a golf shot and only have the technical side to reference (aka the golf channel fixes).

Amazingly enough, this subject can get pretty psychological, which is why I think it definately interests me!

[Samick]

I think that once a player has the technical side of things, that then they learn what that feels like, and try to replicate the feel every time. There is a direct relation to what they are trying to do with the golf ball technical wise, and after doing it enough times, the player gets to feel what its like to hit the shot at hand.

If player A wants to hit a cut shot, and his method of doing that is to "hold off the finish" I would consider this to be a more feel oriented, BUT, there is technical merit to it.

Then, you have a guy like me. (this is gonna hurt and I'm prepared to take the heat) I would call myself a Feel player, in such a way that I know what works for my swing, and what it feels like to be in certain positions to make the ball go where I want it. What I feel, and what I think are happening could very well be two very different things from an outsiders perspective looking at me swing. I have a cause and effect type of swing. I see what my ball is doing, and I feel what I need to do to get it back on track, or to keep it going. I want to perfect what it feels like to hit good golf shots.

Getting back on track and to give my two cents on the questions at hand;

Can you get too technical with the swing and mechanics?

I believe that is the case, and you can see it with quite a few Pros and Ams, especially with the short game. If your too herky jerky with no feel for the shot, but technically sound, your success will be limited, in my opinion.

Can you learn and play good golf based on Feel alone?

I think you need some technical instruction to be able to advance. You can teach somebody what positions they need to be in, but only they can feel it when it happens. Good golf in attainable with feel no problem....but to be excellent at golf, you need some technical behind it.

Are most GREAT players Feel oriented, rather than being Technical?

I think that most tour players have a great sense of feel, and that the more elite players have a better feel than the rest. Its very hard to describe, but look back at the most famous active golfer right now, Tiger. When he came on the scene, he could hit the ball a ton, but had no short iron control because he had no feel and couldnt control the spin. Of to Butch Harmon he went and his game grew immensly with regards to feel, AND technique! Once he learned the technique, the feel for it grew, which lead to being No. 1 in the world.

Technical golf sort of predetermines that there is a proper technique to be implied for everybody.....but feel teaching deals more with the individual person, which is what I like. If you can teach a person the best swing for THEM and get them to feel it and react automatically....that, in my opinion, is golf heaven.

My two cents.....

[landlord]

This brings up another issue -- touch v. feel. Most of us can learn how to feel things better, but the very best players have superior touch.

And that you can't teach.

[hogannut]

[quote=TourIQ]Can you get too technical with the swing and mechanics?

Can you learn and play good golf based on Feel alone?

Are most GREAT players Feel oriented, rather than being Technical?

Some coaches teach Feel, while others teach the Technical side of the coin [like Leadbetter].

Many say they are FEEL players when they do not know what FEEL even means?

Does your learning style support one method over the other.

A quote from Albert Einstein "It would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would make no sense; it would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure." Now this to me explains the aspect of FEEL :rofl:

I once seen a guy with a scoccer ball between his knees practicing his chipping. On the putting green he looked stiff and technical. Then he goes and gets a ball out of his golf bag and I said to myself 'WTF'. Again real stiff and technical, probably couldn't break 100.

Can a player be very technical about how s/he approaches the improvement process but be totally a feel player once they get onto the course?

In my opinion it is a combination of both. You can perfect technique but unless you allow the technique to be applied through a "feel" you will only have half the puzzle solved. You're Beethoven example is very good. Anyone could go and take say guitar lessons and learn how to move their hands up and down the neck to play a song. That does not mean they are musicians. To be an accomplished musician you have to practice and develop good technique, but when you are performing you must just let it flow out, and you know what if you miss a note here or there it probably won't matter that much because the overall result is good flowing music.

This is very similar to the Hogan 5 step thread that Peter G kept on arguing that golf is a science. He was right actually, golf is a science, but the golf swing must be a free flowing motion that applies the science by a good set and pre-shot routine. My 2 cents worth!:hush:

[golfinseb]

I believe focus on technique is key to making changes. Emphasis on feel is important to perfecting that change.

One might say that technique is a systematic approach to teach feel. Therefore all good players hone thier technique and play by feel. The only question that should be asked is, is my technique the best, or is thiers better.

Therefore I would say all great players are both technique and feel players. Those that are only either/or are not reaching thier full potential.

[Heits]

I think people have a misconception of the whole idealogy of what Feel v. Technical actually means. It's easy to put together that you practice cetain mechanics you learn to feel what a good shot feel likes, but I think it's much more than that.

It is easy to say that they're both a feel and technical player, but I think the overwhelming truth is that many of the pros are technical players. Their swings are mechanically created and routinely practiced... which you can make the claim that it makes them a machine. Do machines "feel"?

I think Tiger is a prime example of a TECHNICAL player.

I think that most tour players have a great sense of feel, and that the more elite players have a better feel than the rest. Its very hard to describe, but look back at the most famous active golfer right now, Tiger. When he came on the scene, he could hit the ball a ton, but had no short iron control because he had no feel and couldnt control the spin. Of to Butch Harmon he went and his game grew immensly with regards to feel, AND technique! Once he learned the technique, the feel for it grew, which lead to being No. 1 in the world.

My opinion is that he became more mechanically knowledgable about his swing and became much more technical, where as before I think he played more by feeling his swing.

[TourIQ]

I think people have a misconception of the whole idealogy of what Feel v. Technical actually means. It's easy to put together that you practice cetain mechanics you learn to feel what a good shot feel likes, but I think it's much more than that.

It is easy to say that they're both a feel and technical player, but I think the overwhelming truth is that many of the pros are technical players. Their swings are mechanically created and routinely practiced... which you can make the claim that it makes them a machine. Do machines "feel"?
I think Tiger is a prime example of a TECHNICAL player.
My opinion is that he became more mechanically knowledgable about his swing and became much more technical, where as before I think he played more by feeling his swing.
Hi Heits

I would of guessed Tiger to be a FEEL player, not a TECHNICAL player. Are you confusing Tiger's near perfect swing mechanics, then this must make him a Technical player? I don't thinks so. I think the greats are somewhat Technical on the range to keep perfecting their swing, but when they win a lot they get into a Mental Zone and FEEL takes over [they don't think, just hit the shot, and not worry about the mechanics].

I do not know where the F/T split is with the professionals. Some seek out technical coaches like Leadbetter and others want to get as far away from Leadbetter as possible.

[wayland]

I would side with Heits' opinion that Tiger is more technical. Reason being that when he was on top of the world, he felt the need to break down his swing completely and rebuild it up again.

Here's a great article (http://www.linkageinc.com/company/news_events/link_learn_enewsletter/archive/2002/03_02_case_study_tiger_woods.aspx) Read it, there's hardly anything 'feel' based in there, it's all technical.

He also recognized that his style of emotion-based play was not going to carry him through to the realization of his single goal - to win more major golf tournaments than anyone ever before.

Sounds like he choice technical over feel (I'm associating the "emotion-based play" as feel).

I don't think it's as black and white as all of you are making it. I feel that most of the top players rely on feel when it comes to putting and short game. Whereas a technically sound swing is more important off the tee and hitting full iron shots.

[Dan_L]

90% Feel
10% Aggression

[dekker]

I think there is a period where the technical aspects of a swing dominate your game. Once that becomes ingrained however,feel takes precidence because your choices are predicated by past experience.

[TourIQ]

Here's a great article (http://www.linkageinc.com/company/news_events/link_learn_enewsletter/archive/2002/03_02_case_study_tiger_woods.aspx) Read it, there's hardly anything 'feel' based in there, it's all technical.

Great article wayland, so thanks for posting ...
Hard to tell what Tiger is, but I bet Phil is feel based.

[Heits]

Are you a technical of feel player?

For instance, if your swing breaks down... what's one of the first things you do? Do you go over your positioning at the different points of your swing? Chances are - you're a technical player as you go over your mechanics if something breaks down.

On the otherhand, do you just play through it and search for that feeling that you had before something screwed up?

As it relates to my first post about beginners or novices starting with more feel or technical aspects I think they should start by feeling the swing and figure out what it feels like to hit a ball well. From there they can work on the refining and mechanics, especially if they're more of a technical player.

On the otherhand, I find I'm more a feel player than a technical player and I maybe biased in my methods.

[TourIQ]

Are you a technical of feel player?

For instance, if your swing breaks down... what's one of the first things you do? Do you go over your positioning at the different points of your swing? Chances are - you're a technical player as you go over your mechanics if something breaks down.

On the otherhand, do you just play through it and search for that feeling that you had before something screwed up?

Great observation Heits ... hfs