I Golf

You are your own golf computer

Adolf von Gunten

Adolf von Gunten is born September 29th 1954 in Sigriswil / Switzerland.

He lives in Lenzerheide and is Swiss PGA Professional at the Golfclub Lenzerheide.

He has written the golf book “The next ball” in German language. As a player he was Vizechampion twice.

When I left the European Teaching and Coaching Conference 2005 in Munich, my dream was to communicate my way of teaching golf worldwide like Hank Haney, Dr.Ralf Mann, Scott Cranfield, Denis Pugh or John Stirling.

John Stirling`s message in the beginning was: “Do never stop learning.”

My English was modest at this time, I could travel, book a room, order some food,

I could survive.

During the days in Munich, I met Mr. Jürgen Kanzler of the Albrecht Golf Verlag, to clear the last details of my book “The next Ball”, which should appear in German language before Christmas.

I was convinced about my book and as it appeared on the German market, I was a little bit proud.

The golf language is English, and one year later, in my head I started to think and to teach in English, with the goal, to write my book in English one day. My self – confidence was little, but I was convinced about my way to teach golf. Like this, the idea began to grow in my mind.

Step by step, learning by doing. My mountain English is simple and part of the method to explain my way of teaching. Certainly you will find some grammatical and sentence construction mistakes. I hope you can excuse that, the main thing is the message: “I Golf.” But after the foreword I began to realize, what Thomas Edison meant: “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% transpiration.”

Famous players like Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods, or world-renowned teachers like David Leadbetter, Harvey Penick and John Jacobs have put down their methods and ideas in books. All technical details are known and described in detail, but that doesn’t make an amateur to a consistent player. I couldn’t get it out of my mind how hobby golfers could develop her game, that they reach a certain consistency. Many amateurs play very good balls, but the next one can be disastrous. To reach a consistent level, you have to achieve technical and mental security, that you can go on the golf course well-balanced.

Technique and mental attitude should build an unit, to develop internal peace of mind, or this in sports circles so often used word self-confidence.

The book “I Golf” shows you, how you can develop technical and mental self-confidence with always the same basic elements:

A – Grip

B – Address/Setup

C – Backswing

D – Down – and Forewardswing

As I began to play my first golf balls at the age of 23 years, I didn`t it playful and intuitive like a child, I had to work hard for technique, attitude and understanding for this sport. The knowledge and experience I won out of it is flowing into this book.

In the first part the known technical details are described, that you can develop a movement pattern, a swing to a natural repertoire, on which you can return day after day, on the Driving range, on the golf course or in a tournament as well.

The second part is addressed to the mental aspects of the game, the psychological moments, which are crucial on a certain playing level, if a ball is successful or not.

This book is an approach to a fascinating game, which will challenge us all the time. It shall help golfers to master it a little bit better one day.

Take your time while reading. Think about the different aspects, take your consequences, look forward, have faith in success, because only the one who believes in victory can win. I wish you many enjoyable moments on the most beautiful golf courses on earth.

Besides putting, in golf you work always with the same basic motions: Chip, pitch, full swing. The “Method Peak” has the goal to reach the peak of self-confidence, technically and mentally. That’s the reason why I start with putting, after that I continue with chipping, pitching and the full swing. In this way we try to impart a movement pattern, a structure with always the same basic elements, on which you can return. The basic motion or first motion in golf is to swing away from the ball (backswing), and then to swing through the ball (forward swing), dependent on the distance you want to play.

Ben Hogan said it very simple:“ The full swing is only the prolongation of a short swing” Peter Aliss recognized the core of the truth, he defined the golf swing for all the times:“ You tee up the ball, address it lateral, you turn and then you swing, and it will be always the same”.

The basic elements in golf with putting, chipping, pitching and the full swing are always the same:

A – Grip

B – Address/Setup

C – Backswing

D – Down- and Foreward swing

If you learn those four basic elements correctly, you can return to them your whole golfing life. In the beginning it's important that you try to learn them conscious, because only if you do one thing hundred times conscious, at the hundred and first time it will be automated a little bit more.

Also here the rule is valid: “Decisive is always the quality of the next step”.

If you learn A – B – C – D conscious with putting, chipping, pitching and the full swing, the four basic elements will be familiar to you, and I’m convinced, that your balls will fly better and better and further.

You are your own golf computer

We live in the computer-age. The human brain has invented the computer. We all know how a computer is working. If you want to print out something, first you have to click on the desired object, to activate the correspondent program, fix it with the enter-pushbutton, then press the print-pushbutton to print it out.

This working procedure you can use also with the golf swing in training and on the golf course.

My golf computer has four pushbuttons: Putt, chip, pitch, full swing, always the same thing.

If you practise chipping, press the chip pushbutton in your mind, and on your mental screen appears: Grip, address, ball position – make the similar practice-swing: length of the backswing, touch the ground opposite where the ball lies, hold the respective finish three seconds. Holding the perfect finish three seconds means to press the enter pushbutton, and your chip will be fixed on your golf hard disk, in your mind – the brain is steering our motions.

Now you like to print out – to play the programmed chip, you press the print pushbutton in your mind to start the execution and you play the ball exactly how you have programmed it.

If you practise this procedure with every ball with putting chipping, pitching and the full swing, your mind, your golf hard disk, your golf computer will be programmed in the right way and your swing will become natural and mental close to you.

The print out, the execution stays always a challenge for all golfers on every level, also for the bests, and the result we all know afterwards.

The key factor is that your mind, your golf computer will be programmed in the right way: Grip, address, ball position – perfect practice swing – enter – print pushbutton – execution. In this way the putt, the chip, the pitch and the full swing are fixed on your golf hard disk and you can’t loose it.

Sometimes while teaching, when the next ball is resting on the ground, I say to the student: “Pick up this ball, please.” Without thinking he picked up the ball and then I ask him: “What did you think?”

The answer usually is: “Nothing” or they look at me and are thinking, what’s the aim of that question?

I doubt that the muscles have a memory. I think it works the other way round. The impulse comes from our mind and then the muscles do their work.

The brain is steering our motions, it’s a neuro-muscular action. If you program your golf hard disk, your subconscious in the right way, you can play like a computer.

Golf and ski downhill-racing are two completely different sports, and at the first sight you can’t see any parallels. Looking from the outside, the downhiller is courageous, risky, and a little bit crazy. From the peak down to the valley he’s skiing so fast as he can. The highest speed will win. A fall takes any chance. The task is, to find the right dose between risk and safety, what happens through instinct and technique, reason and tactics. That a sportsman can evaluate right, he needs regular training, out of it he gains self-confidence. To be able to produce consistent performances, you have to climb the peak from the bottom.

As a boy, my dream was to become a ski racer and my love was the downhill. This sport was teaching me respect and self-confidence. I was growing up near a downhill-run where a race took place every winter. The local skiers prepared the piste from the bottom, the finishing line, to the start, the peak. As a boy I observed the downhillers, how they were racing down and I tried to imitate them. In the beginning I went up so high as my courage and skill had been. After a successful run I went up higher and in this way I developed technique and mental attitude naturally, hand in hand. One day I was at the top, on the start of the run and I knew that I’ve reached the “Peak of self-confidence”, technically and mentally.

From this moment on, my self-confidence was absolute. Self-confidence means to have confidence in yourself.

Even so I never lost the respect, that would be to dangerous, but I learned to approach a mountain.

The “Method Peak” has the goal, to develop the structure of the golf-motion from the bottom to the peak. In this way you can feel the instinct of the golf-motion, from the chip to the pitch and the full swing as well.

Now I’m sure that you can see any parallels between downhill-racing and golf.

The “MP” you can use for putting, chipping, pitching and the full swing. As Tiger Woods appeared in his first TV-Show with Bob Hope at the tender age of three years, they layed the ball one yard away from the hole, but Tiger picked it up and layed it one foot away, holed it, smiled to the audience, so easy is that.

The “MP” is technical and mental as well, and has the goal, to loose anxiety and to develop self-confidence.

When the starter begins to count: 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – go, then the downhill-racer needs enough self-confidence, otherwise he can’t win.`

You have your own video camera always with you: your eyes.

With your eyes you can “film” details of your golf swing, for example the grip of your left hand. Look at it some seconds, in this time your eyes will transform this picture to your mind, your golf hard disk. It’ll be fixed there, and your golf computer has the right picture of your left hand on board.

In front of a mirror you can “film” your address, your posture, the backswing at the 9 o’clock or 10 o’clock position, your full backswing, the start of your down- and forewardswing, the impact, the finish.

Or from the side, to see your address, your swing plane, the angle of the shaft at the 10 o’clock position.

“Film” the different details some seconds with your eyes to transform them to your golf hard disk. In this way you can program your golf computer. Once it’s programmed on your hard disk, in your golf computer, you can click on it for the rest of your life.