"BODY AWARENESS GOLF"
By Lynn Bernadett, LPGA Teaching Professional, Tucson, AZ
Phone (520) 991-4952

Golf is an athletic sport, based on science and physics, together they make the golf swing work efficiently. Body Awareness Golf is my unique system of teaching, based on how you learn by human kinetics. The following definitions are to help you better understand what Body Awareness Golf is all about.

Athletic: Pertaining to, or involving athletes or their physical skills or capabilities.

Sport: An athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature; recreation.

Kinetic energy: The energy of a body with respect to its motion.

Kinetics: The branch of mechanics that studies the actions of forces in producing or changing the motion of masses. 

It's a fact, golf is an athletic sport based on kinetics. My system of Body Awareness Golf hones your awareness of motor skills in order to produce your efficient golf swing. During a lesson, I may make reference to your golf club, but only to recognize "cause and effect". The club can only do what your mind and body tells it to do. In addition, you learn about kinetic energy in its most simplistic form ("The actions of forces in producing or changing the motion of masses", i.e., acceleration, momentum, and rotation) and how it applies to your golf swing.

Everyone is built differently. In turn, this requires an individual swing analogy (or method of teaching) for each and every one of you. Your body guides your club in the golf swing, not your club guiding your body. Body Awareness Golf has three stages of learning: (1) set-up and motion patterns have to be introduced, (2) familiarity with the motion, (3) relaxation and confidence with making the motion (effortless and fluid-like swing). You will never be able to achieve your goals of relaxation if you concentrate too hard on the golf club itself. That is a mechanical way of thinking. Your golf club should be thought of as, "going along for the ride". You want to feel the physical motion of the golf swing in order to produce a golf shot; this is what Body Awareness Golf is all about.

To perform well in golf, as is in all athletics, you have to be "in tune" with your body at all times. You have to create a routine set-up that is in proportion to your target and your physical build. I emphasize your set-up to be the greatest influence on your golf swing. Your set-up is the "cause", and your swing is the "effect". The process of developing and/or improving your golf swing will always be in constant review of: your body's proper positioning, the feeling of being balanced and counterbalanced, your flexibility, strengths, and weaknesses. Your body's chemistry will change everyday, which will require slight alterations in your set-up on a daily basis, constantly influencing the performance of your swing.

Your mind is a powerful tool. Knowledge is power. Educate yourself on the importance of a good set-up in golf, it will determine the potential of your motor skills when your swing is put into motion. You want the golf club to rotate around you naturally. YOU control the club's actions. YOU are the foundation to your swing. YOU are the hub of your wheel. Knowing about your body's proportions in set-up, in respect to its motion, produces a confident golf swing. This is Body Awareness Golf!

* TRAIN YOUR MIND TO TRAIN YOUR BODY  * 

Lynn Bernadett is an LPGA Golf Professional at The Pines Golf Club at Marana and a Saddlebrooke resident. For lesson information, call 520-991-4952, in Tucson, AZ.