The Worst Advice I ever received, was “Swing Slow”!
It just doesn’t work for me and most players IMO. It takes away from your nature athleticism and of course makes you Shorter.
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In high school I got hosely for like a week and a half. Went to my golf team coach/head pro at local course and he just said,”Oh well just set up with the ball on the toe of the club.”
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Accelerate the putter
“You like golf, why not just go to school and become a PGA pro?” me to myself at 19.
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This may deserve its own post 
I know three folks that have quit the golf industry… all three say “if you like playing, stay out of the business”
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I more or less covered it over on this thread. My particular dalliance with the industry only lasted a year, but my feelings about it were strong enough to keep me from playing for the next five. I’ll sometimes play the “what if” game with myself, but I’m confident I made the right choice and it was better doing it too soon than too late.
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Left arm straight! Terrible advice.
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If you like golf, quit.
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Being talked into playing again, while in the midst of a 12 year break from golf. 
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It was the best of decisions, it was the worst of decisions…(apologies to Dickens)
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Went for a lesson a couple years ago and was told I need to get better at hitting the middle of club-face and controlling where the club-face is pointed. No shit why do you think I’m here?
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You should also probably try getting the ball into the hole in fewer shots than you are currently. That’ll be $100. PayPal or Venmo work fine.
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That you need to practice your putting to become a better putter
Swing “smooth” or swing “easy” is probably the most detrimental swing tips out there for a number of reasons (maybe tied with “hit down on it”). People often point to players like Ernie Els and Fred Couples and say, “look out how easy they are swinging!” Well, they aren’t. Both of them were some of the biggest hitters of their day and easily got their drivers to 110 - 120 MPH - how easy is that?
Recreational golfers will take that tip and usually make very slowwww and controlled movements, particularly on the backswing. I see it on the course all the time. It’s not to say tempo and rhythm aren’t crucial in the golf swing; they are critical. The reason why golfers like Fred and Ernie look like they are swinging so easily is because their timing is impeccable.
This is perhaps one of the most important articles I’ve written on the site, and it’s information that has changed my game dramatically. Give it a read:
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Oh man @jon how did you know I needed this right now. This is one of my many pitfalls, getting a good rhythm. Clearly tempo is something that takes time to develop but probably the most underrated and least taught thing in golf. I am working on having a repeatable tempo. Probably one of the best apps I’ve bought again from your article, is total game tour tempo. I forget to use it after I’ve been swinging well for a while, but honestly believe I should be using it anytime I practice.
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I think Tour Tempo continues to be one of the best kept secrets in golf. Whenever I warm up or practice with my Garmin watch I always am checking my tempo. When things go poorly in my swing, especially on the course, it’s almost always because my backswing gets too slow.
The guys over at Tour Tempo have done some interesting analysis - when Tiger was at the height of his struggles a few years back they compared his tempo on the range versus actual rounds, and it was completely different. Every golfer struggles with this, and it’s another area where if you understand your tendencies it can make a difference. The teaching community still chooses to ignore this though!
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When I was taking my PAT, my buddy, who was caddying for me told me to ‘swing smooth’. That is a swing thought I had never had in my 24 years to that point, and it definitely messed with me. I started out bogey, bogey, triple, was +5 thru 3, and I told him to give me another swing though ASAP. As this forum is PG, I won’t mention what it was, but I stuffed it for birdie the next hole and played the last 32 holes well enough to pass by a couple shots.
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I like to use the tour tempo app tones (at 21/7 for me), while I warm up with my orange whip.
This helps me “set” my tempo for the day.
I also usually take one practice swing, focusing on nothing but my memory of those tones playing.
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I like the idea of using it with the orange whip. If you can get that on tempo, getting your clubs on tempo should be a breeze. Thanks for that insight
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