Best Golf Swing Thoughts: What Professional Instructors Recommend

Are you sabotaging your golf swing before you even start? Many golfers destroy their chances of success by focusing on harmful swing thoughts. In this lesson, we reveal which mental cues help your game and which ones are holding you back.

The Mental Game Trap: Paralysis by Analysis

The biggest mistake most golfers make isn't physical—it's mental. Having too many technical thoughts during your swing creates what instructors call "paralysis by analysis."

Common harmful pre-shot checklists include:

• Making sure feet, hips, and shoulders are square
• Checking grip position
• Focusing on keeping your eye on the ball
• Trying to keep your left arm straight
• Attempting to monitor your backswing position

These multiple swing thoughts make a free-flowing, athletic swing impossible. Your conscious mind becomes overloaded, preventing your natural athletic ability from taking over.

The Worst Swing Thoughts to Avoid

Our instructor identifies several particularly damaging swing thoughts that you should eliminate immediately:

1. "Keep your eye on the ball" - This classic advice actually restricts proper head movement
2. "Keep your head down" - Creates tension and prevents proper rotation
3. "Keep your left arm straight" - Causes tension and restricted movement
4. "Start the downswing with your hips" - Often leads to over-rotation and losing balance

If these sound familiar, it's time for an upgrade.

The Two-Thought Maximum Rule

Research shows that the human mind can effectively manage a maximum of two swing thoughts during a golf swing. The key is to have them work in different directions:

• One thought for the backswing
• One thought for the forward swing

Any more than this leads to a mechanical, choppy motion rather than a smooth, athletic swing.

Forward Swing Thoughts: The Game-Changer

One of the most powerful discoveries in modern golf instruction is the importance of forward swing thoughts. Most amateurs focus exclusively on backswing thoughts, but knowing where you're going is more important than where you've been.

Our instructor uses this powerful analogy: "If you're wanting to hit a ball straight down the middle of the fairway (Highway 70 to Kansas City) but you're swinging on a different path (Highway 44 to Tulsa), you're never going to arrive where you want to go."

Effective Swing Thoughts That Actually Work

Here are the instructor's favorite swing thoughts that produce real results:

1. The Hand Target

Imagine someone holding a catcher's mitt where your club should be after impact. Your goal is to swing through and hit that target with your clubhead when it's parallel to the ground. This creates proper follow-through and release.

2. The Forward Bottom Point

Place (or visualize) a tee 3-4 inches in front of your ball. Your goal is to hit both the ball and the tee, ensuring your club bottoms out after impact—not behind the ball. This effectively cures fat and thin shots.

3. The Parallel Check

Just like Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele's pre-shot routine, visualize your club being parallel to the ground and parallel to the target line at key positions in both your backswing and follow-through.

4. The Butt-End Pointer

Feel the butt end of your club pointing at the target line during your backswing, and then pointing at the ball during your downswing. This creates proper shaft angles and lag, especially with different clubs in your bag.

5. The Hip Tempo

Think "right hip back, left hip through" to develop proper lower body movement and consistent tempo throughout your swing.

The Tempo Component

Many professionals use internal tempo cues like "one and two" where "two" is impact. Having a consistent cadence for every swing creates remarkable consistency, even when under pressure.

Professional golfers maintain the same swing tempo regardless of the club they're using. The length of the swing may change, but the rhythm stays consistent—a crucial element many amateurs overlook.

Key Takeaways

1. Limit yourself to a maximum of two swing thoughts—one for backswing, one for forward swing
2. Focus on where you're going rather than where you've been
3. Avoid "keep" thoughts that create tension and restrict natural movement
4. Use visual targets for your follow-through position
5. Develop a consistent tempo with simple verbal cues

Next time you practice, try these professional-recommended swing thoughts instead of your usual mental checklist. You'll discover a more natural, athletic swing that produces better results with less effort.