PGA Tour player Michael S Kim is quickly rising the ranks as one of the best pro golfer follows on Twitter. He’s not just funny and opinionated, but he also sprinkles in some really useful stuff for the rest of us.

When the rest of us think about tour players and their beautiful golf swings, one word often comes to mind: Effortless. How can they generate so much power, so easily?

There’s an element of truth to that notion, of course, but ultimately too simplistic. Pros do think about their swings, and they certainly work on improving them. The difference, as Kim says below, is that pros don’t eliminate swing thoughts entirely. But they do limit the thoughts they do have.

As he wrote on Twitter last week:

Despite what some think, most tour pros do think about their swings while hitting the ball. I think one swing thought can def be beneficial but more than one you are prob not doing either well as humans are terrible multi-taskers. You can go with zero thoughts but I personally have never done well with JUST visualization. Also, you have enough mental capacity to have multiple thoughts on the range but can’t afford that much brain power on the course especially if you have any consequences for the shot.

Kim makes a few really good points here that the rest can learn from.

‘Humans are terrible multi-taskers’

First, that the absence of thoughts entirely can often let the doubts creep in. It’s why it’s often helpful to give yourself something to focus on. It keeps your mind proactive, actively thinking about things you want to do, rather than the don’t-think-about-shanking-it stuff.

Kim mentions that humans, generally speaking, are “terrible” multi-taskers. It’s why he suggests limiting things to just one swing thought, because playing golf requires thinking of lots of different things that quickly consumes your “brain power”. When that happens and you’re thinking of too many things already, it never ends well.

Along those lines, it’s why Kim doesn’t suggest trying to transfer your range thoughts directly on to the golf course. On the course you’re thinking about the wind, the lie, your club selection, your last shot, your next shot, the slopes, your score… When you’re working on your technique on the range, you have the luxury of switching those off, and focusing fully on your golf swing. There’s a time and a place for that kind of practice, but it’s important to recognise the golf course is not that time or place.

It’s why the rest of us should follow Kim’s advice: Pick one thought you can transfer, and leave the rest on the practice tee.

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Scottie Scheffler won again last weekend. This time, it was the Players Championship. His second win in a month, his sixth time since last February, and his latest return to World No. 1.

Scottie’s rise has prompted a bit of a re-think about the golf swing. Or, perhaps less of a rethink, and more of a reminder.

The defining trait of Scottie Scheffler’s golf swing is his footwork. During his downswing, his trail (right) foot slides towards his left. Greg Norman did something similar, and Scottie himself says it’s become a way that helps him feel athletic through the shot. His feet slide in the same direction as the club when it swings through, which helps transfer his weight and prevent a left miss.

It’s a move that may have been coached out of a player in a bygone era. But Scottie and his long-time coach Randy Smith built around it. And therein lies the lesson, said fellow PGA Tour player Michael S Kim on Twitter.

If I was starting over or raising a junior I don’t think I’d ever teach him to swing it like Scheffler, nor Rahm nor JT. Everybody’s body is different, grew up swinging different. For all you aspiring juniors and ams, don’t try to copy someone else’s swing or their motions. More… https://t.co/BiYtntSzng

— Michael S. Kim (@Mike_kim714) March 12, 2023

We talk a lot about fundamentals but more and more I wonder what are the fundamentals? Grip? Set up? Alignment? I see 100 different variations among pros. Very weak grip like collin Morikawa? Strong grip like Zach Johnson? Aim way left and hit push cuts like Rahm? Find YOUR niche

— Michael S. Kim (@Mike_kim714) March 13, 2023

Find *your* best swing, don’t copy others

Kim’s point is a good one: That rather than caring how something should look, the ultimate goal is to meld a swing to your unique body. Everybody is slightly different, which means they’ll be more prone to swing the golf club in slightly different ways.

That doesn’t mean not changing anything ever in your golf swing, but rather, working with a coach to change the important things, without coaching out your good natural tendencies.

After all, it’s your natural tendencies that you’ll default to under pressure. The key to Scheffler’s game isn’t removing them, but rather, learning how to use them.

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