“Timing” is a sub-conscious process that you can enhance consciously by forcing yourself to visualise and then feel the rhythm of the shot, and then consciously “getting out of the way”.
The rhythm is the most important part of the swing by a distance because it is the rhythm that allows the two pendulums to synchronise which is what produces “timing”. The rhythm is the rhythm of a pendulum. That is: a decelerating movement away from the ball; a momentary pause at the top of the backswing; a gravity driven acceleration back towards the ball.
To re-acquaint yourself with the feel of the rhythm, sit on a child’s swing and close your eyes as you swing back and forth. Or, because your putting is obviously working, then . . .
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2nd – The chip with the 9-iron was obviously a poor shot and would have been difficult to get over psychologically given your good start and the fact that you had a chance to score well on a difficult hole. From your description you would have been chipping into the wind, and for some reason you have been a bit tentative and it has come up short. If there is a weakness in your game it is that you don’t trust yourself to be “good”. Facing a chip into the wind gave you the chance to “show-off” and hit something a little extravagant knowing that the wind would hold it up. It sounds to me like you played safe and paid the penalty. You need to take the shackles off your imagination and find your “Seve” occasionally. Your swing is definitely good enough; you just need a bit of belief (see below).
3rd – As I have said many times before, your ability to overcome disappointment is . . .
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To hit or throw something so that it moves from position A to desired position B, is an incredible skill and barely believable when one considers all the complicating factors. Nevertheless, humans have this ability and games have evolved to test it in a measurable way under all sorts of conditions.
At the very heart of our ability to hit and throw accurately is the phenomenon that is generally known as “timing”. It is a phenomenon that is experienced by all games players and can be described as that feeling you get when the shot has done exactly what you wanted it to do and with the minimum effort. It is characterised by a feeling that the shot is going to be perfect even before contact has been made with the ball. The shot feels effortless and completely controlled. From a thunderous drive to a deft chip, the amount of power exerted feels precise. In short, “timing” is what makes playing games worthwhile.
I discovered the secret of “timing” in . . .
