Not just swing mechanics. Not just club data. But the walk. The intention.
When I first started playing, I noticed something. A lot of players out there didn't know how to really focus properly. Their eyes looked in too many different areas for it to be in a full zone — or they heard things that distracted their beliefs.
I noticed that my walk was more pronounced. More of a "I want the ball to drop there, run off to the right" — and I had a feeling in my golf swing that would produce that for me.
That's the difference. Not just swing mechanics. Not just club data. But the walk. The intention.
Technically, everything should be correct — but it doesn't need to be perfect. There has to be some type of feel in the golf swing to produce.
That's why I added Iain Clarke into the story. He understands that fitting is not just numbers — it's about matching the player's intention. His work gives the structure. Your feel gives the life.
You can have the right clubs, the right lies, the right shafts. But if you don't walk with intention — if you don't see the shot before you hit it — you're just swinging. Not producing.
The goal is the feeling of the ball dropping where you said it would.
I remember when I first started getting taught technically correct. Sometimes my golf ball would go straight into the grass in front of me off the very first tee. That had never happened to me before. Teachers gave me the correct feels, the right reasons why — but they didn't show numbers.
I've seen players get 00 on a launch monitor, then go out and hit the ball — and they're not close to 00. They have good feels. About 20 shots really worked. The consistency is better, yes. But getting the ball in the hole is worse.
That's the trap. You get the numbers right. You lose the feel. And the scorecard doesn't care about numbers. It cares about the hole.
Technically correct is not the same as effective. I love technology — just not when you get blown up by a coach who demands change from who you are when winning. It doesn't work if you change everything at once.
Martin Hall told me this once in Portugal and I wished I walked away before I got lost to who I was and how I was winning. Mind is better when you are in control.
Feel is not the enemy of technique. It's the bridge.