What is the Purpose of the Golf Swing?
18 Possible Good Answers To The Question:
Hit the ball
Put the ball into the hole
Send the ball to the exact spot where you want it to go
Hit the golf shot solid
Enjoy the game of golf
Help you be fit and flexible
Enjoy the outdoors
Have fun with friends and meet new people
Improve your game
Hit the heroic/great/amazing shot
Learn new things about golf and yourself
Spoil a good walk
Travel to great destinations to play golf
Compete and even gamble while playing golf
Have fun, enjoy
Enjoy the culture and etiquette of golf
Get you to the 19th Hole for food and drink
Bragging rights
All good answers. Here is my answer and explanation:
HIT THE SHOT
The most important part of my answer is the word “THE.”
When you see your ball in any location (tee, green, fairway, rough, bunker, penalty area, anywhere on the course), you have to figure out the target for the shot (direction and distance), how to avoid the major risk areas presented if you hit the shot to a place that can bring in a bogey, double bogey or worse. You have to assess the conditions, including the lie, stance given to you, wind, temperature, elevation, hitting uphill or downhill, slopes of landing areas and likely bounce direction, and distance for the golf shot. In addition, you also have to assess how you feel about what you can accomplish that day with your golf swing by asking questions like: Are you confident? (80% likelihood of success is a good measure for this); Are you nervous, tense, or anxious about the shot you are considering attempting?; Are you mentally and physically ready to hit THE shot you are thinking about? Do you know the right “pre-shot routine” that is appropriate for THE shot?
Analyzing all of this in seconds gives you a plan for what you want the ball to do, helps you include significant risk/reward calculations, and promotes “visioning,” or seeing in your mind’s eye the ball going exactly as you are planning for its travel through the air and what it will do once it hits the ground. Most importantly, you have answered the question, WHAT SHOT AM I GOING (attempting) TO HIT.
This is different from “How am I going to hit the shot which certainly requires a little thought as well. Answers like “hard, easy, ¾, with a draw, inside-out swing, fade, outside-in swing, high, low, ball position, grip position (choke down or not), clubface open or closed, stance open or closed, how high to tee the ball, etc.)
These are just some of the many options you need to consider in making THE shot you want to make.
I look forward to your ideas on the purpose of the golf swing, be sure to leave them in the comments section. So your game may be missing some types of shots that you can name. Learn how to hit as many SHOTS as you can by name, and this will help you deal with all the situations that golf will throw in your way on a golf course. And I did not even mention playing in the rain, which changes everything, so practice playing in the rain and going to the driving range in the rain!!!!!