Be a feel player like me: good touch comes from instinct and practice

Sergio Garcia

IT'S FLATTERING TO BE KNOWN FOR HAVING great feel. People think I play with a certain artistry, hit an entertaining variety of shots and make the game fun to watch. It's the kind of player I want to be.

I was very lucky to grow up on a golf course, and one where my father, Victor, is the pro and my mother, Consuelo, runs the golf shop. The course is Club de Campo Mediterraneo (where these photos were taken). From age 5 I'd roam the course with a club in my hand and spend the afternoon trying every shot I could find. Or I'd take on members for Cokes in chipping games around the practice green.

Two of my countrymen who are also known for their feel, Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal, had similar childhood experiences. I'm proud of my "Spanish hands" and put a lot of trust in the tips of my fingers. But I'm not unique. Feel is something we all have. The way to bring it out is through practice and reacting like an athlete.

I really like sports, both watching and playing. To me, feel in action is a tennis player sizing up a passing shot and in a split-second choosing either to break off a sharp topspin angler or completely fool his opponent with a soft, carefully placed lob. In soccer, it's an attacker seeing a momentary path through defenders and shaping the perfect shot past the goalie and into the back of the net.

Golf's similar-you just have more time. Feel, especially inside 50 yards, comes from a familiarity with how a golf ball reacts when struck in different ways from different lies to different target areas. That might sound complicated, but it's amazing how much your brain can process if you let your imagination do its job. If you lay the groundwork by ingraining good technique with lots of repetition, you can develop the comfort and confidence to focus on the target and let your athletic instincts take over. That's when your touch will be most sensitive and when you will truly be playing with the greatest of feel.

See it, feel it

For me, feel begins with the eyes. I want to take in everything: the wind, the grass, the lay of the land, the bunkers, the firmness and contours of the green. As I process all of this, I can feel my body, and especially my hands and fingers, reacting with increased sensitivity. That's when I let what feels most comfortable determine what shot I will hit.

I like to hit a lot of different shots, which means I often have multiple options. That can be a problem if I hesitate and think too much. But if I trust my instincts, I'll almost always choose the right one.

Once I settle on the shot, I take a couple of practice swings looking along the target line (opposite page). This helps me judge how hard I have to hit the ball. Most amateurs I see spend too much time looking down on their practice swings. No wonder they struggle with getting the distance right.

Over the ball, I like to stay in motion, by waggling and gently rocking from foot to foot. This keeps me loose and connects me to my target better, so that my whole body gets into the rhythm and tempo of the motion I'm going to use.

Emotion: Another side of feel

By Victor Garcia

I have been Sergio's teacher since he started playing. Even as a little boy he played with tremendous feeling and emotion. I've always encouraged it because, first, it is who he is. But second, it is the way he most enjoys the game. I know that the more he enjoys the game, the better it will be for him as a player.

Sergio's emotions all come from a central desire to excel. His drive, combined with his talent, is why he has been able to accomplish so many exceptional things at a young age. The occasions when his emotional drive is at its highest--most notably at the Ryder Cup-is usually when he plays his best. Sergio understands that emotion is a powerful force. Both the excitement from good shot and the anger from a poor one have to be channeled into a sharper focus on the next shot. That's not always easy for a young man to do in a game that can be as frustrating as golf, and there have been times when impatience has hurt his performance. But Sergio is brave by nature, and he gets better every week at dealing with adversity.

That doesn't mean Sergio is going to be less demonstrative. He shows his feelings not to get attention or to bother other players, but because they are natural expressions. As a regular member of his gallery, I know that's a big reason people love to watch him.

Dial in your wedges

I've found that on chips and pitches I can increase my feel by progressively gripping down the closer I get to the hole. It's something I picked up watching Seve, who will sometimes go all the way down to the steel. The principle is simple:

The shorter the club, the easier it is to control. But getting the right feel for this system requires some practice, because gripping down makes the club feel that much lighter. The more I grip down, the closer to the ball I have to stand, which also makes me feel more in control. I even narrow my stance as the shots get shorter. This whole process of closing in on the ball increases my sensitivity for the shot.

Gripping down and adjusting my stance also lets me expand my toolbox of shots. For example, if the hole is cut close and my mind's eye sees a low-flying shot that checks up quickly, rather than a standard chip, I can choke down on a lob wedge, play the ball back and pinch it off the turf. The result will be a low shot with extra bite. Try adjusting your setup and playing new shots; you'll be on your way to becoming a feel player.

FROM 30 YARDS: I grip down a few inches on my wedge and let my hands hang naturally from my shoulders.

FROM 20 YARDS: I grip a little farther down and stand slightly closer. As I close in on the ball, I gain control.

FROM 10 YARDS: At close range, my setup is very compact-and my target is very small. I'm trying to hole this shot.

Golf's best thinkers, feelers and blenders

In his book Perfectly Balanced Golf, Chuck Cook describes right-brain (feel) and left-brain (analytical) players. The former tend to focus on tempo and visualization, love to create shots and are prone to hot and cold streaks; the latter key on swing mechanics, love to practice and are quite consistent. Cook says a third type- balanced players-blends the two. These golfers use analytical thinking to plan, but then switch to the feel side when they swing. Here are Cook's picks from the 1930s to today:

Feel players

1930s                Walter Hagen
1940s-'50s           Sam Snead
1960s                Arnold Palmer
1970s                Lee Trevino
1980s                Seve Ballesteros
1990s                Fred Couples
Today                Phil Mickelson

Analytical players
1930s                Paul Runyan
1940s-'50s           Ben Hogan
1960s                Billy Casper
1970s                Johnny Miller
1980s                Tom Watson
1990s                Nick Faldo
Today                Vijay Singh

Balanced players
1930s                Bobby Jones
1940s-'50s           Byron Nelson
1960s                Jack Nicklaus
1970s                Jack Nicklaus
1980s                Jack Nicklaus
1990s                Greg Norman
Today                Tiger Woods

COPYRIGHT 2005 Golf Digest Companies
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning