There are differing views on whether you can iron out technical issues with your swing on the course. But we all try to do it, you only have to listen to the comments made by your playing partners as they 'self-medicate' often assisted by 'helpful' comments made by others if it is a social game, who are genuinely trying to help. Half the time, the player himself and his or her buddies are wide of the mark with their well-meaning advice, which can end up compounding the problem.
You can normally tell whether a player has hit the ball well or not, purely by the sound made by club hitting ball. Granted, the sound alone will not tell you whether the ball has gone left, right or straight, but it will give you an indication as to the quality of the strike.
Rather than obsess too much about your swing plane or the angle of the wrist cock or the width and speed of the takeaway, try this technique.
Just set up with your normal pre-shot routine. (You do have a routine don't you?) Then, after your practice swing, if you take one, clear your mind, commit to the shot and notice the noise made as club contacts ball. Don't consciously try to make a sweet sound, just notice the sound it makes.
As you continue to do this, it distracts your attention from the myriad of technical issues that you could be thinking about, and allows you to swing freely. You can even incorporate imagining the sound that you would like your shot to make into the pre-shot routine.
Practice this on the range first. After warming up, hit a number of balls merely noticing the noise made, and grade that lovely click from 1 to 5, but don't consciously try to make the nice sound, just trust your body's natural ability.
As you continue to practice this, you'll be surprised how the quality of the shots improve, and if you are having a bad time on the course, it is something that you can bring to mind, to try and re-set your game without getting bogged down in technical detail.
