Ask any golfer, "What's the best way to improve your golf game?"

Nine out of ten will reply, "I need to improve my swing."

Guess what? The one with a different answer is probably the best player. His or her answer will have nothing to do with their swing.

That player already knows that improving one's swing DOES NOT guarantee an improvement in their golf game.

Most golfers mistakenly believe the golf swing is the most important thing in golf. Their belief is understandable. Everything the golfer sees, hears or reads about "how to play better" tells them they must improve their swing.

Sadly many of today's teaching professionals continue to promote that belief. I confess, I too was guilty of it. I and many teaching professionals had became nothing more than "swing specialists."

In fact, my first comment to most new students was, "hit a few balls so I can analyze your swing" rather than, "How can I help you?"

The truth is you only use a full swing on about one third of your golf shots. Don't believe it? Think about this, in order to shoot par you are allowed 36 putts which is exactly half of your shots on a par 72 course.

So the bottom line is, a full swing is far less important to the game of golf than most players think and if you truly want to improve your golf game then you should work on your mental game. After all isn't thinking required on all shots?