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One
Under Par A Newsletter from KeyGolf ...April, 2001 THE AUTOMATIC PRINCIPLE In order to use Clear Keys to
their greatest potential in shot-making, it is vital to understand the
principles that form the automatic foundation from which they work. Without careful comprehension, an
unwitting players may try to alter the process and miss the full value of the
keys' natural benefits. While alteration of the Clear Key process may not
result in disaster, by definition, it will leave the highest levels of an
individual's potential for achievement unfulfilled, unknown, unattended and -
with no more advantage than that possessed by one who never even heard of
Clear Keys and the automatic principle. If you are wondering why the
process can't be altered, the answer is simple. It works from principles that
represent the lowest common denominators in their categories of natural law,
cut from the same irrevocability as the laws of gravity, motion, light and
sound. No one can change the law of gravity. It can be superceded by
appealing to other laws, but that will not change gravity. The laws of motion
and lift, for instance, can be imposed in ways to counter gravity and produce
flight, but the gravity remains, and, in fact, becomes part of the process
that stabilizes flight. Flight is a perfect balance between thrust, lift,
drag and gravity. Planes go up, down and turn by altering the relationship
between those four basics without disturbing the balance. Mess up the
balance, and the plane will crash. In the same way, Clear Keys can be
superceded, but that will not remove the automatic principle. The laws of
manual function can be induced to override automatic [habitual] action. The
habits [which only work on automatic] aren't lost. They are merely shoved
aside for the duration of manual attention. "Clear Key" is no more
or less than our nickname for a systematic application of the very same
thought process that all of us have used, forever, without realizing we were
using it. A systematic approach is needed for something like golf because the
swing itself is systematic. A system might not be so important for things
like brushing teeth or tying shoes, which are orderly, but, not being so
complex, do not require the kind of systematic attention as does the golf
swing. The Clear Key "system" adheres to the principles necessary
to initiate and sustain automatic action. Called by any other name, the
principles would remain the same. You could call it "the blue light
special" if you wanted to. Still wouldn't alter the accompanying
principles. There are common symptoms in
evidence when anyone possesses an incomplete understanding of the automatic
principle in golf. Those include being stuck in mechanics (staying on
"manual") by failing to use a thought process (neutral, passive,
repetitive, sufficient in length) that clears a path for habits to emerge and
do their thing, blaming the process itself when something "goes
wrong," missing the significance of using practice to build an effective
automatic path, or simply regarding a Clear Key as too elementary for this
"complicated game." Clear Keys are to the automatic
process what a screwdriver is to a screw or a lightswitch is to a light. They
"turn" the automatic process "on," and keep it
"burning." As long as the key is "going," the automatic
process is "on." Notice that you could get away with using a butter
knife for a screwdriver or hot wiring two wires together to substitute for a
switch, but you might ruin the knife or set the house on fire, too. Golf, as any other activity, involves
a full range and combination of manual and automatic elements. The problem is
that we have not treated (or thought of) golf as being like other things. In
any other "trip," we "read the map" manually, but
"drive the car" automatically to arrive at a predetermined place. In golf, however, we tend to
approach it the other way around. We tend to set our sights automatically
(thoughtlessly) and try to drive the ball manually (with great attention to
the swing and target). That "works" often enough to tease our
perception and lull us into believing that we're on the right track - until
we hit a bump. At the slightest murmur, we rush to manual control, and, by
definition, totally eliminate automatic action. While manual activity is required
to build habits, once they are built, continued manual attention will
interrupt the release of those habits (on automatic), the natural increase of
strength of their function, and the growth of confidence that always comes
from having both the knowledge and skill of anything. Furthermore, the
irregular beat of manual (mental or physical) attention, prevents automatic
development, except building the habit of being on manual, which amounts to
creating a habit that destroys other habits. That's a little like having
cancer. First of all, there are no
short-cuts to the automatic principle. Either you are on it or you aren't.
There is no such thing as "partly on automatic," "sometimes
automatic," or "semi-automatic" in golf. When you are on manual,
you are not on automatic, and vice versa. While it is an adjacent subject
which deserves its own space, suffice it to say that every golfer wishes to
function on automatic. Mother Nature's way goes in that direction, but if
you've not had a clear blueprint for your habit development and haven't
finished the habits you need, you may get scrambled eggs when the chips are
down. Reason: 99% of golfers, who do not work with clear keys, are exercising
the right things at the wrong times, in the wrong sequences, or at the wrong
points in their games. Or they are facing the difficult task of trying to
synchronize two conflicting time frames, since the mind and the body do not
work at the same speed. The name of the game is to turn that around. Learn to
build habits and then put those habits on a well developed automatic path,
which will give you the best result for which you are capable. That's
"one up" on anyone who may have more talent, but doesn't understand
automatic or how it works. Clear the mechanism. Use your Clear Key. =============================== |