A good friend of mine was hitting 7-iron shots when I walked by. Most of the shots were close enough to each other to throw a blanket over.

I asked him what he was practicing and he told me he had changed his grip so his right elbow would be closer to his side. I said it looked good, but his reply was "Does it feel good?"

His answer to his own question is the reason why we practice after lessons. You are looking for awareness and feel of your new move.

You should not be thinking of your grip and right elbow when you play. When you have awareness and feel, it leads to trust.

Mechanical thoughts are for the practice tee. When you step to the first tee, you do not want the left side of your brain, the side that controls mechanical thought, dominating your thoughts when you play.

You want the artistic side. You want to see a picture of what you want to hit and trust the picture you just painted.

Whether you shoot 70 or 100, when you're playing your best you trust everything you do and it just let it happen.

Don't be mechanical and trust your swing. You will play better.