Step 1: Diagnose the swing problem

The first step, as with any technique improvement routine, is to diagnose and describe the problem.

John has a very flat swing which affects the quality of contact with the ball. John's coach wants to make his swing more vertical, or back on plane, in line with good golf technique. All this is fully explained to John at the start.

Step 2: Develop John's awareness of what he's doing wrong

Make John more aware of his own way of swinging the club so that he becomes more conscious of it.

Have him repeatedly swing at the ball in his usual way, i.e., the wrong way, and ask him to describe how it feels to swing that way. For example, he might say, "I can feel the club coming around my shoulder. I roll my wrists, too." Keep up this repetition of the swing and talking about the sensations for five minutes or more, until he can describe his physical sensations freely.

Step 3: Call John's own way the Old Way

Suggest to John, "Let's call the way you usually swing the Old Way?" Get John to agree. From now on, don't talk about John's "wrong" way of swinging; just call it the "old way".

Step 4: Develop John's awareness of the new, correct, way

Demonstrate the new, correct, swing. Ask John to copy that swing, repeatedly, and then tell you how it feels to swing that way.

For example, John might say, "In my new way the swing plane is more vertical. I feel I cock my wrists instead of rolling them. I can feel my left shoulder working more under my chin on the backswing."

Keep this up for five minutes or more, until he can describe his physical sensations quite freely.

Step 5: Call the correct way the New Way

Suggest to John, "Let's call the new swing I showed you the New Way?" Get John to agree. From now on, don't talk about John's "right" way swing; just call it the "new way".

Step 6: Describe to John the differences between the Old and the New Way

Tell John what's different between the old and the new way in terms of actions and bodily sensations. For example, "The difference between your old way and your new way is that in your old way you swing flat and behind you but in the new way you swing up above your shoulder, and your left shoulder works more under and your wrists cock."

If you are doing self-correction you would simply say the differences aloud to yourself. It's important to say it aloud, not just inside your head.

Step 7: Practise differences—five more comparisons

John now has to do five more comparisons, making a total of six. This not just mindless repetition but a special kind of practice—the practice of differences.

John may do more than six comparisons; but never less. Why? Because it works!

Ask John to swing again, first in his Old Way; then in his New Way; and then tell him the differences.

Please note that there is an important change in approach half-way through. That is, for the first two comparisons, tell John what the differences are between the old and new ways (as in step 6); but for the remaining three comparisons, you ask John to tell you what the differences are.

Of course, if the Old Way New Way^® steps are being done as a self-coaching session, then you will have to describe the differences aloud to yourself at each of the six comparisons.

Step 8: Practise the New Way

Now comes practice, practice and more practice of the New Way.

Ask John to swing in his new way six or more times. For variety, try doing the swing with different clubs, for example. This practice will consolidate his learning. Opportunities for more practice will occur during normal game play.

Step 9: Reinforce learning

The Old Way New Way^® learning session is now almost completed. However, John now needs to practice his New Way swing as much as possible, to reinforce his learning.

He should not do any more deliberate Old Ways. Nor should he do any more comparisons of the Old and New ways. He should only do New Ways from now on.

John can expect to be doing New Way swings at least 80% of the time from now on. He may even be doing 100% New Way, depending on how much practice he gets.

He may also still be doing some Old Way swings, say 20% or less of the time. However, he will know immediately when he's done an Old Way on 90% of occasions when it happens. This improved self-awareness enables him to correct himself and so accelerates his learning.

Here is how the self-correction process works. Every time John inadvertently does an Old Way swing, he should follow this simple three-step procedure: John says aloud to himself "That's my old way." He then says aloud, "This is my new way (and then he does it that way)." And then he says aloud, "And the difference is that in my old way I swing flat but in my new way I swing above my shoulder." That's all he has to do, and then he continues with his game from where he left off.

Step 10: Follow-up

If Old Ways are still present two weeks after the correction routine was done, re-diagnose the remaining problem with the assistance of the PGA golf pro and repeat the entire correction session.

Really difficult technique problems may require more than one Old Way New Way^® session.