Fred Couples warns you. He moves his hand around his head and says:
“The important thing is that I have nothing here. Zero. Zero.”
And his downward thought is only five words, so if you’re expecting a novel, you clicked on the wrong thing. That said, the thought also says a lot. So kudos to Couples for fulfilling an editor’s dream by being concise.
The discussion was recently started on social media and shared by six-time major winner Nick Faldo, and you should check out the entire post here below. And we’ll talk about it below.
How did Couples develop his downward thinking?
After Faldo asked him about his downswing thinking, Couples said it came about through his swing coach. Sort of.
“This is how psychopathic I am,” Couples said. “So I worked with Paul Marchand and he wanted to be shorter, shorter, shorter. And so when I played, I stood up to it, thinking Paul had my back. Like you had done [David] Leadbetter, whoever your teacher was. And I would just think, okay, Paul – this is playing out; I’ve never had an alignment; I was always open.
“And I would say Paul is right behind me, swing shorter, and I would do it. Instead of saying swing shorter, I had to throw something out.”
The takeaway: There is something important to be said about making an instructor’s words understandable.
What was the downfall idea of Couples?
Five words.
Faldo said: “You have reached the top…”
Couples said, “It just went from there.”
Faldo said: “It just happened.”
Couples said, “It just happened.”
Faldo said, “And there it is, your swing tip of the day: I just went there. When he got to the top, he went.”
The takeaway: This won’t — won’t – work for everyone. The thought will probably work better for more experienced players. But having a clear mind – and “just getting on with it” – can help.
What about postal contact?
One thing.
“Hold my finish,” Couples said.
Some players, Couples said, “whipped up” the club shortly after the follow-up. Not him. The club stays behind his head.
Faldo said, “You might pose for a photo just to be sure.”
Couples said: “I would pose, yes.”
Faldo said, “Just in case you’re on TV.”
Said Couples: “Even on bad shots I would still pose.”
The takeaway: I really liked this distribution here why it’s important to hold your finish.
Did Faldo have a downward thought?
He said he did. A few of them, it seemed.
“Oh, I had all kinds of beauties,” said Faldo. “Which Masters do you want to talk about?”
The three-time Masters winner then reflected on a thought he said he had during the 1996 Masters.
“I remember the ’96,” he said, “I used to pull it down. I called it ‘boot.’ I used to send the butt of the club to my right boot. So I always pulled down that way.
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