Fred Couples’ downswing thought? He says it’s really only five words

Fred Couples warns you. Motioning his hand around his head, he says:

“The biggest thing is, I got nothing up here. Zero. Zero.”

And his downswing thought is only five words, so if you’re expecting a novel, you’ve clicked on the wrong thing. That said, the thought also says a lot. Kudos, then, to Couples for being an editor’s dream by being concise. 

The discussion was started and shared recently on social media by six-time major winner Nick Faldo, and here, you should watch the entire post below. And below that, we’ll talk about it. 

How did Couples develop his downswing thought?

After being asked by Faldo for his downswing thought, Couples said it came about through his swing coach. Sort of. 

“This is how psycho that I am,” Couples said. “So I would work with Paul Marchand and he wanted to be shorter, shorter, shorter. And so when I played, I used to stand up to it thinking Paul was behind me. Like you had [David] Leadbetter, whoever was your teacher. And I would just think, OK, Paul — this is playing; I never had any alignment; I always stood open. 

“And I’d say Paul’s right behind me, swing shorter, and I would do it. Instead of saying swing shorter, I had to throw something out there.”

The takeaway: There’s something important to be said in making an instructor’s words understandable. 

What was Couples’ downswing thought?

Five words. 

Said Faldo: “You got to the top …” 

Said Couples: “It just went from there.” 

Said Faldo: “It just went.” 

Said Couples: “It just went.” 

Said Faldo: “And there it is, your swing tip of the day: Just went it. When it got to the top, it went.”

The takeaway: This won’t — won’t — work for everyone. The thought will likely work better for more skilled players. But having an uncluttered mind — and “just went it” — can help.  

What about post-contact?

One thing. 

“Hold my finish,” Couples said.  

Some players, Couples said, “buggy-whip” the club down soon after the follow-through. Not him. The club stays behind his head. 

Said Faldo: “You’d pose for a photograph, just in case.” 

Said Couples: “I would pose, yeah.” 

Said Faldo: “Just in case you got on TV.” 

Said Couples: “Even on bad shots, I would still pose.”

The takeaway: I really liked this breakdown here of why holding your finish is important. 

Did Faldo have a downswing thought?

He said he did. A few of them, it seemed like. 

“Oh, I had all sorts of beauties,” Faldo said. “Which Masters do you want to talk about?”

The three-time Masters winner then went with a thought he said he had in the 1996 Masters. 

“I remember the ’96,” he said, “I’d used to pull it down. I used to call it ‘boot.’ I used to send the butt of the club down to my right boot. So I used to pull down that way.”

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