There are only so many ways to swing a metal object on a stick around the body, yet, so many people have a very hard time with the golf swing. Besides that, it's not really all that hard to place the club into a good position at the top if one simply stands in front of a mirror and places the club in the proper position. I mean, there it is! Done. Next, it's not all that hard to mimic impact position in a mirror by setting up, then getting into impact position, look in a mirror, looks good, done. Also, it's not hard to mimic the position halfway down in a mirror, hips slightly open, cheese wedge trail hand, club handle in front of the trail knee, wrists still hinged, etc. Plus, when getting into impact position, it's easy to feel if the weight is on the lead side, easy to see in a mirror where the head should be, etc.
Thus about anyone can get into very similar static positions like the pro's. But as SOON as the ball is on the ground, the fluidity to execute those positions in sequence evaporates. My question is why? I'm not saying folks should hit like the pro's, shoot sub par rounds, or even scratch, but it seems most folks should shoot in the higher 70's to lower 80's, not 89, 93, 97, 110, etc. I don't think it's possible for someone to continually practice all the movements in sequence, like movements in baby steps, say for over a year, and still not overcome the obstacle of turning those positions into one movement. This applies to the short game also. Especially putting. But as soon as a ball is in front of a putter some folks have no idea where the ball is going, or how far. Worse, the swing is literally, at most, a total of 3 feet from back to finish.
Is the problem the person's perception of the golf swing? Do they not practice enough? Do they not trust the movements when done in one movement to actually hit a ball? Do they inject other sports they played into golf? I'm curious what others think. When I learned to play golf, in one summer I went from shooting >100 to mid 80's just by reading books like Hogan's and Nicklaus's, watching the pro's on TV, then replicating their positions in front of a mirror, or with the help of other golfers. However, I have many friends who play 4x per week, and have played for YEARS, and STILL shoot mid 90's.
Some may say instructions in the past were too hard "back then", but I also played golf with a LOT of very good golfers and they learned from the same type of instruction. Those guys were shooting subpar, and a par was considered a lousy score. So either they interpreted the instruction correctly, or somehow they were "gifted" and the rest could not grasp the concepts and/or were not gifted, but I don't think that's true. There's got to be some mental block that some folks can't seem to overcome.
@GolfLivesMatter - decades ago I learned the wrong fundamentals: swing, grip, stance, and alignment. And there has been a lack of commitment on my part to trust the swing that I learned, causing fear and lack of confidence. In that respect, with S&T, I have changed my attitude and burn a patch after contact with the ball, not worried where the ball lands or ends up. I just deal with it and move on the develop the skills that was missing that particular day. I used to score in the 80s even with the wrong swing of shift and lift. But I was playing 18 holes per day, including weekends. Those were the days BEFORE modern technical advances in clubs and balls. I will return to the 80s or the high 70s. I am patient to see it happen. I have played many sports, and golf, I have found, is the most difficult to master.