Mike McNally Golf Coaching

08/10/2026

Every bad shot comes with an explanation.

"I lifted my head." "I swung over the top." "My grip's too weak."

Every one of them is about your body. Not one of them can tell you what your club did to the ball.

That's the needle. Start there.

The full piece: https://www.mcnallygolf.com/blog/you-dont-have-a-swing-problem-you-have-a-guessing-problem

06/10/2026

What shot were you trying to hit?

Most golfers say "straight". For most people, that's the hardest of the nine.

Three heights: high, medium and low.
Three shapes: fade, straight and draw.

Pick one before you swing. Where it starts, how high, which way it curves. Then check the ball against it.

A miss against a clear plan tells you something. A miss with no plan tells you nothing.

The full piece: https://www.mcnallygolf.com/blog/you-dont-have-a-swing-problem-you-have-a-guessing-problem

05/10/2026

Most golfers don't have a swing problem. They have a guessing problem. New on the blog.

Most golfers don't have a swing problem. I know that probably sounds weird coming from a golf coach. I've spent nine years teaching, and before that ten years trying to get better myself. For most of that decade my swing improved but my scores didn't. I got better at swinging the club and no better

22/04/2026

Two of our Academy students recently took on the Scottish Student Golf Championship at Moray Golf Club — a genuine test of skill, patience, and adaptability on one of Scotland's great links courses. Here's how they got on. Klaus — A Promising Start to Life on the Links Klaus, who has recently be

08/04/2026

Seven out of ten people who try golf give up — not because the game is too hard, but because we've been teaching it wrong. Here's how Swanston Golf Academy introduced 200+ complete beginners to real golf, why we partnered with Operation 36, and what the 2026 Play 9 — Score 36 season looks like.

08/04/2026

The look your golf coach gives you when you’ve made a bad decision 👀🏌️‍♂️

More often than not, it’s not your swing that’s the problem — it’s the shot you chose to play.

Ollie was hitting 62% of fairways (PGA Tour average) but picking up 7 penalty shots from one repeated mistake.

Better decisions = lower scores. Simple as that.

📊 Shoutout to for giving us the data to have these conversations — tracking every shot between sessions so nothing gets missed.
paterson

12/02/2026

Learn how to improve at golf by designing the right environment. Why early success, structured challenge, and visible progress matter in Edinburgh.

09/02/2026

Most golfers think improvement is about practising more.

It isn’t.

It’s about how you approach improvement in the first place.

Over the years, I’ve noticed three common patterns golfers fall into — and only one leads to consistent progress.

I’ve shared a short piece explaining the difference, and why staying focused on the right thing often matters more than effort alone.

If golf has felt frustrating or stuck recently, this might resonate:

Most golfers think improvement is about what they practise . It isn’t. It’s about how they approach improvement in the first place . If you’ve ever wondered how to improve at golf and felt like you’re putting in effort without seeing results, this is usually why. Over time, I’ve noticed th...

05/02/2026

Assessment → Plan → Progress Here’s what makes Swanston Golf Academy different from most golf academies. We don’t start with tips. We don’t start with drills. And we don’t start by changing everything at once. We start with clarity . That clarity is what allows golfers — beginners, jun...

02/02/2026

Most golfers don’t fail because they’re lazy.

They fail because they’re trying to improve without a system.

Practising more, watching tips, and “trying harder” often feels productive — but it rarely leads to lasting change.

This short piece explains why structure matters more than effort when it comes to improving your golf, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced player.

👉 How to improve at golf: why systems matter more than effort:

Most golfers don’t fail because they’re lazy. They fail because they’re operating without a system . They practise when they feel guilty. They take lessons when they feel stuck. They watch tips when something breaks. It feels busy. It feels productive. But nothing really changes. That’s beca...