argoodman

I don’t think Cowen is here for the freeloaders and that’s fine by me. He’s clearly in the business of making money through golf, not giving away insights for weekend warriors trying to tweak their swings for fun. His focus is on professional golfers working at the game with the same intensity and dedication as any high-performance athlete. He’s not trying to build a large following of hobbyists; he’s teaching those whose livelihood depends on mastering their craft. And honestly, I respect that. He has his lane, and he stays in it without apology. What I appreciate most is Cowen’s no-nonsense, cantankerous demeanor. He seems like the kind of coach who eventually stops trying to explain something and just physically puts you in the right position—or creates the exact sensation you need to feel to understand it. There’s a take-it-or-leave-it edge to him that I actually find refreshing. He’s not going to sugarcoat anything or pander to fragile egos. That approach might not work for everyone, but I think it’s part of what makes him effective. He’s not losing sleep over it.

I’ve spent time digging into various YouTube videos that I believe attempt to unpack what Cowen refers to as his “pressure down” concept. I’ve also found his explanations to be somewhat broad and nebulous—open to interpretation and not always easy to apply directly. That said, I’ve tried to distill some of the key ideas from the videos and adapt them to my own understanding and swing. The first time I began to grasp the idea came from a video posted by one of Cowen’s students or followers. It discussed the importance of maintaining pressure and force throughout the swing—not in a tension-filled or rigid way, but as a controlled push of energy down into the ground. This idea resonated with me, especially because it seemed to have the side effect of syncing my arms, body, and rotation more effectively. I noticed I was minimizing unnecessary lateral motion and beginning to tap into vertical forces which made my swing feel more compact and efficient. Another video, featured a conversation between Cowen and Hideki, helped crystallize things further. In it, Cowen emphasizes how the lowering of the arms essentially governs the rest of the swing. For someone like me who struggles with sequencing, this was an eye-opener. I’ve never been able to keep my back to the target or to distinguish clearly between pressure and weight transfer. But what did click was the feeling that my body shouldn’t begin to open up until my arms have really dropped down. It’s the gradual increase of pressure into the ground with he arms lowering that causes the body to open. Now, I focus on driving my weight down into the ground through my feet, using that sensation to stay grounded and maintain a better sequence. Overall, I believe my ball striking has improved. On days when everything aligns, I play at a scratch golf. Other days, I feel more like a 10-handicap golfer still searching for consistency. This interpretation of Cowen’s philosophy might not align perfectly with what he intended, but it’s what’s worked for me. More importantly, it’s helped me reinterpret and better understand the advice I’ve received from other instructors over the years.