Stop Hitting at the Ball and Start Swinging the Club with Dutch Skiver

In this episode of On The Mark, Mark Immelman is joined by Dutch Skiver, founder of Blind Strike Golf, for a wide-ranging conversation on how golfers can stop overthinking, quiet the mind, and learn to play with more feel, freedom, and trust.

Dutch’s teaching philosophy is refreshingly simple: golf does not need to be buried under technical jargon. Instead, better golf begins with clear communication, a reliable routine, and learning how to let the club do what it was designed to do — swing.

Mark and Dutch discuss the difference between instruction and coaching; why many golfers lose their natural motion when a ball is introduced, and how the right training aid can help a player feel the solution instead of drowning in more swing thoughts.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

 ✅ Why “impossible” in golf often becomes possible when the lesson is explained in a way the player can actually understand.

✅ The difference between instruction and coaching — and why golfers need more than just information.

✅ Dutch’s two core keys to improvement: build a great routine and find finish.

✅ Why golf clubs are designed to swing — not be over-controlled or manipulated.

✅ How the “hit impulse” changes a golfer’s motion when a ball is placed in front of them.

✅ Why putting and short-game struggles often begin with the eyes, tension, and early movement.

✅ How Dutch developed the Blind Strike training aids to help golfers quiet their vision, improve strike, and release the club more naturally.

✅ Why a released putter gives you a better chance to make putts than a held-off or manipulated stroke.

✅ How the Short Plate can help golfers better understand strike, bounce, landing point, and short-game contact.

Key Conversation Points:

1. Golf Improvement Starts with Better Communication - Dutch explains that every golfer thinks differently. A good coach should understand the player’s world and communicate in language that connects with them — instead of forcing the player into complicated golf terminology. 

2. Coaching Is More Than Giving Information - Dutch uses a powerful analogy: handing someone golf balls without a basket gives them no place to hold the information. Coaching gives the player a “basket” — a structure for applying what they learn. 

3. Routine and Finish Are Everything - Dutch believes golfers need two essentials: a great routine and a committed finish. If a player can build those, the swing can become more natural, repeatable, and less cluttered by technical thoughts. 

4. Practice Swing vs. Real Swing - Many golfers make beautiful practice swings, then change completely when the ball appears. Dutch explains that the mission shifts from “swing” to “hit,” and that change creates tension, manipulation, and poor contact. 

5. The Eyes Matter More Than Golfers Realize - Dutch and Mark discuss how early eye movement, peripheral vision, and the urge to “see the result” can disrupt putting, chipping, and pitching. The goal is to quiet the eyes long enough for the stroke or swing to complete. 

6. Let the Club Work - Dutch’s biggest message is that golf is not about overpowering the club with the body or the brain. Once golfers understand the club’s role, they can better understand their own role: allow the club to swing and respond with feel.

You can also watch Dutch demonstrate his lessons if you search and subscribe to Mark Immelman on YouTube.  Make you practice purpose-driven and productive, employ some simple to apply lessons from PGA Pro Dutch Skiver.