Beers with Sevam1

I recently caught up with our friend Mike Maves. I asked Mike if he could get me up to speed with what he's been up to. If you recall Mike is the author of "The Secret's in Dirt" e-book. If you don't own it or haven't read it, I highly recommend it. Mike has a real talent for describing the feels associated with the motions. He might have discovered a new paradigm for communicating complex ideas.

Mike is a real down to earth kinda guy, we in NYC call them a "Knock Around Guy". Very simple in his thoughts but at the same time very precise in his descriptions of them. He has recently joined forces with 1995 PGA Champion Steve Elkington GSED and they are working on whole host of ideas. This is the first of three audios which will appear weekly. Sit back and enjoy.

(click play to listen to the Audio)

If you haven't had enough Sevam1 here's his swing.

BTW: In the last statement, I seemed to indicate that The Golfing Machine was a methodology, we all know it is not. That was a slip.

Hit em Straight

TGM lineage

Ed Hanczaryk made a post earlier this month in which he suggested we try to get a lineage on some of the TGM AI's.
This was compiled By Brian Manzella and posted on iseek. Brian was kind enough to allow me to post it here. Keep in mind that Gotham Golf Blog has no preference or favoritism towards any particular one of these instructors (Although I do work with Gregg). Since it is Brian's work we will not edit it and post it in it's entirety.

By: Brian Manzella

...(Third person account since it may be copied)...

Ben Doyle - First Authorized Instructor of The Golfing Machine. Took TGM Author Homer Kelley's "framework" from the book, an developed a method for teaching what he calls a "Maximum Participation Pattern" to all levels of golfers. The results Ben gets with students willing to commit to a full overhaul are second to none. Ben is the most studied and copied teacher in golf, with nearly every famous teacher in the world owning his videos, mats or having worked with him in person. He is not a great public speaker, talks very low, and will not bend to the wind of pop-instruction. He is feared by some, hidden by others, knocked by competitors, and loved by long-time students.

Gregg McHatton - One of Ben's first direct proteges who made good. Gregg spoke at two of the first three PGA Teaching and Coaching Summits, was responsible for the development and (or) education of several teachers of note, such as Jim Petralia, Mike Hebron and Hank Haney among dozens of others. In recent years he has traveled less, and networked even less, and is just one of many hidden geniuses of modern golf instruction that doesn't fit into the cookie cutter golf media clone image. Teaches a similar very dynamic version of Ben Doyle's pattern and has done research that was years ahead of the pack, including work with Dr.Gideon Ariel of Olympic training fame.

Tom Ness/Chuck Cook/Martin Hall - Three guys who are on every top teacher list in the USA. All of whom started following much more famous teachers than Ben Doyle, but became huge followers of Ben, with Tom Ness being the most "Ben-like" of the group, followed by Chuck, and then Martin who has worked with other TGMers as well. All have worked with Tour winners, and in the USA are very big names, and have been on The Golf Channel, and in the magazines too many times as a group to even count.

Michael Jacobs - A former junior golfer in Mike Hebron's junior program, who studied with Ben Doyle and is a close associate of Rick Nielsen another New York-area prominent instructor. Very accomplished for his age, Mike nearly bought the rites to The Golfing Machine company, but continues to teach and gain status on Long Island. Is good friends with Brian Manzella, who he will be doing a school with in Long Island this year. The youngest G.S.E.D. (highest level instructor in The Golfing Machine system) ever.

Bobby Schaffer - Protege of both Gregg McHatton and Ben Doyle. Very accomplished player, who played on several US Tours as well as in other countries. Very long hitter for his size and excellent swinger of the club. On the top 10 of any list of "Best Swing By an Instructor." Has done numerous videos, does many corporate outings in the California area, and is still a relatively young man.

Steve Khatib - Protege of Ben Doyle, Gregg McHatton, and Bobby Schaffer (hence: "The Tree"). Very similar to Ben in swing model, but with a few modern touches and nods to the everyday player. Very bright man who studies the swing from many sources and is a fixture at PGA Summits, where is rooms with his great pals Ben Doyle, Brian Manzella and often Mike Finney.

Brian Manzella - Protege of Ben Doyle who came to Ben as "The most knowledgeable teacher on The Golfing Machine who had never worked with an Authorized Instructor" according to Ben. In the 20 years since Brian has learned from Ben, he has worked with several PGA Tour players, but mostly with Ryder Cupper David Toms, who Manzella taught to the Tour from college and then on the tour full-time and for the last 10 years on a part-time basis. An independent thinker, who teaches multiple patterns in multiple ways to golfers in his bases of Louisville, Kentucky, his home of New Orleans, Louisiana and from all over the USA and the world who come to his schools and lesson tee. Besides Ben Doyle, is the only teacher on earth that has attended every PGA Summit, every MIT Summit, and every TGM Summit. Operates a large golf website and produces very well-received videos.

Mike Finney/Tom Bartlett - Two long time students of both Ben Doyle and Brian Manzella who are both accomplished players and teachers in their own right. Mike was the #9 ranked Junior golfer in the USA and played on LSU's #1 ranked college golf team. Tom played on several US Tours and has competed in several long-drive competitions. Mike is a PGA Member and both he and Tom, are Authorized TGM Instructors, and work for the Brian Manzella Golf Academy. Mike has one of the finest swings in all of golf, and Tom is one of the best ball-strikers alive under 40 not playing on any Tour.

My notes: This of course covers immediate lineage to Ben Doyle. We still have countless others to uncover. Hopefully by reaching out to AI's across the country and asking them to introduce themselves we'll get a better grasp of who taught who and what. Remember we have Lynn Blake's camp, then there's George Kelnhofer (David Duval, Charles Howell III), Norrie Wright and countless others. I met quite a few Old timers this week, so we'll reach out and look to learn "about" and possibly "learn from" some of them.

Hit em Straight

Bill McKinney, PGA GSEM

"I have tried to get golfers to find a broader and deeper relationship with golf. If we could savor the in-between times, appreciate the challenge, make pilgrimages (come with us to the Masters!), and try to make our strides with diligence instead of haste, Golfdom would be a sacred kingdom."

--Bill Mckinney

(I want you to note a couple of things in this video, watch the wrist conditions and the Pivot thrust, It's got Mchatton/Doyle written all over it.---Ralph)

When and where did you start playing golf?
By 8 I was on the front yard hitting whiffle balls. By 9 I was on the driving range. Before 10 I was on the legendary Big Tee pitch and putt. The Big Tee was in Buena Park, California and is legendary for having lots of really good professionals practicing there (Jack Fleck, was one) and it was the busiest driving range in America for a couple of years.

Did you play professionally?
I went to UC Santa Barbara on a golf scholarship, then turned pro the day I graduated. I played the local Golden State Tour for 2 years before I went to Florida for a few months there. I was playing my heart out to break even. I also played some European events when I was teaching over there. I also qualified for the 1995 ATT National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach. So I had my one week at the big show. It didn’t take long to realize that I was better at leaning on my club than swinging it.

When and where did you start teaching golf?
Besides helping my high school teammates and then the college class at UCSB, my first lesson I gave at Tecolote Canyon in San Diego. Chris Riley and his brother Kevin were two of my regular juniors when they were about 14 and 15. It was fun to help such talented kids right out of college.

Bill working with a Junior Golfer

Where do you currently teach?
I am the Director of Instruction at Marbella CC in San Juan Capistrano. It’s a beautiful private course and I do take clients from outside the club.

Have you worked with Tour Pros?
Chris Riley and Candie Kung of the LPGA I worked with when they were teenagers. These days I have a few mini-tour players and one college kid who has been the top Division 3 player the last two years, Tain Lee. He’ll make it to the big show.

How long have you been an Authorized teacher of The Golfing Machine?
I did the written test in 1989 and was authorized as a GSEB. Bobby Schaeffer, Gregg McHatton, and I taught the TGM schools in the early 90s. I got my GSEM in 95.

How does your knowledge of The Golfing Machine help you teach your students?
I have been reading “The Yellow Peril” since I was 16. I sometimes call it the Book of Spells. Ben Doyle once said to me, “all swings that work are good.” Having a grasp of Law, Principle, and Preference; knowing that genius can be destroyed by trying to standardize a pattern; structuring a lesson plan; making it all applicable from children to Tour player; being able to communicate with people of higher education, such as engineers; I could go on and on.

What would you like to tell an Instructor considering becoming an Authorized Instructor in The Golfing Machine?
It’s not for everyone, but it’s very powerful when wielded by a sharp mind, solid guidance, and a fair amount of experience. I normally tell them to familiarize themselves with it for at least a couple of years along with an Authorized Instructor to see if it’s their thing.

Tell me about one specific problem one of your students had and how you used The Golfing Machine to correct the problem?
I’ll use my star pupil, Tain Lee, as an example—he’s a plus 4 handicap, but he constantly hit his wedge shots too far. We implemented a Circle Delivery Path along with a Push Basic Elbow to “kill” the compression a bit. It worked wonderfully.
You just asked for one, but I’ll offer a bonus cured problem – the optical illusions of the Descriptive Plane created from standing on the side of the line…I always use sticks to show the optimal launch line. It’s shocking what people think they see.

Who has had the greatest influence on your teaching ability?
I am a fan of something Jackie Burke said, “No one is self-taught. We all have thousands of teachers.” That said, I have had lots of lessons with Ben Doyle and Gregg McHatton. Bobby Schaeffer is practically my brother. All three have had immense influence on me. Steve Khatib and I have conferred for hours, as well.

What was the difference between working with "The Hat" and working with Ben Doyle?

I worked a lot with Ben and Gregg when I was at UCSB. Every time I left Ben, I felt like I should take up a new sport...until the incubation process was finished. Ben sort of throws the book at you during each lesson. The amount of effort and attention he gave me was peerless.
Every time I left a lesson with Gregg I felt like I was a better golfer right away--giving me an obvious FEEL to use as a pattern.
Going to Carmel to see Ben always included playing some of those fantastic courses on the peninsula, so that was always an added value to the experience.
They're both great!

You recently worked with a Golfer who suffered from M.S. and were able to achieve some outstanding success in helping to rehabilitate his game; can you tell us about it?
My childhood best friend, Brett Massingham, who is a PGA professional, was diagnosed with M.S. in 1995. He did re-hab with golf as soon as he was able, and I even moved in with him and his wife for a few months to help him. We focused on some of the things found in Matthew Rosman’s Biomechanical Integration Approach even though I didn’t have that resource yet. It was just from reading about how the brain and body work together along with my own ideas about the matter.

In your opinion what is the biggest single fault plaguing the average golfer?
I talk about the 4 levels of competence:
The lowest: Unconscious Incompetence- you don’t know that you don’t know.
2nd lowest: Conscious Incompetence- you know that you don’t know.
2nd highest: Conscious Competence – you know but have to think about it.
1st highest: Unconscious Competence – you know without having to think about it.

The biggest plague is Unconscious Incompetence. Golf is deceptively simple looking. They don’t realize what nuance is involved in the skill set.

Otherwise, it’s lack of Educated Hands “and never even be suspected”.

Other

Golf has helped me build great relationships over the years. I have made a point to keep my radar up for related business.
I have my California Real Estate Sales license which I use in three different ways.

My other websites:
www.billmckinneygolf.com -- Bobby Schaeffer and I have been hosting groups in grand style to the Masters since 2003.
www.golftribe.ning.com -- my personal networking site where you're all welcome to join.
www.mydstplan.com/mckinneycare -- being a renaissance man, I have several interests...read this site if you have a capital gains taxable event coming up.
www.teamasea.com/golfer -- ASEA is an industry-disruptive health breakthrough. I am a bona fide health nut. This is the best thing I've ever done for my health.

There are a lot of really great people in golf. I've been lucky to meet my share of them.

(That was Bill Mckinney guys, one of the true Gentlemen in the game today)

Hit em Straight

Dinner Last Night

Manzella holding court

(Mike Finney and Brian Manzella)

(Ric Friedberg, John Hardesty, Steve Haggerty and Mike Finney)

(Left to Right Mike Jacobs, Chris, Rick Neilsen)

I had a lot of fun with these boys last night. I look forward to featuring them and their thoughts on the future of golf and instruction. They really have some insightful views.

Hit em Straight

Some Pics and a Random Article

The Kid on my left can really "Bust It"

Dr. Gary Wiren , Author of the PGA Teaching Manual and the Man who rejected using the Golfing Machine as the Manual

For today's rant I have a syndicated article which is pretty much in-line with my thoughts on the so called secret. I will classify it as being in a state of unconscious competence . That's when you're playing well and not thinking about it.

The Four Stages of Learning

1. Unconsciously incompetent.
   You don’t know what your problems are, and you don’t know how to identify them.
2. Consciously incompetent.
   You see a lot of your problems, but you don’t know how to correct them.
3. Consciously competent.
   You know how to correct your problems, but it will take time and practice.
4. Unconsciously competent.
   You play well without thinking about it!

In a future post,I will elaborate on these stages using my game and progress as an example.

The Real Secret To The Ben Hogan Golf Swing

Author: John Lynch

By John Lynch

What was the real secret to the Ben Hogan Golf Swing?

Dr. Bob Rotella (Doc) the sports psychologist stated in his book "Golf is Not a Game of Perfect" he interviewed Ben Hogan shortly before Hogan's death in 1997. Rotella asked Hogan what the real secret to his golf swing was?

Hogan replied he always told people his "secret" was the cupping of his left wrist at the top of his backswing which eliminated the nasty hook he had early in his career. Hogan then told Rotella the reason he said this was because people wanted to hear something mechanical about the swing - so he gave them what they wanted to hear...

Which was a lie!

Hogan went on to say it wasn't until 1946 when he was 34 that he won his first major - the PGA Championship. He said he started winning major championships because he stopped being so mechanically minded on the course and began playing by "feel" and trusting his golf swing.

Since the Ben Hogan golf swing at this point in his life was already fundamentally sound because of all those years of tireless practice, there was no need for him to think about his swing while under the extreme pressures of major championship golf. Hogan started to trust his golf swing out on the golf course and eliminated all those mechanical thoughts preventing him from entering the winner's circle more often.

Hogan learned how to take his golf swing from the practice range to the course. He said this was like lifting a ton of bricks off of him, freeing him to use his imagination and instinct rather than his ego driven intellect.

Once Hogan began playing by feel on the course his golf game took a quantum leap! He began to score, and score often...

The result, 9 major championships!

Everyone always thought (and still do) Hogan's golf swing secret was the cupping of his left wrist at the top of the backswing which prevented him from hooking the ball - a demon he struggled with for a decade.

Hogan said you need to trust whatever golf swing you bring to the course and simply react to your target. The time to tinker with your golf swing is NOT out on the course but on the practice range...

This is the "real" secret to the Ben Hogan Golf Swing!

Now you know the real secret to the Ben Hogan Golf Swing!

About the Author:

About The Author:

John Lynch is owner of No. 1 Golf Book Reviews and has published thousands of golf articles. To learn more about the Ben Hogan Golf Swing and how to take your swing from the range to the course, John recommends you visit===>
GolfSwingSecretsRevealed.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - The Real Secret To The Ben Hogan Golf Swing

Hit em Straight.

John LagPressure Erickson III

What was your stroke pattern like at the time?

Junior golf and my first few years at college I was a model TGM swinger, a true Clampett clone, and I think other than Bobby, I probably had the best TGM golf swing of the hard core guys that actually really worked with Doyle or McHatton, that could in fact play a bit.

There were other guys that had great looking swings on video or those old graph check cameras but they weren’t winning anything. Ben used to come over to me on the practice range and show me Bobby Schaeffer’s still photos, and say I needed to be more like this, with ungodly lag angles, and I think that was not a good idea..for Ben to do that, because I could beat Schaeffer all day long.. so I think that was the first time I questioned Ben a bit. Schaff and I are friends, and I’m sure he’d be the first to admit that his action was a Doyle - McHatton catastrophically flawed science experiment gone wrong, taking Hogan like angles and then throwing them into a TGM dual horizontal hinge action. I think he toned it down years later and became a better player.

I was using super late snap loading backswing, maximum swing radius stuff. I mean my wrists would not cock until the last 6 inches of hand travel with my hands like a tower above my head.. a ton of extensor action, a very slow backswing where I could feel the club like it was this super heavy weighted sledgehammer feel on the way back, then I would do a big sit down, and pull the club down with steep shoulders, and just do the big full roll dump release into a full dual horizontal hinge with totally dead hands that was just wonderful as long as my downswing was slow, steady and evenly accelerated. Arms would just fly way off the body, and my clubface was pointed at the ground at the 4th parallel. A great technique? Questionable in hindsight. I really love watching guys that do it well, it’s really a thing of true beauty. But I think it’s better to stay in the science lab. But let me say this.. I usually had to beat balls to keep this machine swing timed or I could absolutely hit the ball sideways. . and as my career developed, I found out the hard way that when you add in the rigors of the road, and a bit of adversity, and get outside the comfort of the college golf fantasy life, golf takes on a whole new dimension.

Could you tell us about your Professional Career and how that influenced you?

After finishing up school I turned pro quickly to give that a try, and spent time hustling around Fresno drumming up money to get out there. I learned quickly that I wasn’t going to find sponsors playing in the local money games with good players, but found it better courting the members at the various Country Clubs around town. I would call out to one of the clubs, and ask the pro to put me in a group with a member with deep pockets, then I would shoot 65 playing with them from the white tees so they could really see how good I was, then when we were having lunch after the round, I would wait for them to start asking what were my plans.. and I would reach into my back pocket and pull out my prospectus and slide it across the table and say… “well, since you are asking!” that really worked wonders.

Back then you didn’t have all these corporate sponsors, and everyone on tour had someone back home footing the bill for them.

It didn’t take a lot of looking around to see that there were a lot of local guys that really had game that were not on tour for one simple reason. No backing. I had no interest in playing mini tour golf, and decided I would play on real tours or not at all. I wanted 4 day events, with a pro am with at least $100,000 purses each week. I really didn’t want to get comfortable playing tournaments where you ride in carts, play crap courses and make some mini tour promoter a bunch of money. It seemed really shady to me. I didn’t feel a pro should have to put up their own money to play the game for a living. I could make much better money getting into the big money games down in Los Angeles and Texas if I wanted that and I did have offers to do that.


I decided to play a bit abroad, and my first stop was the Canadian Tour qualifying. It was at Thunderbird CC in Toronto, and I think it was the first time I ever played golf out of the country. I played well enough to get my card on a first try, and played the tour up there in 1987. It was at Thunderbird that I first met Moe Norman. I was walking back to my car when I saw this big circle of people on the range and one of the players said, hey , you got to check this guy out.. he’s amazing. .so I went over there and watched for the first time.. a TRULY great ball striker. I had never seen anything like that before. Not even close, I really had no idea that a human could control the golf ball like that. I sure couldn’t. Moe was completely on another level. 5 levels up from where I was. But let me say this.. I picked his brain every chance I could in the 7 years I played in Canada. I was smart enough to know there was a lot to be learned from Moe, and I quickly became very interested in what he was saying . You have to realize that in 1987, Very few south of Canada know about Moe. At this time he was a 50ish year old guy sleeping in his car, that never took a shower, and to most of the pretty boy rich kids on tour, no matter how good he hit the golf ball, his life condition screamed loser… and I remember most all the guys would not give him the time of day. It’s funny how all these people come out now and praise Moe. A couple of the older tour vets would go around with a hat and try and collect 5 bucks from everyone to give to Moe, and I saw a lot of guys walk away and not pony up anything. It was really pathetic. I lost a lot of respect for a lot of the tour guys when I saw that crap.

The Canadian Tour, you got to see two things. The guys getting ready for the big time like Di Marco and Weir , and the guys coming down from the big time like Halderson and Barr. The rest of us just played the waiting game. Canada was the first time I got to play against world caliber players.. this was not college golf anymore.. these were real players. The talent was deep, we had guys like Billy Ray Brown, Bradley Hughes, Craig Parry. 

There is this big illusion created by the PGA Tour that if you are good, you must play the PGA Tour. But that is not reality. I’ll give you an example. Jim Benepe won the order of merit up there in Canada, and no one had heard of him in an American living room. He gets a “one off” sponsor exemption into the PGA Tour Western Open back when they played it at the tour’s toughest course, Butler National in Chicago. And Benepe in his very first tour start, goes out and wins the event beating Greg Norman coming down the stretch.

My point is, there were guys all over every bit as good as the guys you’d see on TV making millions. There were Canadian players who just played their tour, year after year, and were every bit as good as the so called name US players. Guys you never heard of would go out and shoot 62 on tough tracks with persimmon. It was really impressive, and my hats off to all those guys who really played for the love of the game.


In college you could shoot a few under and win a tournament. Of course this was back in the age of persimmons, balatas and blades. It was a totally different game back then when we were all hitting it 250 off the tee.

Turning pro was my second big wake up call. I would shoot 72, 69, and I would be looking at the board on Friday afternoon to see if I was going to make the cut, instead of seeing my name on another golf trophy. I just couldn’t believe how low guys would go on some pretty tough tracks. You’d have to shoot 12 under to get even near winning and often go much deeper to actually win an event. 66 didn’t mean you could shoot 74 the next day and still be in the lead.

I think I finished around 30th on the money list my first year, so that was good enough to get me an exemption through the Australian Tour Q school, so I basically went straight from Canada down to Australia and right onto that tour which really was wonderful. My first event was The Australian PGA Championship, and I made the cut and then just kept making cuts, and picking up checks and really enjoying that whole experience. I think I was 23 and as young as I was, I did feel like I had enough experience to feel I belonged out there, but I was clearly not a standout. Australia was the first time I got to play against the really big names.. like Norman, Lyle, Woosnam. These guys were just playing golf at totally different level. I really felt just honored to get to play in events with these guys.

One week I played well and found myself paired with David Graham who had won the US Open, and Bob Shearer who was also a very successful player who had won on the PGA Tour and everywhere else in the world, and had Greg Norman playing right behind me. That was the first time I remember feeling like I had reached the big leagues. I never thought of the Australian Tour as a second rate tour. The events were first class, full national TV coverage, big names every week, and good money for back then. I must say, I really fell in love with those golf courses and that style of golf. I don’t know how it is now, but I really felt like the Australians had a lot more integrity with their golf, because they would hold their events on their nations best courses, lot of classic Alister MacKenzie designs, and those courses where really tough. Things were not as commercialized back then. It was about golf, not selling home lots after the event was over. The Australians would walk too, and not take golf carts back then.. so the courses weren't littered with cart paths which was great.

I really didn’t like the direction the PGA Tour was going with Stadium golf courses, and all those silly Pete Dye designs with all the island greens and railroad ties that you would bounce your ball off. I never thought railroad ties had any business on a golf course. So I think that playing the Australian Tour was the most fun thing I did in golf. I never won down there. I did pop up on the leader board a few times on Sunday, but I didn’t have the ability yet to beat those guys. I just didn’t have the game to beat guys like Peter Senior, or Greg Norman on a week they were playing well. I couldn’t even get close to them. These guys would shoot 64 on US Open type golf courses… and do it often, sometimes two or three times a week. Even if I could learn to hit the ball that good I don’t think I could ever putt that good. You still have to make the putts even if you pepper it in there 15 feet all day long.

I still get asked why I didn’t pursue the PGA Tour here like most others did. For me, golf was never about only money. If I could play 4 round events on golf courses that excited me, pay my caddie, hotel bill and put gas in the car or a plane ticket to the next event, I was as happy as one could be. I did try a couple times, once missing at the finals down in Houston at Woodlands. The three stage thing was a drag, and it would eat up three months while good events were going on in other places like Australia. For me it was never the only place to play. If you turn pro and like competitive golf, there is always somewhere to measure your ability level and more than likely get your head handed to you on a platter. The PGA Tour is just one of many tours. When it’s all said and done, it’s about the experiences you had, not how much cash you have in the bank. Some of my best memories are off the course stuff.

Hit em Straight

Alex and Homer III

Here's the latest installment of this series

The difference between the swinger and hitter. Swinger uses Longitudinal acceleration and the hitter uses radial acceleration. Hitters load the whole lever assembly but the swinger loads only the secondary lever assembly. The ball is always struck before full extension. Each should be learned and practiced till the golfer can do either.. Hit or swing.

What is the basis of rhythm? Club shaft is in line with the left arm according to the hinge action. Any hinge action may be used hitting or swinging but angled is normal hitting and dual horizontal is normally used with swinging. What the club face is doing is the result of the hinge action being employed. Uphill and down hill lies discussed as well as side hill and the plane line is always there accordingly.

The left wrist is cocked but the right wrist is always level and bent. Students must learn to straighten the right arm but not flatten out the right wrist.

Release Motions.

Power package power and pivot power.

Tape 4-B Compare the computer and the incubator. Tommy had taken his plane to Seattle and we spent a lot if time using it and discussing the possibility it might be something of a marketable item for Mr. Kelley. A lot of time was spent talking about TGM schools and how it could make a lot of money for the Authorized Instructors.

Tape 5-A Talking about power with accuracy. A lot of rambling worthless info at first. Some discussion on zone 3. Question was asked what club did he like to start a student with. Putting was his answer. Learn the motion first then pick a club. 12 components of Zone 2. He discussed how tough it was to place the 24 components in what zone. Dianne was discussed. Mr. Kelley said we should be able to hit good shots at any speed.

He was following his curriculum and we were in the pivot components. Zone 1. Chapter 7 explanations of the 6 components. 7-12 discussed. Paragraph 1. Then next paragraph. Made comment it is either motion or muscle. Swinging or hitting. Chapter 12-0 3rd. Paragraph. He emphasized it. He then took us to 2-H.

What provides the circle motion with no shoulder turn? The left arm. Arm motion will always go in the direction of the shoulder motion. 7-14 was discussed . Variations of this were discussed. Tommy asked for an explanation of “Hula Hula”. He replied that it was to keep the shoulder and hip motion independent of one another.

5-B tape. A long discussion on Hip turn and hip motion (ACTION) and 12-0 The hips do the work of propelling the power package. 7-16 was discussed next. Mr. Kelley asked what was main function of knees in the swing. I replied “To keep the head still.” He added that to the next edition of the book. He said, “Why did I not say that?”

Knees were talked about at length after that.

What is the basic function of foot action? 7-17 The left heel is never lifted. Pulled off only. Keeping weight on the heels and tapping the toes at address was stressed. It is better spin on ones heel rather to roll the foot over on the out side during the stroke. A long discussion followed talking about the knees and feet.

Tape 6AB Address body alignment was discussed at length. Mr. Kelley had nothing in the book describing body alignment at address. In the long run he inserted the one line, it is easier to turn around a straight rod than a curved one. Relating to the spine.

Tape 7-A Discuss latitude in Instruction. Be careful in not ever filling the cup of the student to not over fill their capability. Tommy told about the time Ben Doyle had come to Alabama talking to the Dixie Section Pro.s He overwhelmed them because first of all, only the ones in the first row could understand what he was saying because of his weak speaking volume. We had taped his lecture and even trying to listen to the tapes, it was for the most part it was not understandable. Every now and then we gleaned something from what he said.

The right hand controls the club head and the left hand controls the club face.

What is the message of chapter 1? 1-G answers this question. Also 1-L

Tape 7-B So much of the class room work was discussing and arguing but Mr. Kelley always won the argument or discussions. Tomasello had to be shown everything and would take nothing at face value without a lot of discussion. On this tape a lot of discussion was about staying on plane and why. Mrs. Kelley stepped in and we spent time talking with her. Mrs. Kelley told us about continuing to improve her game with taking lessons just from hearing Homer talk about this and that and soon she was beating all her playing partners to the point they did not want to play with her any more.

Mr. Kelley spent a lot of time explaining the hinge motions and stressing the importance of making precise hinge motions. He kept stressing the importance of ball position being correct with each hinge motion in order to get the results as expected. He discussed the difficulty of hitting with horizontal hinging motion.

8-A tape Difference in monitoring execution and playing is monitoring results. Constantly monitor hands as well as body positions, pressure points and still monitor hands more than any thing else. Practice short shots stopping at the 45deg. Position to assure both arms straight, left wrist still flat and right wrist still bent and left arm and club still in line. Practise all three hinge actions over and over as they are alternated from one to another with the short shot drills. Getting the feel of keeping the left wrist vertical to it’s associated plane during each shot. Do not go beyond this length swing until each are done perfectly. Then as the swing is lengthened do not feel more pace as yet is necessary. Then after execution is precise as wanted, pace is then increased doing each of he three hinge motions alternately. Developing the mechanics into a feel. Remembering the hips lead the shoulders back and down.

3-F-5. Very important. Learn the 6 things listed to do each time and do not be guilty of “Down swing blackout”. Always being aware it is a “LOOK LOOK LOOK" situation with the Hands. Be aware of 3-F-6, Keeping a motionless right wrist. Hitting or swinging.

He again stressed “Avoiding Down Swing Blackout”. He continued to stress ‘LOOK LOOK LOOK as we practice.

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Ball Flight Laws II

The above figure is a 3D Plane

I forgot one important point when I composed the post about the New Ball Flight laws. The old laws were 2 dimensional, in other words they only assessed the directional components of the balls flight. The new ball Flight Laws are three Dimensional, so now we have a third dimension which is trajectory. You don't have to understand any of what's going on in the diagram above, it is there to provide a visualization.

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More thoughts on Trajectory

Trajectory: the curve described by a projectile

For our purposes we'll define trajectory as how high you hit the ball.

When you achieve the perfect balance of direction and trajectory, predicting your distances becomes a whole lot easier. I had a conversation with Mike Maves (which should become available shortly) and he mentioned the fact that Hogan named his shafts "Apex" for a reason. You see Hogan was obsessed with his trajectory, he always wanted all his irons flighted a certain height. In the 1980's I remember him doing a commercial for the Ben Hogan company in which the point of sale was Hogan stating, "Only with trajectory can you obtain accuracy."

According to Chuck Cook, Hogan used to go down to Seminole (where he would tune up for the Masters) and select a particular tree which he figured was the ideal height for his irons and woods. He would then start hitting balls, carefully insuring that the ball's apex was the exact height of the tree. He would work through the bag, starting with his wedge and then take ten paces back and go to his nine, take ten paces back and go to his eight and so on and so forth. The idea being that the shorter the club the earlier it peaks. Most amateurs should heed to this sage advice.

Click on the image to enlarge

Here's what happens during the course of a ball's flight.

(Click to enlarge)

Here's an excerpt from a Golf Digest article with Johnny Miller and Guy Yocom.

What constitutes the perfect trajectory? I put this question to Jack Nicklaus, a high-ball hitter, soon after I joined the PGA Tour. Jack's answer: "The guys who hit it low are just players in the field. Only a few guys can hit it high." Lee Trevino, the consummate low-ball hitter, may have argued with that, but on balance Jack was correct. The super-high ball flight is probably too high--you're at the mercy of the wind and can fly the ball into trouble. But go just a notch lower, to medium high, and you can really golf your ball. That's the trajectory chosen by Tiger Woods (a former high-ball hitter, by the way), Tom Watson, Fred Couples and Payne Stewart.--

A person with slower swing speed will not be able to peak out the longer clubs because they won't be able to generate enough clubhead speed to produce the backspin necessary to create the lift for these clubs. That's when you add a utility club and start to replace your longer irons accordingly. Likewise someone with a lot of club head speed will tend to hit the ball higher, that's when you go to a stiffer shaft or make some other fitting adjustment. I think (I could be wrong) The Golfing Machine describes this as the Venturi Effect (Nothing to do Ken Venturi), I'm not sure Homer was correct on that one. He might have meant the Bernoulli effect. Because a golf ball does not travel through a constricted section of a pipe.

The Venturi effect is the reduction in fluid pressure that results when a fluid flows through a constricted section of pipe. The Venturi effect is named after Giovanni Battista Venturi, (1746–1822), an Italian physicist

In fluid dynamics, Bernoulli's principle states that for an inviscid flow, an increase in the speed of the fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease inpressure or a decrease in the fluid's potential energy.^[1][2] Bernoulli's principle is named after the Dutch-Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli who published his principle in his book Hydrodynamica in 1738.^[3]

How a Golf Ball Produces Lift

Lift is an aerodynamic force which affects the flight of a golf ball. This idea might sound a little odd, but given the proper spin a golf ball can produce lift. Originally, golfers thought that all spin was detrimental. However, in 1877, British scientist P.G. Tait learned that a ball, driven with a spin about a horizontal axis with the top of the ball coming toward the golfer produces a lifting force. This type of spin is known as a backspin.

The backspin increases the speed on the upper surface of the ball while decreasing the speed on the lower surface. From the Bernoulli principle, when the velocity increases the pressure decreases. Therefore, the pressure on the upper surface is less than the pressure on the lower surface of the ball. This pressure differential results in a finite lift being applied to the ball. ₁

From The Golfing Machine 2-B
A truly well hit Ball (Three dimensional impact 2-C-0) from any Club will have a higher trajectory than other wise, simply because the increased velocity and backspin will lengthen the upward portion of the flight

Ref₁:http://wings.avkids.com/Book/Sports/instructor/golf-01.html

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Ball Flight Laws

Among the many myths that have been dispelled recently was that of the ball flight laws. The old ball flight laws gave more weight to the path of the clubhead in the influence of the initial direction of the ball. The new laws give more weight to the clubface direction with respect to the target baseline. For many years these ballflight laws were a staple of the PGA teaching manual. I first encountered them in John Jacob's book and to me they seemed logical. That's why it's never any good to accept things at face value.
As humans we have an intellectual right to inquire. I've said it before on this blog that no single teacher is going to improve you or I as golfers. Teachers can watch demonstrate and correct, it's up to you to put in the work. Part of that work is doing your due diligence and learning about important subjects like "Ball flight Laws". Like I've mentioned before, part of the enjoyment of learning golf is the journey of self discovery, taking what you're told, researching and experimenting. There's nothing better than practicing, developing the right feels, executing and being rewarded by accurate results. Anyway, below is a diagram depicting the "Old" Ball flight laws.

(Click to enlarge)

Here's a Pro explaining the old laws

Here's an excerpt from Dave Tuttleman's website which explains the new laws

The diagram above shows how the ball comes off the clubface if the clubhead is not moving in the same direction that it is facing. Here are the basics of what happens:
The ball will take a direction (red arrow) somewhere between the direction the clubface is pointing and the direction the clubhead is moving.
The ball's path will be closer to the clubface direction than to the swing path.
Most references show this as between 80:20 and 70:30. That is, the ball is 80% of the way from the swing path to the clubface direction.
The other obvious consequence of the clubface direction being different from the swing path is spin. The conditions in the diagram will result in clockwise spin on the ball, resulting in a fade or slice.

How does this relate to the "usual" diagram shown above. Well, it would relate very well -- if only the direction of the ball were well aligned to the swing path. But it's not; instead, the direction of the ball is closely aligned to the clubface direction. This fact is not reflected in the "usual" diagram.

Below is the Modern Ball Flight Diagram (Click to enlarge)

And Finally Here's John Dunigan explaining the New Ball Flight Laws

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Patrick McHugh

I came across Patrick McHugh's website while surfing the net one day. Once there I was amazed at the fusion of ideas which Patrick incorporates into his teaching philosophy. A true renaissance man. I asked Patrick to tell us little about himself and he agreed.

Below is Patrick hitting a shot on his home course

Tell us a little about your personal background?

I have been married to Helen for the last twenty-one years and we have been blessed with two wonderful children. One of each, our son Patrick (20) (who doesn't play golf ) and daughter, Juliana (15) who plays to a 4 handicap.

When and where did you start playing golf?

I started to play golf in 1971, when I was 14 years old and learned on a wonderful public course, Lochgreen, in Troon, Scotland.

When and where did you start teaching golf?

My teaching career started in Cork, Ireland and I then moved to Germany where I lived and taught for over a decade.

Where do you currently teach?

I am now teaching in Tirol, Austria.

Who has had the greatest influence on your teaching ability?

There are too many to mention but I will single out a couple. Timothy Gallwey who has re-directed my teaching methods through his non-directional inner game advice, and Gregg McHatton purely because of his ability to simplify the complicated and make learning fun with his laid back wit.

You mention Golf in the Kingdom and Fred Shoemaker on your website, how do you apply their teachings in your curriculum?

I must take great care when I adopt any of Michael Murphy's ideas. The world is not yet ready for his preachings from 'Golf in The Kingdom' but my main goal is to find and share Shivas Irons and Seamus MacDuff's 'true gravity' with my students. Fred Shoemaker introduced me to 'zanzo' and many other phenomena that have led to my work in sensory awareness techniques.

What is the single biggest problem which you encounter the most in your teaching?

The biggest problem I encounter each and every day is how golfers swing in a state of shock or numbness. That's why golfers suffer from such huge variations of form in comparison to other sports. I have written quite extensively about this in my book and also on my website.

You are currently working on a book, can you tell us about it?

The preliminary heading for the book is, 'The Golf Triad – The Fun-damentals of Learning and Performing'. I hope to finish editing it by mid-February and hopefully find an interested literary agent and publisher before my retirement. It's my last chance to have a reasonable pension. Joking aside, the book covers many aspects of my teaching style along with many of the influences from my aforementioned peers. Putting it as simply as possible, there is a better way to learn this game and the triad of fun, learning and performance must be put in place. Fred Shoemaker talks about this in his book, “Extraordinary Golf – The Art of the Possible.” He writes,

All human beings possess an amazing and highly developed learning system, it's the product of millions of years of evolution. A coach is a person who recognises this system, honours it, and is committed to making it work.

Many teachers are studying and using this system and our understanding of it's advantages over more commonly practised teaching methods are becoming clearer. By using sensory awareness we are more in our body and thus multi-sensing what we are doing and through such interactions the activity or skill is learned faster and also stays learned. The main difference between a consistently good player and one who is not so good is, the good player feels what he is doing when he is swinging. By feel, I am talking about all of the senses and thus he achieves high levels of sensory awareness during the swing.

As anyone who has taken golf lessons can attest, most golf instruction programs emphasize a routine of body mechanics, where teaching professionals lecture and manipulate hand placement and body posture as they see fit. In contrast, this fresher approach to golf coaching shuns this student/teacher relationship in place of a 'rapport of partnership' where the intrinsic abilities of each student are encouraged to develop.

My goodness Ralph, I have almost written another book here.

Bye for now

Patrick

Thank You for Sharing With us Patrick!

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