Soft Hands

One of the things I work on with Gregg McHatton is maintaining a soft grip pressure and ensuring that my shoulders are loose and there is no tension anywhere in my body. It is something that I need to monitor constantly. In order fro me to make an effective swing I need to feel the clubhead throughout. If I tense up I will tend to overpower it.

Here is a video I found which might help you with this concept.






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Impact

Here's a couple of videos from "Clubface Golf", which I like.






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Mizuno Shaft Optimizer

Last season I had the benefit of undergoing a Mizuno fitting session. For those who are not familiar with the process here is a brief overview.

(click on the image to enlarge)

And here's a video describing the shaft optimizer:

If you are in the NYC metro area and would like to get fitted using the Mizuno system, you can reach out to Rick Neilsen PGA.

Here's Rick's contact info:
email: lessons@ricknielsengolf.com
phone number: 631-428-4653
Website: ricknielsengolf.com

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The Right Shoulder

Remember the "Eternal Triangle"

The eternal triangle: Here we see how the wrist-cock is retained through the first part of the downswing, finally breaking open only after the hands get down to waist height or even a little below.

This is one of the things I've been working on lately. One of the best ways I find to accomplish this, is to make sure my right shoulder (I'm a righty) goes down and not out or around at the beginning of the downswing. I want to keep the distance between the club and the right shoulder the same as I begin my downswing. I find that I am better able to Conserve Angular Momentum and sustain my lag by incorporating this move.

Here's Sensei (先生) Gregg McHatton with an explanation:

As "The Hat" says, "Anytime your right shoulder gets high, you're in trouble". The video above is an excerpt from Brain Lessons, which is available from OHP Direct.

Here's another example narrated by the Late-Great Jimmy Demaret

To contact Gregg you can email him at :

the_hat@thevine.net
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Loading

Among Tiger's many accomplishments, I believe one of his greatest was ushering out the early wrist set protocol presented to us by the Leadbetter camp. It seemed that they were preaching a "narrow-to-wide" type of stroke pattern. This early set backswing, was in my opinion a power draining move. It could be argued that guys like Faldo were sacrificing power for accuracy and that's probably true, but I believe most Amateurs would be better suited with a "drag loading" type of procedure.

Here's a drill which was very popular during that era and is still very popular today. It accentuates the early wrist set and If you do it enough, you might even wind up swinging like that (I know I did).



Butch Harmon taught his students a later wrist set which is a much more powerful or power accumulating move.

Among Butch's students were Davis Love III (note his arc width on the back swing)



Greg Norman (again note the arc width on the Back Swing)



Finally here's a young Tiger.



Hit em Straight.

Roberto DeVincenzo

Our Good friend and Gotham Golf reader, Fernando Cano has done it again. This time he shares his father's Mexico City Footage of Argentinian Great Roberto DeVicenzo. Thanks Again Fernando.

Here's Roberto's Bio from Wikipedia.

Roberto De Vicenzo (born 14 April 1923) is a former professional golfer.

De Vicenzo was born in Villa Ballester, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He won more than 230 tournaments worldwide in his career, including six on the PGA Tour and the 1967 British Open.[1]

De Vicenzo is best remembered for his misfortune in the 1968 Masters.[1] On the par 4 seventeenth hole, Roberto De Vicenzo made a birdie, but playing partner Tommy Aaron inadvertently entered a 4 instead of 3 on the scorecard. He did not check the scorecard for the error before signing it, and according to the Rules of Golf the higher score had to stand and be counted. If not for this mistake, De Vicenzo would have tied for first place with Bob Goalby, and the two would have met in an 18-hole playoff the next day. His quote afterwards became legendary for its poignancy: "What a stupid I am!"[2]

In 1970, he was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.

De Vicenzo subsequently found great success in the early days of the Senior PGA Tour, winning the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf two times and the inaugural U.S. Senior Open in 1980. Also won the 1974 PGA Seniors' Championship, and represented Argentina 17 times in the Canada Cup/World Cup (leading Argentina to victory in 1953).

De Vicenzo was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1989, and officially retired on November 12, 2006 at age 83. He had 100 international victories.

Roberto came to epitomize Power and Control, it's a shame that he will be best remembered for the 1968 Masters. Most won't remember that he was the guy Hogan beat out for the 1953 Open in Carnoustie, which sealed Hogan's triple crown.

Here's some more Roberto.

Hit em Straight.

Lawson Little

"It is impossible to outplay
an opponent you cannot out-think."
Lawson Little

Here's his Bio from Wikipedia:


William Lawson Little, Jr. (June 23, 1910 – February 1, 1968) was an American professional golfer who also had a distinguished amateur career.

Little was born in Newport, Rhode Island. He was one of the most dominant amateur players in the history of the sport, capturing both the British Amateur and the U.S. Amateur, then regarded as major championships, consecutively in 1934 and 1935. He remains the only player to have won both titles in the same year more than once. Bob Dickson, Harold Hilton and Bobby Jones are the only other golfers to have won the two titles in the same year. He graduated from Stanford University in 1934 and is a member of the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame. He won the James E. Sullivan Award for outstanding amateur athlete in 1935.

Little turned professional in April 1936 and he won eight times on the PGA Tour including one professional major, the 1940 U.S. Open. This tally was considered somewhat disappointing; he was said to have lost interest in golf during World War II, when the major championships were cancelled, and to have focused his attention more on the stock market. He carried up to 26 clubs in his bag and this prompted the United States Golf Association to introduce the 14 club limit in 1938.

Little was a student of golf instructor Ernest Jones.

Little died in Monterey, California in 1968. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1980.

Here's his swing

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Power Golf Hogan II

Let's listen to David Lee's take on this issue.




Here's Hogan in 1953




Here's a brief timeline of Hogan's swing.



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An Interview with Lee Trevino

Here's an interview of Lee Trevino, I found interesting.

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John Daly

Although I have been critical of John Daly in the past. I do believe that his golf swing is a thing of beauty. His flexibility is unmatched on tour. His shoulder turn has been measured to be 120+°. And although he goes way beyond parallel on the backswing, his transition is perhaps one of the best on tour. His downswing is totally pivot driven. His hands are totally passive at the start of his downswing and thus he avoids any power leakages and potential pitch outs. If you watch closely you'll note that John has the "arrow out of quiver move" that I'm so obsessed with.

For John Daly, patience is definitely a virtue since his power relies solely on gradual acceleration, his hands do absolutely nothing from the top and his peak speed is right before impact. This is what we should all strive for. Note his TM numbers 106 mph clubhead speed, 186mph ball speed and 323 carry distance. (I wonder if that is correct?)

Here's an analysis by Gregg "The Hat" McHatton:

Bobby Jones was the ultimate swinger of the golf club. He said that the club was essentially moving through impact as if the clubhead were attached to a string. Mr. Jones left the clubhead alone through release as well as anyone before or since. The modern player seems to want to have more control of the club.

John Daly demonstrates this Jones-like freedom through the golf swing as well as anybody. As you can see John Daly does NOT WORRY ABOUT THE CLUB GOING BEYOND PARALLEL. Nor does he seem to be concerned about restricting his hips. He uses a free hip turn in both directions. This is a good model for most golfers.
--The Hat

I'm going to get back to the "Power Golf Hogan" series soon, I'm gathering information now. In the meantime this Daly post reflects some of my thinking with regard to Hogan.

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Power Golf Hogan I

I'm of the impression that the world never got to see Mr. Hogan at his best. Hogan himself said that he was never better than right before he had the accident. In my opinion Hogan was peaking at the time of the accident and never really realized his potential. I believe that Hogan's "5 fundamentals" swing, was a series of compensations he developed to offset the injuries he suffered from the accident.

From The Ben Hogan collection:
He missed a couple years on Tour due to World War II, but returned full-time in 1946 and won 13 times, including his first major, the PGA. From August 1945 to February 1949, Hogan won 37 times. But in 1949, he suffered terrible injuries in a car crash, and was never again able to play a full schedule due to circulatory problems in his legs.


Note the "arrow out of a quiver" move, there certainly isn't any illusion of lag there. That's the real McCoy!

Here's some more

From 1950 on, Hogan never played more than 7 PGA Tour events in a year. Yet, he won 13 more times.₁
The question that begs to be answered is, would he have played more had he not been injured? Obviously he would have. Would he have made all the swing changes he made had he not been injured? I don't think so, although Hogan was a tinkerer, he knew when to leave well enough alone.

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My Stix

The following video is from our friends at Secret's in the dirt, btw The older Gentleman is Jackie Burke Jr.

I like what Elk said, "The best set of equipment for you is the one you like the look of."


Click on any image to enlarge

Tourstage Japan X-Blades 1999

14 Putters all Anser Style

L to R, MP68, Snake Eyes MB1, Ping Eye2 Becu (square grooved), MP33

Macgregor VIP CB92, MP29, MP32

Snake Eyes MB1
(Forged by Smith and Wesson)

I also have a set of MP30s I want to get rid of (trade or sell)

I play with the MP32s primarily, I have 2 gamers and a mint set I haven't opened yet. The X-Blades I had reshafted with KBS regular shafts, and the rest are TTDG S300. The Snake Eyes are in mint condition (never hit). Most of my wedges are Snake Eyes EV, the original Ernie Vadersons not the Golfsmith stuff.

I've owned a set of MP14s that were Sandy Lyle's, a set of MP-9s that were Jeff Sluman's and a set of Titleist that were Brad Faxon's

The hardest, least forgiving iron I ever attempted to play were the original Forged in Australia
Maxfli "Australian Blade"


There's been a lot of talk of Vintage irons, my old boss was the V.P. at MacGregor Golf during Nicklaus' heyday he's already agreed to sit down and talk, so maybe we'll get some good information on MacGregor golf.



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The Rules

At this weekends Harbor Town tournament, Brian Davis who was in a playoff with Jim Furyk, called a penalty on himself and probably ended any chance he had of winning the tournament. I wonder what Michelle Wie thinks about this?

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Ed "Porky" Oliver

As you can see by now, I have a fascination/obsession with the way the old-timers swung the golf club. I find that I enhance my knowledge of the inner workings of the golf swing by listening to how they did it. Today we're going to look at Ed "Porky" Oliver.



Here's his Bio according to Wikipedia:
Edward Stewart "Porky" Oliver, Jr. (September 6, 1916 – September 21, 1961) was an American professional golfer. (Birth year sometimes stated as 1915.)

Oliver was born in Wilmington, Delaware. He earned his nickname because he stood 5 foot 9 inches but weighed 240 pounds. He won 8 times on the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s. He was well known for finishing second in several major championships but not letting it get him down; lost to Ben Hogan in the finals of the 1946 PGA Championship, second to Julius Boros in the 1952 U.S. Open, and second to Ben Hogan in the 1953 Masters. He also finished in a tie with Lawson Little and Gene Sarazen at the 1940 U.S. Open before being disqualified for teeing off 15 minutes early. He played on three Ryder Cup teams (1947, 1951, and 1955). He lost several years of playing time while serving in the Army during World War II.

Oliver died in Wilmington, Delaware of cancer in 1961. In 1976, he was inducted into the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame on the first year it opened.

And here's his swing:

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Jerry Barber II

Here's an analysis of Jerry's Swing

Here's his swing sequence:

(Click to enlarge)

According to his peers, Jerry was a feisty, strong willed competitor that bowed down to nobody. In those days many players subsidized there incomes by playing money games in between tournaments. Jerry played against anybody often losing his shirt and returning the next day for some more.


Here's what Nick Sietz wrote about him:

Barber feared nobody. He was known for overmatching himself in money games readily available on practice days. "He wasn't afraid to challenge the big boys," says Gene Littler.

Arnold Palmer says, "We would play and gamble seven days a week. We'd go like hell to get from one place to the next, driving. You could learn from him about never giving up as long as you had a chance around the green. That wristy stroke was deadly."

Doug Ford roomed with Barber for 10 years. The two evolved from antagonistic opponents to companionable partners, and would play practice rounds all day. "They'd go round and round," says Billy Casper.

Ford says, "Those games were not too friendly at first. We were gambling pretty hard, and he was always on the opposite side taking a bath. We'd play $10 and $20 nassaus, but by the time you added presses and somebody got mad, we'd be playing for more than we knew. He'd press all the time--stubborn. I asked him why he wanted to keep losing money, and he said, 'You have to pay to go to the university.' Then we became partners. We won the Legends together."

Eddie Merrins believes Barber sought out competition with top players, including Sam Snead and Ben Hogan, to make himself better. Barber and Snead once teamed against Palmer and Dow Finsterwald in a match that finished all even. Snead, master matchmaker, muttered to Barber afterward, "Well, Rock, looks like we gotta find another game."

I find the following paragraph pretty interesting:

Finsterwald remembers a practice round before the U.S. Open at Inverness in 1957. Barber holed everything, and Finsterwald said, "You lucky little bleep." Barber replied, and it was the first time anybody heard the line, "The harder I practice, the luckier I get."

Hit em Straight

Jerry Barber I

Today we'll look at Jerry Barber. Jerry was a one of the many Hogan clones of his era. As we all know in golf, what we feel and what is real are usually 2 different things. I believe this was case with Jerry Barber. I think that in an attempt to mimic Hogan's hip shift, Jerry accidentally discovered the method we know today as "Stack and Tilt". Here's his swing and you be the judge.

Here's his bio according to Wikipedia:

Carl Jerome "Jerry" Barber (April 25, 1916 – September 23, 1994) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour.

Barber was born in Woodson, Illinois, and was one of nine children raised on a Jacksonville, Illinois farm.[1] He turned professional in 1942. Among his seven tour victories, was the 1961 PGA Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club. Trailing Don January by four shots with three holes to play in the final round, Barber made a 20-foot birdie putt at the 16th hole, a 40-foot par-saving putt at 17, and a 60-foot birdie putt at 18 to tie January and force a playoff, which Barber won the next day by one stroke.

Barber was a full-time member of the PGA Tour from 1948 to 1962. He played on two Ryder Cup teams, 1955 and 1961; and was also the team captain in 1961.[2] Barber earned a living primarily as a club professional like most of the touring pros of his generation; he worked at Los Angeles' Wilshire Country Club.[1]

Barber holds the record for the oldest player to ever play on the PGA Tour, when he played in the 1994 Buick Invitational at the age of 77 years, 10 months, and 9 days.[3]

Barber was often referred to in the media as "little Jerry Barber," because he stood five feet, five inches.[4] In 1966, he portrayed himself in a guest appearance on episode #23 of I Dream of Jeannie.

Barber and his wife Lucile, who died of cancer in 1968, had five children: Tom, Nancy, twins Sandra and Sally, and Roger. Barber died in Glendale, California at the age of 78, after suffering a mitral valve prolapse and a stroke.[2]


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"The Hat " on Pivot Thrust

Today we have Gregg McHatton explaining Pivot Thrust




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Alex and Homer XIII (Mr. Kelley's Death)

Today we have the next installment of Alex Sloan's experiences with Homer Kelley.

Tommy had picked Mr. Kelley at the airport and they were just getting out of the car as we drove into the parking lot of the Holiday Inn where lunch and the meeting was to be for the Georgia PGA section. I introduced Benny and Dave to Mr. Kelley. WE all went in just in time for lunch. Mr. Kelley was the featured guest speaker for the afternoon. It was standing room only in the auditorium where he was to speak. When the Georgia golf pro’s had heard Homer Kelley was coming to town, they had a record turn out. When Mr. Kelley took the podium to speak, you could have heard a pin drop. His first words to the audience was this, “Gentlemen, I cannot tell you how pleased I am to be here with you today. I know you all came with the expectation of getting a golf lesson. I did not come here to give a golf lesson but to tell you why The Golf Machine system works. I have a God given talent to solve difficult problems. When I undertook the talks to solve the mysteries of the golf swing, it was the most difficult problem I ever undertook to solve. I have solved the problem. It took me 40 years but the answer is all in this book.” With that he held up a copy of The Golfing Machine book and started talking. He talked for 50 minutes to a stunned audience. They were wanting a golf lesson. Not a technical dissertation. The meeting director came to Mr. Kelley after the 50 minutes and asked if they could take a break. He said they were dying to aks him questions and after the break he was requesting Mr. Kelley have a question and answer session. He agreed to this. They were to take a 20 minute break. Mr. Kelley did not get a break. For the full 20 minutes he was autographing books and Tommy was busy taking money and handing a golf pro a signed book. Once the break time was up the meeting was called to order and the first question from the audience was, “Why is the flat left wrist so important?” Tommy asked Mr. Kelley if he could answer that question. Tommy started into a detailed answer. About 5 minutes into his answer Mr. Kelley fell dead. We were stunned. Someone shouted, “Call an ambulance.” It was at least 20 minutes before the ambulance arrived. By this time it was obvious to me as an observer, there was nothing they could do for Mr. Kelley. He was taken to the ER at the local hospital and once we arrived the Dr. told us Mr. Kelley had had a very severe stroke and was gone. Tommy flew back to Seattle with the body. Dave and Benney and I returned home. When I came in the house my wife asked what I was doing home so soon. I explained what had happened. She agreed to accompany me to Settle for the services. We packed and flew to Seattle Mac O’Grady met us at the airport and took us to the Kelley home. There I met Mrs. Kelley again and introduced her to Barbara. There were not many family members there. We saw Tommy and he was giving solace to all the family present. Barbara and I met Diane Chase, the model in the book. She told us she was living in L.A. and had taken up tennis as getting on a golf course was difficult living in L.A.. Her apartment complex did have tennis courts. She was a very gracious lady.

Two days later we went to the funeral services. I was very surprised at the small number that were there. Having such a high regard for Mr. Kelley, I thought there would be a room full of local golf pro.s and students and well wishers. As I think back on it, I always wondered if there were 25 there. There were a few local golf pro’s who had been very close to Mr. Kelley in attendance.

Barbara and I rented a car and after saying good by to Mrs. Kelley. We drove around Seattle and took a look at the world famous Market. We were astounded by what we saw. The most beautiful display of fruit and vegetables we had ever seen. It took almost a day to walk around the area and take in all there was to see. Next day we drove to Vancouver, Canada. During the 9 days Tommy and I were in Seattle with Mr. Kelley it never rained. We were told how amazing this was and I was pleased to never having to don the rain coat. When Barbara and I drove to Vancouver, it rained all the way there and back. Once there we found an underground mall and we spent the day strolling there. We did a short drive through Vancouver but because of the weather we soon started our drive back to Seattle. The following day we drove around Puget Sound to get to Hwy. 101 to drive around to hopefully see a bit of the Olympic Mountains. When we got to Port Angeles I found a road that would take us up to a sight seeing area and started the drive up the mountain. About half way we ran into a road block. The road was closed because of snow and there were cars all along the way parked apparently waiting for the road to open because they were all carrying skies. I turned around and stopped for gas. I met a lady working at the station who had just moved up there from Cullman, Alabama. She recognized me as from Alabama the moment I spoke to her. She told me that Port Angeles was a favorite retirement community because of the weather. Average rain fall was about 27” a year. On the West side of the Olympic Mountains and at the top average rain fall was over 217” a year. As the clouds went over the mountains all the rain was squeezed out so by the time they got over Port Angeles most of the moisture was gone. That was one reason for our long drive around the peninsula. I recalled when I was in the 7th grade of reading about the rain forest there. I wanted to see what it looked like. We continued our drive on 101 to the West and on the Western side suddenly the Pacific ocean came into view. All the way down 101 we were driving along a cliff and down below it was full of debris that had floated up on the Pacific current. I recalled that Mr. Kelley’s home had no window or door screens as the always present Pacific incoming breeze kept insects out of Seattle. I saw only one bird the 9 days I was in Seattle. One sight that always amazed me was seeing Mount Ranier from Mr. Kelley.s home.

I found the entrance to a road that drove up into the Olympic national Forest. We turned onto it and drove for about 10 miles and came to a barrier stopping traffic. Sign said, “Road Closed, Bridge Out”. I did not let that deter me. Along the side of the road was a rushing river coming down the mountain and we pulled off the road to look it over. The water was ice cold as it was melt from the glacier in the mountains. Also, we saw huge ferns almost as large as our home. I always wondered what else we might have seen if we had been able to get into the Olympic Forrest.

The drive on South on 101 was not very pretty. There was so much of the land that had been denuded by deforestation. We continued on to the motel and packed for the return home the next day.

Hit em Straight

The Manzella Matrix

In my interview with Brian Manzella, he often refers to the "Manzella Matrix". For those who are not familiar with it, here is Brian's definition of it.


What is the Manzella Matrix? (in 450 words or less)

---

Most Golf Teachers are "one pattern" teachers. I was one too—once upon a time. One or two patterns will never reach the varieties of golfers that exist in the world of golf. Too limiting. Most teaching systems promise results "one day."

It has been my goal for 25 years to become the World's Best Golf Teacher. To do that I needed to find a way to be able to help golfers "right now" and do it in a way that allow for long term development. The day was a long time coming. But that day is here today on my lesson tee.

The MANZELLA MATRIX.

Most golf swings are either DRAW swings or FADE swings. Even Ben Hogan said that hitting a straight ball was an accident.

In my 25 years on the lesson tee, when teaching non-beginners, I find that 95% of all lessons start by either moving the golfer toward a draw "pattern" (all the elements that make up a unique golf swing) or a fade "pattern." This is despite the fact that the DRAW golfer may still hit a draw after being "fixed," and the fade golfer a fade.

Over the years I delvoped two very distinct patterns and methods, at what I call the "outside edges" of what became the MANZELLA MATRIX. The Never Slice Again pattern and method, and the Never Hook Again pattern and method.

Golfers who have patterns "outside" the "outside edges" of the MANZELLA MATRIX either swing TOO FAR outside-in with TOO OPEN a clubface for an effective fade, or TOO FAR inside-out with TOO CLOSED a clubface for an effective draw.

The first goal of the MANZELLA ACADEMY is to get the golfer "inside the MATRIX." Then over time, a totally customized pattern can be developed, often closer to the "Middle of the MATRIX."

The MIDDLE of the MATRIX is simply the most basic and orthodox of all swing elements that would produce a straight ball. I have not presented this "Exact Middle" pattern to the masses. Soon.

Two new patterns have emerged: The "SOFT FADE" and The "SOFT DRAW."

So a simple "straight line" MANZELLA MATRIX is 5 basic patterns.

1.0 Never Slice Again
2.0 "Soft Draw"
3.0 "Exact Middle"
4.0 "Soft Fade"
5.0 Never Hook Again

The MANZELLA MATRIX 5 can "branch off" in any number of ways, one of which is by varying release points. Another, would be alternate plane shift combinations.

Just as importantly, the MANZELLA MATRIX is also a WAY to teach, a basic philosophy about the swing, and the science to back it all up.

It will be a book, and then a video.

Hit em Straight

Masters Notes

• Tiger's foul language doesn't bother me, as I said before he's entitled to show some emotion. On the other hand, Tiger comparing his comeback to that of Hogan's, bordered on blasphemy. Is he for real? He did it not once but twice: "As I said in here yesterday, it's very similar to what Hogan went through coming off the accident," For those who aren't aware of Hogan's story, Hogan threw himself in front of wife Valerie, in the passenger's seat, to protect her from the full impact caused by an oncoming Greyhound bus. Hogan's pelvis and collarbone were broken, he fractured his left ankle, chipped a rib and survived near-fatal blood clots. I hope Tiger gets the help he needs. It really hurt my ears to listen to it.
  

• Was it me or did he Chilly-Dip that bunker shot on number 2? I thought I'd never see that from him. But then again I also saw him get under that 5 wood at the British and he popped up his Tee shot on the same second hole at Augusta. You must give him credit he held his own with a "C" game.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Peter Kostis incorrectly stated that Scott Verplank's approach on 13 came close to being the second Double Eagle ever (the other being Sarazen's 4 wood heard round the world), Here's a list of Double Eagles at The Masters
  

1935 - Gene Sarazen, fourth round, No. 15, 234 yards, 4-wood
1967 - Bruce Devlin, first round, No. 8, 248 yards, 4-wood
1994 - Jeff Maggert, fourth round, No. 13, 222 yards, 3-iron

• Great camera work on Phil's putt on number 2
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• It looked like Tiger was using a Ping Anser putter

• I'm 0 for whatever with my picks, the Republic of South Africa let me down.

• I agree with Nick Faldo's assessment: he stated that "Tiger was having trouble Drawing the ball", you definitely need to be able to work the ball both ways to compete at Augusta. The inability to work the ball right to left on command probably sunk K.J. Choi's chances of winning.

• Peter Oosterhuis claimed that Tiger had not used the new grooves until this tournament and thus was long on most of his wedge shots in anticipation of backspin. If I recall correctly Tiger's set was conforming to the new rules all of last season. So it's my opinion that all those overshoots were just rust.

• Congratulations to Phil Mickelson, he played some great Golf.

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Urban Legends

A couple of weeks ago Jones and I were recanting stories about Long Hitters. He mentioned a fellow named "Gorilla Dave" and gave me the low down on his length. I'm a pretty skeptical guy, so after hearing Dave's "curriculum vitae" I immediately said to myself that it was B.S..

Yesterday Jones invited me to play with his Men's Club as a guest, so I could witness it myself.


The first hole is 349 yards long and it was playing into a 10-15 mph headwind.
Here's the Tee Shot



Here's the second shot



He hit it about 310-320 into the wind. Dave is one of the nicest guys you'd want to know. He's of West Indian Descent (I believe he's Jamaican) and was a former Cricket Player. He plays off an 8 and is a lot of fun to be around.

Is his swing Unorthodox?--That's not what the ball says.

I will continue to bring you more "Urban Legends" as I travel around the City's Courses.

Hit em Straight

More rare/old instruction

Here's another rare instructional video I've uploaded. This was produced by AG Spalding and Company, it is narrated by Bobby Jones and it features Harry Cooper, Lawson Little, Horton Smith and Jimmy Thompson.

Enjoy



I had the pleasure of meeting Light Horse Harry Cooper in the 90's when he was at Wing Foot. All I can say is, "the more things change the more they stay the same."

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Bobby Jones

In the spirit of "The Masters", I've uploaded a rare instructional video of Bobby Jones. The video was produced by his Biographer O.B. Keeler.

Enjoy,




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Hat Drill

Since "The Hat" is 2000 miles away, I figured out a way to do this drill without him.

Brian Manzella PGA GSED Part 3

Today we will conclude our interview with Brian Manzella. People can say what they want about the man. I personally walked away with a different perspective of him. You see, it takes a great deal of courage and perseverance to stand by your convictions in the face of what appears to be overwhelming criticism. Whether the criticism is warranted or not, is not for me to say. Brian handled every question launched at him and answered every one in a clear and concise manner. I think it'll be interesting to see where the future of instruction will be a couple of years from now.
Enough from me, here's the interview:






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Masters Picks

• Okay here it is, I'd like to see Duval play well but that's just a pipe dream of mine. It would all come full circle for him after finishing second at last years U.S. Open.

• The real winner is going to come out of South Africa. It'll be either Els, Goosen, Schwartzel or Louis Oosthuizen. You heard it here first.

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Brian Manzella PGA GSED Part 2

We continue our interview with Brian Manzella.

First here's Brian's latest video explaining Trackman



And here's the interview:



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More Rants

• Is it me or is Christina Kim noisily becoming the most annoying person in Golf? What has she won? She sure as hell loves the limelight.

• Tom Watson on Tiger:"His swearing and his club throwing, should, that should end," Watson said. "That’s not part of what we want to project as far as the professional golf tour is concerned."--I think this is the biggest crock I've read in a while. Tiger without emotions is like the Ocean without blue. In any competitive sport you have emotions, some good, some bad, that's what makes us human. Adrenaline is usually the deciding factor in any major sporting event and in golf it is probably more prevailing than in other sports. The ability to manage your adrenaline down the stretch is one of the biggest intangibles in the game.

• Lorena Ochoa is probably one of the nicest, most giving people in all of Golf. Yet on Sunday at the Kraft Nabisco she slammed her ball on the green and said a few words in a streak of anger. Does that change my perception of her? Hell no, she's still the kind, giving person she was before. That kind of human outburst is what makes her the competitor that she is. She's out there to win.

• Yani Tseng was exciting to watch this weekend. What a breath of fresh air. There's nothing like watching someone play "Fearless Golf" with a Major Championship on the line. It made for some exciting drama and led the other Players to believe they still had a chance. She set out to win the tournament from the first hole and didn't let up. Our Congratulations go out to her.

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Brian Manzella PGA GSED Part I

Today we're going to have the pleasure of meeting Mr. Brian Manzella PGA GSED. Brian was kind enough to take time out from his busy schedule and spend some time with me talking about a variety of topics. I've heard Brian described as irascible, outspoken, cocky etc. One thing's for sure with Brian, there's never a dull moment. I think Brian is very passionate and committed to what he does, and as you will hear he has no problem defending his positions when challenged. Enough out of me, sit back and enjoy.

First here's Brian answering a question with respect to the new Ball flight laws.




And here's the interview





To Be Continued

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Miller Barber II

For the second part of this series we'll let David Lee give us his take on this subject.




Here's Miller again






What do we know about Mr. Barber's swing so far?

• It is clearly a float load swinger's pattern

• It seems to me like Miller had some of the most passive hands I've ever seen and relied solely on a weight shift, pivot and "throw out action"

• I read somewhere were someone said that Miller's swing required, "Hand/Eye" coordination-- If Miller would have tried to consciously incorporate any kind of hand action, he would have totally sabotaged his swing and he would have wound up working at the G.M. plant in Shreveport.

• The same report stated, that Miller needed to hit a lot of balls. It seems to me like this is a pretty low maintenance pattern.

• Did it matter what he did on his backswing? --I've never seen anybody hit it on their backswing. How he got it back there didn't matter. Once he shifted and that club found the slot, it stayed pretty much on plane.

• Unorthodox? You be the judge

• About the "Shut Clubface" at the top, it doesn't matter. Once again I have never seen anybody hit the ball at the top of their swing either. Apparently we need to revert back to throw-out action. The club only seeks to line up, any conscious manipulation only slows it down.
  

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Miller Barber I

Before we get into any analysis let's review some definitions.

10-19-B Downstroke (or Float) Loading
Instead of writing The Golfing Machine definitions, which are not too "User Friendly" we'll insert a video by Brian Manzella which uses Jack Nicklaus as an example and does a pretty good job of explaining the concept. We've used this video before but I think it's important to review this concept before we proceed.




Now here's Miller again.





I'm not going to comment on this yet.

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Random Rants 2

• Stephanie Wei has done it again, she's quickly becoming one of my favorites. I find this piece she did on Michelle Wie to be perhaps the best written in Cyberspace.
  

• I like Charlie Rymer's take on this, "Had she come up under different circumstances, she might have gone through Junior Golf, been more aware of the rules and this situation would've never come up."
  

• Kraft Nabisco update: Gotham favorites Alexis Thompson and Vicky Hurst are at +2 and -3 respectively. Hopefully Alexis can get her mojo on and be there for the weekend. Vicky is in contention and with any luck she can keep it together and maybe claim her first victory.

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"The Hat" on acceleration

Today we have Gregg Mchatton explaining proper acceleration.





Above is a clip from his video "Perefect Results"

If you're interested in Lessons with Gregg, you can contact him at: The_Hat@thevine.net

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