Gregg McHatton revisited

Here's the original Mchatton interview as has been requested.



Hit em Straight

Nicklaus' 1 iron at Baltusrol

Here a video clip of what I consider to be Nicklaus' best 1 iron shot.

The circumstances were as follows:

Nicklaus needed a birdie on the 18th hole to tie the U.S. Open scoring record held by Hogan, but he had 238 yards for his third shot -- uphill, all carry, into the wind. He hammered his 1-iron to about 20 feet and made the putt to finish at 272.

Hit em Straight

Sean Foley

Here's a snippet of a Sean Foley interview courtesy of our friends at ESPN radio. Listen closely and you'll find it sounds similar to what Mark Evershed was saying. Sean seems like a bright, well read and well spoken guy. Maybe someday he'll join us for a chat.







Hit em Straight

Byron Nelson

I think Mr. Nelson never quite got the credit he deserved when great ball strikers came to mind. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Nelson in 1997, he was the humblest, kindest human being I had ever encountered. He had a way of making you feel important. It seems that he will forever be overshadowed by "The Hogan Mystique" and many won't bother to study his technique. Here we have a video of Mr. Nelson describing how he developed his swing.
A couple of points to note.

• He became a better ball striker when he learned to harness the ground.

• He relied on his bigger muscles and used no hands on the takeaway.

• He understood the power of a proper pivot.
  

• Sliding leads to shanks and pushes.

Here I am working with Gregg McHatton, note how I take it away with the hands and it has no affect on Gregg. When Gregg takes it away with his big muscles he throws me around like a rag doll.

Here's Gregg working with John on his Pivot

Hit em Straight

Geoff Mangum

You're going to have to forgive me on this one, the audio and video tracks somehow got screwed up. I was able to rescue the recording and patch up whatever I could. It came out pretty poorly, so Geoff and I were going to re-do it but, he came down with laryngitis over the weekend and was laid up. The audio is pretty good, you'll just have to ignore the video.





Hit em Straight

Lee Trevino, God is a Mexican Part 2

Here's some more from our friends at Hyno Designs.



Hit em Straight

A Public service anouncement

Is this total Bull or what? I wonder if Foley endorses this. I thought Lynn Blake was "Yoda".

Power Golf Book Composite

I really love what this guy did with one of my favorite golf books. Actually the better of the 2 Hogan Books in my opinion.

Here's Hogan's Power Golf Swing at full speed. I can never get tired of watching this motion. All we can do is imagine what could have been.
In a 1983 interview on CBS with Ken Venturi, Hogan was describing his 11-month recovery from the accident when he said, "Finally, I got to where I could play a little bit. Not as good as I could before. And I don't think I will ever play as good -- or ever have since -- even though I won some tournaments. But I was better in 1948 and '49 than I've ever been."






Hit em Straight

Blobman Swing Model

If you recall my interview with Gregg Mchatton, I asked him about the Bio-mechanical Research he had done in the nineties. The result of Gregg's research was the creation of Blobman, based on the swing of Ben Hogan during his match with Sam Snead on Shell's Wonderful World of Golf in 1964. I find it to be a very handy and inexpensive tool, it helps me visualize all the different body movements that occur during a proper golf swing. Here's a video depicting Blobman's swing from all angles.

And here's Hogan's swing during That Shell's Match in 1964

To Learn more about Blobman go Here: BlobmanLabs.com

Hit em Straight

My Swing Analyzed By Norrie Wright GSED

Norrie Wright GSED

Hit em Straight

The Plane Line with Martin Hall and Mike Bender

Here are some plane line videos.

Hit em Straight

Interview with EA Tischler

Hit em Straight

Ken Venturi 1964 US Open

This was perhaps the most inspirational victory in the History of Golf.



Hit em Straight

Harry Vardon 1914 Open Championship

Here's the first known footage of The Open championship from our friends at Hyno Designs.



Hit em Straight

The Line of Compression

Here's EA Tischler with his definition of " The line of compression"



Hit em Straight

Hitting, Swinging and Throwing with EA Tischler

If you guys and gals recall I asked EA if he could elaborate on his definitions of hitting, throwing and swinging and he was kind enough to produce this video for us, enjoy.



Hit em Straight

Swing Anchor Options by EA Tischler Part 3

Here's EA Tischler with some more information about swing anchors.




Hit em Straight

EA Tischler on "Stacking"

Here's our friend EA Tischler with some thoughts on stacking.




Hit em Straight

Mark Evershed Update

I spent some time shooting the breeze with Mark Evershed this weekend and here is how it went:

Hit em Straight

God is a Mexican

Here's one of my Favorites.





Hit em Straight

Gregg Mchatton Part 3

Here's some more




Below I want you to compare the swings, Our components are relatively the same yet we look different.






Hit em Straight

Q&A with Gregg McHatton and Les Johnson Part 2

Here's part 2

Again, I think I did too much talking myself. It just goes to show what kind of guys Les and Gregg are.

We'll do this again and I'll let you the readers ask the questions live next time, we're going to shoot for a time frame of about month from now.

Hit em Straight

Q&A with Gregg McHatton and Les Johnson

Today we have the first part of my Q&A with Gregg McHatton and Les Johnson.




I felt like I did a little too much talking in this one, so what we'll do the next time is that we'll stream it live and have a call in, so that you guys and girls can call in with your own questions for Les and Gregg.

Hit em Straight

Gregg McHatton Part 2

I was going to move on to some other McHattonisms but I got several requests to continue the lecture, so here is some more.
One thing that Gregg discusses during this portion is the importance of the primary lever assembly and it's in-line condition through the impact interval.
The principle of boating is buoyancy, so If it doesn't Float you can't Boat. Homer Kelley told us that the principle of golf is "The line of Compression". This is composed of the primary lever assembly, which forms a moment arm which in turn creates a force vector through the impact interval. I think it was an ancient Greek by the name of Archimedes who said, "Give me a lever long enough and I'll move the world".
Our job as I was taught by Mr. McHatton is to drop it into the back of the ball and sustain that line through the impact interval and beyond. That is the secret of Golf.


>

Hit em Straight

Gregg McHatton

I've been roaming around the internet forums lately and reading the various posts regarding "The Golfing Machine" and the who's who regarding whatever. Some of it true, some of it false and some of it so totally out there that it isn't worth addressing.

Today I'm going to introduce you to the person I consider one of the best instructors on the planet (you'll never hear that from him though) , somebody who I am proud to call my coach. If humility is a virtue the man I'm about to introduce should be nominated for Sainthood. He's someone who's not going to pound his chest and pronounce his knowledge and unless somebody else told you who he was, you would probably never hear of him.

That man is Mr. Gregg McHatton. The video that follows is a portion of Gregg's lecture at the second PGA Teaching summit. Gregg also spoke at the first Coaching summit, where he was a part of a panel discussion with Mike Hebron, David Leadbetter and Ben Doyle. (edit Panel Discussion – Hank Haney, Jim McLean, Gregg McHatton & Mike Hebron
Evaluation & Instruction)
I'm going to declare this "Gregg McHatton Week" on Gotham Golf Blog and in turn this will give you some insight into a very private man, who is also one of the nicest men you'll ever get to know.



More tomorrow

Hit em Straight

Swing Anchor Options by EA Tischler Part 2

I have decided to re-post this with Mr. Tischler's responses to our reader's questions.


I had never heard of Mr. Tischler until I stumbled upon this YouTube video. After watching it, I came away thoroughly impressed. I had never heard of the concept of ideal Pivot Points via swing anchor options. Mr. Tischler put together a pretty logical explanation/demonstration of this concept. Looking back on my own personal golf swing permutations I can empirically say that this is the way to go. Some play better from a centered pivot, some play better from a right sided pivot and some play better from a left sided pivot (stack and tilt(I imagine), Foley etc.).

Hit em Straight

GG said...

Another outstanding contribution.
Thanks Ralph
September 23, 2010 2:41 PM
Jim McKinnon said...

The only golfers I've ever seen who swing from a rear foot anchor are the poor golfers you see on almost any course in America. As for the center pivot, this has been taught by Manuel deLeTorre. The weight shift follows the arm swing in his teaching, and he has helped many golfers. But I agree with David Lee, who says that "it does no good to move the meat, after the ball is already gone." Also, Gregg McHatton has all his pounds in active rotation at impact. His weight is back on his left side very early in the through swing. His body pivot puts his body mass on the ball and supports impact. As far as a left side pivot without weight transfer, (like S&T), this is great when less than full distance is desired, but for maximum distance, a weight transfer which gets back to the left side well before delivery is essential.

My feeling is that a choice of pivot points is really more properly a matter of which method employs the most efficient physics. (Unless a golfer has a physical handicap limiting the full use of the body.) Just my 2 cents.

Thanks for bringing us a steady stream of fascinating golf stuff Ralph!

Jim
September 23, 2010 2:52 PM
Jim McKinnon said...

I might add that there is some merit to Tischler's pivot information, to a point. Referring to his one-arm, one-foot drills, David Lee has stated that 'all that is needed to make a technically perfect swing, is an axis to pivot on and a connection to the golf club.'
September 23, 2010 3:07 PM
Eagle59 said...

I tried his "test" and found that I hit my best shots that were most like my normal shots with the rear anchor pivot. When I set up and thought of feeling the pivot on the right hip I just killed the ball with great ball-turf contact. I didn't see myself on video and I know that feel is different than "real" so this may be more of a feel thing than actually pivoting around the rear hip. I haven't played a round with this "feeling" but plan to. Thanks, Ralph for the info. Tinkering is half the fun of this great game.
September 24, 2010 7:37 AM
NYC Lagster said...

You're welcomed Eagle,
Tinkering and experimenting is where the fun lies. That's why Hogan spent so much time in his Laboratory (the range). Trying to master the golf swing is a journey well worth taking.
Thanks for Posting
Ralph
September 24, 2010 9:57 AM
NYC Lagster said...

Hi Jim,
I will be writing an in depth series on my experiences with this topic in the near future.
Thanks for your comments.

Ralph
September 24, 2010 9:59 AM
Greg Brown said...

How can you pivot over the right leg in the downswing. So at the top say he has 60% weight on the right leg and he keeps it there, or increases as I envision the swing, as he pivots around the right leg? I have seen many a double pivot, a la Ballard or Leadbetter, right on the backswing and left on the downswing, but I can't see all over the right leg through the shot.
September 27, 2010 6:33 PM
NYC Lagster said...

For Greg,
Turn about the right hip, push off the inside of the right foot and the bulk of the weight is still on the right through the impact interval.
watch This

Ralph
September 27, 2010 7:02 PM
Edward said...

Hello everyone,

This is EA Tischler. Some of my students saw this posting and thought it would be great if I commented. I have been coaching this principle for over 25 years now and I have noticed that when golfers see tips, they only see a part of the process and are often mis-lead by what they see or what they believe about what they see. Though the test shows a golfer playing shots on one leg, the other, or feet together, as we play golf we stand with feet apart and that creates what I call a pedestal action. In doing so it makes the swing more complicated than the test. The test is simply designed to identify the best pivot point (or balance point) in your hip girdle. As we pivot weight does move, or shift, the question becomes how. Is it lateral, is it rotary, does the load on the feet change in the backstroke, does it do so in the forward stroke, or both. Well that depends on the golfer and their type of golf action.
September 28, 2010 3:35 PM
Edward said...

Hello again everyone, as I mentioned in the last post, much depends on the golfer and their type of golf action. In all there are three categories of golf actions, Hitting, Throwing & Swinging. And in most cases it is simply a preference as to which action the golfer uses. Hitters primarily use thrust and the weight & rotation are more accommodating actions. Throwers primarily use lateral weight shift with the rotation and thrust being secondary, and Swingers primarily use rotation with the weight shift and thrust being secondary. I know these are general conditions, however hopefully they help put things in perspective. With all that in mind, you can have either a Front, Center or Rear Anchor action in all three of the categories. Your anchor point is simply your body's best balance point, and it is used in combination with your head as a counterbalance to keep your stroke from having too much lateral motion. Too much lateral motion makes it extremely difficult for the stroke to bottom out just ahead of the ball. So, we can all have effectively anchored strokes, and we can customize the Swing Anchor to our own specific needs and for which ever of the three golf actions we choose to employ.
September 28, 2010 4:42 PM
Edward said...

Hello Everyone, EA Tischler here again. Just want to comment on Jim McKinnon's post on Sept 23rd. In fact you have seen many great players use Rear Anchor techniques. It is only that we play with a pedestal stance instead of playing one legged (unless you only have one leg). The test in the video is simply a test. And I go on to show the set-up and balance point for each Swing Anchor. However, in that short video, which was limited for the Golf Channel Instructor Search, I was unable to show how the Swing Anchors are employed in the pedestal action. Additionally each anchor can be employed in either Hitting, Throwing or Swinging actions. Great golfers such as Tom Kite & Stuart Appleby (among many others) employ the Rear Anchor technique. They load and store on the Rear foot, leg and hip joint, then during delivery they transfer weight from right to left while the head counterbalances the action to make sure they stay rear anchored. Once the stroke reaches the full extension the body is release to a full finish. So the stroke loads Rear Anchor, stores Rear Anchor, delivers Rear Anchor, and then the anchor is released with the Postural Release action up to the finish. To Be Continued.
September 28, 2010 4:55 PM
Edward said...

Continued from last post. The poor golfers you speak of do a variety of things that fail to constitute being properly Rear Anchor. For one they may start in the center or on the front side and then shift in to the rear pivot point during the downstroke. This is a reverse pivot and fails to satisfy being anchor because it shifts pivot points for on and does so in the opposite direction of the stroke. Secondly, some golfers will stay on the pivot point and fail to release the posture to a fully erect finish. This is also part of being properly anchored. As mentioned in the last post we are anchored during the load, store and delivery part of the actions. Once the full extension is achieve we release the body and its posturing to a full finish. To Be Continued.
September 28, 2010 5:00 PM
Edward said...

Continued from last post. I myself am built to be a Center Anchor Golfer and I prefer to use a Swinging action which uses rotary weight transfer. In that action I do as you mentioned Gregg McHatton does, "has all his pounds in active rotation at impact. His weight is back on his left side very early in the through swing. His body pivot puts his body mass on the ball and supports impact." This is a preference and works well for me. However, even though that action is my "bread & butter" action, I have organized and used 16 different variations over the years. Variations the fit my body mechanics. I have also worked on many actions that fit other people, just so I could understand their options and what they were experiencing in their strokes. To Be Continued.
September 28, 2010 5:06 PM
Edward said...

Continued from last post. As far as the Front Anchor technique being used only when less than full distance is desired, this is in my experience false. There are many great players that have employed maximum power with Front Anchor techniques. For example Fred Couples employs a Throw-Swing Front Anchor model, so did Ben Hogan, and David Duval used a Swing-Throw model when he was number one in the world. Chip Beck also had a wonderful Front Anchor model when he was playing his best golf and shot 59 doing so. Keep in mind, everything happens in a matter of degrees in the golf stroke and because of that we have hybrid models such as Swing-Throws and Throw-Swing, etc. The action chosen to employ the Swing Anchor will influence how that Swing Anchor feature looks as it is employed. The key becomes knowing on which point the stroke loads, stores, and is delivered. And in all their cases, even if there is a bump or drift in the anchor action, they all end up loading, storing, and delivering on that anchor point. To Be Continued.
September 28, 2010 5:14 PM
NYC Lagster said...

Hi Edward,
If you would like to have your own post or series of posts regarding this topic, simply shoot me an email at ralph_P1@yahoo.com.
I'll give you all the space and time you'd like.
I find the topic very interesting. I'm particularly interested in this 3rd method of propelling the golf ball which you call "Throwing".
Ralph Perez

Edward said...

Continued from last post. As for the Stack & Tilt reference. In the early 1990's I met Mac O'Grady at the Queen Mary Open. In that conversation I introduce him to my Swing Anchor theories. He went out on his own and developed a Front Anchor Hogan model, a Center Anchor Sam Snead Model, and a Rear Anchor Lee Trevino model. Of course, the Anchor terms are mine. Over the years he became more interested in the merits of the Front Anchor models and developed his theories on them. He introduced them to Plummer and Bennett and they developed their own theories on the models. Though my views of the best way of employing front anchor techniques varies from both of those camps, there are a variety of ways to employ front anchor techniques properly with the individuals body mechanics in mind as well as proper swing mechanics to satisfy sound principles in physics. And they can all be applied for either maximizing power or for applying power to the desired level of control. To be continued.
September 28, 2010 5:21 PM
Edward said...

One last post for now. I find one of your final comments wonderful, "My feeling is that a choice of pivot points is really more properly a matter of which method employs the most efficient physics." This is exactly the point. Your body has to perform the actions that employ proper physics, and physics has many applications. The body is a machine when it comes to the golf stroke and your machine defines what applications can be used to achieve proper physics. The world of golf is just scratching the surface of what is possible, much like the world of physics has been expanding with its understandings of what is truly possible. All golfers, whether they employ Front Anchor, Center Anchor or Rear Anchor options can use their whole body in the aciton. And discovering these expanding views is what I have been doing with my appproach (newhorizonsgolf.com)over the years. And that includes what I call Power of 3 Golf Biomechanics which has identified 12 biomechanical features in the golf stroke. Each of which has three options and only one of those options fits each individual. And it is my belief that if you identify the feature options that match your body and incorporate them into your golf stroke, you will know the Secrets of Owning Your Swing. Thanks for your comments and I respect that we each have our own views based on our own experiences and knowledge and I appreciate the opportunity to comment.
September 28, 2010 5:23 PM
Edward said...

From EA, this one is for Jim. There are many different ways of loading and unloading the weight onto and off of the right leg. Though playing shots with all the weight staying almost completely on one leg are possible applications for special shots on hilly lies and even for amputees. It is generally the case that the weight loads and stores on the leg and foot and then is transferred to the front leg of the pedestal stance during delivery. The key to remaining anchored is using the head to counter balance the action as the swing is delivered. This eliminates the need for a two axis system during the backstroke, downstroke and delivery.

Continued from last post. So, as the weight transfers over to the front foot, the head maintains its counterbalance location and this keeps the golfer in an anchor attitude which influences the stroke bottoming out just in front of the ball, as long as he ball location is proper for the golfers anchor and club selection. Once the stroke reaches the full extension the golfer releases his body and postural angles up to the full finish. The two axis systems were designed to accommodate lateral weight shift (as compared to rotary) and to make sure the posture is release to reduce stress on the body. Unfortunately most two axis system made the shift during either the storage or delivery stage of the stroke. In doing so the golfer needed to re-stabilize the stroke during a dynamic part of the process. Very difficult. To do so the golfer needed to minimize power output to gain stability. to be continued.
September 28, 2010 5:38 PM
Edward said...

One last post for Jim. Golfers that are built to be rear anchor golfers do indeed load more weight on the right foot during the downstroke then they had at the top. However, at the top the weight has move around to the right heel. During the downstroke it moves into the ball of that foot. By loading more weight into the ball of the foot coming down it helps the golfer use ground force during delivery. During delivery the weight moves across to the front foot and the rear foots heel comes up off the ground. If the head remains in its counter balance position the stroke is truly anchored. Then when the full extension is reached the body and its postural angles are released up to the full finish. In the years leading up to Tom Kite's US Open victory at Pebble Beach these are the changes he made to employ one of the best rear anchor techniques ever. He changed his action from a Throwing action to a Swinging Action and I believe it is a wonderful Rear Anchor action to copy (as long as it fits you). Stuart Appleby also has a wonderful Rear Anchor technique, and the standard use of the Leaderboard training aid he endorses is great for Rear Anchor Golfers to use to learn how the weight transfers. EA
September 28, 2010 5:45 PM
Edward said...

From EA, just wanted to correct one thing. The last series of posts were in response to Greg Brown's posts.
September 28, 2010 10:08 PM
NYC Lagster said...

EA,
Thanks for the clarification, I will compile your responses and make them a post all their own. We look forward to your participation and further exploration into this topic. It certainly is something which our readers are interested in.
Thanks Again,
Ralph

Hit em Straight

Paul Bertholy Testimonial

Ralph,

I was pleased to see your interviews with Doug Ferreri on the Paul Bertholy method.



I bought Golf Construction 101, then visited Doug in Florida a year ago to spend a half day training on the Bertholy programs. I’ve done the drills over the past year (minus a couple months to nurse a few injuries), and I’m very impressed with the results I am now seeing.



I just finished a +1 round for 9 holes (37), before running out of daylight yesterday - bogey on #1, followed by 8 pars (including a missed 2 ½ birdie putt!)



This is notable because I visited Doug as a 14-handicap. Pretty good progress, if I do say so myself.



I credit Doug and the Bertholy method for helping me immensely. I am finding better impact positions more consistently, and my distance and accuracy have both improved. I no longer try to intentionally overpower the ball. My lead side is controlling the swing. It’s almost an effortless motion, and helps me enjoy my time on the course since I’m no longer trying to bludgeon the ball.



You should also know I’ve made the rounds with a number of swing philosophies, and nothing really helped for any period of time. Bertholy is the one method that’s proved to “stick” and help me achieve real progress…that, plus my own hard work.



Paul is a legend whose work continues to help golfers, and Doug is a class act who continues to carry forth the message.



I joked with Doug yesterday that I hope I can capture the lightning in a bottle…I’m looking forward to continuing the journey and starting to piece together some career best 18 hole scores this fall.



I go by “wicker1000” (my handle) in various Golf Discussion groups…Feel free to use my endorsement, but I just ask that you please not use my full name (internet privacy issue for me).



All the best.

James

Aka

“wicker1000”

Efficient Power with Marc Minier

This is some Great Work by Mr. Marc Minier, again the essence of what I'm trying to achieve on a consistent basis.




Here's Gregg McHatton demonstrating "Throw Out Action"


Now watch carefully how much the club wants to pursue it's radial orbit and how much force is involved. Gregg releases the Club and it buries itself into the dirt about a foot deep. Mind you that was some pretty hard "HardPan".



Mr. Minier if you're reading, shoot me an email (my email is listed on the left side underneath the welcome). I really like your stuff and would be interested in chatting.

Hit em Straight