The Disciplined Golfer

What follows is a collection of random thoughts compiled by our friend Justin Tang. I believe this to be one of the best pamphlets out there on how to become a better golfer. Unlike a lot of the "Snake Oil"and "Secrets" that are being peddled in cyberspace, Justin's small treatise is a hard, objective look at what is really required to improve and maintain that improvement.




The Disciplined Golfer

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Interview with Jim Petralia PGA

Today we're going to have the pleasure of speaking to Mr. Jim Petralia. Jim is one of the most prominent low key Pros in Southern California. He is a long time friend and student of Mac O'Grady and he's also been Steve Pate's coach for a long time. One of the things I find memorable about Jim is the fact that he pursued Golf at a later age and had astonishing success. Here's the interview:



The Forum is up and running at:www.gothamgolfforum.com

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MORAD Models

Throughout the Years, I've done my fair share of MORAD studies. As a result I've come to the conclusion that if I were to pick a MORAD model to build my swing around, it would be this guy:




Instead I'd like to model myself after the guy in the blue vest.

BTW the third guy who appears is Mike Hebron



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PGA Tour Apex Heights with Trackman

About a Year ago I wrote an article in which I alluded to the fact that the optimum ball flight would be one in which all your clubs peaked at the same height.
Here's a brief summary of what I wrote:

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 another person 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)

Sometime thereafter another Blog posted that this was not correct according to "Trackman". At the time I wasn't paying any attention to the Trackman stuff, so I assumed that the latest Science proved me wrong. That was until I came across the Trackman Data and analyzed it for myself. Note the Max Height column.

(click to enlarge)

I did a statistical analysis and computed the standard deviation, here's what I found:

The average Max height is 27.25 meters, with a standard deviation of 1.01 meters.
In other words, their clubs all peak at about 27 meters, +/- 1 meter.

It seems to me that Hogan had it right.

The moral of this story is: "Do your due diligence"!

BTW, The Forum is up at: www.gothamgolfforum.com

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John Graham

Today we're continue with our series of "Up and Comers", with an interview of John Graham.
Here's a brief bio from John's website:

John Graham returned to Webster Golf Club, in 2005, to head up the Range and Learning Center as its new Director of Instruction. John is a class "A" member of the Professional Golfers Association and the Golf Coaches Association of America with 15 years of professional experience teaching lessons in Rochester, NY.
John spent 8 years as the Head Coach of the men's golf program at Monroe Community College. Through the 2010 season, the "Tribunes" have won over 55 regular tournament titles, 6 conference championships, 5 NJCAA Region III Championships and won the 2006, 2009 and 2010 NJCAA Division III National Championship. His players include the 2009 NJCAA Individual Champion in Chris Malec, 2006 NJCAA Individual Champion in Mike Colosi, 2004 NJCAA Individual Runner-Up in Scott Harris and a total of 12 National All-Americans. Coach Graham was also voted Region III Coach of the Year for 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 and NJCAA National Coach of the Year in 2006, 2009 and 2010.

His students accomplishments are listed here:

John lives in Rochester with his wife Kristin and their four children: John Jr. (7), Patrick (6), Colin (4) and Kate (1). He is reachable for lessons at john@johngrahamgolf.com or 585-752-9606.





For more information you can visit John's website: www.Johngrahamgolf.com

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Pivot Compression

Here's our friend Wayne Defrancesco with some thoughts on Tiger's new action. I believe Wayne is spot on with his assessment, what makes these guys so good is their ability to harness the ground.




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Moe Norman

Some Moe Norman anecdotes, great video!



Happy Holidays
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How to study The Golfing Machine

First I'd like to introduce Mr. Justin Tang. Justin hails from Singapore and will be contributing to Gotham Golf Blog from time to time. Here's a brief bio:

Justin Tang has been involved in golf for over 10 years and became the 1st authorized Medicus Instructor in Asia in 2005. He holds an Honours degree from the University of London where he topped his cohort in Applied Psychology, winning the prestigious John Mann Award. He also holds a diploma in Engineering. His involvement and association with Homer Kelley’s The Golfing Machine (TGM) began in 2000 after being frustrated with the lack of progress in his game and the amount of misinformation surrounding golf instruction. Justin specializes in teaching students simply how to hit the ball straight and long through the correct understanding and application of geometry and physics. Since then, he has spent time with world famous PGA instructors the likes of Ben Doyle, Chuck Evans, Gregg McHatton, Lynn Blake, Dana Dahlquist, Dennis Alberts, Mal Tongue, Bob McDonald and Shane Scott. He can be reached at +65-8188-1701 or via email at jtang@medicusgolfinstitute.com


How to Study TGM

The Gotham Golf Fix Episode 5

Today we will address another question asked by one of our loyal readers.



Here's the response from Dan Whittaker aka DFW1500:

Daniel Carraher aka "Iteach"

Today we're going to continue with my series of "Up and Comers". Next in line is Mr. Daniel Carraher. Dan is a passionate young man who has dedicated a lot of his time to helping others simply for the love of teaching. He is a true credit to the Game and his Profession. For a relatively young man Dan has a boatload of credentials and has learned from some of the best.

Let's take a look at a couple of Dan's Student's, first here's Tour Player Brain Smock:



And here's Dominant Mini Tour Player Blaine Staggs (who we talk about in the interview):



Here's the interview:


For more information on Dan or his instruction you can reach him at Dciteachgolf@gmail.com.


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TGM Models II

We've looked at one of the guys named Bobby, we'll look at the other guy named Bobby next week. Today we're going to take a look at the guy named Gregg.
Get your real players ready for the download, it's on me. Thanks to John "BallTurf" Miramontes for sharing his clips with us.
Enjoy:

One thing you want to take note of, is his pivot. I would describe it as repitilian. So even though Gregg's getting up there in years, he's not suffering from "Reptile Dysfunction" ;0)


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Steven Anthony Salerno

Today we're going to have the opportunity to meet former Golf Pro and current Golf Artist Mr. Steven Salerno.
Here's a brief Bio on Steven:

Steven Anthony Salerno merges his artistic talent with a background in golf, to create some of the finest golf graphics on the contemporary golf art scene. His golf art has been featured on the PGA Tour's official web site, pgatour.com, in their Player Spotlight feature section, where he created portrait images of many tour stars: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Mike Weir, Padraig Harrington, Camilo Villegas, etc... As a teen, he won the Vermont Junior Amateur Championship, and as a young man worked for several years in golf. He was an Assistant Golf Professional at The Yale Golf Club, and at Racebrook Country Club, both in Connecticut. During that time he was also a registered apprentice in the PGA. He is a graduate of Parsons School of Design in New York City, and over the past 25 years Steven has created illustrations for advertising campaigns, magazine features, and product packaging. He has also illustrated 17 children's picture books, and is the author of three titles. Now, his focus is on creating striking golf art images which you can own in the form of signed, limited edition prints to display in your home or office. These prints are superbly printed on 100% cotton rag archival fine art paper with brilliant permanent pigment inks. You can see samples of his golf art by visiting his on-line golf art gallery, sasgolf.com.

Here's a sample of his work (click on any image to enlarge):





And Here's the interview:



Given that Christmas is right around the corner, I believe that Steven's prints would make a great present for any golf aficionado.

Take some time out to tour his site: www.sasgolf.com



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Corey Pavin's 4 wood

Another one that got away from Norman. It's a shame that the USGA has decided that they no longer want a gritty-scrambling shotmaker like Pavin to compete for their trophy.

This is one of the great moments in Golf.



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Nick Starchuk

Today we're going to be talking to the first of several instructors which I consider "Up and Coming". Mr. Nick Starchuk



HERE's an article Nick wrote for the Canadian Golfer which I found interesting

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Ricky Fowler Total Analysis

Since we're on the subject of Ricky Fowler, here's an interesting analysis I found on his swing and his putting.



One interesting thing to note is the fact that he draws a correlation between using a centripetal release and developing the yips. This is not the first time I've heard this and it makes for some interesting discussion.

I have been working on a Project called the ScratchZone.com. It isn't quite coming out according to my standards, so I will probably scrap the whole thing and start from scratch (pun intended). In the meantime since the discussions are becoming more technical in nature, I have decided to start a temporary forum powered by proboards. If anybody has any suggestions as to what they want to see there, reach out to me via email and I will try my best to accommodate you.


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Where's the Torque?

Many of us have been taught or we've read about creating resistance on the backswing by restricting the hip turn and increasing the shoulder turn. The separation angle created by the move was coined as "The X Factor" by Jim McClean.
We believe that creating torque on the backswing is unnecessary and could possibly be detrimental, because it might create unneeded tension and potentially undermine your dynamics. Instead, we feel you should create Torque in the Downswing. The more separation you can create between your shoulders and hips in the downswing the faster you will uncoil and the more speed you will create in the distal parts. In the extreme case, you might find some who can unwind the hips before they finish their shoulder turn. Here's Gregg McHatton with a drill to help you with this.


The above is a clip from Gregg's video "Perfect Results" available from OHP Direct
Here's Rickie Fowler demonstrating the extreme case, he's like a rubberband



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Ernie Vadersen

This week I was able to track down one of the great innovators in the Golf Industry, his name is Ernie Vadersen. In the early 90s Ernie started a company called Snake Eyes and introduced a Wedge which took the Golf World by storm. To this date it is considered by many," the finest wedge ever made". I own about 8 of them and every time I see one on Ebay, I buy it. I also have a set of his MB1 irons which were forged by Smith and Wesson ( the Gun company). What made Ernie's product so great was the fact that his wedges were tour level quality, thus the $200 price point.

Now you can sit back and enjoy Ernie and I rambling about his career, the manufacturing process and some of the tour players he's been involved with.







Below are pictures of my MB1 5 iron and my Snake Eyes 12 iron (60° wedge) note the hosel has the initial EV engraved on them, do not compare this with the Golfsmith Junk.







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Bobby Schaeffer

When I think about TGM models, there are a few swings that come to mind. Two of them belong to guys named Bobby and another to a guy named Gregg . Today we'll introduce the first Bobby (the second Bobby needs no introduction), his name is Bobby Schaeffer.

Here's a Bio (written By B. Manzella on another forum)

Bobby Schaeffer - 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.

The beauty of Bobby's swing is that he accomplishes several things that we look for in our chosen TGM stroke pattern.

1. He uses all the forces to his advantage (he harnesses them)
2. He takes full mechanical advantage of the underlying physics to create the geometry
3. He has a very dynamic pivot which creates an enormous amount of Power
4. There is no Overacceleration
   

Remember Over-acceleration is to Lag as Kryptonite is to Superman

Sit back and watch Bobby take a XXX shaft and make a fishing pole out of it, simply by using the forces to his advantage. For those who covet that Sergio/Hogan look, this is probably the model you'd like to follow.

Watch how he allows his right leg to straighten, this is pretty old stuff and has been taught by Gregg McHatton for many years. Also note how he steps into his right foot at the start of his pivot, another McHatton trait, which is also something Domenic Mazza (the 16 year old Long Drive Champion) does.
More to come....

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Impact by Wayne Defrancesco

Here's our friend Wayne D. with some cool stuff on impact.

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The Pivot with a TPI assesment

Today we have Dan Whittaker and Annette Stroud, discussing some of the physical ramifications associated with the Golf Swing.
Annette is a TPI certified Corrective Exercise Specialist and she will be joining Dan in future episodes to discuss the fitness aspects of the Golf Swing.

Here's Annette's profile:
Qualifications:
MBA

Premier Training Diploma in Personal Training

Premier Training Diploma in Sports Massage

REPs Level 3 in Personal Training and Sports Massage

Titleist Performance Institute Certified Fitness Instructor

Annette Stroud
Annette's time is divided between training golfers and personal training.

She works with golfers of all abilities from professional to beginner and with personal training clients looking to get into shape. So if you want to improve your golf or want to get fit and healthy Annette will guarantee you results.

Whatever your goal, if you need help, focus or motivation let her be a part of your team. You’ll understand more about your posture and movement and gain invaluable nutritional and lifestyle advice. Together you will maximise your potential and achieve outstanding results.

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Stack and Tilt

Since we pride ourselves in being "Fair and Balanced", today we're going to air the Interview Andy and Mike did for The Charlie Rose show. I think it's important that I clarify a few things before hand.
1. I have nothing against SnT
2. I think Bennet and Plummer are pretty sharp guys and are ahead of the curve in certain aspects.
3. There is a great deal to be learned from their stroke pattern.




We'll report, you decide.

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Q&A with Brian Manzella

I had the chance to catch with Brian Manzella last week (almost 2 weeks ago) and we sat down for a chat. Despite what many think about him, Brian is probably one of the most genuine instructors out there. One of the things I admire about a man is the courage to stand by his convictions. Brian has demonstrated that time and time again. In his search for the truth, he admits that he's been wrong about things in the past. It takes a certain kind of individual to do that. So whether you like him or not, I suggest you place principles over personalities and listen to the message. It seems to me that the Golf Instruction Community has become a backslapping mutual admiration society. A sort of Old Boys Network, where if you don't rock the boat your day will come. Unfortunately the only person that suffers is the end user. You as the consumer have a fundamental human right of Inquiry, so it's imperative that you as a Golfer become aware of what's around you. I've always implored the readers of this blog to not accept anything at face value, do your due diligence, become an educated consumer and challenge any notions you don't think are right.
As Mark Evershed said he'd like our readers to be the most golf-educated in Cyberspace, the only way we accomplish this is by attracting and accepting different view points on golf and it's nuances.
Here's the interview, enjoy:



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Al Barkow

Today we're going to meet Mr. Al Barkow. Al is perhaps the "Dean of American Golf Writers" (although some may say Dan Jenkins is). Instead of continuing with a written introduction, let's just sit back and let Al tell his stories.

To purchase Al's ebook, " The final word on Putting" you can go Here

Al's book on Sam Snead, "Sam: The one and only Sam Snead" can be found Here

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Monday with Mark Evershed

I spent some time on Saturday morning with Mark Evershed and here's what transpired.

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A lesson with Dan Whittaker aka DFW1500

Here we have one of Dan's students whose swing had gone awry. I think it's important to get a regular checkup with your Pro, because as we know feel isn't necessarily real.

Dan can be reached at danwhittaker@btconnect.com

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Gregg McHatton "Soft Wrists"

Here's my Coach Gregg Mchatton with his thoughts on soft wrists.

And here's Gregg working on this concept with my friend John.



Nobody had suppler or softer wrists than Mr. Hogan



Remember "Soft Wrists--Hard Work"

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Vijay Singh swinging left

Interesting setup, he's got some type of alignment stick aiming left and the umbrella to ensure that he swings left post impact. This makes sense from a ball flight law perspective. But I wonder if Vijay has studied these Laws or he's just hit so many balls that it's become empirical, similar to Ben Hogan.
In Hogan's case, the steeper the angle of attack (ie short irons) the more left he aimed, as his clubs got longer and his angle of attack got shallower he gradually worked his way back to square and finally started "swinging right " with the Driver. You see, Hogan had this stuff figured out a long time ago. Below is his setup diagram from 5 fundamentals. This might have been another one of his so called "Secrets".

In short, aim left when hitting down on the ball and aim right when hitting
up upon the ball. And remember when I say ‘aim left’ I mean the
swing plane, the face angle should always be aligned towards the
target line.
-Fredrik Tuxen

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Jon Gustin

Hoganesque, is probably the best description.
Jon Gustin
"A classic golf swing"
"He only hit straight shots"
"One of the few that Ben
Hogan would watch practice"


Jon C. Gustin
Jon Gustin was born in Kentucky in 1932 and grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. Many golf critics including Ben Hogan considered Gustin to have been one of the greatest ball strikers in the history of the game. He learned some of his golf from Birmingham native Sam Byrd who owned a driving range in the area when Gustin was growing up. Gustin turned pro in 1951 and soon after that he joined the United States Marine Corps. As a marine, Gustin was a member of the Marine Color Guard at the White House during the Eisenhower administration. After serving in the marines he worked for Joe Cannon at the Farmington Country Club in Charlottesville, Virginia. He visited the Philadelphia Country Club as a guest of the assistant professional, Bernie Haas, where he met the head professional Loma Frakes. Frakes was so impressed with Gustin’s ball striking that he prevailed on two of the club members to sponsor him on the PGA Tour. The members replied that if Gustin was that great Frakes should sponsor him. The two members and Frakes then agreed to sponsor Gustin as a three-man corporation, named Wynnewood Golf. Under their sponsorship from 1959 through 1962 Gustin finished 68th, 55th, 59th and 54th on the PGA Tour money list. His putting and an inability to work the golf ball from “right to left” or “left to right” kept him from being more successful. Gustin loved to practice and the practice area was his stage. After he had completed his round he would stop in the clubhouse for a bit to eat and a complete change of clothes including shoes. Then he would retire to the practice range, which meant hitting full shots for the most part. In those years it meant hitting your own practice balls to your caddy. He would hit his driver right off the ground, no tee, sending shot after shot high and long to the caddy, which would field the balls on one hop. Gustin was one of the very few players that Ben Hogan would pause for to observe a few swings. His best finish on the PGA Tour was a tie for second at the 1960 Cajon Classic. Gustin played in four U.S. Opens and six PGA Championships. His best showing in a major was a tie for 9th at the 1964 PGA. One year, Golf Digest selected Gustin as the best-dressed player on the PGA Tour. In 1963 he left the PGA Tour to take a head professional position in northern New Jersey. Later Gustin returned to his hometown as the head professional at the Birmingham Country Club. During his tenure there Hubert Green was developing his game as a junior golfer at the club.₁

Here's his swing from 1tontomato's Youtube Page.

I think his swing is a better model than Hogan's because it's much smoother.

On another note:
I hope you guys and gals tuned in to The Golf Channel last night and watched Mr. Hall in action. You can't call me a liar. Martin was en fuego last night. He simplified a lot of complicated subjects. His segment was palatable to both the advanced player and the beginner. That's what we need and I think that's what The Golf Channel needs. He taught you The Golfing Machine and you didn't even realize it.

Did you cast your vote for Martin Hall today? If not go HERE

BTW en fuego= on fire


Ref₁:A Chronicle of the
Philadelphia Section PGA and its Members
By Peter C. Trenham

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