Teaching the Game Debate

I was over at the Brian Manzella forum and the question was posed about what 3 things would you tell a person who wants to learn the game of golf but has never played it before. My first response was that I would teach some putting basics, teaching alignment, the arced stroke and left side connection and then explain how it ties into the golf swing.

This was questioned by a couple of posters and here was my response:

I believe that in any walk of life, when we are teaching somebody something we teach them the easy and simple things first, then when they have a pretty decent grasp of that, we move onto more complex and difficult subjects. Then when they grasp that concept, we move onto more and more difficult subjects.

Except for golf.

For some reason in golf we tend to do it backwards. We tend to want to learn the complex and difficult things first (full swing, especially with the driver) and then neglect or leave the simple and easy things for last.To me, it's absolutely moronic to do it this way. It's like trying to learn chaotic mathematical equations without knowing how to add and subtract first. And remember, the OP said *3 things* you can teach them. So I'm pretty limited IMO. I've actually spent an hour with my neighbor, a 15 handicapper who is 55 years old, and he grasped the putting concepts quite quickly and we spent the last half hour working on his chipping.

This is the way that the old school teachers like Harvey Penick *used* to teach. And as Brian mentioned in CoFF, his first lesson with Mr. Doyle consisted of Brian having to "give a chipping lesson" to Mr. Doyle because Mr. Doyle had to basically re-instruct Brian's method of chipping. And it's no coincidence that Bobby Clampett's 'Impact Zone' book talks about learning the game in this method.

Remember now, I only have 3 things to really instruct this person on. They don't really know much about the grip, the path of the club, etc. And I truly believe two things:

1) If you cannot get the chipping motion and stroke down pretty well, there's no way you will get the full swing down pretty well.

2) If you learn the chipping motion and stroke pretty well, it makes the transition into the pitching motion then the full swing motion more seamless and easier for the golfer.

Brian then made a video response which I appreciated because there's a lot of things he wanted to express and often times I find it difficult to express my thoughts and opinions clearly like I want to and without offending somebody. But I find if I can "talk it" instead of "type it", then my thoughts are conveyed in a much clearer manner. Brian's video response can be found here (http://www.brianmanzella.com/forum/golfing-discussions/11399-blank-canvas-what-3-things-would-you-choose-3.html#post132748)



I thought this was a great assessment and sharing of Manzella's experiences as a teacher. Although I still believe that too many golfers go into the more complex parts of the golf swing too early. IMO, that's what hurt my neighbor. He went and got a lesson and the pro had him hit a bunch of full swing drivers and told him to cut down his backswing a bit. A few weeks later he almost quit the game before he came to me asking for some help. It should also be noted that I used a camcorder to record his swing and the pro he went to did not use the camcorder, but after the first lesson going over a chip shot motion that was a 'miniaturized version' of the full swing (something I didn't clarify in my post) he went onto play the best golf he's played in the past 3 months....although he did falter a bit down the stretch.

And *perhaps* I disagree with Brian debunking my theory that if you can learn the chipping motion and stroke it will make the transition into the full swing more seamless. One of the things I try to stray away from is what Geoff Mangum talks about in his 'Optimal Putting' book is an instructor giving 'it worked for me, it should work for you' type of advice and instruction. When I came back from the game after the surgery, the first thing I wanted to work on was getting rid of the flip. And I wanted to accomplish that through improving my chipping and pitching methods first and then transitioning that into the full swing. That all being said, I would say I'm a pretty average chipper of the ball, but I'm really good with pitches, flops and bunker blasts.

So yes, it 'worked for me', but that doesn't mean it will work for everybody. And from Manzella's insight, it's not the best way to work with amateurs from his years and years of experience teaching the game (and I readily and whole heartedly acknowledge that he has far more knowledge about the game, the golf swing and teaching than I do.)

Anyway, in a reply to Brian's video response I talked about how much I learn from the forum almost every day and I think you can too, so check it out at http://www.brianmanzella.com/.



3JACK

Some Further Thoughts On 'The Secret Is In The Dirt'

I've been getting some e-mails and PM's around the Web asking for some more of my thoughts on Mike Maves' (aka Sevam1) e-book 'The Secret Is In The Dirt.'

First off, go buy the damn thing. I've found that his stuff works and works really, really well. As seen with some of my other posts, I don't always recommend buying a book or a training aid, so when I recommend it I really mean it.

The big thing I've found about using the methods (and I have yet to use all of them) in the book is that it really makes a proper thru pivot easier to accomplish. And because of that, you won't suddenly be striking the ball like Hogan in '53, but you will see an overall sudden improvement in your ball striking and you will probably hit a few balls right away that will 'wow' you.

For instance, the first day I really grasped the concept of the move and the secret I was hitting a ball with a Trackman device and finally pounded a 3 wood that went 257 yards (246 yard carry). That may not be impressive, but the ball was a beat up range ball, in 50 degree weather with a little bit of the wind in my face. A few days later on a different driving range, I flew the green with ease to a pin that is a legit 228 yards with a 3 iron. Again, with a beat up range ball in about 55 degree weather.

Now, all of that stuff doesn't happen all of the time. In fact, far from it. But it seems like about every time on the range I execute the move and secret correctly once or twice and hit some eye popping power shots. And the last two times I've played, I've hit 4 eye popping shots that were L-O-N-G and accurate. I chalk it up to myself being far away from mastering the move and the pivot, but slowly getting better and better almost as each day goes by.

I think for me it all started with understanding that the pivot if the lifeblood of the golf swing and then understanding how an effective pivot works. I've shown this video roughly a million times, but I think the Brian Manzella YouTube video is THAT GOOD and that important to understanding the pivot. Furthermore, Manzella makes it pretty easy to understand.




And again, I try to use the knowledge from that video and think about more or less keepimg my hands behind where the zipper is pointing in the downswing.

There's also another good video that Manzella has about allowing gravity to do the work that sort of fits into "The Secret Is In the Dirt."




The above video more or less ties into "The Secret Is In The Dirt" book's 'vertical drop.'

I've talked to some TGM'ers and my understanding of 'catching the drop' as Manzella puts it or the 'horizontal tug, vertical drop' move described by Maves is that it's a 'pivot controlled hands' downswing motion. Conversely, there's also a 'hands controlled pivot' downswing motion that a golfer can use to successfully hit the ball.

To simplify those two motions, the first word in each phrase of the downswing motion is what happens FIRST in the downswing.

For instance, PIVOT controlled hands = The pivot happens FIRST and then the hands follow the pivot.

On the flip side, HANDS controlled pivot = the hands drop FIRST and then the pivot follows.

But from what I have found so far is that the overwhelming majority of golfers would be better off learning PIVOT controlled hands motion (pivot happens first). And I'm talking almost 95-98% of the golfers should learn the pivot controlled hands motion first.

Why? Because, IMO, the hands still cannot get in front of where the zipper is pointing on the downswing and when you start the downswing with a hands drop instead of pivoting the pelvis/hips, chances are that you won't be able to get those hips moving fast enough so the zipper stays out in front of the hands.

And that's where "The Secret Is In The Dirt" comes in.

For starters, what I have found is that when you do the secret correctly, the thru pivot almost repels or bounces off or ricochets off the torque created on the inside of the right leg. Essentially what *I* feel is that I've already torqued the inside of the right leg and then I just rotate back the shoulders and hips in the backswing, but I do not lose that torque on the inside of the right leg ONE IOTA. As I'm rotating back, after awhile my hips cannot rotate back anymore and then they "bounce off" the torque on the inside of my right leg and now start rotating forward way before my arms and hands have even moved down. This gets that zipper in front of the hands on the downswing and those hips are likely to be open at impact instead of square at impact.

But again, it's very important that the torque on the inside of the right leg is MAINTAINED and does not move ONE IOTA. Here's an excerpt Hogan wrote on page 75 of '5 Lessons:

As regards the right leg, it should maintain the same position it had at address, the same angle in relation to the ground, throughout the backswing. That is one of the checks the average golfer should make when he's warming up and when he's on the course. When you have a stable right leg and the right knee remains pointed in a bit, it prevents the leg from snagging and sway out to the right and carrying the body along with it.

Essentially, Hogan talks about keeping the right knee in the same position and angle from address to the top of the swing. However, it's very easy to erroneously feel some torque of the inside of the right leg and STILL have too much weight over the top or the middle of the leg and right knee cap.

One of the facets of "The Secret Is In The Dirt" that I really like is, IMO, it really explains Hogan's lower body movement and actions. Many top instructors, including David Leadbetter, erroneously claim that Hogan had a 'reverse pivot.'

However, if you just create that torque like Maves suggests at address and maintain that torque and essentially keep the right knee in the same position it was at address, it will *look* like there's a lot of weight on the left side at the top of the swing. However, if you're doing it like Maves suggests you will not feel a S&T type move or a 'reverse pivot.' You WILL feel weight on the right side, it just *looks* like the Hogan lower body movement AND it may look like a reverse pivot. But it couldn't be further from the truth. That weight is more towards the right leg, not the left. And the weight is ready to start moving towards the left leg.

Whenever you're learning something new, I believe that it's very helpful to understand what you're doing wrong and what's the difference between what you're doing wrong and what you need to do correctly. And with Maves' secret and move, I found this to be very true and also to be facets that were tripping up other golfers as well.

The biggest error I found, and this applied to me as well, was that it's very easy to make the big toe the pressure point instead of the ball of the right foot. When I got too much weight and pressure on the big toe, the torque on the inside of the right leg is not as good AND you're likely to push OFF the ground instead of pushing INTO the ground.

Lastly, I also found it very easy to get too much weight on the right leg. I still had some problems with 'slinging it' with my clubs, particularly with my longer irons which inevitably would cause some sizeable hooks. I then realized that when I would screw my right foot into the ground, I would erroneously get too much weight on my right foot. That against hurts the quality of the torque on the inside of my right leg which made the thru pivot less effective and then the hands get in front of the zipper and the flip goes through causing a hook.

Fortunately, the cure is quite simple. For starters, just keep the weight pretty even between the feet and then lift your toes out of your shoe. That keeps the weight pretty evenly distributed and keeps the pressure point on the ball of the foot instead of on the toe. But remember, do not lose the torque on the inside of the right leg ONE MILLIMETER.

Lastly, I found the rotation of the hips on the thru pivot quite easy to understand using Maves' method. You can just take a stance without a club. Pre-torque your right foot. Take the back pivot with the torque maintained on the inside of the right leg. NOW, just keep on screwing the right foot clockwise. Keep on doing that and that forces the right knee inward and the hips will start rotating.

There's an old teaching tip that on the downswing the right heel should be closer to the target than the right toe and the Maves' pre-torque move gets that right heel towards the target.

In all, I keep finding "The Secret Is In The Dirt" to be more and more fundamentally sound and quite easy to learn the more and more I study the book and other golf swings (including my own golf swing).





3JACK

Blades, Blades and Blades

I'm currently looking for some new set of blades. One of the greatest improvements in technology that I've noticed since quitting the game is the 'player irons.' In the past, blades were almost all forged irons without the muscle back design. This meant that the sweetspot was more towards the heel. That's why there was the old saying of 'a shank is almost a perfect shot.' Before my day, the weight was even more towards the heel on blade irons and thus 'a shank was almost a perfect shot.'

Now with the muscle back design, the weight is more towards the center of the club. This is also important because back then shots hit off the toe were 'death shots.' Now a golfer doesn't have to be Mac O'Grady to hit blades pretty well. Furthermore, there are more and more blades that still have a cavity back design. So they are more forgiving, but still allow the golfer to be able to work the ball. If there's one thing I've learned from the offset cavity backs, it's very hard to work the ball and playing on a windy day is extremely tough.

Anyway, here's some irons that I've looked at and have been impressed with and you may be interested in as well.

MIZUNO MP - 62

The top player blades for Mizuno are the MP 67 and the MP 62 irons. The MP 67's are the official blade irons with the muscle back design. However, I would highly suggest trying the MP 62's as well. It's a blade design with cavity back, but they are still a very workable set of irons. As far as OEM's go, Mizuno is known as the manufacturer for blade irons. Luke Donald is currently playing the MP 62's, switching from playing the MP 67's. The MP 62's go for about $850 (3-PW) and the MP 67's go for about $899. You can add about $100 if you want the Project X steel shafts instead of the Dynamic Gold steel shafts.


COBRA TOUR MB

I'm usually very skeptical about Cobra's golf equipment since I've used Cobra equipment in the past and have usually come away disappointed. The good news is that when I go to buy my new set of clubs, I can try them out on the launch monitors first and see if this club really performs or if it's just another nice set of clubs that I will want to junk after a year or so. Looking at the Cobra Web site, I see that the tour pros are pretty much split between using the Muscle Back and the Cavity Back design. I've seen both irons up close and they are a G-R-E-A-T looking club regardless if you want the CB or MB line. I dare say that these clubs *look* better than any other set of irons I've seen out there. They go for about $850. Project X shafts will cost more.

CALLAWAY X PROTOTYPE

Callaway is usually known for their Game Improvement Irons, but they came out with a dandy set of irons here. One of the things that is really impressive is that the Callaway sponsored pros almost all hit their X-Prototype irons. Most OEM's endorsed players are playing a variety of irons, but Callaway's endorsed players are almost exclusively going to the X-Prototypes.

Problem is that they are $$$$. The best deal I could find was at the local PGA Tour Superstore where they were on sale for $999, but the shafts were uncut (they were Project X shafts). Most other places they cost $1,299 - $1,499.

TITLEIST ZB

Titleist has two sets of blades with the ZM and ZB lines. The ZM line is the muscle back blades. The ZB line is a "blend" of irons, more cavity back with the longer irons and more muscle back with shorter irons.

Titleist has a fine club here. Both irons go for about $850.

NIKE VR BLADES

I thought these didn't look much different from their old set of blades. The common complaint I heard of the old Nike blades was they were very light, so perhaps this line of blades is a bit heavier. I didn't like the looks of their 9 iron and PW, but the rest of the sets looked fine. They go for about $899.

TAYLOR MADE RAC BLADES

After years of struggling to make a player type iron, Taylor Made has come out with the TP RAC blade iron. Sergio Garcia has been playing these (although he may have changed) and there's plenty of other Taylor Made endorsed golfers playing this iron. They have a chrome and a Satin finish. The satin finish goes for about a $100 more, although I like the looks of the chrome finish better for some reason.

The chrome finish goes for $899.


BRIDGESTONE J36 BLADES

When it comes to discussing blades, I would say that people forget about the Cobra blades and the Bridgestone blades. I've hit both and both are excellent. Bridgestone has a muscle back blade set, a cavity back blade set and a combo blade set. The cavity back is very similar to the Mizuno MP 62 iron sets. They go for about $799.

For more information on the irons and their playability, I suggest going to www.ralphmaltby.com






3JACK

TOMI Putting System

I've had posts talking about and analyzing the Science and Motion Puttlab software (aka SAM Puttlab). The SAM Puttlabs are not affordable for most golfers, going for about $8-10K for the software (when I win the lottery, I'll be sure to get one).

However, there's a solid alternative to SAM Puttlab software that is affordable called the TOMI Putting System. The local PGA Tour Superstore from my home is selling TOMI for $199. Here's some promotional videos for TOMI:



I'd still suggest looking for an instructor who utilizes the SAM Puttlab software because it's more elaborate and measures 3 x's more parameters of the putting stroke, but if you cannot find an instructor near you with the SAM Puttlab software then this is an excellent alternative.




3JACK

Dormant Bermuda, Dean Beamen and You

Back when I was going to The Coastal Carolina University, I was taking a course called "Agronomy" which basically studies turf as part of the cirriculum for Pro Golf Management students. The professor had worked for the USGA for years and was one of the foremost experts on turf and its relation to golf.

One day the professor mentioned that in a meeting where they were asking what is the best turf to hit from, he said that former PGA commissioner Dean Beamen stood up and said "dormant bermuda." Beamen reasoned that dormant bermuda was great to hit off because he was a short hitter and he could get a lot more distance out of the dormant bermuda.

Today I played (shot +7, 78) and my ole man was in the group ahead of me and he complained about the dormant bermuda. In his mind, it's tougher to play off of dormant bermuda because since he's played most of his life up in Northern New York where the bluegrass has the ball sitting up, he's not used to the ball not sitting up in the fairway.

I contend that Beamen has it right. In fact we have it BETTER, IMO, at this moment as the rain has really softened up the fairways. Unfortunately, most high handicappers have no idea as to what happens at impact when the club is swung properly.

Not only does the dormant bermuda tend to get more roll out of the driver. But it also doesn't allow the clubhead to get snarled up which usually produces a closed clubface like it does up north when the fairways get a little hairy.

But what my ole man and many others do not understand is that you're supposed to hit the ball FIRST and impact THEN take a divot. Thus, you're hitting the ball on a downward, descending blow and after the clubface hits the ball, the clubface CONTINUES to go DOWNWARD. And the deepest part of the divot, usually the end of the divot, should be about 4 inches in front of where the ball used to be. And with the ground soft, we don't have to worry about pounding our hands and wrists into a hardpan surface.

Here's a SwingVision video of KJ Choi. Watch the very end and you will see how his club works through impact...hitting the ball FIRST and THEN taking a divot.

Great Web Site About Golf Courses

I'd like to talk more about golf courses here. No other sport's venue really has the same impact as golf courses have on the game of golf and there's an infinite number of designs. My favorite designer is Donald Ross.

Unfortunately, I'm not all that knowledgeable on golf courses and design even though I've played golf for the last 20 years, even at a very high level of competition. Thus, I don't feel too comfortable trying to articulate upon golf courses and design.

Anyway, found a great Web site on some of the greatest courses in the world at www.golfclubatlas.com. The Web site goes into a myriad of topics in relation to the golf course from simple reviews of great clubs like Pine Valley (pictured above) to op/ed pieces on designers like Ross himself. I've been reading this Web site constantly since I found it two days ago.




3JACK

Footwork and Sadlowski

Found an interesting article on the footwork of Jamie Sadlowski and other pros like Tiger and Ernie (http://www.aroundhawaii.com/lifestyle/health_and_fitness/2009-01-sadlowski-footwork-for-longer-drives.html).

Again, if you don't know who Sadlowski is...he's the longest driver in the world:



Here's some excerpts from the article:

My belief is that the feet and legs should be dynamic and moving instead of quiet but there is a method to the madness. Long Drive Champion Jamie Sadlowski surely has the right type of movement in his feet. He’s swinging at close to 155 miles per hour and is producing more force (and higher RFD) than someone swinging at 125 mph. Tiger has similar moves though not nearly as forceful since accuracy is very important on the tour.

If there is one killer move, that would be it. If the left heel slides back
during transition, it will prematurely open the hips without any weight transfer or slide. In turn this will force the shoulders to open too early as well. But the main problem with this move would be that it would effectively ruin any chance to fire the body again before impact. The arms would be the only body part capable of moving.