Shawn Clement

[SpacklersEdge]

That's crazy that he's a 0 handicap as a righty and as a lefty.

I had never heard of him until this post. Where did you read that about him being 0 from both sides? That is just incredible.

[trog2233]

I watch his videos all the time....helped me a ton!

[mdouet]

The two ball drill sounds similar to the drill I use where I put a tee in the ground in front of the ball and try to hit it out of the ground, really helps hitting through the ball instead of at it.

[PingGKEN]

I had never heard of him until this post. Where did you read that about him being 0 from both sides? That is just incredible.

Here is a video of him where he is left handed during the taping:

[wrx_junki]

Google him and you'll find a bio of him on his website.

[Bear]

If every instructor was as good as Shawn the whole world would have lower handicaps. He takes the mechanical out of a golf swing and gives you common real life things to help you swing better.

I think I've learned more from his youtube videos than I've learned from the lessons I've taken.

[sdped1]

I thought the tip on the proper spine angle was interesting, I'll have to take a look at mine as it might not be tilted enough. Also the "focus" lesson was great too. It reminds me of my swing focus which is on the finish of my swing and not the ball. - Steve

[Bear]

I just got back from the range and I used this lesson exclusively. I didn't realize just how much I was hitting "at" the ball. I kept using the imagery of kicking a field goal and my driving was MUCH more accurate.

[kwftide]

He is my favorite online instructor. I've watched his youtube videos and they are all great. Has anyone purchased his DVDs? Are they worth the money?

Absolutely!

You just have to take the time to understand what he's saying. He emphasizes using momentum to carry the club up and around to the parallel position. If you don't do this correctly, it will be difficult to let your weight fall on the left heel. But if your weight falls correctly, you can make the swing naturally. He packs a lot of information into the DVDs and I'd recommend them to anyone.

[golf4tito]

I am a new golfer currently taking lessons and learning the fundamental mechanics of the game. I was looking for some supplementary instruction to what I gain from the golf pro I am working with.

I have heard some positive things about Shawn Clement and his approach to teaching and I wanted to get this forums take on his instruction.

So if you've ever followed his lessons or have an opinion to share I would love to hear it.

[Sai-Jin]

I saw some of his Youtube vids.

Just from what I see:

1. I think he is a very nice person to work with and to socialize.

2. He is very analytic.

3. You may or may not like his style, but you have to try it out until you can decide.

For me personally his youtube vids are a little too long. But I think that's because I know what I know now already and

want to know 1 or 2 specific things that's pretty fast to read.

If you like him, you should try him out. it's better to try out the unknown that attracts you than a person you don't care for. =)

[looseleftie]

Just wanted to say well done to Shawn for a fantastic instructional series of lessons on you tube!!! His lessons I have gobbled up and after struggling doing this and that over the last year and a bit, go onto him at you tube .. His videos are logical, easy to understand and implement, and most importantly I understand the concepts of why I am doing this and what are the reasons if I make a bad shot.. I struggled using the Gary Edwin right sided swing for a year and a bit with very little improvement and a sore back from it as well. Always struggling to even reach a +36 handicap , now over last month have solely put my trust and energy into Shawn Clement's teaching , and have jumped down to around +26, that's a massive improvement within 6 weeks, and I'm just starting over here.. Cannot speak highly enough of this guy, please check him out.. Anyone else seen his instructional videos??? Cheers guys

[smaug81243]

Hi, I'm a reasonably new golfer (been playing since late last summer) and usually shoot around 90. I have come across shawn clement's instruction on youtube. I'm particularly interested to hear thoughts on his swing method and how it compares to the methods taught by 5SK. It seems like it has a lot in common (Maybe even has all 5SK but have not looked at it entirely) with these methods. Examples: Large hip turn rather than the method some instructors use of limiting the amount the lower body turns.

In addition, I'm curious as to what kind of distance shawn clement is able to get using this method. His swing seems so effortless, even when compared to some of the professionals on the PGA tour. Does anyone have any insight on this?

Lastly, for those who have a greater understanding of the biomechanics of the golf swing than I do, is the method Shawn uses less likely to cause injury throughout many years of use compared to many of the swings of the PGA tour?

**Just thought about this but have to run so will address later. Shawn's swing actually looks relatively similar to Bubba Watson. Am I off base here or is that actually true? Both have huge turns, both seem to have pretty steep swings.

[JetFan1983]

Yea, Shawn's my boy, I love him. I emailed him a few months ago with a few specific questions about the golf swing and he emailed me back in less than day with a laundry list of ideas and drills for me to do at the range. Guy's a class act in my book.

There's another thread on here somewhere (2010 or 2011?) where I railed on the guy for being overrated; that said, it was really nice of him to help me out here. I'd been playing golf for less than a year, and he was one of the first online voices that I found helped me understand a bit about this crazy game called golf.

As I began to learn more over the next couple years though, I started to dislike his teachings for a few reasons: 1) The videos of his that I have seen (2008-2011 or so) have a lot of "this is what it feels like I'm doing in my swing," rather than "this is what is actually happening in my swing and why." That presents an obvious problem when gearing information for mass consumption, like he so prides himself on doing. 2) He has a video series somewhere on Youtube where he shows several full hour long lessons with the same student. The whole time it seemed he tried to get the guy to "release the club more" or "roll his hands over more for the draw" and I (pretty obviously) didn't like that approach. It appeared that the student really didn't need to do that (as I admit that sometimes a student does need to feel like he's "releasing" it more. In this case, it appeared he didn't though).

As time went on and I learned more and more about golf from Mike, Erik, James, Golf Evolution, Five Simple Keys, the members here, the golfers I've met in real life, Stack and Tilt, the Golfing Machine, Golf Channel, the rest of Youtube, and Trackman, Shawn's teaches really became irrelevant.

Now, however, nearly five years since that old quoted post of mine, I've softened my stance on him. Watching him recently, I think he'd be good for a certain type of player: someone who already has decent mechanics and doesn't really need them to be changed or fine tuned. That type of player I think he can really help because there's obviously more to helping someone out in this game that changing his swing mechanics. Often times, we have the ability to shoot lower scores with the swing we have now. It's just that our setup, alignment, or mentality needs work.

I think the major key to his online success has been his nice guy approach. I do believe it's genuine as well. There's no question that he has a ton of knowledge about the game. Players looking for an edge in high school golf could probably learn something from him. Guy's who need to believe a bit more in themselves could learn something.

Students who require precise language and facts may have some issues with him. Struggling mini-tour pros who need to fine tune some mechanical issue might not work well with him. High handicappers who really, really need top level instruction to improve will possibly struggle. To me, it just doesn't seem like he has knowledge in this area. I won't say who, but I've worked with teachers who have really shown an obvious command of the various finer points of someone's golf swing -- and being dead right about it. Shawn just doesn't look like he knows that stuff. Could he learn it? Sure. I think he's a smart guy. He just hasn't learned it (I think).

Lastly, it's pretty important to note that my opinion is based solely on his videos. I've never met the guy. So that obviously limits the potential accuracy of my opinion. However, to Shawn's credit, I have noticed that in some of his later vids (post 2012) he uses vocabulary and ideas that had become slightly more popular during the previous year or two. That shows to me that he's willing to continue learning, and that instantly would make him one of the world's better golf instructors.

If you're a true Shawn Clement fan and you want to know what he's about, he has his own website and forum. So people who really love this guy would do themselves a favor by going there. You'd get a chance to interact with real SC students rather than keyboard warriors like myself .

Sorry for the negative review, but this guy is so (golf Youtube) famous that I had to post my thoughts. Plus, with a post of mine on here from early 2009, I thought it fair to include my current stance.

[SCC4380]

I am a big fan of Shawn Clement. I bought the DVD series at the end of last year and also watch his videos on YouTube. I will acknowledge that some of his terminology for ball flight isn't up to speed with Trackman standards, but what he teaches about tempo, swing, and focus have been very helpful to me.

A while back I sent him video of my swing for feedback. I thought that he was very responsive and helpful with the changes that I needed to make. The only difficulty I encountered while I was making swing changes was that I lost my forward shaft lean at impact for a while, but some practice with the Tour Striker solved that. I have been hitting balls indoors all winter and can't wait to get out on the course to see how low my scores can go.

As far as distance and biomechanics go, I am hitting the ball further and with less effort than I did last year. The combination of changes to my swing and swinging easier with more distance has put less strain on my shoulder and back, which I am very happy about. I read from a student of his that Shawn hits the ball a long way and in one of his videos I seem to recall him saying that he can carry the ball 290 with his driver while doing some of the drills. I also seem to recall him saying in one of his videos that he carries his 4 wood 265.

[Jameson]

He´s good. However, I think that he has an special habilty he was born with, and it´s something that it´s tough to learn. And to teach.

Just my opinion.

[wadesworld]

Quote:

Lastly, it's pretty important to note that my opinion is based solely on his videos. I've never met the guy. So that obviously limits the potential accuracy of my opinion. However, to Shawn's credit, I have noticed that in some of his later vids (post 2012) he uses vocabulary and ideas that had become slightly more popular during the previous year or two. That shows to me that he's willing to continue learning, and that instantly would make him one of the world's better golf instructors.

I have met Shawn and I can assure you, he is every bit as nice as he appears on his videos.  Simply a fantastic person.

Shawn is a fabulous communicator.  I think his analogies can really help people understand concepts with which they may have been struggling.  The problem of course is that feel isn't real. Trying to learn solely off YouTube without in-person lessons or video review will always be difficult.  You may feel like you're "swinging the hammer through the doorframe" but unless you have an instructor watching you to confirm you're making the right movement, you may not be doing anything close to what think you're doing.

That is in no way an indictment of Shawn's teaching.  It's simply an acknowledgement that YouTube alone is not enough.  Shawn does have a video analysis offering and combining that with his instruction would definitely be more effective than simply watching videos alone.  For myself, I watch all of Shawn's stuff, but I also work with a local instructor.

[AmazingWhacker]

Shawn's videos where the first thing I tried that actually helped me improve a little.  I had done a year or so "figuring it out at the range" on my own, followed by a half dozen or so lessons with a pro that didn't really help me.  Shawn's videos, though, helped me start to think I could actually improve.  I spent about a year watching his videos and working on his drills and ideas.  I also bought his dvd.  I didn't really improve all that much during that year . .but a little bit and it was encouraging.  After that I ended up finding a really good instructor (for me, at least) and that's what really got me to consistently break 100 all the time and 90 sometimes.  I have not taken any lessons or really thought much about improving since reaching that point.

I think Shawn's videos are especially good for the new golfer, the golfer who's been struggling with other lessons or videos or just anybody who wants to see a different approach to learning the golf swing.  Plus they're fun to watch.  A little like watching Rocky, lol.  After you watch Shawn's videos you spend some time hammering an imaginary nail into an imaginary door frame or imagining pushing a kid on a swing and you think "Oh man . .next time I hit the range I'm really gonna smack 'em".  Which .. you know .. typically does not happen.

There was a time a few years back when he was being considered for a spot on the Golf Channel . .I really wish he would have gotten it.