Michael Breed on the Sandtrap?

[Harmonious]

I had about a 10 minute conversation with Michael Breed at the PGA Show last Friday.  He was at one of the booths getting ready to give a putting demonstration.

I mentioned to him that I had defended his ball flight knowledge online, referring to his response to Erik's email on The Golf Fix.  He laughed, and said he remembered the email, even remembered it was from "Erik B. or something".  I told him that Erik was an instructor and had this website. He asked what the name was.  I told him "The Sandtrap" and said that he should check it out. He said he would.

I told him that he didn't fare too well in my online poll of "favorite swing guru", that Bennett/Plummer were the winners.  He was OK with it, he said he would have voted for Butch Harmon.  In fact, he had an neat anecdote when he last visited with Butch.  Because Butch's dad, Claude Harmon, was a colleague/friend of Ben Hogan, much of Hogan's ideas were passed down from father to son.  Butch showed Michael a video of Butch from back in the 70's or so, when he was on tour, and asked what he saw.  Michael said that Butch's swing looked very stack and tiltish!

We talked a little more about swing theories.  He said what really interests him is how various method or swings can be so different and yet be so successful.  He mentioned Trevino's push-fades and Casper's low hooks as great examples of people who took two approaches to striking the ball, and were both phenominally good.

After the putting demonstration (he really is an excellent putter), I again thanked Michael for his time, and reminded him again about the Sandtrap website.  So maybe he will show up one day.

One more thing:  Just as I got to the demonstration, I saw a man with, I assume, his son.  The boy was around 12 or so, and had Down's Syndrome.  Michael broke away from who he was talking to, and made a special point to say hello to the boy, and to ask the dad how things were going, etc.  The boy got an autograph and walked away very happy; so did Dad.  A nice touch, I thought.

[SticksStones]

Very Cool. I like Breeds energy and teaching skills. I really like to listen to all teachers and take what I can from each. I really don't have one favorite.

[TourSpoon]

Well, if anything, your limited interaction with him shows that he is a class act and an asset to our golf community.  Good post!

[BrushCaddy]

I watch Breeds show on occasion and swing theories aside, I like his teaching methods and the way things are explained.  He does a nice job.

[MSDOGS1976]

I just wish he would drink decafe.

[iacas]

I watch his show weekly. I don't agree with everything he tells people, but I appreciate the effort and the attempts to help people get better. We're all on the same side in the end - we want golfers to get better.

I also think it'd be next to impossible to accurately diagnose people just from an email or a lousy cell phone video, so kudos to him there.

I talked to him briefly at the National Club Pro last summer. Dave went to school with Schultzy or something (Schultzy is from Erie), and Breed was kind of the MC of the opening ceremony/dinner.

P.S. Harmonious, as I said, we figured he'd answer the ball flight laws question correctly, but the reason we asked was because his teaching so often seems to be more of the "old ball flight laws style" (i.e. guy hitting straight slices or even pull-fades is told to release the club when the path is the bigger issue).

[ohiolefty]

I do NOT like a lot of the instruction that comes from Breed himself....

I do DVR the show every week, because the segments at the beginning of the show where Breed takes tour pros who've just won and talks about what makes their swing work - then gives you a tip/thought based on that; those segments have been very helpful. I got a thing on Louie Oosthuizen that I really love and is helpful when my swing gets out of sequence. He actually explains what makes pros golf swings work in a way that's more useful than anyone else on TV in my estimation.

[Saig55]

I enjoy the energy and I am always looking for a tip to help me with something I am working on.  Is there ever a time when we are not trying to fix something??

[tws1098]

I love the show. As others said you can't take everything as the right tips for your swing but if you take something here and something there it does seem to be helpful. I really like when the pros talk about what they are working on or focus on during a round such as their preshot routine.

[2bGood]

I disliked the show when I first saw it, I thought breed was "too much", but it has grown on me and I do watch it 2-3 times per month.

[Steel]

I like him, I think he breaks down what he is trying to teach very well, and that is not the easiest thing to do, just ask anyone who has coached and tried to teach any sport, it is much harder than it look's.  He is wound a little tight, but his enthusiasm and love of the game is what really comes through.  I watch him every week

[Parker0065]

Cool that you got to meet him!

I'm not a Stack and Tilt guy so I have no bias against him and I really enjoy his instruction and zest for the game.

I really like his concept of the golf swing and I think he is very creative in his drills. The guy is just a lot of fun to watch!

[Harmonious]

Originally Posted by Parker0065

Cool that you got to meet him!

I'm not a Stack and Tilt guy so I have no bias against him and I really enjoy his instruction and zest for the game.

I really like his concept of the golf swing and I think he is very creative in his drills. The guy is just a lot of fun to watch!

Yeah, that's what came across as we talked.  He really enjoyed being there.  As a contrast, I saw David Leadbetter earlier in the day at another booth.  He had his usual hangdog look, and was not engaged at all with the people.  I'm sure he's a nice guy, but his body language was not very welcoming.

[BigMikey]

I got to agree with most of the posts in here.  I too think he should switch to decaf and slow down a little bit.  He's got street cred though, don't forget he was an assistant pro at Augusta National for almost 4 years.  They don't bring in people who don't know what they are talking about.  He also wrote a very good book on how to correctly video the swing.  It's helped me immensely.

[motteler621]

I was reading Michael breeds book at barnes and noble today. It actually has some really good info, hes got a great swing to be honest, his swing in the book is great. The book really helped me grasp the pushing into the ground/lowering and jumping on the downswing ala rory and tiger. Good stuff,

did you know he was an assistant pro at augusta national in the early 90's

[jude]

?

[Hammer 4]

O.K...am I missing something here.????

[Gerald Fritz]

I really like Michael Breed myself. His pointers on putting is phenomenal. I did some of the things he said, (shaft lean, keeping my head down through the follow through, etc) and my putting has improved considerably.

He also responds on Twitter too. He's reposted a couple of my tweets over the past year.