AMA Thread (@iacas)

[Phil McGleno]

You are put on trial for shaming too many golf instructors and found guilty-Sentenced to death.

What do you have for your last meal?

[iacas]

Just now, Phil McGleno said:

You are put on trial for shaming too many golf instructors and found guilty-Sentenced to death.

What do you have for your last meal?

Well, on the bright side, I don't have to worry about the calories, the fat, anything…

In no particular order:

• Mexican Coke. Real sugar, not HFCS, and not "zero." Maybe I'd alternate with Mexican Cherry Coke.
• A massive steak. Not a prime rib, but maybe as much porterhouse (medium rare) as I could eat. Probably at least 36 ounces.
• A baked potato with cheese, bacon, and way too much butter. Mashed potatoes too. I've always been a meat-and-potatoes guy.
• Some corn and green beans, with enough pepper and butter, for mixing with the mashed potatoes.
• A selection of cherries for dessert.
• The cheap Wegman's chocolate/peanut butter ice cream. I'd put some maraschino cherries on it too.

Just missing out on the list… some really greasy pizza with a ton of cheese, pepperoni, and bacon. Probably thin, despite how much I love a Chicago-style deep dish.

[mvmac]

Of all the course you've played, what's your favorite?

[iacas]

7 hours ago, mvmac said:

Of all the course you've played, what's your favorite?

It's a tie between Oakmont and The Old Course at St. Andrews. And they're very different courses, too.

Oakmont has the advantage of being somewhat local. I think familiarity breeds interest or love or whatever you want to call it. But the course is awesome, triply so since they removed the trees, and just… keeps… coming… after… you. It doesn't even look all that daunting, but when even two-foot putts require all of your concentration, and you're hitting drivers on par threes, and you have to worry about putting off the green three times per round, or finding a fairway bunker from which you may have to play out sideways or backward eight times per round… it's a rough examination of not only your golf game but your mind. It rewards good shots, and really punishes the lost ones. Something about a poorly played shot being irrevocably lost…?

The Old Course is just fantastic. Though I loved playing "links style golf" (meaning my shots, not the courses) while I was in Scotland a few years ago, no other course - not even the others at St. Andrews - rewarded it nearly as much as the Old Course. I never hit so few wedges in so many rounds in my life, and unless I return to Scotland, probably never will again. I loved the creativity required to see different shots, the touch and skill required to pull them off, and how much of that was dictated by so many different little things: the weather, the hole location, the temperature, how thin your lie is (man did I love how thin the lies were over there!).

Off the top of my head, other courses that are shoo-ins for my top 25 or so:

• Whispering Woods Golf Club (it's not going to test a PGA Tour pro, but man it's good)
• Pine Needles
• Kiawah Island, Ocean Course
• Field Club (Pittsburgh)
• Probably Pinehurst #2 - I only played it before the recent renovation, but I think it looks great. It wouldn't be in the top 25 before the reno, though.
• Camargo Club is on the fringe of the list.
• Oakland Hills is not on the list. Nor is Kahkwa Club.
• Crag Burn GC near Buffalo, NY.

The stupid thing is I'm probably forgetting some awesome courses I've had the privilege of playing that would easily make my top 25.

[cipher]

As a follow up to Mike's question, are there any courses out there that you have not played that you feel you would really like to play at some point?

[iacas]

5 hours ago, cipher said:

As a follow up to Mike's question, are there any courses out there that you have not played that you feel you would really like to play at some point?

Tough one to answer, mostly because I don't really care to "collect" courses like some people do (there's nothing wrong with that). I've also been mightily disappointed by some courses. Ask @mvmac what we thought of TPC Scottsdale, for example (don't ask me here in this AMA since you can probably guess what I'll have to say about it…).

I'd like to play the hidden good courses, like Pine Valley, Seminole, Friar's Head, Augusta National, that sort of thing. I have no extra interest in playing, for example, Southern Hills just because it's hosted some majors.

I enjoy a good, solid golf course that's in reasonable shape.

[nevets88]

What's your opinion of Titleist's TPI? With respect to its golf oriented strength training and injury prevention. It usually gets a lot of recommendations - go get an evaluation you hear, but it seems there's a decent amount of drills and self analysis info on its site to do some on one's one. Also, what do you think of its swing advice?

[iacas]

35 minutes ago, nevets88 said:

What's your opinion of Titleist's TPI? With respect to its golf oriented strength training and injury prevention. It usually gets a lot of recommendations - go get an evaluation you hear, but it seems there's a decent amount of drills and self analysis info on its site to do some on one's one. Also, what do you think of its swing advice?

I don't have much of an opinion. What little opinion I have I'll share here.

I think a few things:

• I think that they are too eager to blame deficiencies in the body for faults in the swing. But when you have only a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail.
• I think that it sucks a lot of people in (golf pros or people who want to make money from golfers).
• I think that very, very few golfers want to think about exercise.
• I don't really know what swing advice they offer, so I can't talk about that much at all.

I'm sure there are some good TPI people out there, but on the whole, it's just not something I've ever cared to look at. I remember chuckling when they talked about how early extension was a result of lack of plantar flexion of the ankle, or something like that once. C'mon… sometimes you just have to make a better swing, and you can't blame everything on your body.

But, that all said, obviously you're better off being in better shape, so to that end, TPI has a place. I just think it gets in trouble when it over-reaches.

[colin007]

Who's got the best swing on tour, and why? You can define "best" however you want.

[iacas]

5 minutes ago, colin007 said:

Who's got the best swing on tour, and why? You can define "best" however you want.

I don't really like this question because I never know how to answer it. Some players have great tempos that mask some little things that you might not otherwise like (nobody's really made a golf swing like Fred Couples, and Ernie Els' knee action is a bit weird… but they have great tempos, while Nick Price was often overlooked for how good a golf swing he made…).

And what about speed? Bubba swings really fast, but is his speed part of his "swing" or is it not?

So, unfortunately, I can't really say. They're all really good on the PGA Tour. I tend to like swings look smooth and don't re-route the club seven times (old Rickie, Jim Furyk, Ryan Moore, etc.) but even those players are great examples to help students.

Sorry for the lack of an answer.

P.S. I don't get a chance to watch much of the PGA Tour lately, either.

[Phil McGleno]

What or who is your single biggest influence in your golf instruction?

[iacas]

On January 19, 2016 at 10:16 PM, Phil McGleno said:

What or who is your single biggest influence in your golf instruction?

I'll list two. One "who" and one "what." Neither comes before the other except chronologically, perhaps. But I can't rank them in order of importance, nor would I care to.

@david_wedzik is obviously the biggest "who" influence. I called him out as a great instructor very shortly after meeting him, and I've continued to learn and enjoy working with him as well.

My other biggest influence is just "logic" or reason or problem-solving, or science… or whatever you want to call all of that. It's "process."

I don't know if you wanted a LOT more or if that's okay, but if anyone else wants me to elaborate, feel free to ask.

[MacDutch]

Imagine you could play in one of the majors (not the one in Europe!). Which one would you choose, why and what would you think you'd score on a good week and an average week.

[iacas]

20 hours ago, MacDutch said:

Imagine you could play in one of the majors (not the one in Europe!). Which one would you choose, why and what would you think you'd score on a good week and an average week.

I'm tempted to say… Not the PGA Championship, and not the U.S. Open unless it's held at Oakmont (the familiarity would help little). Distance isn't a big factor at the British Open, depending on the course. On some it's very important.

But, because I'm good around the greens, a good putter on greens with a lot of break, and so on… I'd have to say the Masters. I wouldn't sniff making the cut, though I'd beat a few former champs. My goals entering the week would be to have two rounds that start with a 7, but that's not the easiest goal.

Those guys are good, after all. Very, very, very good. Even the ams who are exempt into the Masters.

P.S. The above assumes I don't get a month or two straight to do nothing but prepare. That might shave a stroke or two and make a round or two in the 70s reasonable.

[sirhacksalot]

 My question is that I've had immediate results switching to a gravity golf swing.  If I watch video of it a lot of the  5 keys seem to be in place but searching the site the David Lee approach doesn't seem to be talked about a lot here.  My "normal' swing is very armsy trying to kill the ball. What is your opinion of the "gravity swing"?

 

PS Finally bought LSW and love it.  I can see the game planning and practice sections being go-to's to really help me.

[iacas]

Sorry @MacDutch… I saw this question the day I left for the PGA Show and then forgot about it as I wanted to investigate a little bit, but wasn't going to write up a medium or long reply on my phone while riding in a car. I'm on it now.

On January 23, 2016 at 4:18 PM, sirhacksalot said:

My question is that I've had immediate results switching to a gravity golf swing.  If I watch video of it a lot of the  5 keys seem to be in place but searching the site the David Lee approach doesn't seem to be talked about a lot here.  My "normal' swing is very armsy trying to kill the ball. What is your opinion of the "gravity swing"?

I think these little cottage "swing theories" generally don't get wide exposure. We're not at all opposed to talking about them - if you like it, start a thread on it and begin to talk about it. Part of the reason few talk about it is that they do a search and can't find very many places where people are talking about it. Whether it's this Gravity Golf or the Don Trahan thing or even the Kiran Kanwar "Minimalist" golf swing, they all fall somewhere on the spectrum from "wacky" (Kiran's) to pretty typical with different branding (which is where GG may be).

At any rate, I tried to look up a few things about what Gravity Golf supposedly does differently, and couldn't see much of anything. I will simply give some boilerplate, then, that says something I've said before… 5SK is not any "one swing" at all. It's all good golf swings. The swings of the game's best players have, throughout history, employed the 5SK, whether they're Ben Hogan or Jim Furyk. Whether they are using Gravity Golf or the A-Swing.

If any part of GG differs from 5SK, I'd be interested in hearing about it… while at the same time being doubtful (open, but doubtful) about its validity.

On January 23, 2016 at 4:18 PM, sirhacksalot said:

PS Finally bought LSW and love it.  I can see the game planning and practice sections being go-to's to really help me.

Sweet! Congratulations. I'm going to add the badges back here shortly, so just remind me if I happen to miss yours.

[MacDutch]

Despite a thread that contains maybe a 100 explanations on what Iacas means, most of us still don't have a clue. Is it too private, or are you willing to raise the corner of the veil?

[iacas]

1 hour ago, MacDutch said:

Despite a thread that contains maybe a 100 explanations on what Iacas means, most of us still don't have a clue. Is it too private, or are you willing to raise the corner of the veil?

It's never really been a secret. It's right there in the "About Me" section of my personal blog.