AMA Thread (@iacas)

[onthehunt526]

Hi Erik,

What was your first job?

[iacas]

9 minutes ago, onthehunt526 said:

Hi Erik,

What was your first job?

I mowed lawns when I was a kid. I don't think that quite counts.

I delivered local "coupon newspapers" (the "Greensheets") when I was also a kid. That sucked, but I was paid something like nine cents per paper delivered. I hated it though. They weighed a lot, and I had to pick them up every Friday and deliver them for a few hours every Saturday morning. Year-round.

I washed cars for a month (on weekends) at a local car dealership. I got to drive a Dodge Viper around the block. They didn't care that I was 15 and didn't have my driver's license yet… Yeah, I still don't know what they were thinking on that one. I had my learner's permit, but… so what? I was driving cars from the lot into the street and down to the washing bay half a block away, and then back up to the lot.

I worked at the Erie Zoo (which ran the ice rink next door during the winter) for about a full year. I often ran the carousel. I still hate certain songs, particularly the ones we played during the annual Zoo Boo. "I put a spell on you…" makes me irrationally angry.  (Not really, but I still hate hearing the song.)

That was an actual job, with a W2 or a W9 or whatever stuff you fill out. Concessions and rides and whatnot at the Erie Zoo.

I'd like to think I was a good employee. I once even got a speeding ticket (the cops loved to sit, I'd later discover, at the base of a very large hill near the zoo) and still made it to work and punched in before my start time.

[Dave325]

Have you and Dave ever considered expanding your Golf Evolution to other cities? What would drive that decision?

[iacas]

2 hours ago, Dave325 said:

Have you and Dave ever considered expanding your Golf Evolution to other cities? What would drive that decision?

Yes. And to be clear, it's Dave's brand, officially, so I'm only speculating, though as you can imagine it's at a pretty high level of speculation…

Dave would expand Golf Evolution if:

• He (and I) could be certain of the quality of instruction. This may mean thoroughly training the partner or it may mean moving an instructor we already know and have trained in.
• The new partner could agree to some fairly light licensing terms (Dave isn't looking for 50% of lesson revenue or anything like that).
• The new partner could find a suitable space at a suitable cost (this is more so that they can stay profitable).

That's almost all there is to it. I don't think we'd have much of an issue that couldn't be overcome so long as the basic stuff was good.

[cipher]

What are some things you like to see in a solid disc golf course design?

[iacas]

3 minutes ago, cipher said:

What are some things you like to see in a solid disc golf course design?

Unsurprisingly, I think it's similar to what I like to see in golf course design, with some realization that disc golf is more "3D" than golf.

For example, I hate wide open courses just as much as I hate the courses that have a bunch of 200-foot super-narrow-through-tons-of-trees holes. If wide open is 0, and super packed trees are 10, I like courses that have holes that range from 3-7. Some of my favorite holes include a fairly clear ideal line, with room to the outside to play it safe. I'm good enough that if I play conservatively I should be able to get a par most of the time.

I like elevation changes that are used appropriately. I hate baskets set on steep rollaway-style slopes if that slope accounts for > 50% of the circumference (sure, put a basket on the edge of a steep slope, just don't put it on top of a pimple knob or something).

I like courses that make it fairly clear what you're supposed to try to do, but leave options open to trying something a little different. I hate courses where the route to the hole is either wide open or just "throw it that way and hope you miss the trees." This goes back to the first thing I said, though.

I don't mind the use of water, though to be enjoyable, it should not be something I can't clear with a putter (though as you know, @cipher, putters can be thrown pretty far, so I'm not talking about water that's limited to 50' in width or something).

I like that disc golf is growing to include more actual par fours and fives. There are only so many kind of par threes out there, and they're substantially more limited in terms of strategy.

The Pittsburgh courses (Moraine probably first, Deer Lakes right there with it, Knob Hill a distant third) do all of these things well. The "easier" course at Ashtabula, OH manages to get a lot out of the few trees it has and is still not "easy" despite being closer to the "open" end of the scale (maybe a 3 or 3.5).

[jamo]

Let's start this thing back up! Does your basement still resemble the most epic WITB post ever?

[iacas]

1 minute ago, jamo said:

Let's start this thing back up! Does your basement still resemble the most epic WITB post ever?

Yes. There have been a few additions since then, but overall it looks about the same. The woods continue to get more and more out of date and thus useless, but the irons will be good for years to come, especially as most of them are blades or player's irons, where there's not really much you can do to innovate.

Not much you can do to a muscleback.

[Hardspoon]

My question:

On this site, and in your book, you've clearly expressed numerous theories* about both the golf swing and the strategy of golf.  Pretend for a moment that at least one thing you firmly believe to be true about the golf game will eventually be proven to be incorrect - what do you think it is mostly likely to be?  It can be anything: the reasons for pace-of-play issues; the way golf instruction should be delivered to students...anything.

Is there one thing that you firmly believe to be true but think to yourself, once in a while...hmmm...maybe if I just had ___ additional piece of information, I'd know for sure.

(feel free to ignore if this is a dumb question - it came to mind based on a discussion we had with colleagues at work)

 

* I use "theories" in the scientific sense; ie, "explanation of an aspect of the world, repeatedly tested and confirmed through observation and experimentation".

 

 

[iacas]

On February 24, 2016 at 10:35 PM, Hardspoon said:

My question:

On this site, and in your book, you've clearly expressed numerous theories* about both the golf swing and the strategy of golf.  Pretend for a moment that at least one thing you firmly believe to be true about the golf game will eventually be proven to be incorrect - what do you think it is mostly likely to be?  It can be anything: the reasons for pace-of-play issues; the way golf instruction should be delivered to students...anything.

Is there one thing that you firmly believe to be true but think to yourself, once in a while...hmmm...maybe if I just had ___ additional piece of information, I'd know for sure.

(feel free to ignore if this is a dumb question - it came to mind based on a discussion we had with colleagues at work)

* I use "theories" in the scientific sense; ie, "explanation of an aspect of the world, repeatedly tested and confirmed through observation and experimentation".

Well, I took awhile to answer this question because it's a difficult question to answer. If I thought I was doing something I didn't currently think to be true or accurate, I'd be spending a lot of time and effort to really nail that specific down.

There are a few areas where I feel more development could take place, and one of those is simply the age-old area of understanding people. It's never going to be a perfect science, but if there was some better way to "get through" to all students better than we do now, that'd be a boon. Sometimes you have to try two or three "feels" before it clicks with a student. It goes beyond being a good communicator, and a bit more into personal quirks and preferences and simply the way different individuals perceive things differently. I pride myself in knowing that all of my students know what I'm saying, and understand it, but I'd love to find ways to help people get to that point more quickly and be able to translate it into their own abilities to change the picture.

I know that probably feels or sounds like a little bit of an evasive answer, but it goes back to the thing I said first: if there was something I thought might be wrong, I'd look at it and explore it more.

[GolfLug]

Two questions. Answer at leisure.

1) What places you would consider 'retiring' and spending your golden years if for whatever reason Erie was not an option?

2) What other employment/business would you consider if somehow Bernie S becomes POTUS and manages to pass a bill that makes all golf related instruction to be absolutely FREE to the general public (gasp!)?

[iacas]

33 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

1) What places you would consider 'retiring' and spending your golden years if for whatever reason Erie was not an option?

That's going to depend far more heavily on my wife than me. I know it, you know it, and far more importantly, she knows it!

But, I might have a decent chance of convincing her to go to:

• The Carolinas (we might not want to do away with ALL "seasons" but I'd still love to have year-round golf and she'd love to avoid snow or regular temperates below 40°). The Carolinas give you mountains two hours in one direction and an ocean two hours in the other direction.
• Arizona - the dry heat thing was legitimate. It really didn't feel very bad at all. And again, mountains are close by if you want to go on a hike or something.
• Texas - Austin is up and coming. Maybe in 30 years or whatever it's totally saturated and there's some other cool area. Or maybe we'll be 65 and not want to be in a "hip" area. I know some parts of Texas still get really cold (though I visited the Gulf of Mexico one year when it hailed and was 20°, so really I guess almost all parts of Texas can be cold).

I'd probably avoid somewhere like Florida (muggy, flat).

Maybe we can retire to Australia. Though I hear they're really not interested in letting people stay and take up permanent residence. Maybe in 25 years that'll be different…

33 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

2) What other employment/business would you consider if somehow Bernie S becomes POTUS and manages to pass a bill that makes all golf related instruction to be absolutely FREE to the general public (gasp!)?

I'd find something to do. You are only supposed to get one question so I'll keep this one short, particularly given how goofy it is (while at the same time, I think I've said I think it's weird anyone actually pays for golf lessons - it's just a recreational activity, after all, for most).

But anyway, I'd find something to do with computers, or within the golf industry. Golf instruction might be free in your Bernie Sanders world, but you didn't say it would be free to guide players around the golf course, or to play golf, or to act as the head pro. Plus if golfers were not paying for instruction, there wouldn't be any instruction, so there'd be a black market for those willing to pay for "good" instruction.

[stealthhwk]

@iacas, Thanks for all your hard work on tst, lsw, and helping golfers improve their quality of life by playing better golf, esp doing all this for little or no coin. I tend to fight a strong grip, it comes back fast and in a hurry. Any idea how i can place my hands on the grip the exact same way every time? 

[GolfLug]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

That's going to depend far more heavily on my wife than me. I know it, you know it, and far more importantly, she knows it!

But, I might have a decent chance of convincing her to go to:

• The Carolinas (we might not want to do away with ALL "seasons" but I'd still love to have year-round golf and she'd love to avoid snow or regular temperates below 40°). The Carolinas give you mountains two hours in one direction and an ocean two hours in the other direction.
• Arizona - the dry heat thing was legitimate. It really didn't feel very bad at all. And again, mountains are close by if you want to go on a hike or something.
• Texas - Austin is up and coming. Maybe in 30 years or whatever it's totally saturated and there's some other cool area. Or maybe we'll be 65 and not want to be in a "hip" area. I know some parts of Texas still get really cold (though I visited the Gulf of Mexico one year when it hailed and was 20°, so really I guess almost all parts of Texas can be cold).

I'd probably avoid somewhere like Florida (muggy, flat).

Maybe we can retire to Australia. Though I hear they're really not interested in letting people stay and take up permanent residence. Maybe in 25 years that'll be different…

I'd find something to do. You are only supposed to get one question so I'll keep this one short, particularly given how goofy it is (while at the same time, I think I've said I think it's weird anyone actually pays for golf lessons - it's just a recreational activity, after all, for most).

But anyway, I'd find something to do with computers, or within the golf industry. Golf instruction might be free in your Bernie Sanders world, but you didn't say it would be free to guide players around the golf course, or to play golf, or to act as the head pro. Plus if golfers were not paying for instruction, there wouldn't be any instruction, so there'd be a black market for those willing to pay for "good" instruction.

Thanks. And first of lols! I hope you got my drift as to how absurd it is that what is labeled 'free' is in fact, almost never ever free. So the Bernie reference was completely tongue in cheek. Not my world AT ALL. I know better/I see different everyday. I posted about this in a thread about 'free' education in the Scandinavian countries some time ago.

I know I'm am preaching to the choir here and don't want to go off on a tangent but, 'recreational' (optional) to one is essential to another. Anyway, I for one, find great value in worthy instructional services even for 'foo-foo' activities like hitting a little white ball in a park. My record of how far I will go (as you know) to get worthy instruction would support my view. I would be in the black market buying instruction.

By all means, my question was just to understand what someone like yourself would find as a worthy pursuit if not golf. 

[iacas]

6 hours ago, stealthhwk said:

I tend to fight a strong grip, it comes back fast and in a hurry. Any idea how i can place my hands on the grip the exact same way every time? 

I don't know if I have a great idea for this. Partly because it's one of those things I've never understood about golfers - how some struggle to do something like hold a grip the same way every time. Just "do" it. Just "make" yourself, I want to say. The very act of putting my hands on the club triggers me to check it, right then, that I'm doing it right.

I will say this, though, as it has helped some. If you have a glove, and you can put some markings on it - on the top of the glove, where parts of the palm or grip intersect with a part of the grip, etc. - that can be a helpful way to recognize things. Note other things too - the direction the bak of your palm faces, or your fingernails, or where your thumb wants to sit.

Strong is the new neutral, btw. I'd rather see a player with a stronger grip than a weak one, generally. If you're hitting the ball left, it may not be due to a strong grip, so don't just assume…

[stealthhwk]

52 minutes ago, iacas said:

I don't know if I have a great idea for this. Partly because it's one of those things I've never understood about golfers - how some struggle to do something like hold a grip the same way every time. Just "do" it. Just "make" yourself, I want to say. The very act of putting my hands on the club triggers me to check it, right then, that I'm doing it right.

I will say this, though, as it has helped some. If you have a glove, and you can put some markings on it - on the top of the glove, where parts of the palm or grip intersect with a part of the grip, etc. - that can be a helpful way to recognize things. Note other things too - the direction the bak of your palm faces, or your fingernails, or where your thumb wants to sit.

Strong is the new neutral, btw. I'd rather see a player with a stronger grip than a weak one, generally. If you're hitting the ball left, it may not be due to a strong grip, so don't just assume…

Good to know! Thanks

[Phil McGleno]

What do you enjoy most about teaching golf?

What do you get out of it?

[iacas]

3 hours ago, Phil McGleno said:

What do you enjoy most about teaching golf?

What do you get out of it?

I've said before I feel like it's one of the ways I can make people's lives better. I've always been an advocate for things I like or enjoy or am passionate about (disc golf, Apple computers back in the 90s, Weimaraners, etc.) and so the one constant passion the past 20 years has been golf. If people shoot better scores, or play better golf, they're happier people, and they're not going to kick the dog or yell at their wife as much when they get home, and they'll win a few more bucks from their buddies.

Plus, I like the "puzzle" nature of it all. Every golf swing is a puzzle - what's the optimal route to improvement? What do you say to the golfer? What drills do you choose? Which issue is the true priority, and how will changing that affect other things?

Golf is hard™. So people feel a real sense of accomplishment when they overcome some barriers they previously couldn't get beyond, and I enjoy playing a small role in that.