HarleyPapa

The simplest set of instructions I've seen (on lag, the wrists, the hips and the arms) has come from a long time Pro/Instructor named Gregg McHatton. Two years ago I was frequently shooting over 100. Switching between concepts of instruction (that almost always contradicted each other) and changing equipment as frequently as changing socks... Stumbled onto some vid's of Gregg (YouTube) a while back; they changed my game. Still like to buy/view a DVD or two (it's a sickness!). Read a lot of different stuff written by a lot of folks that purport to be expert; but nothing has helped me more than McHatton's simple concepts. Like: soft wrists hip turn is the engine swing low and left (for righties) I never had "Lag" until I softened the wrists... I'm down to a 13 (Hand. Index)...

I just went through the DVD's yesterday. Firstly for anyone contemplating the purchase, they are produced with a "HollyWood Like" quality, sound picture quite good (which isn't always the case with instructional videos). Second, to be fair to the other posters & reviewers (here and elsewhere) they are correct, Eddie Merrin's style and pace of speech can be "Maddening" at times (slow, repetitive challenging to stay focussed if you are a quick speaker). The DVD's could have been condensed into half the time they run (without any loss of material). That said, there are plenty of absolute Gems in these lessons: Merrin's treatment of bunker shots alone is worth the price I paid ($32.00 delivered from Amazon.com). His hammering home of the "Swing the Handle" mantra is just a good teacher teaching. The concept of of the use of forearms with the parameters of the distance covered being Hip to Hip is sure to help those students that require a small set of concise instructions (as opposed to those that are more desirous of eight step, X factor type, instructors). His style reminds me of the writing of Manuel De La Torre. (simple, but packed with information when read more than once). I split the viewing of the DVD's with about 11 holes of play between sessions. An empty course here mid-day (it's been brutally hot in Florida this summer) allowed me to hit a couple of balls on a few holes; and also to take the time to hit a few shots out of the thick grass and experiment with different lies in a couple of bunkers. I am pleased with the results (especially since I had only viewed the set once and hadn't even gotten to the bonus DVD on Tip's & Drills). I play to about a 15 of late, I drop a few strokes when the humidity goes down and the rough isn't like the US open. I was very surprised to see Merrin's forearm concept can be adopted without much fuss; it appears to be very easy to focus on my lower arms and I was very comfortable with his swing thought (Swing the Handle) almost immediately. I am going to give his ideas a healthy 2nd going over, the rest of this weekend. I play today in a small money game and will be "Swinging the Handle, not the Clubhead" :) His opening discussion of the grip is a bit weak (pun intended), ball position and alignment could have been fleshed out better. The manner in which he teaches the student to either fade or draw appears to be counter to what the "Doppler Radar of Trackman" has told the golfing community of late (he advocates a simple hit the outside or inside of the ball to accomplish the curve you desire). There are no discussions of the "D" plane here, and maybe that's a Good Thing???. Interesting thing, I believe Eddie gets more comfortable with the cameras, and begins to loosen up a bit as the lessons go on; he is clearly more comfortable with Jack Wagner, Bob May and Helen Alfredson than he is with Craig T. Nelson or Robert Wagner. The section with David Fehrety in my opinion may be fast forwarded completely (it is out of place in this set, and Mr. Merrin's style of speech does not suit the role of TV talking head or interviewer. Overall if you're looking for a simple "Game Plan" from which to start playing the game; or a good basis from which to plan a rebuild of a swing gone awry, I think these lessons are a very good choice.