Firstly I am not linked to DM in any way other than I am a satisfied customer.
I took up Golf in 2001, my start point was a book by Sam Snead bought in a second hand shop. I followed his instructions the best I could and managed to get my handicap down to the mid 20's.
A couple of years later I saw a series of adverts on the Golf Channel (I think) advertising the Straight shooting system. I was sceptical, but as they were offering a money back guarantee I asked a close family member to buy me a copy for my birthday.
The system contained 4 videos to be watched in sequence and a workbook.
The workbook tells how DM arrived at his philosophy on how to hit straight shots, and then goes into details of how "his" swing takes place, starting from address with the pushing back of the golf club to what he describes as the "one" position, he obviously continues right through the swing.
Compared to other systems I have read and seen on the net, this swing seems (to me) to be very simple. His positions are the ideal, but he does acknowledge that everyone cannot get into these (few) positions so you have a "as far as possible" compromise.
The video's show him speaking to a class explaining his philosophy, he then teaches one of the students how to use this swing. This teaching involves taking the student through the various components of the swing (there are probably less than five elements) with few drills to reinforce the learning of each component. The student struggles a bit with some of what he is being told to do, but does end up hitting a few crisp shots in the end.
There is a recap where DM goes through everything and it finishes with a section on all the drills which aid you in becoming a 'straight shooting golfer'
DM makes reference to Hogan's 5 Lessons book, which I subsequently purchased. Is DM's swing revolutionary different from what Hogan and Snead have written: Not really.
DM is certainly not the best presenter of material that I have seen in front of camera, at times the whole production looks a bit amateurish, and includes a few stories from way back in history. That said, in a likeable way he puts across why he believes you should do something, and shows you how to do it. He also explains some common faults and explains why you shouldn't do certain things.
Having read the workbook and watched the video's I came to the conclusion that I agreed with what he was saying and I started putting into practice what he was saying. Yes I improved, my handicap did not drop like a stone but I have slowly nibbled it down to a respectable number.
Of course like everyone else, I pick up titbits here and there, subscribe to news letters etc so I am probably now LESS of a Strait Shooting Golfer than I was when I was a 20 handicap.
There are dozens of systems trying to get your money to give you an instant reduction in your handicap on the market, I am not saying that DM is better than any other, indeed if Tiger or Rory struggle to get there swing right what hope is there for the rest of us.
All of the above
are comments on the
old
system and
not
the new one that has now been released.
I found out about the new system from this thread and yes I have purchased it. The content has not changed but the presentation is better although I did find it useful to refer to the old workbook which is not supplied with the new digital download.
The system works for me, but I do realise that in reality I may well have become a better golfer with a completely different system.
