Ringer

I stopped trying to create "muscle memory" a long long time ago with my students. I teach distinctions now. What is this, what is that, and what do they do. If you know the two extremes it's a lot easier to know where the middle is. Not only that but it makes them much more aware of what they're doing becuase now they're being able to apply some focus to that trouble area. Just trying to get someone to follow a path 100 times doesn't really make it stick.

Don't worry about it. I am used to getting into bulldog fights over this stuff. Sometimes I even start it unintentionally. As long as you keep that happy attitude and apply it to your golf swing, you'll go much further than with a bad attitude (which you can see on so many driving-range-aholic faces).

In reguards to your lessons with GolfTec, it's a common mistake for golf instructors. They focus way too much on the backswing. For the most part there is a belief that if you make the backswing perfect, then the forward swing will follow. So I'd say about 90% of the lessons I've witnessed focus on setup and backswing. It's really a travesty in the industry.

I completely understand what you're saying geezer. I'm not saying I go out and think about shooting par so therefor I do it, I have learned to stay very present in the moment. It takes 100000 times more mental discipline than physical discipline to play good golf. There is an amazing book called "Extraordinary Golf" by Fred Shoemaker. I would suggest you buy it if at least for the first few chapters and his discussion about throwing clubs. I'll give you a quick synopsis of the throwing clubs. He will video tape someone swinging a golf club, then he will tape them throwing a golf club. He will then take the student to a room and show them their golf swing. As they're going through the golf swing he will ask, "So what would you like to change about this swing?". The student will come up with a long list of things that I'm sure every golfer could come up with for their own swings. Then he shows them the video of them throwing the club underhanded. Low and behold, they are doing EXACTLY those things they said they wanted to do with their golf swing... but THEY'RE ALREADY DOING IT! With absolutely no instruction other than to throw the club, they are swinging the club exactly how they said they wanted to. The only possibility why this could be is a change in mental attitude. Something took place in that persons brain that said "I need to hit the ball" when the ball was there. When they removed the ball and just threw the club underhanded, the natural swing really came out. This immediately brings to mind the famous quote by Michelangelo.. "In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it." With your golf swing it is the same. You have a natural swing, you just have to chip away all the stuff that isn't your swing.

First off it may have sounded harsh, but it truely was all I needed to know. You already believe that the swing is complicated and difficult. You believe it is something "unnatural" for people to do. It is the attitude of defeat before you even begin. If you ask those who play golf well if it's a simple sport, at least 98% will tell you it is. If you ask everyone who plays poorly they will tell you it's difficult. This is not just a coincidence, it's the attitude that holds them back from getting better. If you already know it's difficult, why persue it? So they don't. They may spend some money here and there on lessons and equipment, but they don't put in near the time and dedication it takes to make real improvement. But for those of us who think it's a simple game, we love every minute of our time in the course. Practicing is a joyous occasion. We have smiles all the time instead of the frowns you see with everyone else. Einstein once said the most important decision we have to make as humans is whether we live in a hostile universe or a friendly one. It's the same for golf. If you think it's hostile, difficult, and unnatural... then it will be for you.

This right here says all I need to know about the attitude you bring to your golf game.

It's obvious you just want to be combative and aren't interested in learning anything new so I will cease participating in this conversation with you.

So then when you're swinging an axe, you think it's the hit at the end of the motion that causes the blisters and not the heavy object moving in your hands that causes the blisters? How very peculiar.

There are places where a golfer tends to resist the motion and it's different for every golfer. You can move the club but resist the motion. For example, if you have a very slow transition at the top then the club slows to a stop before you start the forward swing. If you have a very quick transition then it is likely the club is still going back when you make your move forward. That abrupt change in direction will cause the club to tug on your hands... voila blisters.

Momentus and Whippy.. but DEFINATELY not the Medicus. It teaches you an early forearm roll during the takeaway.

I dont remember saying anything about hitting balls. I said HIT SOME 5 IRONS. I'm sure you can find a bunch of Demo's in the shop they'll let you use. Just make sure that when you start bleeding on your knuckles to put some disinfectant on it.

What causes blisters when you shovel dirt? It's a hard rubbing of the skin back and forth. If you move WITH the club, then there's no back and forth in your hands to cause the blisters. My proof is the lack of blisters in the last 15 years while never playing with a glove and the countless numbers of people I've helped.

It sure helped her..

There is so much more to a swing than it's individual parts. Just think of all those juniors in the world with beautiful swings and haven't learned a single technical thing about it.

What you say about impact is a very common belief. There is a fundamental flaw though. Impact is not achievable as a single position. You must make the WHOLE swing. It isn't even broken down into segments. It's ONE MOTION.. not a series of motions or movements anymore than a circle is an infinite number of dots. Perhaps mathmatically and scientifically it can be disected that way, but in order to CREATE it you have to forget science and math. Thank you McClain for turning 1 motion into 8 motions :(

Fred Shoemaker is pretty much the foremost authority on this. Everyone should get his book "Extraordinary Golf". One of the best books ever written and it describes this drill.

There is a lot more wrong with the game of golf than how it's taught. In all of my person to person lessons I am afforded the luxury of identifying their learning style. Once I understand their learning stle I taylor my instruction to it. There is one thing which I think is most lacking with instruction. It seems to be getting more and more geared toward what the instructor see's or the camera see's. It should be about what the student see's, feels, or hears. That's the only way their going to learn. A video lesson is great, but what happens once the student no longer has a video camera to look through?

Because with a shorter backswing you have no choice but to accellerate if you want to get the ball a long way.

That is a fantastic video. I think I'll start using some of that in some of my lessons.

Yeah, he is saying the opposite is happening but it's difficult to say why. I would say it's probably just what he THINKS is happening. I'm sure if he saw it on video he's have quite a different impression. There is a possibility that he is not comfortable with the grip so he's doing something extraordinary to make it happen.

Oh my.. that is a question. Undoubtedly a stronger grip tends to flatten a BACKSWING.

This thread brought a tear to my eye.

The real question is "Why aren't you taking your ball swing to your practice swing?"

The most common reason for blisters is NOT how tight you hold onto the club but rather a lack of moving together with the club. You have to move your body WITH the club so that your hands are not resisting the motion the club wants to make. This is especially a problem for people who try to LEVERAGE the club to the ball instead of swinging it.

This is a very very common problem and I can already tell you what is going on. You are taking the club too far back and trying to slow down when you get to the ball. This causes your follow through to be shorter than your backswing. What you need to work on is doing the exact opposite... you need a shorter backswing and a longer finish. I recommend doing this drill in the video for a while on small chip shots to get a feel for what it's like to accelerate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm1kQPPMp2g