first wobbly point, or basic motion where to start new student
 

where do u like to start? with your own swing or with a new student. In my mind it seems to build the stroke properly, from the foundation up as homer suggests in his house-building analogy you have to start at basic motion. If you start at the first wobbly point you may succeed and fix their overall motion at the time but because they have not built it carefully from the foundation up and do not visualize and understand all their compononents their success will be fleeting and they wont be able to reproduce the correct alignments.

I love it when I have a student who will start at basic motion. I have gotten the best results that way by far. If they are too antsy, I go to the first wobble but keep telling them of the importance of basic motion. Our friend Jerry G is the KING of basic motion among my students, and he has done LBG very proud...

Kevin

I am also new to formally learning and applying TGM and AG. My first lesson was on Sunday, November 7, with fellow forum member bambam (aka Ben). Below is what we both reported in a group e-mail exchange.

Thanks, Jeff. It was fun today, and I'm confident you'll get this stuff.

Initial Impressions & Assessment:
- Had trouble keeping it to 2 ft. back, 2ft. through. Tended towards a long backswing, short through swing.
- over-acceleration and a stalled pivot, which turned into a flip. Jeff was swinging at the ball.
- Had an almost vertical hinge at first when attempting to keep the left wrist flat.

What we worked on...
- how to setup his dowels for basic motion practice
- grip. left thumb and pp #3 on the aft side of the shaft. right forefinger hooked around the grip.
- hammering the plane. Focused on zone 2 (arms) power being directed more up and down than back and forward. No horizontal wrist motion. This is a big one.
- left arm only chips to feel different hinges, especially horizontal + letting everything finish with a swivel on longer swings
- lower hands through impact into follow through, especially with a horizontal hinge / knuckles down at impact
- limit basic motion to 2 ft. back / through

Jeff hit some sweet left arm only chip shots. It's harder to over-accelerate and flip with just the left hand and still hit the ball; this is a great drill for feeling the hammering action and hinges.

Once the right hand came into play, the flipping, over-acceleration, and throwaway showed up. I think this is just a misunderstanding of how the right arm generates power (swinging or hitting). He was very much swinging at the ball and/or the target instead of hammering the ball into the ground. Some hitting concepts from Scott on Tue may work well for Jeff, as he won't have to coordinate his pivot as much while learning the downward strike with a bent right wrist.

On Tue., we're going to try some right-arm only basic motion, and I would suggest a little practice with that before Tue. We did a bit out on the course, and the correct move was a big change from what Jeff was doing before. I think the right arm, right hand will be the key.

We also tweaked his putting, by zeroing out the #3 accumulator, which resulted in higher hands, a more level, soled putter, and more controllable putting stroke. He drained a slippery 8-10 footer the first time he tried this!

Ben

On Sun, Nov 7, 2010 at 3:53 PM, Jeffery Passage CPA CPCU wrote:
Good practice session with Ben, plus 9 holes on the par 3 course. I can tell that I will get better over time but the mechanics and feels will be very different as well. I will let Ben summarize what he saw and what I drills I need to work on. Thanks, Ben, taking the time today. Jeff P.

The only way I can get Basic Motion.
 

At speed with ridiculously loose wrists, quickly bend and straighten the elbow before the elbow first fully bends, Feel the LAG against # 3 PP and straighten the elbow as you first feel # 3 PP load with LAG.

Here's another silly and effective drill. With your wedges intact with a club, flip your back wrist back, Make your wrist, arm, and back side of your body loose and freewheeling. Let your wrist flick drag your body back and around. We are working toward a feeling only here so just go with it, and throw your # 3 PP over your back shoulder. Experiment with longer and longer throws and a quicker and quicker straightening of your elbow while your loose wrist bends, That straightening of your elbow will load your 3 PP with immense LAG and make you feel as if you are driving the heel of your palm into the ball. Don't try to straighten your flipped back wrist, just your elbow. You might say that in order to stop flipping your wrist forward, you must flip it backward as you are straightening your elbow.!

ICT