excellent, thank you. It's not cheap, but hopefully it will be worth it.
The Alignment Golf DVD set has been worth their weight in gold for me. LB brings homers teaching to life. You get to see EXACTLY how to develope or improve your swing. I have one of the DVD's in my player all the time. Sometimes I watrch segments, some times I use them for Refference, sometimes I just listen with my wireless headset as I do other things.
Get some dowels, TODAY, get a mirror, get a mop ( a wet towel on a club works as well) This is good teaching.
The Alignment Golf DVD set has been worth their weight in gold for me. LB brings homers teaching to life. You get to see EXACTLY how to develope or improve your swing. I have one of the DVD's in my player all the time. Sometimes I watrch segments, some times I use them for Refference, sometimes I just listen with my wireless headset as I do other things.
Get some dowels, TODAY, get a mirror, get a mop ( a wet towel on a club works as well) This is good teaching.
The Bear
I ordered the Alignment Golf DVD tonight. I hope it comes soon. I am very excited about the prospect of real improvement! Thank you all for the help and direction
From my experience, reading and understanding the book is very helpful for the student and mandatory for instructors. Even if you don't agree with everything in the book, there's way too much useful information.
The terminology intimidates some. I also think Homer Kelley had a peculiar way of writing, almost comes off like he's writing haikus, and that intimidates people as well. However, that style of writing really appeals to golfers who understand the book eventually. Or at least from the golfers I've talked to.
The greatest thing for me about the book is that it really taught me how to feel and go about learning how to feel in the most effective manner by learning feel from mechanics instead of the other way around and using the basic/acquired/total motion curriculum to do it.
Yep, all that intimidating talk about terminology and such, and IMO the book is at least 50% about the golfer training themselves to feel or the instructor helping the student learn how to fee.
I hear a lot of critics say that 'you'd have to be an MIT physicist to learn that book!'
Hogwash. All it takes is some time, patience and effort.
I'm certainly not a rocket scientist by any stretch and I know other TGM'ers that can't balance their checkbook but have understood TGM.
Time, patience and effort.
I think this Web site is the greatest resource as far as the Web goes. Get the book, make sure to read the book in proper order. If you get stuck, do a search here, look at some videos here. You may also want to try out Peter Croker's 'TGM Downloads' for a good basic overview of concepts. And if you get stuck from there, do some google searches.
The problem I had before TGM was just overall confusion. And instead of trying to figure out what works best for me in my golf swing, I would often start looking at others and say 'well, he does that maybe I should try that.' That would only lead to more problems and more confusion. TGM shows why that works for that particular golfer. And more importantly, it's an IMPACT focused golf instruction system. Not a BACKSWING FOCUSED golf instruction method.
What helped me the most with understanding TGM was grasping who Homer Kelley was. Mr. Kelley was more or less a 'problem solver' at Boeing. I believe he looked at golf and came up with the question of 'how do we solve the problem of learning how to hit a golf effectively.' He then figured out that there were almost countless ways to do so and he created a 'manual' for us to figure out what 'way' works best for us.
Wow, that was some very high praise and I appreciate your input. I have been told by a few that the book will do nothing for me but tie me up in knots. I am guessing because I am an not an instructor (nor do I want to be) but maybe I was told that because I am just not that bright
The way you made it sound definitely takes some of the intimidation out of it for me. I have also been quietly reading a lot in this forum, going back and trying to get a glimpse of what is here. Some of it has already been surprisingly helpful and some of it is still a bit confusing, but a lot less confusing than I thought it would be.
What you wrote about Hoer Kelley there at the end was also very insightful. I can see how this book, (and overall system) may be very, very different from traditional golf instruction. Teaching "feels" in a dynamic action like the golf swing has to be one of the toughest challenges an instructor can face. I like the fact that it seems TGM can work with almost anything we do in the swing.
On a personal note, I saw your blog and really like the right forearm video.
Thanks,
SC
The problem with using an approach where you tell the golfer what to feel is that feels are subjective, not objective. I'm not an instructor either and I had people telling me to not bother with the book either.
There's always this great urge for golfers and instructors to treat the golf swing as a very simple subject when it's anything but. It can be undertood and that understanding can be very good thing. My parents always told me that good things come to those who wait and work for it.
Have looked-up several concepts on it and they were well done, imho!
Patrick
Originally Posted by Richie3Jack
The problem with using an approach where you tell the golfer what to feel is that feels are subjective, not objective. I'm not an instructor either and I had people telling me to not bother with the book either.
There's always this great urge for golfers and instructors to treat the golf swing as a very simple subject when it's anything but. It can be undertood and that understanding can be very good thing. My parents always told me that good things come to those who wait and work for it.
3JACK
__________________
HP, grant me the serenity to accept what I cannot change, the courage to change what I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Progress and not perfection is the goal every day!
Let me just say that the concept of teaching mechanics so you can find your own "feels" is a brand spanking new approach for me. I agree overall that most of the time, trying to teach a feel is very subjective. I am not saying that it won't work for some, but it hasn't worked so great for me.
There are a few things that I have learned over the years, and 3jack you pointed out one of them. The golf swing is not simple. It is a complex and dynamic action. There are no magic moves to make you "get it" instantly. One man's magic swing thought is another man's disaster.
If I may use baseball as an analogy, I always heard how Joe Dimaggio would glide around the cavernous centerfield in Yankee Stadium and gracefully get to the ball with an effortless approach. However, I am pretty sure it certainly was not as effortless as it looked and I'm sure Joe D was busting his butt. It just didn't look like he was. The man was a gifted athlete. When Fred Couples or Ernie Els hit the driver, in what looks like slow motion, the ball goes 300 yards effortlessly. Physics tells us there must be some effort and power to hit the ball that far, but these guys are so graceful and athletic that it doesn't seem like it.
Well, I am not Joe D, Freddie or Ernie. I have average athletic ability and would like to make the most out of it. The mechanical and analytical approach seems up my alley. I am more of a thinker and someone who wants to know the "whys" which I believe will help me figure out the "hows". I think most golf teaching pros can't really tell you what they are doing mechanically because they don't really know. They too, are gifted athletes and can only teach you what they feel they are doing. At least that has been my experience with teaching pros. From what I have seen and heard, I believe the TGM approach is unique and goes against what I have seen in the past. At least I hope it is. From what I have read, Homer Kelley was a scientist and a great thinker and problem solver. I don't know that he was a gifted athlete, but I do know that he was very intelligent and very analytical.
From what I have read and seen on video of Yoda, I am extremely excited to receive my Alignment Golf DVD and learn from a man who seems to "get" what Homer Kelley wrote about.
Last edited by scottcuban : 04-04-2010 at 11:00 PM.
You are a fast learner. There is nothing like TGM. You will quickly learn that there are 3 Imperatives, 3 things I focus on in EVERY lesson, 3 Essentials, almost as important as the Imperatives but not 100% mandatory. After that its wide open. No right, wrong or best. Whatever makes you enjoy golf is what you should do...
A great instructor of TGM will help guide you through the process, not try to mold you into an ideal.
Lynn Blake and ALL teachers have their ideas of what might be the Holy Grail, based upon what they have learned from Homer Kelley, and they pass those ideas to those lucky enough to have found them. We all find our own Holy Grail but at the same time are careful not to put our favorite pieces into the wrong puzzle.
My ideal is Lynn's swing. Very simple and very easy to repeat. Plus we have a great resource for learning it. I was lucky enough to watch the Master teach for a day, he was happy to share his ideals with me as he could see they fit, but every other lesson he gave consisted of something totally different, no two the same. Swinging, Hitting, Pivot, Educated Hands, it depended upon the student.
Learning TGM takes time and patience, but like Richie said, it can be done, and you will be glad you did. We all read your post about ordering Alignment Golf, and we sit back and nod our heads knowingly. You are now on the fast track to getting it and that makes us all happy.
Kevin
Originally Posted by scottcuban
Let me just say that the concept of teaching mechanics so you can find your own "feels" is a brand spanking new approach for me. I agree overall that most of the time, trying to teach a feel is very subjective. I am not saying that it won't work for some, but it hasn't worked so great for me.
There are a few things that I have learned over the years, and 3jack you pointed out one of them. The golf swing is not simple. It is a complex and dynamic action. There are no magic moves to make you "get it" instantly. One man's magic swing thought is another man's disaster.
If I may use baseball as an analogy, I always heard how Joe Dimaggio would glide around the cavernous centerfield in Yankee Stadium and gracefully get to the ball with an effortless approach. However, I am pretty sure it certainly was not as effortless as it looked and I'm sure Joe D was busting his butt. It just didn't look like he was. The man was a gifted athlete. When Fred Couples or Ernie Els hit the driver, in what looks like slow motion, the ball goes 300 yards effortlessly. Physics tells us there must be some effort and power to hit the ball that far, but these guys are so graceful and athletic that it doesn't seem like it.
Well, I am not Joe D, Freddie or Ernie. I have average athletic ability and would like to make the most out of it. The mechanical and analytical approach seems up my alley. I am more of a thinker and someone who wants to know the "whys" which I believe will help me figure out the "hows". I think most golf teaching pros can't really tell you what they are doing mechanically because they don't really know. They too, are gifted athletes and can only teach you what they feel they are doing. At least that has been my experience with teaching pros. From what I have seen and heard, I believe the TGM approach is unique and goes against what I have seen in the past. At least I hope it is. From what I have read, Homer Kelley was a scientist and a great thinker and problem solver. I don't know that he was a gifted athlete, but I do know that he was very intelligent and very analytical.
From what I have read and seen on video of Yoda, I am extremely excited to receive my Alignment Golf DVD and learn from a man who seems to "get" what Homer Kelley wrote about.
__________________
I could be wrong. I have been before, and will be again.
Let me just say that the concept of teaching mechanics so you can find your own "feels" is a brand spanking new approach for me. I agree overall that most of the time, trying to teach a feel is very subjective. I am not saying that it won't work for some, but it hasn't worked so great for me.
There are a few things that I have learned over the years, and 3jack you pointed out one of them. The golf swing is not simple. It is a complex and dynamic action. There are no magic moves to make you "get it" instantly. One man's magic swing thought is another man's disaster.
If I may use baseball as an analogy, I always heard how Joe Dimaggio would glide around the cavernous centerfield in Yankee Stadium and gracefully get to the ball with an effortless approach. However, I am pretty sure it certainly was not as effortless as it looked and I'm sure Joe D was busting his butt. It just didn't look like he was. The man was a gifted athlete. When Fred Couples or Ernie Els hit the driver, in what looks like slow motion, the ball goes 300 yards effortlessly. Physics tells us there must be some effort and power to hit the ball that far, but these guys are so graceful and athletic that it doesn't seem like it.
Well, I am not Joe D, Freddie or Ernie. I have average athletic ability and would like to make the most out of it. The mechanical and analytical approach seems up my alley. I am more of a thinker and someone who wants to know the "whys" which I believe will help me figure out the "hows". I think most golf teaching pros can't really tell you what they are doing mechanically because they don't really know. They too, are gifted athletes and can only teach you what they feel they are doing. At least that has been my experience with teaching pros. From what I have seen and heard, I believe the TGM approach is unique and goes against what I have seen in the past. At least I hope it is. From what I have read, Homer Kelley was a scientist and a great thinker and problem solver. I don't know that he was a gifted athlete, but I do know that he was very intelligent and very analytical.
From what I have read and seen on video of Yoda, I am extremely excited to receive my Alignment Golf DVD and learn from a man who seems to "get" what Homer Kelley wrote about.
Gotta be somewhat careful here . . . there's learning the book to learn the book . . . and then there's APPLYING THE BOOK . . . you can get on some snipe hunts in the book. The alignment golf video would be a GREAT place to start as far as getting the concepts correct for sure. But some of the concepts are fundamental others are certainly great but may not be applicable to YOUR machine . . . so be careful that you pick the right pieces. I actually got immersed in "learning the book" and it didn't necessarily translate into better scores. I think ultimately it has and will and I wouldn't trade what I know for anything . . . . however . . . probably wasn't the quickest way to go about getting better. You sound like a dude that wants to learn "it" . . but you gotta figure out what "it" is first.
You should find someone competent in your area or put a swing up here or send one to someone on the site in private if you'd like.
You need to get really up to snuff on a few concepts . . . and then start applying them . . .
1. Face and path relationships are a number uno important . . . line of compression
2. Rhythm . . . hinging . . . clubface control
3. Wedges
4. Low point control . . . down out and forward impact
5. Plane line control . . . Plane angle control
6. Centered pivot
Number 1 here to me IS NUMBER ONE . . . the rest will take their respective order of importance based on what's lacking in your motion. So get a video and send it to somebody/put it up or go see somebody that is well versed in person.
Linear Mode
