Ben Doyle Testimonial

[Steve Khatib]

On Sunday evening a great man is being honored at a testimonial dinner organised by Quail Lodge Golf Club and other members of the golf industry.

After being flattered to recieve an invitation, I unfortunately cannot attend.
So I would like to post on this site a little testimony I wrote to be read out on the evening.

If anyone who has met Ben could post their thoughts we could all maybee email them to him?

''I would like to say from the bottom of my heart that I dont know how I could teach any kind of golf to anyone if I had not made the seven valueble trips to Carmel from Melbourne, Australia to see you over the past ten years and I certainally would not have won the PGA teacher of the year award. I was honoured to host you and Joanne during our four three-day seminars we conducted together in Australia 2005. I very much enjoy every moment of the time we spend together at all teaching summits, it's always so much fun!
Have a great evening you deserve every acolade you recieve and more.''

 

[Brian Manzella]

My Shot.

I will also not be able to attend, regrettably. But, I—and the rest of the crew—will be there in spirit.


"Ben, you are getting scheduled congratulations today, but trust me, you get unscheduled congratulations every day, all over the world. There is no better mentor anyone could ever have. The great thing is you have been that person for so many, always with the same educating, enlightening, and enriching results. Myself—and the rest of "the boys"—Mike Finney, Tom Bartlett, Chris Hamburger, Mike Jacobs, and Steve Khatib—all are better golfers, better teachers and better men because of you. We all are forever indebted to you, and love you & Joanne very much."

Brian Manzella, PGA, G.S.E.D.

 

[Kevin Shields]

Not an A.I., but would like to chip in..

" I spent the better part of my adult life searching for answers to why my golf wasn't living up to my capabilities. I found them in one of your best students, Brian Manzella. Having heard and read how much gratitude he has for you in your mentoring him, I feel I should thank you as well. Having the chance to meet you in Long Island and watch you completely break down one of my students was an education I'll always remember."

 

[golfer24]

Thanks Ben for the recent analysis of my swing and thanks Brian for letting Ben use your laptop to view it on. The letter you sent which will be framed and take pride of place in my study. Fantastic.

 

[Leozevo]

It was with deep regret when I made the call that I could not attend this great event. Having been in attendance when Ben was honored at the First TGM Summit and to see his passion for spreading TGM to those who have the desire to learn G.O.L.F. was a treat that I will always treasure. With his knowledge of TGM, he is always in attendance at the TGM and PGA Summit's always asking questions and learning. He is a remarkable man and I value his friendship immensely.
Leo Halloran, GSEM, PGA

 

[Jayro1]

I met Mr. Doyle this past summer at a Manzella Academy on Long Island. I consider this one of the main highlights of my Golf life.

 

[mark]

THANKS Ben for all your advise ,knowledge , we enjoyed all the time i n GERMANY and in AMERICA SAY HI TO jOANNE FROM US ALL:; SPEAK soon Mark Allan Robin
SUSTAIN THE LAG !.

 

[Michael Finney]

thanks, Ben....

Thanks, Ben!

I have never in my life seen anyone more dedicated to his profession as Ben Doyle. There is never one moment in his presence when he is not trying to teach the golf swing to you and anyone around you. You get better at golf just by being around him.

Ben also has a way of being your friend on the lesson tee and at the restaurant. His genuineness is as pure as the driven snow. His self deprecation is unmatched.

He teaches until he's exhausted...he believes in what he preaches. The golfing masses who do not know his name owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude. The useful instruction out there today has its basis in a basic Ben Doyle golf lesson.

Thanks, Ben - you are the greatest of all time!

 

[joec]

may i congratulate you with the tgm handshake. thanks for the time you have given to me. best wishes.

 

[Michael Jacobs]

Ben

Ben,
Thanks you for all your kindness as a friend and all the sharing you continue to do on the lesson tee. After 5 trips to work with you in CA and your 4 trips to LI, I was never more impressed by your teaching stamina and your desire to share.....

You are the pearl of the golf industry, and we all would not be where we are without you...... congrats on your accomplishments and wish I could be at your party

MJ

 

[Brian Manzella]

In the Press:

Quail Lodge honors unique golf instructor Ben Doyle

By JERRY STEWART Herald Correspondent

It all began in 1973, when local golf instructor Ben Doyle brought Homer Kelley's revolutionary golf instruction book, "The Golfing Machine," to what is now Quail Lodge Resort and Golf Club in Carmel Valley.

At the time, Doyle had become the first authorized instructor of The Golfing Machine after nearly two decades spent as a member of the Professional Golf Association in the state of Washington.

Upon setting up shop on the driving range at Quail, he would met one of his first pupils, a 13-year-old frazzle-haired local kid named Bobby Clampett. Two years later, Clampett's handicap index had dropped from eight to scratch.

"I'll never forget the first time I met Ben," said Clampett, who went on to become one of the finest amateur players in the country. "He came up to me and I introduced myself. I asked is there anyway you can check my swing. He took pictures and saw everything, including the bunny-hop."
Now in his 35th year at Quail Lodge, the 75-year old Doyle was recognized at the resort this past Sunday night during an event that was appropriately called, "A Tribute to Ben Doyle: Honoring his Contributions to the Game of Golf."

Since his arrival at Quail Lodge, Doyle's influence on golf has spread across the globe. Known world-wide as one of golf's foremost teachers, he has routinely been named to Golf Digest's list of America's Top 50 instructors and Golf Magazine's list of Top 100 instructors. His students, which include not only players but other instructors, travel from as far away as Australia and Sweden for a chance to, among other things, stand on his Facts and Illusions Mat, a 10-by-6 foot mat that explains and demonstrates the geometry of the golf swing.

"I've never met a man like Ben," said former PGA Championship winner Steve Elkington, another one of Doyle's students. "He has so much energy and passion every day, and it's all focused on one mission, and that's to make players better."

Over the years, those who have stood on the mat include Clampett, Elkington, Johnny Miller, Bernhard Langer, Gary Player, Curtis Strange and Tom Kite, just to name a few.

Among those joining Clampett and Elkington at the tribute were Ron Read, West Region director for the USGA, and Laird Small, director of the Pebble Beach Golf Academy.

"Ben's infamous golf cart should be enshrined at the USGA's Golf House in Far Hills, New Jersey," said Read, who during the proceedings read a letter to Ben thanking him for his contributions to the Game of Golf that was penned by Arnold Palmer.

"I was at Quail Lodge during 1982-1987 as director of golf out there, and I'd see Ben out there on the range all the time," Small said. "His legacy, continuing and ongoing, is in the way he's touched the lives he's shaped, and the instructors that he's helped mold. He lives on in those lessons every single day."

As for all the accolades, Doyle shrugs them off. For him, it's simply all about the joy of sharing.

"I'm just doing the job. I have always wanted to share the book, and that's what I've been doing over the years," Doyle said.