BLOG: Gee! ...no, GTE by Brian Manzella

[Brian Manzella]

Reflecting back on the first GTE Seminar, it is all very clear why we did it.

There is a need for this in the Golf business.
​

What is the "this" I am referring to?

1. Real Golf Teacher Education

2. Seminar in the Golf world where folks can really interact.

3. Demonstration of top-flight golf lessons—live.

​

Lets take those three one at a time.

"Real Golf Teacher Education" has never existed. I have been attending seminars and summits now for over twenty years, and none of the organizations in golf have even come close to presenting anything like what we did at Lake Presidential.

We showed folks why the ball goes where it goes, why folks make it fly crooked, and how to fix it.

We made sure everyone understood the main points, and then tested them after. Early results show folks learned very well.

Every other golf instruction seminar I have ever attended was about a certain philosophy, and while we talked about ours, and showed why we think it is far superior, we never said it was the only way.

We also attempted to "really interact."

And we did.

I spoke for about 10 hours straight on Monday, and answered about 100+ questions.

There was great banter, honest commentary, and lively debate.

That continued to day 2, and will continue on the newSGTES section of this forum.

I gave several live golf lessons at the GTE, and "deconstructed" them as I taught.

I improved every student, and did it with relative ease. It is one thing to say you can teach, it is quite another to do it live with 30 other teachers watching, while you tell them what you are going to do at each step.

No problem.

It has long been a belief of mine that one reason there is so much bad golf teaching in the world, as well as so much goofy downright propaganda on who can do it the best, is because not many people have seen a really good golf lesson.

A couple of dozen folks have now seen a few, if they hadn't already.

Now we get to move to the next few phases of the GTE plan.

Phase 1 - All the teachers who pass the test will become members of the newSGTES—The Society of Golf Teaching Excellence Seekers.

This Society will have their own private section of this forum to continue to interact.

Phase 2 - We will announce the2nd GTE seminar, which will be held in the spring.

Phase 3 - We will announce the 3rd GTE seminar in the USA, which will be held next fall, and will precede the 1st GTE Summit, which will feature science and real-world based outside speakers, as well as the Manzella Academy.

We will also start to watch the live lesson tapes sent to us from the GTE Certified hopefuls, who will begin a great tradition of CELEBRATED Teaching Excellence world-wide.

I want to thank all who attended, the foreign contingent who traveled far, the folks from across the USA who came with great attitudes seeking new information, and the Manzella Academy All-Star team who without their support and help none of this could have been done, or done nearly as well. Damon Lucas was a great host and so was Lake Presidential. Kevin Shields is a budding teaching star.

I like to grade seminars and speakers so I will this time as well...

First Day Brian Manzella D-Plane and Pivot presentation - C+
First Day Brian Manzella "deconstructed" Live Lessons - A+
First Day Brian Manzella discussion & debate until... - B-

Second Day Brian Manzella 18 core concepts presentation - A-
Second day Brian Manzella Live Lessons including Short Game lessons and presentation - A
Second Day Brian Manzella Test Review & Test - A-
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I can do better, and I will do better next time.

Thanks folks.

 

[ZAP]

Will you please announce the location and cost of the 2nd as soon as you know? Sounds like a place to do some serious information synthesis.

 

[Steve Greffen]

Sheer determination!

First thanks again Brian for a terrific 2 days! I can't believe all the effort you put into everything. Seeing you standing up answering questions late Monday night barely getting any dinner, let alone a lunch! And then the extra time Tuesday after class was over spending that time on the Trackman, I thought you were going to keel over!

I think that is just you though always on go and this GTE meant so much for you. Well I can be one saying that it meant so much to me too!

Thanks and I hope to see you in the spring!

Sincerely,

Steve

 

[ggsjpc]

Brian, Thanks again for coordinating such an event. It was so much fun being surrounded by so many like minded people. Like minded, not because they thought you were a guru, but because they desired to improve and learn from others. Granted, a great deal of the information I took with me was from you or your staff but little tid bits always turn up during smaller conversations as well.

Watching you teach was like watching how teaching should be done. You do what it takes to fix em. It's that simple. Just fix em. I'll "carry" that with me for a while.

 

[Ringer]

Please try to come out to the west sometime Brian. I would love to have some real life interaction with you but comming out east is a bit of a hassle. I'm sure there are plenty of us "left coasters" that would love to have you come out.

 

[jimmydean]

Any possibility of doing it on Long Island with Mike Jacobs?
Jimmy

 

[Ian Clark]

London calling!

Hey Ringer if you think it is a hassle getting there from Arizona, I can tell you getting there from London wasnt easy, but well worth every mile, and I know the other long distance travelers will agree with me, the journey was certainly worth it.

 

[Steve Khatib]

I second that!

 

[Kevin Shields]

The more I thought about it, the more I came to think that what he did in those two days was simply amazing. To have the desire and stamina to talk (and have that much material) for that long, to refuse to leave until every question was answered.........now thats why I'm a lifer here.

Cant wait for the next one.

 

[lesliecain]

If Brian did the next GTE on the Moon, i would find a way to get there.
Thanks again to Brian for such a great sumit, your enthusiasm inspires us all to teach better.
Leslie

 

[Steve Greffen]

The more I thought about it, the more I came to think that what he did in those two days was simply amazing. To have the desire and stamina to talk (and have that much material) for that long, to refuse to leave until every question was answered.........now thats why I'm a lifer here.

Cant wait for the next one.

Yes Kevin, being associated with Brian Manzella will likely be "the single best thing for your career"! Certainly "not" the other way around.

 

[Steve Greffen]

but comming out east is a bit of a hassle.

Yeah that's what those guys said that came from Estonia!! (and England and Belgium and Australia...you get the picture) Nice try but I would jump on that few hour flight in a heartbeat if you are a teacher and you want to get better.

 

[Richie3Jack]

If Brian did the next GTE on the Moon, i would find a way to get there.

Yes, but wouldn't the ball flight laws be different on the Moon?






3JACK

 

[daveh]

It has long been a belief of mine that one reason there is so much bad golf teaching in the world, as well as so much goofy downright propaganda on who can do it the best, is because not many people have seen a really good golf lesson.

I believe I was the only non-teaching pro at the seminar, and I'm sure Brian was wondering what the hell I was doing there. I can answer that: One reason is that my experience with so-called teaching pros and most of the books, videos, etc. has been so negative that I pretty much decided that I'd have to learn how to teach just so I could teach myself and the people I care about who have also suffered at the hands of hack instruction.

I'm a skeptic by nature -- I have to see it to believe it. Watching Brian's lessons and talking to the pros in attendence, I'm convinced that there are excellent instructors out there who know their stuff and really care about making golfers better. I wouldn't hesitate to part with my hard-earned money (or recommend to others) to take lessons from Brian or anyone Brian says is excellent.

Another reason I attended is that I do have aspirations of being a golf instructor someday... I'll see what happens after several years of study. I got the idea from the bad experiences mentioned above... I thought "I can do better than that". After the seminar, now I'm thinking "I'll never be good enough". The difference between GTE and the bad teaching I've seen is that big. I'm going to keep at it and see where it takes me. I'll either be a damn good instructor, or no instructor at all: the last thing the world needs is another hack instructor.

 

[birdie_man]

Respectable.

 

[Michael Jacobs]

The GTE was great..... Great job Brian!! Recommended for every teacher

 

[Ringer]

I'm not as enthusiastic about Brian as you guys are. I haven't ever met him in person or watched him teach a lesson. I know almost didly squat about him other than the video's he posted and this forum. That is not nearly enough to determine if I should spend money I don't have to fly, rent a car, get a hotel, and pay for the seminar.

It may have been just fine for you guys, but not everyone can afford it nor have as much devotion to Brian. You wouldn't buy a car without test driving it. I'm not going to buy a seminar a few thousand miles away without some idea of what it is i'll be getting.

If Brian did one out here I'd come because it would be much more possible for me to do.

Or is someone here offering to pay for all of my expenses?

 

[dannyc]

hmm. who is taking a bigger risk with this seminar, you or brian?

 

[savydan]

I suppose you would think it would be a waste of money for anyone to travel more than 10 miles for a lesson from you.

 

[Steve Greffen]

I'm not as enthusiastic about Brian as you guys are. I haven't ever met him in person or watched him teach a lesson. I know almost didly squat about him other than the video's he posted and this forum. That is not nearly enough to determine if I should spend money I don't have to fly, rent a car, get a hotel, and pay for the seminar.

It may have been just fine for you guys, but not everyone can afford it nor have as much devotion to Brian. You wouldn't buy a car without test driving it. I'm not going to buy a seminar a few thousand miles away without some idea of what it is i'll be getting.

If Brian did one out here I'd come because it would be much more possible for me to do.

Or is someone here offering to pay for all of my expenses?

You can certainly do what you want to do, as far as my post I guess I was saying that a few others (some that hadn't met Brian before either) shelled out the dough and I believe got what they thought was value for their money. I am sure that you could use some new perspective and continuing education in your field. I for one would highly recommend the GTE for developing teaching professionals.

Best of luck to you, and your students.