Brian Manzella.
43. Native of New Orleans.
Teaching golf FULL-TIME since 1984, teaching since 1982.
Spent 10x more time researching the golfswing than anyone who changed his name to Mac.
Best golf instructor in the HISTORY of New Orleans, literally converted a whole AREA to the #1 "Golfing Machine" area in the US, by kicking, screaming, flat-out out teaching, arguing, and DRAGGING all of his main competition along with him.
Was David Toms full-time teacher who GOT HIM ON THE PGA Tour. And fixed him the last three years in a row—each in early May. Look it up.
Taught several more players before and during their Tour days, and developed the dynamic duo of Mike Finney and Tom Bartlett—now teachers—who have two of GOLF's best swings. Do a search on here and watch for yourself.
Long-time protege of Ben Doyle and maybe his best of many disciples.
Without any doubt the best LIVE swing-fixer-without-bastardization teacher in golf.
Golf's BEST debater and easliy most overall golf knowledgeable person (instruction, equipment, history, etc.) in all of golf.
Twice shot 59 on a Par 68. Can hit ANY SHOT on demand.
#1 golf instructor's web site...most hits, most memebers, most posts, etc.
Life-long musician, drummer and singer.
Once scored 38 points in a basketball game, 3 TD's and 3 INT's in a football game, 15yr state record 880 relay team-member and at 43 yrs young is still incoverable by Tiger Woods or any so-called great athlete pro golfer on any football field.
Has a big mouth (no kidding) but can back it up.
Really?
Yup, really.
The below testimonials are ALL GOLFERS who heard of Brian (me) like you—on the internet:
This is sampling of reviews of private and small group lessons with Brian.
Everyone of these reviews are from golfers who learned of Brian from this website and the Manzella Forum.
"I did it; spent an hour with Brian today in Louisville, Kentucky. I must admit, the best money for golf instruction that I have ever spent. What impressed me most was Brian's ability to spot the problems in my swing within minutes and then provide me with easy to understand instruction. No band-aids with Brian. If you haven't made the trip, I would highly encourage all of you to do it very soon."
—Brady Cheek, Beavercreek, OH, USA
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"What an enjoyable time. My swing, and game, have been just pitiful of late. I was somewhat embarrassed after my first few swings. I shouldn't have been though. Brian really had me relaxed early, and then the session continued. This guy is so full of original ideas that it's amazing. I've been playing for around 25 years, and have heard and read most of the instruction that's out there. Brian showed me, and told me things that I've never heard before. It felt like personalized instruction, not canned. He knows I visit this forum, yet the things he showed me, I haven't seen here.
Thanks for a great day Brian. I'll be "shakin'" the sugar."
"...it struck a chord with me. I think that's what Brian does, looks at the differences in students, and tries different things until he finds what works.
'Shakin' the sugar'; I've played very tight/restricted for years, and I'll be fixing that.
Also, Brian had me make a grip change, that felt right immediately. How often does that happen? I'm somewhat in awe.
—Kevin Lutes, Brazil, Indiana, USA
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"Without any hesitation I can say that driving 6+ hours each way was well worth it to spend some time with Brian on Tuesday. In fact I'm sure I'll do it again soon and then tack on some more road time to get to the big easy this winter.
Brian's passion, knowledge, and perhaps most importantly; his ability to explain seemingly complex ideas make him a fantastic teacher.
I'm off to the range now to work on my right shoulder plane and ponder the top teacher list.
Brian,
Thanks again for a wonderful day!"
—Will Ellender, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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"After a bit of encouragement from my buddy Cliff, we decided to take a trip from New York to see Brian in Kentucky this past weekend and to see if there was any hope for our somewhat suspect golf swings. I post here occasionally and my friend is a big TGM believer, so I thought "what the heck," especially due to the fact that I have family in Louisville and I'm always down for a golf road trip.
Just for background, Cliff is a 9 handicap and is pretty technically sound in his game, while I'm a 14 with a pretty unorthodox swing and like most of the free world, I can put together a round of an 82, followed promptly by a 92...go figure.
Our plan was to travel out Thursday eve, take a 4 hour lesson each day for 3 days, sprinkle in a round or two after the lessons, do some gambling in Indiana and take in the local bar action at night (can you say "guys' weekend"??!!). We lined up Caesars' Run in Indiana for Friday, the famous Valhalla for Sat and left Sunday open.
We first met Brian, who I can tell you is every bit as colorful as his virtual persona, but he is also happens to be affable, warm and very compassionate about his teaching and most importantly, about you as a student. He also has about 100 golf stories per minute, which for me, made all my lessons as entertaining as they were enlightening.
I will not bore anyone with the lesson plan for each day, but I will tell you this: for two guys who thought they had half decent games, Brian showed us how we were fundamentally wrong about just about everything we thought we knew about our games and showed us, in a very powerful fashion, how to strike the ball in a dramatically different way than we ever experienced....and this was only after DAY ONE!!
We thought, "great stuff for range play, but will what we just learned translate to the golf course," so on we went that afternoon to play at Caesars'. I have to be honest, I was still in the mode of thinking either this guy Manzella was a madman or a genius, but I soon proved this one out based on the shots we both made that day. Cliff was actually hitting his irons two club lengths further and was smokin' his driver. I hit shots that I have never even dreamed of hitting before this lesson, and Cliff actually said my swing looked terrific (trust me, I don't hear these words too often!). Yes, we also hit a few goofy shots and we also took a couple liberties (aka mulligans) along the way, but hey, we were on a mission to turn a decade old swing around in a day and some degree of experimentation and error were part of the days' venue.
We then celebrated our new found swings by gambling at Caesars topped off by a terrific meal and a couple brews at Neros.
Day two Brian focused more on our individual games, and gave laser focus to each of our games. Again, we came out of our lessons thinking we had just come down from Mt Sinai with the stone tablets firmly in hand. Unfortunately, we may have hit a wall of sensory overload in that while we really enjoyed Valhalla, it ate us up alive and the magic that we discovered on day one worked for me for only about 2 or 3 holes. I then went back to my old bastardized swing, or tried unsuccessfully to get my body to do far too many new tricks. More succinctly, I was probably in some funky transitional stage between my old and new swing and hopefully the new one will exorcise the old and I can begin to feel that terrific feel again.
Saturday night we hooked up with Brian at a terrific local bar and learned that Brian has some pretty serious Karaoke talents!
Sunday was leaving day, so my buddy Cliff was intent on squeezing every ounce of Brian magic out of the day, with question after question, fix after fix, until he felt comfortable that he could retain some of what he was taught. In my case, I generally have a case of golf ADD in that I don't do a terrific job of either paying attention to what is taught, or "getting it" immediately, but do have a knack for distilling the most meaningful nuggets and tailoring those to my game. For me it's the "in the dirt" concept from Hogan and going out to hit 10,000 balls before something sinks in. In either case, Cliff and I nervously spent most of the early morning before our lesson at the Waffle House (love that joint), preparing notes that we were sure to forget upon touchdown at LaGuardia.
But alas, Brian did one of those "Brian things" in that he spent the last hour of of lessons creating a very personalized video (no, not that kind!) for us to take home. So, we now have a video that is very specific to each of our swings, that we can fire up at home any time day or night as a reminder of what we need to work on vs some generic swing tape....that was HUGE for both of us. In the past I've seen my swing on video and we've all bought our share of instructional videos, but this sucker intersects those two worlds in that my specific swing and fixes for that swing have been captured "live" and will bring back some very succinct images.
All in all, this was REALLY money well spent. Brian never once gave me a canned fix for my swing and he always knew from day to day where we last left off. He had a terrific "eye" in that he could look at my swing and very quickly assess where the problem was and what the remedy was. He is also a consummate professional in that he was always on time, always prepared for the lesson, knows just the right mix of humor and serious lesson time and was a pleasure to take lessons from.
I have gone from saying "Brian who?" to thinking that this is one (of few) pros that actually has a differentiated approach and only wish that someone would have taught me these concepts years ago. I simply cannot wait to put a few more hours in at the range and start to carve my name in our home course.
The whole deal was VERY reasonable: airfare from NY was about $280 RT, hotel was $79 split two ways ($40 per person at a very decent Hilton with pool and jacuzzi), lessons we got packaged, and of course, can't beat Waffle House for a good cheap breakfast and BBQ joints that are a steal and best fried chicken I've had in 10 yrs.!.
I know there are some out there who are thinking that most driving range instructors are cheaper than Brian, but you really do get what you pay for and for about the cost of half a round more, you can be taking lessons from the best vs someone who will fix whatever ails you at the moment...in my view, a band-aid approach vs what some of us need, which is a triple bypass...on the question of how best to format the block of lessons, we did 4 hrs each day, which was generally spent with 1 hr devoted to general "here's how to swing the club", then 1 hr tailor training for each of us and then last hour of review....this was very effective.
—Paul Horowitz, , Brooklyn, New York, USA
I completely agree with my buddy Paul. I would just like to thank Brian again for a great weekend. The shots I hit on Friday at Caesars were the best I ever hit in my life. My drives were going 40 - 50 yards further than normal (from 240 to 280-290 yards). My irons were also 2 clubs further and much straighter! This is a whole new golfing experience for me. I can't believe all the time and money I wasted taking lessons from 'so called experts'.
Once again, I can't recommend Brian enough. He truly knows his stuff, communicates unbelievably well, and makes learning very enjoyable.
—Cliff Pozner, New York, New York, USA
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I teach in Mesa AZ. One of my students and I flew to see Brian in New Orleans last winter and had a great time.
Brian is not only a great teacher but a great host .
—Denny Alberts, G.S.E.B., Mesa, Arizona, USA
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"What I witnessed was A+ golf instruction. Brian is the real deal. If you are serious about improving pick up the phone and book a lesson."
—John Rohan-Weaver, G.S.E.B., Orlando, Florida, USA
"It is one thing to know what to do; another thing to be able to do it; and a third thing to be able to get someone else to do it.
Brian can do all three - I've lived it."
—Jack Flattery, Apopka, Florida, USA
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"Well i must say that i had one hell of a time and learned a whole bunch even though i was taught by a very tired brian on sunday morning .
It was really an eye-opener of all the things that i learned. What i thought was a flat left wrist was BARELY close to it really being truly flat. A tac-tic fixed that, btw thanks again brian for letting me keep it. Also my setup wasn't "OK." I stood with too much knee flex and my hands too low and the ball too far back. So we fixed that as well.
The main things we worked on in the swing were not so much of a flat backswing, not so steep of a shoulder turn, getting rid of my reverse pivot, and incorporating some axis tilt as i had NONE. The surprising thing was that i was able to start incorporating things into my swing right away. Plus i finally am starting to take correct divots.
The coolest thing about the whole weekend is that my irons are flying higher and straighter and my driver is going farther. Plus i learned quite a few awesome short game shots.
My g/f and i went to the range last night and she wanted to see what i learned so i showed her the "old" swing and started firing away from the 160 yard pin. Hit 5 balls and couple were small fades close to the hole, one was pretty close and the other i pulled. Then i took 5 balls and used what i learned and they were all like darts right at the flag. Straight, high and holding its line even into the wind.
I had a great time and i can't wait until i have some more time/money to go see brian again.
—Jim Kobyoski, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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"Upon hearing Brian was coming to Georgia to watch his bayou Bengals meet Digger's Dawgs, I felt it a great chance to finally get with Brian in person. He has helped my game through video and internet site more than many great teachers have in person. Having set up a lunch meeting at, of all places, The Big Easy Cafe, I eagerly awaited meeting Brian in person.
When he walked in the cafe, I first was struck by his appearance. He had the look of a former defensive tackle that had lost a little weight over time, or a cornerback who had gained some weight since his playing days. Very athletic in appearance, and though we only drank iced tea, had a barroom fight broke out, he would be good to have on your side.
After a lengthy conversation of his learning experience with gentle Ben Doyle (worth the cost of the lesson in itself) we then went to a nearby range for the main event.
He wanted me to hit my 7 iron, and as I hit a variety of shots, all of which I meant to go straight, he quietly stalked all around me, saying nothing. He then placed my left hand on the club more diagonal in nature and more in the fingers. At once I felt the hinge freeing up more and felt a little more pop in the strike.
He then pulled out my driver (worst club in my bag) and watched several rope hooks emerge. He then told me to get in my set-up position and freeze. He then went behind me, grabbed my hips and contorted me into a position that felt like the John Travolta Saturday night Fever dance position. My goal as I began my swing in what felt like a ridiculous position was simply not to fall down and whiff the ball. Next thing I knew I was holding a follow thru position watching the best drive I've hit in 12 months.
He then said" Are you ready to really learn how to swivel?'' As a pull-hooker of the ball, slamming the clubface totally shut is not high on my list. But the man reached into his bag of tricks and finally came up with the swing image needed to get through to me, and before we were through, I was swiveling ridiculous and the ball was going straight. Only maybe an hour into our lesson, he said, "we can stay out here for longer if you want, but you mainly had a nasty grip, a crooked rear end and needed a swivel. You were easy."
One thing I can leave you with that probably says more about the man than anything I can say, was something he said as we were leaving. To exit this particular range, you have to walk dangerously close behind many, many golfers lined up on their respective tee boxes. Because we were set up on the far end of the range, we walked back out past a long line of a myriad of wild hacking golf swings. He looked at the masses and said, 'you know, seeing all these lost people makes me feel like a preacher walking on Bourbon Street. So many people in need of being saved, and I just don't have the time to reach them all.' "
—Bob Way, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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"After reading the machine, browsing forums and talking to Brian I decided to make the trip to New Orleans. One week of golf lessons and golf discussions with Brian.
Getting there from Heidelberg took me about 15 hours of flight which equaled 20 hours of traveling.
We worked on many aspects of my swing. Partially things on which I had worked with other very good teachers previously, partially totally new things.
The special thing was, that Brian was capable of supplying me the missing links and was also capable of telling tell me what had happened during impact after every bad shot.
I’m not talking about the kind of advice of „your ball went left- your clubface was shut“- no, he REALLY saw what was happening. He could tell me why the ball went high or low and right or left, why sometimes it was high and left and sometimes low and left- sometimes starting right, going right. He could explain which part of my body had manipulated my club, when that had happened, why that had happened and how to fix it. There wasn’t any guesswork but an incredibly quick eye and tons of knowledge. The only thing that wasn’t perfect was the missing instant replay video system from 3 angles, which I had expected for the class of teacher Brian is but his eye could make up for that. He also had a very good standard digital camera which he used when he thought it was necessary.
I taped some of the lessons with my own camera and had a look at the tapes afterwards. What Brian had seen with his eyes and what he told me went along exactly with what I could see on tape in slow-motion. AMAZING!
By now I have a much better understanding of what happens and why it happens during the swing(especially impact). I also hit it better already , but I think it will take some time until I can really perform the new movements on a consistent basis. The real improvement is still to come.
Working with Brian was so much fun. He is a really nice person and certainly knows his job better than almost anybody else. If I had to decide again whether to go there or not ? I wouldn’t hesitate a tenth of a second- and go pack my bags."
—Axel Wingert, Bahnhofstr., Heidelberg, Germany
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"I'll try to keep this brief...I highly recommend working with Brian if you get the opportunity or if you are thinking of it.
I was in New Orleans recently traveling down from the Twin Cities...so you know I haven't played in a few months. This summer I got down to a 2.2 index partly because I play some pretty tough courses in the 135-150 slope rating range.
First off, Brian was very gracious to accommodate my timeline...and the weather was less than the best..mid 40's. For those of you who haven't had the opportunity to work with Brian, he is very passionate about what he does and provides a wealth of information as he works with you. After watching me swing and having me perform a few shots, he figured out pretty quickly where my issues were...at impact and my follow through, which may not surprise many of you. Anyway this was tough for me to change in the few hours we had and it felt very strange but I did make progress. We worked with a few different clubs like the sand wedge, 7 iron and driver. How I could tell from ball flight that I was making progress was, anything left was probably a breakdown at least until I get the hitting motion and follow through working right. Anything to the right was probably a good result and anything down the middle was very good. I believe I ended up making good progress on the sand wedge, controlling distance and direction, good progress with the 7 iron and was going to have to work a little more with the driver.
The next day I had a group set up for play but all canceled due to one thing or another...didn't stop me though, especially since I got to hit for the first time in months and a chance to work on my game. I picked up a playing partner on the front nine at Audubon Park who said he was a member at some "Pelican" course but played the back by myself, hitting 2 or 3 balls for every shot. By the way, very inexpensive and highly maintained...what a treat. It's a little short but I wanted to work on my 150 and in shots, so this was perfect.
These are a few of the results that I experienced as I made my way around the course.
1. 300- yard drive down the middle with the second shot hitting the pin and stopping 6" from the hole.
2. Hit 2 five irons into the wind at 187 to the back of the green within 12 feet of each other.
3. Hit 2 PW's and a 9 iron at 137 with a slight downwind breeze within 15' of each other.
4. Hit a 7 iron on a par 3 165 to the back of the green and decided to try the 8 iron even though the distance is a little out of my 8 iron range...hit it further and off the back of the green..right over the flag.
I hit some other really good shots and then of course I hit some really bad shots but overall I felt I had made huge progress.
After the lesson I went back to my hotel and jotted down the key points and reminders that he provided so that I could refer to them during my practice sessions and they are working well. Fortunately for me there are areas to practice here and I have already been working on my hitting position and corrected path.
When I get the chance I will work with Brian again.
Most constructive lesson I ever had,
—Greg Fogg, Burnsville, Minnesota
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"As someone who took a 1 hour lesson from Brian a year ago I can attest to the value of his instruction. Although the lesson was for my 16 year old son I absorbed all of the instruction by just sitting and watching. I'm 50 years old and have been golfing (recreationally)since I was around 16. I had read many books, every golf digest "instant lesson", and had other lessons over the years. It wasn't until I started reading the Golfing Machine and absorbing the teachings from Brian and others that things started to click.
I have been working for the past year trying to purge all the "old" swing teachings and incorporate all the new things I've learned. Brian's teachings are not silver bullets - as a student you still have to work at improving the swing. After over a year of trying to make the changes I can honestly say my game has risen to a new level. I measure that level more by the confidence, knowledge of the golf swing, and ball striking ability than by scorecard (although that is improving too). I will still hook a ball now and then and end up out of bounds but now when it happens I know exactly why instead of losing my confidence and wondering if its going to happen again on the next shot.
I have a very strong understanding of the golf swing now that I would never have gained without TGM and many of Brian and other TGM teachers. Golf is now fun again. Its really fun playing with my 30 year old son and say "looks like the old man out drove you again" :>)
Thanks Brian and other TGM aficionados.........
I'm hoping to set up a few more lessons for my 12 year old son this summer, its worth the 250 mile drive from St Louis."
—Ray Baumann, Collinsville, Illinois, USA
