Brian Manzella
Administrator
Delaware Golf wrote:
You know, it's a shame that Homer didn't site his references in the back of the Golfing Machine...where did Homer obtain his Mathematical/Physics/Engineering information (like "the law of the flail"), and how about golfing book references or how about AIs that made contributions to the book.
Lynn Blake (aka Yoda) replied:
Homer Kelley was not an engineer. In fact, he didn't even have a college degree. He was simply born to solve problems, and solve them he did. Much of Homer's working life was spent on the plant floor at Boeing converting engineering plans and theory into functional, airborne reality. Word quickly got around that when it came to problems with electrical circuitry, Homer Kelley was the 'go-to' guy. First on the B-17. Then the B-25. Finally, the B-29. And he learned whatever he had to learn to get the job done.
"It was no big deal, really. Once you understand electricity...it doesn't care whether you are working on an airplane or an automobile...it's just an electrical problem. In fact, as far as I was concerned, I wasn't working on an airplane at all. I could have cared less."
Then came the 'golf' problem. He soon saw that the Golf World's approach lacked the precision demanded by "the project," and he taught himself physics and geometry -- from the standard college texts -- to deal with it. He also used the findings of the National Bureau of Standards as the basis for some of his work. Interestingly, on at least one occasion, his work conflicted with their published measurements, and he provided them the written proof that his was correct. They changed.
"My book should have been written 200 years ago," he said. "The science was there."
And it was. Not that there hadn't been many attempts to produce such a work: there had been. Long before Homer came along, many of golf's fundamental principles were the subject of detailed explanation by the authorities of the day, from Young Tom Morris to Seymour Dunn to Bobby Jones. But, for one reason or another, all fell well short of the mark.
The 'flail' and the 'triangle' are two cases in point: Homer invented neither, nor did he discover the application of their principle to golf. He did, however, accurately define their respective properties and give them a name. That is why you will not find The Law of the Flail or the Law of the Triangle in physics and geometry books. They do not exist outside The Golfing Machine.
As for golf books, Homer had two desktop companions. The first was Ben Hogan's Power Golf -- "I liked this one because Hogan was the best mechanic. Also, the pictures were so big, and I could see what was going on." The second was Sam Snead's How I Play Golf -- "His was the most 'natural' swing." He paid "absolutely no attention to the text" of either because he could see that all to often "they weren't doing what they said they were doing." He did, however, examine closely what they actually did. And if what these top professionals were doing was in direct conflict with a new line of research Homer was pursuing, "that idea was immediately placed on probation."
As far as the contributions of AIs (and others), these took two forms, direct and indirect. The direct form can be illustrated by the contribution of Mac O'Grady -- Homer always called him Phil -- who provided a list of printer errors in "the last place I would have looked" -- misplaced captions on photos. The indirect form was supplied by the inability of earnest students to grasp certain concepts only briefly explained in the earlier editions. Through his Master Classes and interaction with his public, Homer learned that concepts so obvious to himself were not nearly so to others, and his future editions attempted to bridge that gap.
In short, Homer brought his unique talents to bear on the Body of Knowledge currently in place. He began his work as we all do, 'standing on the shoulders of giants.'
For those who would follow in the footsteps of Homer Kelley, those are mighty broad shoulders indeed.
Brian Manzella replied:
"Interestingly, on at least one occasion, his work conflicted with their published measurements, and he provided them the written proof that his was correct. They changed."
Surely Homer could have CLOGGED UP the book with references as per what Mr. Blake said he used.
Homer wanted the book to be small enough to carry around.
It is obvious to someone who has spent their life researching the golf stroke (like myself) that Homer got it right. It is more obvious to someone (like myself) that has spent my whole adult life thrying to be the Tiger Woods of golf teachers, that Homer was right.
Some people learn from the book (like myself and David Laville and Lynn Blake and Chuck Evans and Ben Doyle) and give the book and Homer credit.
But, many learn from it and don't give credit, even as they profit from 'parroting' Homer's work. It is a free country, as they say.
The teachers that choose to NOT LEARN FROM Homer's book, have that right also. But! What George Hibbard and Steve Ringer might not know, is that I READ ALL OF THEIR POSTS and I think they ARE very much saying pretty much what Homer is saying. Maybe they don't realize that they are really not ANTI-Golfing machine teachers at all, but, to me, good teachers who get good results that are directly related to good advice that can be found in the LITTLE YELLOW BOOK!
someone please post this post on fgi
[8D]
You know, it's a shame that Homer didn't site his references in the back of the Golfing Machine...where did Homer obtain his Mathematical/Physics/Engineering information (like "the law of the flail"), and how about golfing book references or how about AIs that made contributions to the book.
Lynn Blake (aka Yoda) replied:
Homer Kelley was not an engineer. In fact, he didn't even have a college degree. He was simply born to solve problems, and solve them he did. Much of Homer's working life was spent on the plant floor at Boeing converting engineering plans and theory into functional, airborne reality. Word quickly got around that when it came to problems with electrical circuitry, Homer Kelley was the 'go-to' guy. First on the B-17. Then the B-25. Finally, the B-29. And he learned whatever he had to learn to get the job done.
"It was no big deal, really. Once you understand electricity...it doesn't care whether you are working on an airplane or an automobile...it's just an electrical problem. In fact, as far as I was concerned, I wasn't working on an airplane at all. I could have cared less."
Then came the 'golf' problem. He soon saw that the Golf World's approach lacked the precision demanded by "the project," and he taught himself physics and geometry -- from the standard college texts -- to deal with it. He also used the findings of the National Bureau of Standards as the basis for some of his work. Interestingly, on at least one occasion, his work conflicted with their published measurements, and he provided them the written proof that his was correct. They changed.
"My book should have been written 200 years ago," he said. "The science was there."
And it was. Not that there hadn't been many attempts to produce such a work: there had been. Long before Homer came along, many of golf's fundamental principles were the subject of detailed explanation by the authorities of the day, from Young Tom Morris to Seymour Dunn to Bobby Jones. But, for one reason or another, all fell well short of the mark.
The 'flail' and the 'triangle' are two cases in point: Homer invented neither, nor did he discover the application of their principle to golf. He did, however, accurately define their respective properties and give them a name. That is why you will not find The Law of the Flail or the Law of the Triangle in physics and geometry books. They do not exist outside The Golfing Machine.
As for golf books, Homer had two desktop companions. The first was Ben Hogan's Power Golf -- "I liked this one because Hogan was the best mechanic. Also, the pictures were so big, and I could see what was going on." The second was Sam Snead's How I Play Golf -- "His was the most 'natural' swing." He paid "absolutely no attention to the text" of either because he could see that all to often "they weren't doing what they said they were doing." He did, however, examine closely what they actually did. And if what these top professionals were doing was in direct conflict with a new line of research Homer was pursuing, "that idea was immediately placed on probation."
As far as the contributions of AIs (and others), these took two forms, direct and indirect. The direct form can be illustrated by the contribution of Mac O'Grady -- Homer always called him Phil -- who provided a list of printer errors in "the last place I would have looked" -- misplaced captions on photos. The indirect form was supplied by the inability of earnest students to grasp certain concepts only briefly explained in the earlier editions. Through his Master Classes and interaction with his public, Homer learned that concepts so obvious to himself were not nearly so to others, and his future editions attempted to bridge that gap.
In short, Homer brought his unique talents to bear on the Body of Knowledge currently in place. He began his work as we all do, 'standing on the shoulders of giants.'
For those who would follow in the footsteps of Homer Kelley, those are mighty broad shoulders indeed.
Brian Manzella replied:
"Interestingly, on at least one occasion, his work conflicted with their published measurements, and he provided them the written proof that his was correct. They changed."
Surely Homer could have CLOGGED UP the book with references as per what Mr. Blake said he used.
Homer wanted the book to be small enough to carry around.
It is obvious to someone who has spent their life researching the golf stroke (like myself) that Homer got it right. It is more obvious to someone (like myself) that has spent my whole adult life thrying to be the Tiger Woods of golf teachers, that Homer was right.
Some people learn from the book (like myself and David Laville and Lynn Blake and Chuck Evans and Ben Doyle) and give the book and Homer credit.
But, many learn from it and don't give credit, even as they profit from 'parroting' Homer's work. It is a free country, as they say.
The teachers that choose to NOT LEARN FROM Homer's book, have that right also. But! What George Hibbard and Steve Ringer might not know, is that I READ ALL OF THEIR POSTS and I think they ARE very much saying pretty much what Homer is saying. Maybe they don't realize that they are really not ANTI-Golfing machine teachers at all, but, to me, good teachers who get good results that are directly related to good advice that can be found in the LITTLE YELLOW BOOK!
someone please post this post on fgi
[8D]