How did you find Brian Manzella? v.1389

[otto6457]

I had posted on a different board asking others for TGM instructors. Brian's name was posted. I Googled Brian and found the forum and the YouTube stuff. The rest is history. Funny thing, I haven't been back to the other board, nor can I recall any other of the TGM folks except Ben Doyle. I love the site, love Brian, and greatly enjoy the relatively civil debate that takes place here. I spent a lot of time around Hank Haney pre-Tiger and all I can say is give me some Manzella. My dream foursome: my wife, my son Nick who is 8, Brian, and me. One day!

Hey Watson!

Long time no see. How's Nicks game coming along?

As for me, I was a lost sheep in the woods. I had worked with Haney and his instructors since way back in the 80's. Long before Tiger. Haney's top student back then was Mark O'Meara.

Long story short.....I wasn't getting better and my swing flaws were not getting addressed. I got the same lesson I always got. After years and years and thousands of dollars......I still didn't like the results

Been here since 2005 and have worked with Brian since then.

 

[watson08]

Hey Watson!

Long time no see. How's Nicks game coming along?

As for me, I was a lost sheep in the woods. I had worked with Haney and his instructors since way back in the 80's. Long before Tiger. Haney's top student back then was Mark O'Meara.

Long story short.....I wasn't getting better and my swing flaws were not getting addressed. I got the same lesson I always got. After years and years and thousands of dollars......I still didn't like the results

Been here since 2005 and have worked with Brian since then.

Since we simply cannot get to New Orleans, Nicholas has been working with Eldridge Miles. Eldridge spent a lot of time with Hogan and the stories he tells about Hogan, Trevino, Palmer ("fella"), Boros, Chi, Chi, Freddy, etc. are fantastic. He is a fantastic gentleman and teacher.
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Nicholas is doing great! He holed out a beautiful 50 yard sand wedge a couple of weeks ago. His good shots are as pure as pure can be, but he lacks consistency. We spend more time chipping, hitting flops, and rolling putts than anything. He typically holes out a couple of chips per session. He loves the game and we are having fun, fun, fun. Emily (my 6 year old daughter) is yet to embrace golf. I'm not pushing her, but hoping that some day she'll join us.
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I'm going under the knife the day before Thanskgiving and don't know if I'll be able to play at my current level ever again. I'm having a couple of muscles removed from my right elbow. They are supposed to re-attach in the right forearm and hopefully I'll be pain free for the first time in 20 years... I'll certainly will have more time to spend with the kidos for 6 months or so!
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Last week, we spent 10+ hours at the Nationwide Tour Championship here in McKinney. We followed Jarrod Lyle (great, great guy) and also got to see Ricky "my chilli runs hot" Barnes", Brendon deJonge (sp?), and others. I love the Nationwide Tour! Those guys have all the game in the world. I could watch these guys everyday for the rest of my life and be happy! Nicholas collected a handful of golf balls from various pros. He was thrilled. What a fantastic, fun weekend! The best weekend I've had in years and years.
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With regards to Haney, my problem with him was his dry personality - very coarse. Not my kind of person regardless of the golf instruction. I practiced next to O'Meara several times. Tim Cusick was the best guy I found out there. My wife worked with him quite a bit. She's got some game too.
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I hope you continue to get better and better under Manzella. I hope to take my entire family on a golf pilgrimage in NO to see Manzella one day. Really, I'd like to spend a weekend with Brian every year, but it just isn't doable with our schedules and finances right now. Thus, I hang out on this site as it is the best source of information on the web bar none. Perhaps I could get the Manzella Academy hooked up with Eldridge et. al. at the Castle Hills Golf Academy for a weekend of instruction in the Dallas area... I can imagine that Brian and Eldrige would hit it off big time.
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Have a great day!!

 

[Brian Manzella]

Perhaps I could get the Manzella Academy hooked up with Eldridge et. al. at the Castle Hills Golf Academy for a weekend of instruction in the Dallas area.

You set it up, and I'm there.

 

[StewartBannatyne]

It's only been a few years, but I can't remember how I found out about Brian.

I'm sure glad I did though. The things I've learned from this site have absolutely transformed my way of thinking about the swing.

Stew

P.S. - Brian, how was Derek when you saw him for a lesson?

 

[Matt 4-L]

I found Brian through Golf Digest.....I have played golf since I was a teenager. My parents got me a set of starter set of Northwesterns when I was 13. I didn't know anybody who played, I just liked to watch golf on tv and thought it would be fun to play. This was back in the 80's when Nicklaus was still playing good and Watson, Crenshaw, Floyd were the big names. We had a big yard and I buried a bunch of butter dishes in the yard to make a homeade course. Once I was able to drive I got a junior membership at the local course with the money I made milking cows every morning for the neighbor. I bought all the magazines trying to learn how to play better and I got a ton of "tips" at the golf course from the older guys who thought they knew something. The course did not have any pros and frankly I didnt have a clue where to find a real lesson if I could have afforded one. So, I decided to learn all I could about the golf swing. I bought all the books I could find on the golf swing and tried to do alot of what they said. I came to realize very quickly that there was just alot of things that frankly I couldn't do correctly or they were more likely junk. I got a job at the Golf Haus selling golf equipment to help pay for my college education and just loved being around golf. Now the Golf Haus in itself is a huge story. I am sure some of you have probably bought equipment from there. It was one of the first mail order discount stores and Hornberger's prices couldn't be touched, he sent clubs all over the country and world for that matter....My golf swing was basically a blend of a bunch of teachers, I would try something Leadbetter would say in one of his books, if it worked I used it, if it didn't I would chuck it. I did that with lots of different teachers. Information was hard to come by until the golf channel came out with there golf channel academy. I watched that all the time trying different stuff from guys like Harmon, Flick, Hall, ect. I have had 3 lessons from 3 different pros and only one may have known more about the golf swing then me. The old Michigan State golf coach Bruce Fossum. Anyway I learned to shoot in the mid to upper 70's but could never break par. About a year and a half ago Golf Digest did a story that mentioned Homer Kelleys Golfing Machine. I was kind of shocked that I had never heard of him or his book. I went to amazon and did a search and found his book and a ton of polar opposite reviews about it, some loved it saying it was the bible of golf and others saying it was nothing but a bunch of incoherant babble. One of the reviewers said if you buy the book you have to go to the Brian Manzella website to help you understand it. I bought the book and came on over to Brian's site. I decided right off that I was going to try Brian's teachings and have bought all his videos. I have a goal of playing in amatuer events and becoming a force in amatuer golf before I turn 40. I have really adopted a lot of Brian's ideas and have played some really good golf this last year. My consistency has not been there, I shot par in one round of a local tournament but came back to shoot an 83 the next day. My short game needs work to get where I want to be, I built a green in my front yard this year to help with my practice time. So Brian is my last shot at golfing greatness. I need that short game video Brian, so lets get into production!

 

[watson08]

Trying To Get A Dallas Area Manzella Tour Stop

You set it up, and I'm there.

I'll talk to Eldrige and the other pros out there to see if they would entertain this and discuss it with Castle Hills management. Their academy is a great practice facility. Here is a link to their website: http://http://www.castlehillsgolfclub.com/
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I realize we are at the end of the season. Perhaps we could try to work something into your schedule when the Manzella Academy goes on tour next year. I brought it up off hand last summer with one of the other pros and he thought it would be great. I for one definitely would love to have you make a stop in North Texas. I understand that politics and business are involved when setting up such things, but hope that all parties could benefit from establishing a relationship.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

I have been taking some time trying to figure out how to explain how I met the man who really has changed my life.

I don't come from much and my "analyst" mentality was first born out of necessity because usually when i had to get something "fixed" i had to figure out how to do it because i didn't have the means to pay someone to do it. This whole mentality led me to my current profession and without me knowing my second profession; teaching golf.

I picked up golf when i was 17 years old (i'll admit because of tiger) because i was a good athlete and i wanted to try it out. At that time i probably made a 20 handicapper look good. However most likely due to my athleticism and passion to get good i ended up becoming a flipper who could score on occasion. My rapid improvement came from some various nuggets in pop golf instruction and then i stumbled across FGI where i learned about TGM. By this time i believe Brian was already banned; anyway i was trying out all these TGM ideas and i improved DRAMATICALLY faster than anything i had tried before.

So what did the analyst do? I dove right in to learn as much as i could so i could fix myself and be as good as i could be. Somewhere along the way i think i first found Brian on the initial TGM forum and then looked up some of his old posts on FGI and eventually joined his (this site). It was college graduation and i was at a point where i couldn't fix myself anymore so i took some graduation cash and went to go see Brian while on a trip to Lexington to see some family friends and the rest is history.

In three years i went through Never Slice Again, Never Hook Again, somewhere in the middle and eventually bounced around back and forth (as we all do) but the main thing is that i, unknowingly learned what the Manzella Matrix was before the the "Manzella Matrix" was really the matrix. Eventually i could fix myself on command (well 95% of the time lol) and i already knew i had an innate ability to teach people so i took my new found golf knowledge and applied it to family and friends because of how bad instruction was around my hometown.

Then i built up enough courage and decided to try it out for myself and gave my first lesson in the fall in a golf dome to a member at this very site who shall remain nameless. At the end of the lesson i had this person hitting it so much better it was absolutely ridiculous and the feeling i received from making that person hit the ball better was and is addicting. If you could bottle that emotion and sell it I'd be richer than Bill gates!

I am where i am in "golfdom" because of Brian Manzella; some students and friends are surprised at how much i know and how well i can fix people with so little time. I always tell them that there is nothing about me that is special, i just went to a really special guy who taught me the right way and i didn't have too much previous bad information to throw out. With a good understanding of the Manzella-way i am just applying his ideas and now i will always have a second income for life and as we all know, these days, is basically a requirement.

Thank you Brian Manzella

 

[Kevin Shields]

The topic of this thread will be MY first video. Brian knows when that will be.

 

[birdie_man]

Good thread.

I got in here from FGI. I think if you look in there you can still find threads where Brian has posted in the past. He was always debating something. (and most gave him a pretty hard time.)

The more instruction of his I read, the more he spoke out about BS in golf, and the more those things kept making sense to me.....the more I latched on, I guess.

I suppose his material and his motivations have always made sense to me. I like outspoken people (WHEN they have good judgement) and I think a lot of people in here do too- and are also outspoken themselves. Brian's close circle of friends all seem to have fight in them. It's all good to see. And Brian does it as well as anyone no doubt.

Along with seeing people improving and getting more informed, to me the debating is the best part of this forum. (and "these forumS")

Forums are probably fairly "small-time" (absolutely not a knock on Brian at all BTW) in the grand scheme of things but I have to think it can be more productive than some think and I generally like to see a strong fighting spirit.

[EDIT]
Was thinking that it doesn't seem exactly right to call Brian "small-time".....y'all probably got the jist of what I'm saying.....but I don't want to minimize what he does in here, on the lesson tee, at national summits.......and within your DVD-playing machine. And what he will do in the future. Just felt I owed a further explaination of some kind. I like people to know "where I'm at."
[EDIT]

Brian basically described himself once by mentioning a driver he sold that I think had improved his driving more than any he had ever had. (something like that) For anyone else that might just sound like your typical desire to "buy a game" but for Brian I figured it was probably more telling because he is always improving in many many aspects. I can relate because I'm continually self-improving also. No doubt everyone in here has that in common to a large degree as well.

As for me my golf game is getting better all the time.....I know I am capable of much more though.....still waiting for a "breakout" which I feel will happen. And I know I am in the right place to keep moving that process ahead.

All the best in 08 and certainly 09.

PS out of curiosity how many female members are there out there?

 

[jbrunk]

Some time in 2005 I was over at another forum trying to fix hooks and shanks, and 'shootin4par' kept referring me to Brian's drills for this or that.

Now I am a very happy boy.

Thanks for all you do, Brian.

 

[Bill Miracle]

I can't really remember how I initially found him...

I actually looked at his stuff a couple of times in 05 with little interest (I just started playing and was looking at everything). Then I found TGM and decided to venture down that path. I discovered another site. Emailed the guy to let him know I was willing to drive a few hours to take lessons. NEVER GOT A REPLY OR CALL BACK.

So, started looking elsewhere and remembered previously looking at Brian's stuff.
This time, I stuck....and not only does he email you back, he gives you his freakin' phone number.

I'm 3 years into golf and getting better all the time. 90% is Brian and I consider him my main source of instruction ( MJ gives some good insights too) Thanks Bman!

 

[curtisj76]

I can't believe I've never seen this thread. It's a good one to wipe the dust off.

I, like many others found him on FGI. He took chit left and right. All I know is that his "little" article called Never Slice Again cured me IMMEDIATELY. That's all it took. Followed him over here. I'm proud to say I've been with him (sorta) since the "beginning".

 

[TeddyIrons]

I haven't been here long. My swing was analyzed on a popular swing analysis site by somebody on this forum who mentioned my flipping and need for a flat left wrist - two terms I was unfamiliar with. I looked up these terms on youtube and one of Brian's videos popped up.

Brian - seeing as you are Italian - any chance you will one day come over here to do some work?

 

[Dobber]

The Memories...

I'm pretty sure I came across Brian on the FGI site...I remember logging in everyday to see whose feelings had been hurt during the great debates. I still remember when Brian first posted (or at least the first one I saw) of his 8-iron swing off a matt from one of the golf ranges. Loved the flat left wrist!

Just decided to hang around...

Dobber

 

[fronesis]

I googled 'flat left wrist' not because I knew about flipping but because I was having wrist pain. That got me here.

I read the old PDF articles on setup and the early NSA threads. Then I bought NSA. After 25 years of playing single digit handicap golf I realized that I had never had a CLUE how the swing worked. I've been learning from Brian since then.

 

[DMDORMAN2000]

LSU golf camp 1990. It was like no other golf all day basketball all night. The rest is history. I still have the videos showing the fiddle drill.

 

[dsmith2296]

A guy at the range said I was reverse pivoting. He put is fingers on my spine like a piano and told me to make a backswing. (Having had an unblemished record of staunch heterosexuality all my life, I felt secure) He said he tooks lesson from "a real expensive guy at Different Strokes." I took a chance at setting up a lesson at 502-417-GOLF and it was worth every penny.

 

[dcg1952]

Learned about Brian from FGI--loved his feisty attitude. Glad he has his own site--I'm assuming he won't ban himself!

 

[Shot Limit]

Trying to fix a driver slice problem, found Brian on Youtube. Once I learned he was from The Parish and was still here in LA, I felt like he was a trusted family member. I bought NSA tried it out.... DAMN This dude must know some sh*t. Now the forum is kinda like a bad crack habit, in good way.

 

[cal7426]

One night in February 2009 I googled Ben Hogan, that led to a mention of Bill Mehlhorn, which led to a nice man trying to sell me a grass cutter with a graphite shaft, which led to Ben Doyle, which led to TGM, which led to Brian's YouTube videos, which led to his site and this forum. It was all new to me from Mehlhorn onward.

In truth I never really knew much about the golf swing from a technical viewpoint, but after five hours reading the forum I realised that most of what I did know was wrong. I joined that night, bought COAFF the next day and have been dipping in every day since.