otto6457
New
Hello to all
I wanted to thank Brian and all the great members of this forum. I don't contribute much, but I read everything that is posted here. I had heard of TGM a few years ago, and I tried to read the book, but I honestly thought TGM was some kind of cruel joke. The terminology and the entire concept was like trying to decipher Greek. I am still quite overwhelmed sometimes but I am starting to get a better grasp of the concepts thanks to Brian and the other great people here.
This might turn out to be kind of long, so I hope you folks will bear with me.
After being involved with this site I have come to a difficult conclusion and I wanted to vent a little. I have been a committed Hank Haney student for a very long time. I first started working with Haney instructors in 1990. (I even got a lessons from Hank himself back in 1992) I played Jr. College golf back in the late seventies, and I was a pretty fair player, but I always struggled with wild swings under pressure. I didn't realize at the time that I was a flipper. (in fact, I didn't realize that I was a flipper until I joined here). I started going to Haney way back then to build a fundamentally solid swing that wouldn't break down just because I was feeling a little pressure. I have always loved tournament golf, and I wanted to keep playing state amateur events. But more importantly, I wanted to contend occasionally.
Well......it hasn't worked. Granted, I took a 12 year break from golf when my soccer coaching job became a 60 hours a week ordeal and as a single dad I was busy raising two great girls that went on to play college soccer. But I left soccer coaching in 2005 and re-committed myself to my golf and to my work with Haney. I had to drive 12 hours round trip for my lessons, and I went once a month during the season and twice during the winter for the last two years. This is NOT cheap and I am not a rich man. But, after being in this forum for my short time, I came to the realization that all of the lessons I have taken, have been the SAME lesson. I have had the same lesson that every student at Haney's gets. It's not instruction for me.....it's instruction by numbers. My instructor (who has European Tour, LPGA, Nationwide, College, and nationally ranked AJGA players in his stable, has not fixed my fundamental failures. I am STILL a flipper, and my pivot is STILL not right. This realization has been rather painful. I don't like feeling that I have wasted a LOT of money, a LOT of time, and a LOT of energy. I almost feel like I have been brainwashed into thinking my swing was improving.
So....I am going to Louisville in April to see Brian. I desperately want to fix my game. I am going to commit to whatever it takes to finally have a swing that is mine and that holds up when I need it to hold up. I feel like I am starting all over and I feel sort of sad about that. At the same time, I feel like for the first time in a long time, I am doing something positive in my golf.
I thought I would post a few swings here before I go see Brian in April. That might prove informative for those that have never worked with the Haney philosophy and are not familiar with his teaching. Plus, maybe Brian or others might want to point out my faults and give me a few things to focus on fixing before my trip to Louisville. I may not be a perfect example of the Haney swing, but I do understand what I am supposed to do and I am pretty good at doing it. I don't want to bash Haney or my instructors because his philosophy works for a lot of people. It just hasn't worked for me. (it is quite possible that the entire failure in my Haney education belongs to me)
Again, a BIG thanks to Brian for this forum, and thanks to all for allowing me an opportunity to learn from your experiences.
I look forward to better golf!
I wanted to thank Brian and all the great members of this forum. I don't contribute much, but I read everything that is posted here. I had heard of TGM a few years ago, and I tried to read the book, but I honestly thought TGM was some kind of cruel joke. The terminology and the entire concept was like trying to decipher Greek. I am still quite overwhelmed sometimes but I am starting to get a better grasp of the concepts thanks to Brian and the other great people here.
This might turn out to be kind of long, so I hope you folks will bear with me.
After being involved with this site I have come to a difficult conclusion and I wanted to vent a little. I have been a committed Hank Haney student for a very long time. I first started working with Haney instructors in 1990. (I even got a lessons from Hank himself back in 1992) I played Jr. College golf back in the late seventies, and I was a pretty fair player, but I always struggled with wild swings under pressure. I didn't realize at the time that I was a flipper. (in fact, I didn't realize that I was a flipper until I joined here). I started going to Haney way back then to build a fundamentally solid swing that wouldn't break down just because I was feeling a little pressure. I have always loved tournament golf, and I wanted to keep playing state amateur events. But more importantly, I wanted to contend occasionally.
Well......it hasn't worked. Granted, I took a 12 year break from golf when my soccer coaching job became a 60 hours a week ordeal and as a single dad I was busy raising two great girls that went on to play college soccer. But I left soccer coaching in 2005 and re-committed myself to my golf and to my work with Haney. I had to drive 12 hours round trip for my lessons, and I went once a month during the season and twice during the winter for the last two years. This is NOT cheap and I am not a rich man. But, after being in this forum for my short time, I came to the realization that all of the lessons I have taken, have been the SAME lesson. I have had the same lesson that every student at Haney's gets. It's not instruction for me.....it's instruction by numbers. My instructor (who has European Tour, LPGA, Nationwide, College, and nationally ranked AJGA players in his stable, has not fixed my fundamental failures. I am STILL a flipper, and my pivot is STILL not right. This realization has been rather painful. I don't like feeling that I have wasted a LOT of money, a LOT of time, and a LOT of energy. I almost feel like I have been brainwashed into thinking my swing was improving.
So....I am going to Louisville in April to see Brian. I desperately want to fix my game. I am going to commit to whatever it takes to finally have a swing that is mine and that holds up when I need it to hold up. I feel like I am starting all over and I feel sort of sad about that. At the same time, I feel like for the first time in a long time, I am doing something positive in my golf.
I thought I would post a few swings here before I go see Brian in April. That might prove informative for those that have never worked with the Haney philosophy and are not familiar with his teaching. Plus, maybe Brian or others might want to point out my faults and give me a few things to focus on fixing before my trip to Louisville. I may not be a perfect example of the Haney swing, but I do understand what I am supposed to do and I am pretty good at doing it. I don't want to bash Haney or my instructors because his philosophy works for a lot of people. It just hasn't worked for me. (it is quite possible that the entire failure in my Haney education belongs to me)
Again, a BIG thanks to Brian for this forum, and thanks to all for allowing me an opportunity to learn from your experiences.
I look forward to better golf!
