Brian Manzella
Administrator
The Second Better Golf Through Technology Summit is being held this March 29 & 30 in Cambridge, Mass.
I attened the first one, and since it wasn't a "PGA run" affair, I thought I'd campain to speak at one of these in the future. All I got out of it were other teachers telling me to stop asking. Of course these were teachers who spoke at the summit. Funny how that works.
Anyhoo, here are the review of the talks from year one's presentations, looking through the looking glass of time.
Laird Small: Baseline Data on the Professional Swing.
A presentation on data very basic collected with a 'swing vest' of sensors. It showed some good data, some strange data, and some stuff I saw from BioVison in the early 90's.....B-
Jim Suttie: Critical Success Factor in Golf – Consistency.
He talked about what factors that good players do that bad players don't. It was a fair video presentation on the grip 'matching' the swing, and what good players like Chip Beck and Grant Waite do in their swings. It also included a long driver who swung down PERFECTLY on the squared shoulder plane, which Jim didn't like but I thought was fine....B-
Joe Assell: Accurate Diagnosis of Body-Related Swing Flaws.
This is a Golf TEC dude who had some good stuff to show, but had a thesis that was unreal in its goofy-ness. They had 30 PGA pros try to identify 'flaws' to see if their eye was as good as a swing sensor vest real-time measurement device. It wasn't. No kidding....B-
Jimmy Ballard: The Forces of the Golf Swing and How They Accommodate the Natural Hinges of the Body
Jimmy came in like Elvis sans music, did a great Jimmy Ballard talk about the backswing pivot and a HORRIBLE talk about the downswing. In the question segment, Ben Doyle asked if Jimmy would fix Annika's (not his student, but his model) left heel up at impact. He repliled "No, it's PERFECT!"...would have been a B- but the Annika answer moved him down to C+
Gerry James: Efficient Movement of the Correct Golf Swing.
A fitness guru and teacher. He really knew his fitness stuff, knew the swing a little and was very confident. Not bad, but too much strecthing and not enough hard core info.....B
Mike Adams: Effects of Initial Conditions on Performance.
Sounds really scientific. But here is my accurately-renamed title:
"How turning in the left foot helps hackers who slice."
Really? No kidding.
I asked him about how it also influnced axis tilt and he was exactly wrong in his answer. Correct answer—less foot flare, more tilt. Ask O'Grady.....B-
Panel: Technology's Impact upon the Teaching of Golf.
It really stunk. Everyone I talked to agreed. The speakers should have been on their own, they weren't bad per se, just poor as a group and a weak moderator....D
Rick Martino: Transferring Practice Skills to the Golf Course.
I really want to talk at a PGA Summit and Rick runs them. But...It really was a silly research project and so-so presentation, so....C+
David Edel: The Impact of Putter Fitting on Performance.
Dave did a great presentation on putter fitting. He was nervous, but did fine. he gave Ben Doyle a lot of credit, which he deserves, and then showed data on Putter fiitting's effect on making putts. It helps. A+ if he wasn't so nervous...A
Michael Hebron: The Science and Research Behind Reaching for Optimum Potential through Brain-Based Learning.
Mike a friend of mine, but I reeally don't agree 100% or even 80% with the thesis. "You can't teach anyone a new movement without the brain shutting down." Sometimes, Yes. Most of the time, though—if you can teach a lick—no. If his talk would have said something like "You all should try to incorporate SOME of this in your teaching," it would have scored much higher. But,.....B
Eric Alpenfels: Par without Pain Research for Injury Prevention and Performance Improvement.
Eric did a good job, and the thesis is basically dead-on. But, he just needs more real good how-the-swing-really-works info...B
Tom Cavicchi: The Effects of Stretching on Ball Speed and Distance.
In fairness to these two guys, they did a good job on a subject that was WAY OVERDONE at this summit...B
Ben Doyle: G.O.L.F.
Ben started slow. He seemed nervous. At the 6 or 7 minute mark he really warmed up and was vintage Ben. The information is so good and it is delivered with such true sincerity, it is always can't miss. Funny, the crowd was reluctant to ask questions at first...A
James Leitz: Analysis of Face Angle and Ball Flight.
He was the Star of the show. He gave credit where it was due (including me!), but didn't waste time with it. He gave TGM and Homer a big, deserving plug, and then gave a super straight-ball impact physics talk. He was prepared and he knew the subject cold. It showed...A+
Chuck: The Back Shoulder - A Master Chunker Cue
The "Pivot Swing Center Tripod" crowd wouldn't have approved, but Chuck gave and A+ presentation on Standard Shoulder Motion (Flat, then on plane). But he was light on the credit for Homer (It is HIS idea) and he told a silly, out-of-place joke about event organizer Evan Witt...A
Dan Goldstein: Analysis of Center of Gravity in Relation to Skill Level
Not bad. If he knew ANY of the why behind the data, it would be a grade higher...B
Panel: Educating, not just teaching, the golf student
Much better than the first panel. But, the moderator was misplaced (would be better on his own) and the real highlight were the questions and comments from the crowd (Like mine). They just didn't answer the questions THEY raised...B-
TJ Tomasi: The Role of Operant Conditioning in Improving Golf Performance
This was VERY weird, with a few good nuggets. This guy uses a clicker to train his students like dolphins. Which is funny, because TJ is a FLIPPER himself...B-- (becuae it was STILL better than Martino's)
Jim McLean: X Factor/Y Factor.
Jim was not there because of Dick Harmon's funeral.
He had an assistant read his talk, and WOW! he ran EVERYONE down, including Homer, and sounded like he thought he and Carl Welty were FAR, FAR in front of the pack. It's ok to think you are the best, but not enough FACTS to back it up...B
I attened the first one, and since it wasn't a "PGA run" affair, I thought I'd campain to speak at one of these in the future. All I got out of it were other teachers telling me to stop asking. Of course these were teachers who spoke at the summit. Funny how that works.
Anyhoo, here are the review of the talks from year one's presentations, looking through the looking glass of time.
Laird Small: Baseline Data on the Professional Swing.
A presentation on data very basic collected with a 'swing vest' of sensors. It showed some good data, some strange data, and some stuff I saw from BioVison in the early 90's.....B-
Jim Suttie: Critical Success Factor in Golf – Consistency.
He talked about what factors that good players do that bad players don't. It was a fair video presentation on the grip 'matching' the swing, and what good players like Chip Beck and Grant Waite do in their swings. It also included a long driver who swung down PERFECTLY on the squared shoulder plane, which Jim didn't like but I thought was fine....B-
Joe Assell: Accurate Diagnosis of Body-Related Swing Flaws.
This is a Golf TEC dude who had some good stuff to show, but had a thesis that was unreal in its goofy-ness. They had 30 PGA pros try to identify 'flaws' to see if their eye was as good as a swing sensor vest real-time measurement device. It wasn't. No kidding....B-
Jimmy Ballard: The Forces of the Golf Swing and How They Accommodate the Natural Hinges of the Body
Jimmy came in like Elvis sans music, did a great Jimmy Ballard talk about the backswing pivot and a HORRIBLE talk about the downswing. In the question segment, Ben Doyle asked if Jimmy would fix Annika's (not his student, but his model) left heel up at impact. He repliled "No, it's PERFECT!"...would have been a B- but the Annika answer moved him down to C+
Gerry James: Efficient Movement of the Correct Golf Swing.
A fitness guru and teacher. He really knew his fitness stuff, knew the swing a little and was very confident. Not bad, but too much strecthing and not enough hard core info.....B
Mike Adams: Effects of Initial Conditions on Performance.
Sounds really scientific. But here is my accurately-renamed title:
"How turning in the left foot helps hackers who slice."
Really? No kidding.
I asked him about how it also influnced axis tilt and he was exactly wrong in his answer. Correct answer—less foot flare, more tilt. Ask O'Grady.....B-
Panel: Technology's Impact upon the Teaching of Golf.
It really stunk. Everyone I talked to agreed. The speakers should have been on their own, they weren't bad per se, just poor as a group and a weak moderator....D
Rick Martino: Transferring Practice Skills to the Golf Course.
I really want to talk at a PGA Summit and Rick runs them. But...It really was a silly research project and so-so presentation, so....C+
David Edel: The Impact of Putter Fitting on Performance.
Dave did a great presentation on putter fitting. He was nervous, but did fine. he gave Ben Doyle a lot of credit, which he deserves, and then showed data on Putter fiitting's effect on making putts. It helps. A+ if he wasn't so nervous...A
Michael Hebron: The Science and Research Behind Reaching for Optimum Potential through Brain-Based Learning.
Mike a friend of mine, but I reeally don't agree 100% or even 80% with the thesis. "You can't teach anyone a new movement without the brain shutting down." Sometimes, Yes. Most of the time, though—if you can teach a lick—no. If his talk would have said something like "You all should try to incorporate SOME of this in your teaching," it would have scored much higher. But,.....B
Eric Alpenfels: Par without Pain Research for Injury Prevention and Performance Improvement.
Eric did a good job, and the thesis is basically dead-on. But, he just needs more real good how-the-swing-really-works info...B
Tom Cavicchi: The Effects of Stretching on Ball Speed and Distance.
In fairness to these two guys, they did a good job on a subject that was WAY OVERDONE at this summit...B
Ben Doyle: G.O.L.F.
Ben started slow. He seemed nervous. At the 6 or 7 minute mark he really warmed up and was vintage Ben. The information is so good and it is delivered with such true sincerity, it is always can't miss. Funny, the crowd was reluctant to ask questions at first...A
James Leitz: Analysis of Face Angle and Ball Flight.
He was the Star of the show. He gave credit where it was due (including me!), but didn't waste time with it. He gave TGM and Homer a big, deserving plug, and then gave a super straight-ball impact physics talk. He was prepared and he knew the subject cold. It showed...A+
Chuck: The Back Shoulder - A Master Chunker Cue
The "Pivot Swing Center Tripod" crowd wouldn't have approved, but Chuck gave and A+ presentation on Standard Shoulder Motion (Flat, then on plane). But he was light on the credit for Homer (It is HIS idea) and he told a silly, out-of-place joke about event organizer Evan Witt...A
Dan Goldstein: Analysis of Center of Gravity in Relation to Skill Level
Not bad. If he knew ANY of the why behind the data, it would be a grade higher...B
Panel: Educating, not just teaching, the golf student
Much better than the first panel. But, the moderator was misplaced (would be better on his own) and the real highlight were the questions and comments from the crowd (Like mine). They just didn't answer the questions THEY raised...B-
TJ Tomasi: The Role of Operant Conditioning in Improving Golf Performance
This was VERY weird, with a few good nuggets. This guy uses a clicker to train his students like dolphins. Which is funny, because TJ is a FLIPPER himself...B-- (becuae it was STILL better than Martino's)
Jim McLean: X Factor/Y Factor.
Jim was not there because of Dick Harmon's funeral.
He had an assistant read his talk, and WOW! he ran EVERYONE down, including Homer, and sounded like he thought he and Carl Welty were FAR, FAR in front of the pack. It's ok to think you are the best, but not enough FACTS to back it up...B
