ok, here's a friendly observation.....

[Michael Finney]

i read post after post on several golf instruction sites and several golfing machine sites......it is unbelieveable how much detail is discussed, especially at the latter sites....i am amazed at the collective knowledge of swing mechanics and swing mechanics minutia by the golf forum community as a whole.....

that being said, it is also amazing to then see these very same people (who seem to be chapter and verse GM proponents and have an encyclopedic knowledge of all the classic golf swings) execute a pitch shot.....or make a full swing....

some of you need to get out of the forums and onto the driving range....if you apply 1/2 the effort toward your actual stroke as you devote toward book study, your journey would go much faster....

now, if some of you see this post as egotistical or out of line....i'm sorry.....i guess i could go into detail about how i never get to play much golf but shot a 4 birdie, one eagle 66 two days ago during a gambling game.....i would never do that, however.....

my simple point is that sharpening your understanding of what zone homer really intended hinge action to be in won't help your execution as much as actual dirt flying....this i don't think anyone can deny....teachers, researchers, and guys who just want to be perceived as golf experts are exempt from this discussion

 

[Jared Willerson]

Good points, I just try to learn for a few minutes and then into the backyard to hit balls. When it's warm I play every day and twice on Sunday. The rest of the time I think/fantasize/dream about getting to a plus handicap.

Don't know why I spend time on here. All I do is rely on what Brian taught me and try to get better at it. I guess reading a lot of other posts helps me sort out how to best execute the stroke taught to me.

I also like the discussions on how to teach, I want to be the best golf coach around.

 

[Brian Manzella]

Michael is right...of course.

Folks,

Michael Finney could REALLY play golf once apon a time.

Sure, he could do it again, but could he?

Here is a typical day when Michael was one of the 3 or 4 best under 19 golfers on planet earth:

Wake up early, drive to UNO's east campus and hit 500 balls. Go to "pupeyes" and get drive through. Go to City Park and play 36 holes. Go back to UNO and hit 300 more. Go back to City park for a quick 9 or hit pitches and putt until PAST dark. Then go across the street to the Driving Range and hit a bucket or two.

Next day, play 54 holes and putt for 4 hours for money...

You get the picture.

He knows. He has been there. He know 1,000,000,000 times more about the golf swing than those days, but never hits balls and rarely plays.

Oh, yeah, when he does, he sometimes "goes low" and wins the money. But he never comes on here and brags about it.

 

[Michael Finney]

i should watch what i say because i'm sure brian wants traffic on his site.....but it wouldn't hurt some to practice what they preach...and preach....and preach...

 

[c21heel]

Now that you mention it, my handicap was a little lower when I just hit the ball with my athletic ability, and understood very little about the horizontal hinge.

I wonder what the average tour player would say if you asked him if his "hands were educated"?

 

[Jared Willerson]

I think this applies more to "other" sites, There are only a few that post here a whole bunch, I've posted a lot today because it's raining and I'm more than a little bored.

I cosider this site more of a practitioners site.

 

[Brian Manzella]

Now that you mention it, my handicap was a little lower when I just hit the ball with my athletic ability, and understood very little about the horizontal hinge.

I wonder what the average tour player would say if you asked him if his "hands were educated"?

Now you know why I didn't get too technical with you, Brady.

I used to try to wow my student with knowledge, but I crossed that bridge about 10 years ago.

No substitute for experience and continual improvemnt.

 

[Jared Willerson]

Now that you mention it, my handicap was a little lower when I just hit the ball with my athletic ability, and understood very little about the horizontal hinge.

I wonder what the average tour player would say if you asked him if his "hands were educated"?

I had some "natural" ability, but I can truly say I've gotten better from this site, no more flipping has helped the most.

Before handicap 8.8

Now handicap 4.2

 

[c21heel]

Brian, your teaching method is perfect! That is why I have been a repeat customer!

Need to schedule another lesson during January. I'll give you a call after the Holidays.

 

[Michael Finney]

I think this applies more to "other" sites, .

right you are

 

[pieman]

i've only seen michael hit a few balls the day i was with him, and if i can just get close to anything like that, i'll be a happy camper. very inspiring to say the least. btw, i need to call and ask you michael a couple questions.

 

[c21heel]

glcoach

I think I sometimes struggle with what really makes the swing work...making it happen (conscious use of hands) or letting it happen (centrifugal force).

 

[rchang72]

My 2 cents worth. I don't have as much athletic ability as c2. Most of what I've ever gotten from sports in general depended on how well I understood the technical ideals, and then tried to repeat it. Call me very Left brained.

Believe me, I would love to be able to hit the range a couple times a week and play on the weekend. But between 3 boys and a wife, who deserve as much daylight time I can give them, and work, which sucks up most of my time, I get to think or practice golf pretty late in the evening.

What the internet, a great lesson from Brian and follow-up calls give me is the ability to narrow what I should think about. That maximizes what I can do. Since coming online with all this, I went from a 120's to trying to break 90. That's probably why I don't follow most of the esoterica too much. Besides, it's kind of fun to pick other people's brain.

BTW Merry Christmas everyone. May you all have a blessed time.

 

[JohnThomas1]

I think all the sites help greatly and personally i wouldn't be overly worried what "others" are doing or the like. If all thought and taught exactly the same lifes choices would be pretty boring. We might as well say we have TGM Left, and TGM right. One mostly devoted to chapter 12 and one teaching flexibly via the books choices and concepts. Both have been proven to be a great advancement on anything else we see out there and have helped many of us immeasurably.

Keep up the fantastic work, both of you and a Merry Merry Xmas

 

[birdie_man]

As a guy with 2500+ posts here and more on other sites if u put em all together......ya I'm on here a lot (and do have internet at work BTW- in a dying mall)....

....a pretty abnormal amount really.....lol.........yes I am a NUTBAR.....ppl laugh when I swing rulers and up-high-clothing-reaching-pole-thingys (uh...) at work. It's just what I do. And I ain't the only one. (we've seen the Titleist commercials)

Somewhere along the line I got into getting as good as I can at golf...and now- into just generally learning about golf and golf instruction.

And it's a good thing really...in a lot of ways. Good to be into anything.

I do golf in the REAL world.....my backyard looks like a driving range.....and my garage is my little "lab" when there's snow on the ground. (I figure if I can hit different pitches off concrete I can do it off anything)

Anyway tho that's just my little story.

U do obviously have a point Mike.

Mostly everyone who is into THIS stuff and certainly everyone who plays is interested to some degree with improving their own game (even the ppl who say they aren't really).....you'd think that would come first.

And shite....a lot of this memorizing chapters and all that other stuff ain't doin it. (or at least is not neccessary all the time...contrary to those who think it is)

Speaking just for myself tho, a lot of the time I spend on here now is just from wanting to learn....and also really just from force of habit from doing it for a while....it's just what I do. (some ppl spend a lot of time watching TV when they're at home)

Having said all that tho.....all the super book related stuff does put me to sleep a lot of the time. (some ppl may like it tho) There is a place for it no doubt and I'm sure we all know THAT (the terminology, etc.)....

I do think it can all be overdone tho (and is esp. bad when advancement beyond the book is seemingly discouraged) and surely a lot of it isn't just gonna magically improve your game.

I think most ppl would agree.

 

[JohnThomas1]

Different strokes for different folks, if one wants to get into the entire nuts and bolts while learning to play better golf i for one won't be running them down. Nor would i disagree with those wanting to just learn how to play better golf and to hell with any theory, just show me how, here and now. It's nice to see Homer's book and it's unique description of concepts and terms getting studied and remembered. He sure put a lot into it, that's for sure. By the same token one doesn't have to study the book and it's terms from cover to cover to benefit either.

If one cannot sleep in the same bed surely peaceful co-existence is possbile. It's for the better of us all.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

True Story:

One of the best rounds of golf i ever played was when i considered myself a DEAD HACK. However i flipped it just right for the entire round, got up/down i think 7/8 times and made a few birdies. End result? -1

However I PLAYED A TON back then. Nowadays i have a full time job and when the spring/summer comes i have the full time job and teach in between AND THEN help run the private banquets of a friend's restaurant on the weekends.

So not much time for golf so i don't "score" as well but ask any of my students and they all know that if i had enough time to practice/play i'd EASILY be 5-6 shots better.

Towards the end of the season a student of mine took me out golfing a few weekends in a row. The last weekend on the back 9 i think i was either -4 or -5 under with a bogie with 2 more holes to go (had to leave to make work).

It's a fine line between practicing/learning/researching in ANYTHING. Whether that's golf/work/life.

-----

Oh and following in Mike's footsteps i'm not bragging either but i routinely draw crowds of people to watch me hit balls at the range.

 

[mjstrong]

True Story:

One of the best rounds of golf i ever played was when i considered myself a DEAD HACK. However i flipped it just right for the entire round, got up/down i think 7/8 times and made a few birdies. End result? -1

Yup, me too. Best round I ever shot was a course record 65 (-7) 6 years ago. But, like Jim said, your timing is on, you've been playing more and it can just come together. I haven't been that low since, but my game and swing are a lot more consistent nowadays, and will always fare better over a multiround tournament.

A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, expecially in the realm of golf. I've found that the best way for me to keep increasing my knowledge is to combine finding it in the dirt and the books, so to speak. Hitting balls, experimenting, reading, asking other pros' opinions, etc...

The game'll never be boring...

 

[Michael Finney]

sorry to everyone who thought i was a little harsh......just wanted to say that beating the minutia into the ground won't help your scores that much....i do realize that sometimes it's fun to dig deeper into concepts and debate them, but in the end just stick with upgrading your imperatives and work on your putting - ALOT....

i will just add this....if you can't break 100 and you can't consistently go "ball-turf" you shouldn't be in the middle of the "pivot tripod center" discussion or the "bastardized finish swivel" discussion......by all means, read the debates and incubate about all the little details.....but being right in the middle of it all is probably not the place for you to be...a snobbish attitude i know, but the investement bankers in new york aren't letting me in their meeetings because i can barely balance my check book......the bookmakers in vegas aren't letting me in their room because i read sports illustrated alot...

i know i'm rambling, but that's how i feel about internet golf forums....like the old free golf info site...the heading on the instruction forum was "ask the experts".....and 30 handicappers were running the show....laughable

 

[Tom Bartlett]

toonamint

Maybe we should get the 'high posters' from each site together and have a tournament. Then we can see who can apply what they have learned and if that produces the best results. Might be fun.