Patrick. Reading your description of the lesson just makes me think how lucky you are to find such a knowledgeable teacher.
Kev and I met at a range/practice area yesterday and started out chipping using hinges. We pretty well would just chip and giggle as the ball did WHAT WE WANTED IT TO DO! The consequent shot patterns would not have hit many ducks, but we had a lot of tap-ins.
One of Kev's veteran PGA teaching pro friends swung by and they reacquainted while I chipped some more. Later, as we were finishing up on the range Kev gave him a very quick intro to TGM. I'll bet he's hunting in LBG today.
There is a bit of a difference in the way Kev and I operate on the range. I move the ball usually in directions intended. Kev crushes it in intended directions. It is fun to watch. Pretty good for a guy that had pretty well given up on golf. Now he is playing G.O.L.F. It is nice to see joy on his face again.

I had a BLAST Jerry. I would say we are just like two little kids playing with our new Christmas toys. Yoda and Homer are just like Santa Claus!

Kevin

Wait a minute! It just dawned on me that Mr. Hardy's one plane swing is in fact a HH with a funky motion, right?

Did he make up the motion just to be idiosyncratic? Stylish? Was he hoping to avoid the heartbreak of Psorriahsis or that burning sensation?

Reminds me of a Mr. K who read TGM with Moe and took all sorts of stuff from it and now tells everyone the book is not helpful. UGH!

Putting some things together on the range with the help of my GSEB and LBG friends.
 

John Savage, last week revealed the "magic of the level handle," which amazingly enough corresponded to tracing the planeline with your shaft, which Bernie (BerntR) and the whole LBG universe has said about, uhmmm, 1,000,000 times! :salut:

OB also gave many great answers agout the RFT and shoulder stuff including "..........most likely under plane given a shoulder turn takeaway. Ideally the Shoulders in Startup turn BACK, around on a flatish plane and the Hands and arms go UP. See the Vectors and the McDonald drills too, Wild Bill Melhourne etc etc. Lynn likens this to patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time. Something we do all the time during the course of our normal day, reaching for things......multi levers, independent motions, scattered vectors..........but netting out with the Hands traveling towards their target.........the mug on the top shelf in your kitchen or whatever. You dont lock up and align your shoulders and arms to accomplish that. You dont even think about your shoulders really.............you just direct your hand to the target. Very Homer like isnt it? "

And Kevin has given me so many insights over time that I just literally have stacks of things I pour through several times a week. and then Jerry says things like this
, "I don't think you should worry too much yet about whether or not you are hinging Horizontally or Angled. I'm thinking straight line delivery with the heel of the right hand covering the ball. It is a lot easier to actually do, for me, if I make sure the shaft is running right up the cup in my right hand and the Right Arm On Plane. Tues and Wed. I hit it dead straight with the irons a bit of a draw with the hybrids and woods.
After taking stock of my right arm and pp's #1 and 3, I grabbed a wedge and focused on H, A, or V hinging. Then I grabbed a 7 iron and tried to pay attention to only my hands. Then a hybrid and then a driver. The clubhead goes where my hands take it. If I over cook it, I am pretty sure I turned the back of my left hand over too much."

And ED Z has exercises and drills for RFT.

And while kicking through the stacks, Yoda wrote this about all that,"

Yes, both Hitter and Swinger use Pivot Lag (Hips lead Shoulders in the Downstroke) to Load the Power Package (via the On Plane Right Shoulder Turn Thrust against Pressure Point #4).

The essential difference between the two is what is being Loaded and how. The Hitter Loads the Right Triceps to Drive the Club through Impact, and he does so by using the Hands at the Top to resist the motion of the Backstroke Turn per 7-19-1. The Swinger Loads the Left Wrist to Drag the Club through Impact, and he does so by using the Shoulder Thrust to Snap the Club onto the Lag Pressure Point per 7-19-3."


So putting this together...

:book: \\:D/


I started tracing the line with basic motion and enjoyed the compression so much I wound up knocking down the base of the markers with wedges through 7 iron. I realized with the infinite planeline marked behind my ball with a club, I could trust my tracing/pivot and simply concentrate on "shoulder upplane/shoulder downplane," or, "hands upline/hands downline." My intact wedges and power package united (I'm sorry OB), I was able to swing long and strong with long clubs and the ball in the middle of my stance. Angled hinge produced straight shots with the hint of a fade or a real fade based on ball positions. :) \\:D/

The slower my swing, the more the ball seemed to jump and the sweeter the crack like sound of contact.

An older gentleman had started watching with basic motion . He was clearly looking and then really struggling to hit some very nice looking clubs. When I was done swinging and hitting my hinges at will (except HH except for chips), I interrupted the gentleman and laid a club on the planeline. I told him about tracing the line with chips and working up. I told him about the balance of the planeline balancing me. He hit a few solidly but then started to look up before contact and he had no wedges and started spraying his shots. I told him about carrying the pivot through to the left.
Then I decided less was much more and told him about LBG golf and the website.

Finally, with about 30 balls left, I started doing my version of Jerry's straight line thrusting at the aimpoint, using OB's casual RFT approach "right hand to shoulder/right thrust/right heel covers ball." As I got more comfortable, the shots flew as far as my swings with a very casual and simple stroke.

Tomorrow, I'll tee the ball and swing trying to discover a straight line back marker (shoulder up and down)as I do not trust the hit yet with its direction. I fear the left side of the force!

Thanks guys; have fun tomorrow. :golf:

ICT

Oh, sure. Drag my stupid responses in here.
I watched a teaching pro giving a lesson today and it was obvious there was no understanding of TGM.
Man, are we lucky to have this site and these friends.
g

Saturday problems/Sunday answers
 

Saturday at 6:30am I had laid down an umbrella to mark my planeline. I compressed almost every ball as long as I traced the plainline back and forth. right index finger on back of club. Level hands. Pocket back and through

Par Score GIR Chp/SB/Ptch #/distance Putt #/distance

3 4 Y 0 0 3 70 ft
5 5 Y 0 0 2 10 "
4 5 N 1ptch 30 ft 2 20 "
4 5 N 1sb 20 ft 2 15 "
4 5 N 1ptch 35 ft 2 10 "
4 5 N 1chp 60 ft 2 6 "
3 5 N 2chps 60 ft 2 8 "
4 5 Y 0 0 3 30 "
4 7 N 1ptch 120 ft 3 30 "

35 46 3 6 21 235 ft

At about the 7th hole, I stopped tracing the line and started tilting my back shoulder up then down. It got really sore and I had to use a very flat tracing to get around the course hooking everything, then I combined the flat tracing with the inclined plane.

4 5 N 1sb 10 ft 1 8 ft
4 4 N 1sb 20 " 1 6 "
4 4 Y 0 4 " 2 4 "
4 7 N 2ptchs 150" 3 60"
3 4 Y 0 3 20"
4 5 N 1ptch 120" 2 30 "
4 9 N misplayed into 2 trees 3 50 "
3 4 N 1sb 40" 2 20 "
5 7 N 0 2 10 "

35 49 2 6 19 308*


I slipped back away from the flat tracing and the shoulder became sore again.

I related this all to my GSEB, John Savage, today. His response was to show me PRIMARY AIM POINT/planeline, clearing the back hip with the RIGHT FOREARM TAKEAWAY WHILE KEEPING THE CLUB IN FRONT OF THE HIP AND STERNUM ROTATION/ HORIZONTAL FANNING AND BACK SHOULDER PUSH OUT TO AIMPOINT.


When I relaxed and let my arms extend down the line, I could turn my sternum well enough to hit consistent shots with lower power.

But when I got tired or nervous, I had been tracing the planeline but pulling my sternun in so sharply and deeply that I was stuck and driving my choulder down into my ribcage with power bouncing off it and somehow still making contact with the ball#-o


Instead, by clearing the right hip with the sternum and
( horizontally ) setting the right elbow (much like a sidearm or forward frisbee throw) so the club points at the planeline, the front hip and ribcage can be sent straight back or the right shoulder can push to the planeline straight forward or cover the planeline. LET ME EMPHASIZE HOW GREATLY HORIZONTAL THIS FEELS SETTING AND COVERING FORWARD!:golf: :golf: :sunny:

Whether hitting or swinging, the motion is so compact and so linear/horizontal that the ball squeezes out low before shooting high above the battlefield. A well struck ball makes a different heavier, fuller, "angry bee" sound. :)

I think I'd hit about 30 sand wedges within 5 feet of the target straight in front of me when John asked me if I was bored by the action. I said "no, I had been in the twilight zone for so long, it was great to see cause and effect in operation." John pointed out that the ball could only go where the clubface was aimed! It was so much fun to do it on purpose!

John observed that I was still fighting the tendency to pull with my left arm but concentrating on RFT clearing the hip would help me hit both primary and secondary aimpoints.

Good hitting to all!

Patrick

Way to go Patrick!

Hi Kevin! I'm bummed over your recent injury, mucho!!!!

Please recover quickly! I intend to see you golfing ( well for a change :> ) by August!

Patrick

LOL

Thanks Buddy. The next 6 weeks I need to learn everything I can about The Magic of the LEFT Forearm. :laughing9 :laughing9 :laughing9

Kevin

The simplicicity of a unified geometric theory. Lesson 6
 

Kevin, as you know, John Savage is my GSEB. I believe he, you, and any well-trained TGM instructor could teach a person to golf from any side!

As a right hander never fully trained in any golf system. I was really excited three years ago, when I was able to save up for an eight lesson package from Golf-Tec. It was over $800 but I thought that the video taping and computer analysis would allow me to keep my gathered insights and the years of better golf would defray the overall expense. :(


Was I disappointed! I was taught to set-up in certain positions and shown pro golfers who were in those positions. I was placed
in a series of positions by my instructor without any unifying theme. :confused1

It was very confusing. Each position was butressed by a series of traditional golf exercises that sought to put the body in a "correct" position. But without any logical overview, I was very frustrated and felt ripped off.:BangHead:

At the fifth Golf-Tec lesson. I was taught to point my left thumb up as my hand cleared my hip. At the driving range, it seemed like the "X" factor came alive and I was able to hit my shots crisply. The following Saturday I shot an 85.

I was very excited, and then it stopped working! :confused1 During the last 4 lessons, where I was offered discounts for more packages of 8 lessons, frequently, I couldn't get the stroke back! And the instructor seemed unable to explain why or where it went! I was pissed! :mad:

Fast forward to yesterday and today. On the front 9, I concentrated on using an angle hinge but my ball position was too far in front and I was off plane mucho. I was rolling my shoulder, swinging, but sprayed the ball all over. Then I compounded the problem by tring to hit perfect pitches and chips to sucker pins. On three holes, I turned possible pars and easy bogies into one double and two trips! I shot a 48. :crybaby:

On holes 6-9, I started thrusting (Jerry) and using the horizontal hinge with a small, horizontal feeling, RFT (Kevin, OB). Four over on the last 4 holes.

On our back 9, I lost my chip ball position. I turned two pars into a trip and dbl being within 10 feet of the fringe (+ 5)! :redface: Got the position, logically, from thinking about the plane. :idea: On holes 12-17, I had 5 makable birdie chips or birdie putts, including our number 1 an 2 hcp holes. I was par for those six holes including a birdie on the # 1 hcp! :laughing9 I dbld the last hole to shoot 42 on a par 35. (I was so jazzed about shooting MY FIRST 40 EVER that I stood up on a simple 120 yard 9 iron and shanked it wide of the green. :-& :-& )

Telling John all this, today, he smiled. "Let's see your horizontal hinge." He then explained to me that though my positions were much better, and I was more consistent, I was still double cocking my wrists, dumping my hands and power too early and never getting to straight arms at impact! :evil5:

(JOHN SAID) I had simply adjusted to my weaknesses! My small RFT and straight right arm thrust let me get away with murder by keeping my flying wedges stable at impact as I thrusted through. I was driving the ball as far as my club champ on several holes using the Noodles I got on sale since Kevin has not sent me any TITLEISTS!!!!! [-o< :dontknow:
#-o

(JOHN DEMONSTRATED AND SAID) THE STERNUM STAYS ALIGNED WITH ADDRESS WEDGES (W/WOUT BLUE CHEESE)! I AM NOT ALIGNED GOING BACK UP-PLANE BECAUSE I'M TAKING THE CLUB AWAY WITH MY HANDS OFF PLANE. SO, I HAVE TO THRUST TO IMPACT FIX BECAUSE SWINGING OFF PLANE IS ALL I COULD DO OTHERWISE.:hang: :hang: :hang:


LEAVE THE HANDS ALONE! LOOK AT YOUR UNFLAT WRIST! TOO MANY CRINKLES! # 1 PPT MUST BE AFT OF THE SHAFT! STOP DOUBLE COCKING! LOOK, LOOK, LOOK! USE A MIRROR! PUSH THE BACK SHOULDER BACK! :book: WHEN COMING DOWN IT IS LINEAR THEN ANGULAR BUT BECAUSE YOU'RE OFF-PLANE, YOU CANNOT CONSISTENTLY COME TO YOUR FRONT TOE AIMPOINT! :book: ON-PLANE PUSH BACK THEN ON-PLANE PUSH FORWARD OR LEAD WITH THE FRONT SHOULDER OR STERNUM TO ACCENTUATE THE LINEAR ACTION AS COUNTERBALANCE OR COMPENSATION TO THE DISABLED FRONT HIP!!!! \\:D/ \\:D/ \\:D/

By the time we were finished, I had gained 10 yards of carry and almost 10 yards of roll with my clubs. :occasion: When John left, I hit another bucket of chips through drivers. A younger man practicing with his elderly father commented on how I was hitting the 250 yard fence on a roll with my wood and on the fly with my driver. (There were actually slight fades and draws but I diDn't want to explain.) I recommended John to them explaining my artificial hip, metal rod, gout and psorriahsis. :eyes: the elderly gentleman had just had his hip and knee replaced! :3gears: :headbang:

And so it goes!

I love reading your posts of discoveries.
One of the nice things you will find is that given what you have learned, any golf ball will do.
I used to be interested in all the latest equipment. Now I am interested in the latest posts at LBG and how in the world will I incorporate them.
Isn't this just the nuts Patrick?

Hi Jerry! Kevin! OB and all...
 

Jerry, are you still thrusting? With my driver, my thrust is easily 90% or better distance of my best swing and so repeatable!

My GSEB told me to push my back shoulder back with extensor action, and then let it rip lineaerly then on the angle. I don't have a framework for this yet! :eyes: Pushing back the shoulder is very simple and solid. By keeping wedges intact, I can see their path from the top to impact past the front foot to both arms straight. Thrusting down produces an observable second gear. I think EDZ mentioned somewhere that putting the ball back a bit with longer clubs would actually increase compression. If I ignore my clubface and determine to focus only on thrusting my hands and ppt# 3 past my aimpoint, will that dial up even more power? Could it be that simple and logical?

If I tilt my club handle forward a bit more, and thrust down, the clubface will be moving down, out and forward. Is that linear enough? Will that account for a correct ball flight? (I hit a 225 yard 14 degree 3 wood fade on purpose to 4 feet below the hole AND SANK THAT PUTT on Saturday.)The motor propelling the move should not matter, correct? Hitting or swinging will still have the same aimpoint? The motions of hips turnong or shoulder pushes or front foot pulls back hip out of the way are all different paths to the bottom of the aimpoint?

Yes, Jerry, the interconnectedness of these concepts would thrill a physicist/a doctor/ an engineer or a systemmatic theologian!

Patrick

Great stuff Patrick,
Yup, I am thrusting, but I am finding more success with focus on pp#1 presently. If I get a chance to actually grab some range balls at practice today I will put some time into #3 with a PBS.
I hit a couple bad chips last Sat., but I had not put the left wrist in the neutral position. SHANK. Neutral does it.

Doesn't that really confirm the linear element of RFT? Left wrist goes from uncoked at address to neutral on RFT?

No lesson, just a Mother's Day dinner conversation with John and Jean.

When I learned the importance of the plane line, I shot some 85's-87's. Since I have been taking a lesson a week, my scores have gone as high as 97! Because TGM is not a gimmick and is based on actual body mechanics, changing one thing changes quite a lot!

TGM students might need some time to replace bad habits with good habits and then time to reflect on the logical conclusions of their new good habits while practicing. That happens to me a lot. For example, once I saw how simple and powerful the sternum centered flying wedge position is, I had to experiment with turning the hip back, belly button back, pushing the shoulder back or matching the sternum to the RFT. I realized in casual conversation with John after dinner, that I move my ball position for every club. That prompted John to ask why. My answer was that I read that I should do that in an old Gary Player comic book or Jack Nicklaus comic. And that led to a discussion of impact fix as a secondary aiming point, and plane line as primary aim point. John said he believes that my ball position might actually need to be pushed back another inch. Anyway, there will be a whole series of experiments that must follow that observation.

"Level left wrist" neither fully cocked nor fully uncocked.........the gate way to the On Plane Right Forearm and its structural magic for chips and every other shot too. Try it with some Extensor Action to really feel the structure and make sure you make it all the way to Both Arms Straight to complete the correct clubhead orbit and feel little chip shots that are "nutted", pure compression. Yoda would chuckle and say "Hear that sound.....heh , heh, heh". Three dimensional impact.

The Level Left Wrist is employed for every shot (an example of Homers Sameness) but the position of the club in the left hand grip can be altered to zero out the #3 Accumulator typically done in Basic Motion , little chip shots or putts......to deaden the send. Although I know a guy who zeroes it out for every shot ........he dont hit it too far that guy. He's all zone 1 and 2 no zone 3 power.

Lesson 7 or 35.
 

So far, I have personally suggested that 10 plus people take lessons from my GSEB. I have written mor than 50 notes to people at the driving range about this site. I am not renewing my "Golf-Link" subscription (though it is good), nor my Moe Norman site, nor any other site. I have purcased Alignment Golf I and will get AG II.

What's my point? THIS SITE IS MORE INFORMATIVE, PERSONABLE, AND COMPLETE IN IT'S EXPLANATION OF GOLF FUNDAMENTALS THAN any other golf site. I like the Australian sites and they have some very cool things like animations and some interesting organizational schemes, but the depth and generosity of this site's leadership is AMAZING!

In Nick Faldo's "Golf-The Winning Formula," Nick Faldo (Leadbetter,pp.88-90), describes 3 ways to "Reverse the Swing." The first is "to feel the left shoulder rise." The second is the "bringing the back elbow down and in." The third, "and only for the most advanced player," is to feel the left knee seperate from the right.

I asked my GSEB about this, today, as he instricted me to come to "neutral knees," before "hitting the ball with my hips." So I noticed the left knee move and asked.

As I practiced coming to neutral, the ball compressed differently and travelled low before climbing the hill to apex and landing softly. It made a diferent compressing sound and felt effortless. :hello2:

Why is such a little move so radically effective? I'm not sure. But the feeling is so significant, was so significant that I gained almost 10 yards of carry, today, and more yards from roll. :golfer2:

When I started with my basic clone sand wedge, I was not getting to the 80 yard flag and elevated green with the range balls. As John worked with me to get the knees to neutral then, "fire my hips," "hit the ball with my hips," "be quicker with the hips," and "develop hip-eye coordination," I went over the flag and the ball started to go about 20 feet higher. When I stopped with the SW, the shots were rolling 95 yards plus. The 8 iron flew 145 and rolled almost 160.

Then, as I started using my 6 iron, I lost compression and kept hitting behind the ball. John told me that I often look like Charles Barkley. By using my arms and hands to hit the ball, I was forcing my right shoulder down and jamming my right hip shut, looking like CB. With longer irons, I was getting worried about power and trying to force the club down instead of shooting my hips down range and letting the club work. :thumbdown

I experimented with various ways to come to neutral including raising the left shoulder, popping the left knee to seperate (the hips must move the knee), and rolling the left ankle. :dontknow:

I settled on rolling the left ankle. I use JN's elbow putting stroke w/index finger on the side so why not roll the front ankle? Combined with an inclined hula-hoop trace in front of me, the club bites and the ball "clicks" to compression. :thumright

"Hula trace-up, roll up, tilt away, compress!" :golfing_banana:

Thoughts?

Patrick:scratch:

Sounds like some "Booty Dance". \\:D/

I'm dancing to scratch golf, D!
 

I won't buy the Pings, though, 'till I break 80 several times!

Patrick

Confusion and TGM overload
 

Hi guys! I hope you are having a pleasant day and outside doing fun golfing things! :)

As you know, I have an artificial hip, metal rod, and left (front) leg 1.5" shortness.

My GSEB has been encouraging me to fire my hips which has added power and compression to my shots.

Today, I practiced bringing my back shoulder up and around which put me on plane, and then leading with my front shoulder feeling up then around. The club seemed to point at my sternum. The shots made me feel like Jack Niclaus or Moe Norman. Checking in the mirror behind me, the club seemed to ride the shoulder plane. The ball travelled well with a little fade. I felt like I was hitting the ball with my left shoulder.However,I couldn't find the compression I had yesterday.


In contrast, as I got tired, I flattened the clubs standing farther away from the ball but still on right forearm plane and pointed them at my belly button, then turned on that belly button back and through. The club was much lower but on plane and seemed to follow the height of my elbows. That felt more powerful still, and it felt like my elbows were glued to my sides of my ribs. The power and pop was about a club longer and it felt like I was hitting with a horiz. hinge. As long as I watched the ball with a firm head, the ball was long and straight. After a couple of swings, I felt like I was hitting the ball with my right forearm.

I think I turn my hips more by rotating my belly button than by turning my shoulders.

Can someone explain if they have experienced something similar, or maybe it is an artificial hip thing? Can you tell me if you have gone through these stages on your way to shooting lower scores? Maybe I'm just fatigued by stuff but I feel like their is something obvious I just cannot grasp that will move me to a legit single HCP player. Suggestions?


Patrick

Yo, City,

It sounds like "Practice Range Syndrome". Your components re-adjust to make the Ball go straight. I'm afraid that this isn't something you can take to the course. It sounds like you're hitting too many balls rather than practicing alignments. For example, look at the following Hip Alignments for a Standard Pivot. If it changes from day to day, then your component variations will change day to day. (look up, First Wobble)

The Illustration below diagrams pivot Hip travel/Path. A key alignment guide is the Red Line. Your Left Hip slides to the Right during the Backstroke and your Right Hip Slides Toward the Target on that Line during the Downstroke.

If your Left Hip (yellow circle) crosses the Red Line during the Backstroke, then it's difficult, if not impossible, to make the correct Hip Turn Back to the Ball for 3 reasons. (1) You will move OFF the Ball or lose Posture, (2) your Slide will be toward the Target Line, not Parallel, (3) You won't clear the Hips in either direction.

10-14-A STANDARD






10-14-B SLIDE

With this procedure, you have much less Turn in either direction.

Very informative, Daryl, and helpful!
 

I have to print this and work on the range! Thanks!

HK was a genius! So simple and logical! Thanks!

Do good golfers feel the tilted 40 degree angle going back and at impact. I'm sure they feel the slide.

Because of the Stationary Head, the "Turn" "Feel" is much more than "Feel" of "Tilt".

Daryl, I think I just put it together with the Alignment DVD drill of "shooting the plane line." Your last post was too subtle for me. I'm sorry, could you unpack it?

I know the RFT sets the pivot and that is a subtle move in comparison to my lumbering sways and thrusts. I know the RFT takes the hip back and shoulder correctly.

Are you saying that if I keep my head still, as Yoda stresses, and Armour and Hogan...I will feel more like I'm turning than tilting?

Speaking of feelings, the forward lateral hip bump will feel small and the shoulder thrust or underhand toss should feel huge, right?

Thanks again. I realized yesterday, that I had really ignored my pivot!

I meant that I (me personally) feel more Turn than Tilt. I'm Tilting, but I feel the Turn more than I sense the Tilt. I know my Hips are Tilting because my knees are Bending.

Keep your Head Still.

Lastly, if your Left Hip, stays on the Red Line During the Backstroke, you WILL feel the Stretch that Hogan Talks about.

Put a little more weight on your Left Foot at Address. Then as you pivot, your right Hip will be withdrawn as your Left Hip moves down the red line as your weight shifts.

Then, during the downswing, since most of your weight is on your right foot, your left hip will travel back down the red line as your right hip comes back to the red line. As your right hip continues down the red line, your left hip will withdraw to the rear. see illustrations. Your weight remains on the rght side during the sit-down and only begins moving left as your left hip withdraws.

Impact should occur about the same moment that the weight shifts to your left foot. Which is at the end of the left hip turn.

So....you don't shift the weight to the left, and then hit the ball. Impact should occur as the weight hits the left foot.

Hows that for unpacking it?

Daryl, you are the best.
If I had any type of organisational ability I would be printing them and putting them in a binder for future reference. I'll count on City for that, though.
Great posts, D. Thanks mucho.
g

D, I'm impressed.

Patrick

Lesson 8 - RFT to Endless Belt
 

:angel1: Hi Daryl, Jerry, Kevin, OB, and Bucket and readers across the world and to all our brave soldiers everywhere!

As we all know, terrorists don't always wear tablecloths. We all fight monsters everyday. We fight by protecting the innocent and by building better lives based on freedom and the enjoyment of simple pleasures, like G.O.L.F. :rambo:

(I have permission to introduce my new elementary school to the First Tee program and believe that golf does teach great lessons.) :golfer3:


You all have to know that for years, I have been regarded as the best 20 hcp. at my club. I have an artificial hip and metal rod and walk with a pronounced limp. Happily, there are lots of gimpy old fatmen at my club and everyone is very tolerant and (mostly) honest about their hcps. :toothy1:

Being pretty straight and hitting my drives 200 yards was not enough for me, however. :snooty:

Over several months, John, my GSEB, has been showing me that I had wrongly trained my hands and arms to assume various positions trying to imitate "conventional golf wisdom." None of those positions made any sense or had any real logical relationships to each other. So, I had no power and no precision in my game.

I have had lots of help from people in this website, esp. with RFT and the use of hips in the pivot. In each of my lessons, though, John had to break me of part of my 10 years of bad habits and bad videos and silly instructors. He had to isolate a bad habit and help me begin to correctly put power and precision in my game. :nono:

Yoda's "Alignment Golf" is particularly excellent at connecting TGM dots on what to do positively. But, only a TGM instructor working with a serious student can really teach G.O.L.F. and expose and undo bad habits. :clap:

Today, John showed me how I was still pushing my left hand to an off-plane position and missing the plane in the downswing. without the plane, there was no power. John had me work without the club. :salut:

I interlaced my fingers and pulled my left arm up-plane. Because I was not clearing my hip, John showed me to blend a back shoulder turn with the left arm pull. However, I was doing the RFT incorrectly. John had me do the Atlanta Braves tomahawk chop with my right arm. (It was hard for a Phillies fan.) I had to feel the correct elbow bend! :(

Then John showed me how the elbow bend goes to the top of the back shoulder. To me, this felt like chopping with my right hand at 45 degree angle. I was still bending my left wrist and using my hands to manufacture my sense of the plane which was not the plane. :naughty:

Eventually, the elbow exercise took hold and John reminded me of tracing the baseline of the plane keeping the right elbow more in front and using the blade to stay straight back :thumright from the ball longer in the take-away. :idea1:

And there it was! The RFT in all it's simplicity and precision. :dance:

I clicked 5 straight PW's straight and about 110 yards. "Better, but why not use your hips?"

Back elbow to endless belt, pp #2 and # 3 to endless belt, pressure points to front foot, turn the belly button and turn the sternum all worked! :dance: :dance:

The pw's clicked and went 130 yards. "It is not down, but down-range!" Linear Force! Click, click, click :pray:

The driver bounced once before climbing up the 250 yard net down range often. I had it teed low and the noise scared me. :dance:

More to come!

Patrick

Great stuff Patrick!

I like your feeling of using the tomahawk, don't worry about being associated with the Atlanta Braves, helluva football team! :-)

Kevin

Please Explain?

Hi Daryl,

I'm envisioning Mr. Orr's great video the walrus and the indian. I would love to hear more as well. It sounds to me as though we need someone with Patrick's teachers passion and knowledge to join us here. He would be a great addition!

Kevin

Yup RFT , "Fanning and Bending", "Walrus and Indian", its in Alignment Golf 1 as "the Indian chiefs HOW" or something similar. "Right Forearm PIckup".

Its the Hands that travel the Plane, which given different amounts of Shoulder turn from Basic Motion to Total Motion requires different Right Forearm motions. See the Major and Minor Basic Strokes 10-3. It sounds complicated but it isnt...........our Hand/eye ability is profound, we do similar things all the time , every day. We Hands to Pivot our way around in this world of ours, without thinking about it.

Go to Top (not End) , return your Shoulders to their Address position without allowing the Hands to drop................look at where the Hands are in relation to where they were at Address. You have isolated the Hand's travel. It isnt as big as you might think. Its a little Right Forearm Fanning and a little Bending Up, in some combination or other. It could be Fanning and then Bending or it could be both at the same time.........up to you and your Plane Angle , Plane Shifting "needs".

Putting on the other hand, with little or no Shoulder Turn would have a much simpler Right Arm motion. Pure Fanning. Either way the Hands travel an Inclined Plane. The Right Arm is attached to the Right Shoulder, any movement of the Right Shoulder affects the Right Arm.

Its this maintenance of the Hands to the desired Plane Angle via a RFT and Tracing that separates a pure Shoulder Turn Takeaway (where the Hands follow along to where the Pivot directs them, always under plane), "Pivot to Hands" from "Hands to Pivot".

You can start your Shoulders turning and RFT at the same time in Startup, if you wish ( I dont personally) and still be Hands to Pivot! If you're on plane , you're good! Its not "Hands then Pivot" its "Hands controlled Pivot" or "Hands to Pivot".

Me personally I feel like my Right Hip turns back then I RFT with my Right Elbow bending right off the get go, Fanning, Tracing etc. Not so much a feel of my Shoulders turning ......that gets me into my old , rock the two straight arms takeaway.......a geometric disaster, Angled Hinging, outside the plane, #2 Angle blocker, no Magic. NO RIGHT ARM BENDING! Now, I feel like my Right Arm pulls my string like Left Arm which tugs my left shoulder around........maybe its just a feel. I dunno. I really suffered with that Push the Triangle away with two stiff arms thing.

Bending the Right Elbow was the second thing Yoda taught me, right after we got the Right Forearm on plane at Address. It was about lunch time on our first day and he said "You know , we could stop right now and you'd probably achieve your goals in golf with just these things". Brain Gay says much the same thing in his Premium Video on this site. Its a must see actually for anyone interested in TGM. Brilliant and affordable. An hour or so filled with insights of all kinds.

Thanks Guys!
 

You know the drill where you grab your front wrist and pull your front arm up? We did interlaced fingers and it was very instructive. It blends shoulder move into RFT for me. Less confusing.

Pat

Hi everyone! School has been crazy here, with a feckless admin. hiding in their offices while the teachers maintain control of the classrooms. Anyway, I am so pleased with the excellent spirit and detailed knowledge you all share so generously! Awesome!

The right hand pickup to the shoulder is truly effective and easy. It's practice brings to mind several other questions I hope will help me and many others.

1) RFT can be done from standard address or impact fix.
2) What factors determine your address position in your total motion as a golfer in our system?
3) I have looked at so many Yoda videos that I do impact fix in my sleep and have to fight not to do it.I am firing down on pp#1 with my right arm after I plant the left foot or brace it trying to keep my plane intact at all costs. (My home course is a par 71 and my hcp index is now 18.1 I started at 21 this year.) Impact fix helps me visualize Kevin's inclined table. But OB, Jerry and Daryl were nice enough to point out important hinge issues, arm issues, un-cocking issues and crossline considerations. All these concerns have me imagining a beautiful mahogony table even harder! LMAO : ) I don't want to get lost and go back to the 21 hcp index! BUT MAYBE I CAN TWEAK SOMETHING TO DROP ANOTHER 6 STROKES OFF MY INDEX IN TWO WEEKS. Maybe if I become a better "impact fixer" or switch to standard address, I can see the heavens open and Jesus (not one of my kids in first period) putting a towel on my head as he smiles!

Pat

City,
I hope to find some time today to put a towel on my head and RFT with pp1-3 to China!
Kev pointed out something to me today he found in Yoda's sequence where the trademark of his glove is just before, into and after impact. Just a little more gold.
I am actually playing 18 holes with the team today so I will have to exhibit what I preach. That ain't gonna be easy.

I finally did it or "How impact fix led me back to the Promised Land!"
 

I FINALLY DID IT! :crybaby:

I have overloaded my pea-size brain with so many TGM concepts and lessons that I got lost, yesterday, with a club in my hand. :confused1

My opening nine holes was so bad, yesterday, my reg. foursome started asking me if my artificial hip was giving me any pain. On a tract that has yielded as low as a 43 for me weeks ago, I shot a 54.:BangHead:

My hip didn't hurt, my brain did! I necked a few drives which I never do, yanked a few irons out which I never do and was finally forced to punching everything with an angled hinge to stay near the fairway and somewhere near the greens. :( &D: &B:



:dance: AND I NOTICED SOMETHING ON MY LAST PUNCH SHOT AFTER 52 STROKES, UGH! I REMEMBERED THAT I HAVE BEEN HITTING FROM IMPACT FIX SINCE MARCH OF THIS YEAR and I simply forgot to park my wedges at my left foot! 5,6,4,6,4,5,4,5,5 = 43 on a par 36. :iamwithst :oops: :doh: :doh: :doh:


I felt so lost that I'm feeling closer to my friends here on the forum that are BlackHawks or Maple Leafs fans. :laughing9

What I can't understand is how such fine people, and much stronger golfers than I am, can be so deluded in their choice of hockey teams. :)

City, If you go for the jugular over hockey teams, I'm staying out of political discussions.

Before diving in to this, let me apologize for using a really strong word carelessly, in describing some people's support of their hockey teams. I poorly chose to use the word "stupid" saying more about my temperment and lack of sleep then I should have. It was wrong and I apologize to the very nice people who have been so generous with their time in snswering all my "stupid" questions. :crybaby:


I remember listening to the radio with my dad when the Hawks won in 1961. I was almost 4 and I remember being so happy. After the
'69 Cubs and countless Hawks teams, I learned to appreciate my adopted home of Philadelphia excepting the Bears and Bulls who both won championships on days of the birth of my children. :)


I communicate with little people all day and I'm pretty effective. What is amazing to me is how effectively you all communicate to me using the almost exactly the same language as John Savage my GSEB who has mentioned how Ben Doyle has influenced him so greatly.

My GSEB has worked hard to get me to turn back with the RFT and/or the slight move of the sternum or tracing the baseline of the plane to keep the primary lever more in front of my body. A pure shoulder turn makes me get lost coming back down and invites many silly compensations sapping energy and distance.


If I don't start from impact fix with shoulders leading RFT, I'll shoot a 98 as I proved on Saturday. :naughty:


I was so distraught after shooting a 98 on Sat. and watching the Hawks inexplicably doing something right in the series that I decided to use my hips as my GSEB has instructed and forget my fear of losing balance :confused1

Swinging with horiz. hinge drives and angle hinge approaches, I took lots of money from my peeps at the course and herd "20 hcp. my ass" all day. I got so greedy with a little success that I started hunting pins. Vertical hinges cost me 4 strokes and really aggressive draws cost me 3 more. Greedy putts, longer than Lake Shore Drive, cost me the other 7 for 14 over. :sad2:

PAR IS OUR FRIEND! :golfcart: :golf: :salut:

If the Wild, North Stars, Hawks and Leafs had coaches as effective as Kevin, Jerry, Daryl and OB, they'd be playing hockey right now and not hunting for a certified GSEB, GSEM, or GSED as they should be doing :)

Moi