Seriously guys .. Do you know why TGM is written?

[birdie_man]

I WANT TO CONQUER THE WORLD!!!!!!

(pinky and the brain, pinky and the brain....)

[nuke99]

sorry man i realised i am steering it off the points i decided to edit

[Mathew]

You were a big time "book" guy for a while right?

What happened in your experience to change from "nose in book" to "head in game?"

I absolutely LOVE the Machine and I think it has helped me tremendously . . . however I think there is a REASON that some people get it without the book . . . I think that REASON (or whatever it is . . . instincts) is innate in all of us. Some people just LEARN golf more effectively or quicker or something.

There are WAY WAY more people that don't have clue about this stuff that can flat play golf than those that know the book and can actually DO IT.

There are many that succeed in the game INSPITE OF INFERIOR INSTRUCTION than what we have with TGM.

The riddle is WHY IS THAT? What is going on in those peoples' LEARNING process? How do we better access our innate ability to LEARN precise movements required to effectively control the distance and direction of a golf ball?

Ahhhh, the difference between knowing and doing.

Ideally you must develop a near daily program that enables to train to the best of your ability. One thing I don't think people do in golf enough is equate the game to a sport. Its a sport that includes fitness and flexability, rigourous training routines tailored around the specific individual.

It doesn't matter what you know - its how you apply it!

Good golfers generally just experiment and pick up things they know help usually under the guidance of the teacher but they are out there actually practicing and eventually they will get a very good level of play. No one ever got better just by reading a book - even if it is as great as The Golfing machine®.

[nuke99]

Ahhhh, the difference between knowing and doing.

Ideally you must develop a near daily program that enables to train to the best of your ability. One thing I don't think people do in golf enough is equate the game to a sport. Its a sport that includes fitness and flexability, rigourous training routines tailored around the specific individual.

It doesn't matter what you know - its how you apply it!

Good golfers generally just experiment and pick up things they know help usually under the guidance of the teacher but they are out there actually practicing and eventually they will get a very good level of play. No one ever got better just by reading a book - even if it is as great as The Golfing machine®.

These are excellent good points.

So, is it safe to think that, Any good golfer MUST have the ability to apply Good Common sense and the positive attitude what works and what don't work for them to get in the Hole . Regardless the route and journey to learn to play golf?

[Mathew]

These are excellent good points.

So, is it safe to think that, Any good golfer MUST have the ability to apply Good Common sense and the positive attitude what works and what don't work for them to get in the Hole . Regardless the route and journey to learn to play golf?

Heres a quote from Jack Nicklaus - Playing Lessons

Build a storehouse of key swing thoughts

Every tour player has a stock of key swing thoughts that he'll draw on as nessesary to keep his game in synch. Generally one will emerge from his mental storehouse during pre-round practice, and he'll stick with it at least for that particular day. Try to build up your own stock of key thoughts and feels, drawing them from your best shot-making periods. Write them down if that's the only way you can remember them. But be disciplined about how many of them you can use on the course. Most people can only concentrate well on one thought at a time.

Also people can't do the same things. If you are fat and out of shape, you might not be able to maintain a stationary head for example, however it is far preferable to physically improve rather than swaying off to the right and saying thats 'your style'. Whatever improves your ability to be consistant. Most people are just too physically out of shape to have a golf stroke that is going to be consistant on the level of the PGA tour guys.

[12 piece bucket]

Yes, thankfully, I learned a lot of good stuff from others who know the book. But I didn't (and couldn't) get it on my own out of the book. For those that can, God bless 'em. This was my original point in post #4 -- the book is gold in the hands of golf instructors who need to know how all those 24 components fit together in the swing. But your average golfer -- which is about 98% of all golfers -- doesn't need to know all of the stuff in the book. They just need to know what works best for them.

So, that's how I'm approaching it now -- go to the guru if I want some help, but I'm just not reading the book anymore. Leaves me more time to watch my Ron White vids!

Drunk in PUB-LICK . . . Have you SEEN that dude's hair lately? YIKES!!! It just about ruint it for me!!!

[mrodock]

Bucket,

When I was reading your posts I was thinking about the idea that Brian had brought up before, that good players learn lag by hitting hooks. Some people, for whatever reason, have the proper instincts when it comes to self-correcting on the range. One guy starts to hook it, he creates a little more lag, meanwhile I'm hitting some hooks and start steering it. The thing is, with good information and consistent practice and good preparation as Mathew alluded to, you can increase your odds of becoming a player.

Some people don't have all the wrong instincts with a golf club contrate to what Hogan stated in Five Fundamentals. Some swing it fairly close to correctly naturally and are blessed with the talent or maybe even luck to make some good corrections to improve ball flight.

Matt

[bts]

Making a golf swing is simple and easy.

Making a golf swing precisely is simple, but not easy.

Making a golf swing to hit a ball is not simple, nor easy.

Making a golf swing to hit a ball precisely, you know what it is!

Swing, don't hit!

[rwh]

There certainly are different ways to LEARN it . . . however . . . there has to be an OPTIMUM/more efficient way . . .

The optimum, most efficient way for one student to learn is a waste of time for another. As an example, instructor Chuck Cook has said that he had to invent drills that would keep Payne Stewart engaged because Payne was ADD. Making 100 putts in a row from 3 feet probably wouldn't be a good drill for Payne. Apparently, Tiger loves it. Neither way is right or wrong -- depends on the student.

I would say that the best instructors are those that not only can figure out what swing pattern and techniques best fit an individual student, but also have the ability to teach it in a way that is meaningful for the student.

[birdie_man]

That's one thing I have never done well....ORGANIZED practice...

I get into random experimentation....

I mean, I practice as much as anyone prolly.....my backyard's about 70 yards long......(with power lines and then bush behind it....I pick a tree, hit balls at it then try to find em)...

Everytime I walk into my garage I end up pickig up my wedge...then end up going into the backyard....usually for about an hour sometimes more.

Not very organized tho....more manic really.....but it's pretty narrowed down now and I have learned a lot. (and dabbled in everything)