Thanks Jerry. Hope the pros dont roll their eyes too much when D and I post. Honestly there's the guys out on the hill and then there's the guys who dont teach.......Teaching golf is not easy. Ive been playing for 40 years and I still dont know what its all about. Thats why I love this game , this place. I dont expect to ever know this game.
What a weird sport........who invented this game anyways?
I'm thinking there are two spiritual sports; golf and baseball. I also think, don't know, that these two have the most literature written regarding them. Therefore I would deem these sports to be granted to us from our maker.
Thanks Jerry. Hope the pros dont roll their eyes too much when D and I post. Honestly there's the guys out on the hill and then there's the guys who dont teach.......Teaching golf is not easy. Ive been playing for 40 years and I still dont know what its all about. Thats why I love this game , this place. I dont expect to ever know this game.
What a weird sport........who invented this game anyways?
From the Merriam-Webster's online Dictionary
Main Entry: am·a·teur
Pronunciation: \ˈa-mə-(ˌ)tər, -ˌtu̇r, -ˌtyu̇r, -ˌchu̇r, -chər\
Function: noun
Etymology: French, from Latin amator lover, from amare to love
Date: 1784
1 : devotee, admirer
2 : one who engages in a pursuit, study, science, or sport as a pastime rather than as a profession
3 : one lacking in experience and competence in an art or science
— am·a·teur·ism \ˈa-mə-ˌtər-ˌi-zəm, -ˌt(y)u̇r-, -ˌchu̇r-, -ˌchər-; -ˌtə-ˌri-, -ˌchə-ˌri-\ noun
synonyms amateur, dilettante, dabbler, tyro mean a person who follows a pursuit without attaining proficiency or professional status. amateur often applies to one practicing an art without mastery of its essentials <a painting obviously done by an amateur>; in sports it may also suggest not so much lack of skill but avoidance of direct remuneration <remained an amateur despite lucrative offers>
The Sunday Times
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From The Times
November 5, 2009
X-ray machine voted most important invention in Science Museum poll
Hannah Devlin
Russell Reynolds had only one wish when in 1896 at the age of 15 he learnt of the discovery of X-rays: to possess his own X-ray machine.
The Westminster schoolboy enlisted the help of his father, John Reynolds, a GP, and set about building one. Within a year the machine was finished, and it is now displayed in the Science Museum in London.
Yesterday Reynolds’s pioneering spirit gained further recognition as the X-ray machine was voted the most important invention in the history of science. In a museum poll nearly 50,000 people voted on ten inventions and discoveries, which included penicillin, the Pilot ACE computer and Stephenson’s Rocket. The X-ray machine was a clear winner, with 9,581 votes.
Reynolds’s work reflected a broader contribution by late 19th-century amateurs that led to some significant scientific breakthroughs, according to Katie Maggs, associate curator of medicine at the Science Museum, who championed the inclusion of the X-ray machine on the shortlist. “It’s very inspirational to budding scientists to learn that an invention now declared the most important in world history could be pioneered by enthusiastic amateur inventors,” she said.
Announcing the result at the museum yesterday, Ben Bradshaw, the Culture Secretary, said that the vote reflected the public’s appreciation of advances in medical science. “The winner is also testament to our insatiable curiosity to find out how things work,” he said.
Penicillin came second in the poll, with 6,825 votes, followed by the DNA double helix, 100 votes behind.
X-rays were discovered by Wilhelm Röntgen, the German physicist, in November 1895. He won a Nobel prize for his work, but much of the early development of X-ray equipment was carried out by amateurs. In the months immediately after Röntgen announced his discovery, in January 1896, a number of amateur scientists, including the Reynolds, began to develop their own models.
Reynolds went on to become a pioneer of radiology, developing the first method of taking X-ray images of internal organs. Although some doctors were quick to take up the invention, it was not until the 1920s that the use of X-rays became widespread.
Tim Boon, chief curator of the Science Museum, said that the invention came when science and medicine were going from being “crafts” to disciplines in their own right. “The X-ray machine came at the culmination of a whole wave of medical inventions,” he said. It followed the development of stethoscopes and thermometers.
Andy Adam, a radiologist at King’s College London, agreed that the X-ray machine revolutionised the practice of medicine. “The sophistication of medical imaging today is such that we are rapidly approaching the era of the ‘transparent patient’,” he said.
The discovery of X-rays is seen as an example of how technologies with widespread applications can spring from the pursuit of basic science. Röntgen came across X-rays almost by chance while investigating what happened when electrons were passed through various types of vacuum tube. He covered the tubes with black cardboard to prevent light escaping but noticed a shimmering coming from a screen about a metre away. It was only after further tests that he realised he was looking at a new type of radiation that could travel through materials that appear opaque to visible light.
Each of the ten discoveries included on the poll shortlist is represented by an iconic scientific object on display at the Science Museum.
Uhhmmm the rocket, x-rays, and Penicillin all seem like pretty important contributions by amateurs to me. The Chinese used bow and arrows of differing types prior to their invention of gunpowder. Egyptians invented perfumes using citrus and cinnamon.
Because it is raining here, please enjoy this tidbit:
Cinnamon History
Cinnamon has been used for embalming and meat preservation
By Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, About.com Guide
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The pungent aroma of cinnamon is unmistakable, usually evoking dreams of hot cinnamon rolls from the oven. Cinnamon was once so highly-prized that wars were fought over it, it was used as currency, and it has aphrodisiacal powers.
Cinnamon History
Native to Ceylon (Sri Lanka), true cinnamon, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, dates back in Chinese writings to 2800 B.C., and is still known as kwai in the Chinese language today. Its botanical name derives from the Hebraic and Arabic term amomon, meaning fragrant spice plant. Ancient Egyptians used cinnamon in their embalming process. From their word for cannon, Italians called it canella, meaning "little tube," which aptly describes cinnamon sticks.
In the first century A.D., Pliny the Elder wrote of 350 grams of cinnamon as being equal in value to over five kilograms of silver, about fifteen times the value of silver per weight.
Medieval physicians used cinnamon in medicines to treat coughing, hoarseness and sore throats. As a sign of remorse, Roman Emperor Nero ordered a year's supply of cinnamon be burnt after he murdered his wife.
The spice was also valued for its preservative qualities for meat due to the phenols which inhibit the the bacteria responsible for spoilage, with the added bonus being the strong cinnamon aroma masked the stench of aged meats.
In the 17th century, the Dutch seized the world's largest cinnamon supplier, the island of Ceylon, from the Portuguese, demanding outrageous quotas from the poor laboring Chalia caste. When the Dutch learned of a source of cinnamon along the coast of India, they bribed and threatened the local king to destroy it all, thus preserving their monopoly on the prized spice.
In 1795, England seized Ceylon from the French, who had acquired it from their victory over Holland during the Revolutionary Wars. (In the Victorian language of flowers, cinnamon means "my fortune is yours.")
However, by 1833, the downfall of the cinnamon monopoly had begun when other countries found it could be easily grown in such areas as Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Mauritius, Réunion and Guyana. Cinnamon is now also grown in South America, the West Indies, and other tropical climates.
I have to go practice my RFT/EA/Nose down Pivot, now.
Patrick
__________________
HP, grant me the serenity to accept what I cannot change, the courage to change what I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Progress and not perfection is the goal every day!
Last edited by innercityteacher : 08-22-2010 at 03:43 PM.
Pliny the Elder ? Beer or Roman Statesman and model for Ben Franklin's life?
Originally Posted by O.B.Left
We're such idiots eh? Teach waxes poetic and we applaud the Maxwell Smart gag!
"Sorry Chief"
P.S.
What ever happened to Pliny the Elder anyways?
OB, Daryl has finally lost it under the strain of revealing that he and I are related. Perhaps the guilt he feels for his time at the state correctional institute in Illinois, or for his time at Joliet, or for leaving us his 12 cats, and failing to visit Mom more often, has overtaken his sensitive nature. Perhaps, someone criticized his avatar too strongly.
Still, I honor my step-brother and his fantastic family and wonderful golf writings.
He is a swell guy!
I have been reading all I can about the Pivot and have realized that the McDonald Drills are very useful. In working with them, I have discovered some things and remembered some of the good instruction I received from Kevin and Gerry in MN.
The Pivot is all about balance and motion. My best balance is achieved with my right knee bent at address to eliminate the shortness of my front leg and it's uneven influence. When I set-up with a bent right knee and maintain it (as I trace TSP with left hand above plane (it feels so good as a correction to my years of dragging my hands sharply inside)), it straightens slightly but keeps it's flex quite easily. As soon as I march away with my front foot, the pivot is much more powerful and smooth.
The Pivot is so easy, in fact, that I can feel PP# 3 and the lag of the club moving at a constant rate, as I move all my weight to my left or front side. Feeling the lag helped me realize that the right elbow extension or forearm thrust as concentrated in PP # 3 or # 1, can easily direct the Pivot when my body is balanced at set-up. It is a "Hand-Controlled Pivot."
Balanced on a bent right knee feels very natural since my longer leg is what I stand on a lot. From the right knee, my tracing or marching is very slow, however, the minute I bump my right knee or hip laterally, or march with my front foot, my Pivot really torques and spins. I actually can feel the the "wheel rim" being traced by the right hand and the force the right hand can have in "skipping" the stone of the club face through the ball.
I had my most effective sand day, yesterday, by simply spinning around my back shoulder flywheel and letting the open clubface splash the sand.
I have to discipline myself to really extend my trace toward the line as far away from my body as possible while staying true to the BLP and staying in balance!
My scores will tell me how much of these mechanics are accurate!
Are you playing much? How are you doing?
P.S. Special Shout out to EDZ and his fine drills which I think are of great benefit!
Patrick
__________________
HP, grant me the serenity to accept what I cannot change, the courage to change what I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Progress and not perfection is the goal every day!
Last edited by innercityteacher : 08-25-2010 at 12:04 AM.
Another day of firsts with TGM!
41-39!!!!
First 39 ever!
First 4 birdie day, ever!
First birdie from a sand trap!
First time ever I have shot under my hcp. index 7 out of 8 times since it has been posted.
First time I have ever had 10 GIR's.
Most importantly, first time since college varsity tennis that I felt in control during an athletic competition through understanding my "stroke," and understood my ability to compete is based on will and focus not technique, or instruments quality.
I had 10 GIR's and 6 potential birdie putts I missed. 4 putts within 4 feet. I got greedy and turned three GIR's into bogeys! I left 5 chips stupidly short (not within 10 feet).
Ok, spilt milk save the lessons of taking one extra club and shoot to the middle of the green and don't leave chips short!
TGM informed improvments which yielded a ridiculous level of improvement since an "84," "83" "82," and the first "80."
(You might want to say and "80" is an "80," but I have never had 10 GIR's. 4 other balls were on the edge of the greens with short or middle pins.)
Balance! My back leg is 1.75" longer than my front or left leg as regular readers know. Many of you have suggested the "Wild Bill Drills, esp. the marching drill. I have been doing the drill, daily, since coming back from my MN posse. Last night, I realized that my physical imbalance is, well, unusual.
When I bend my right knee and sit on it, I am in perfect balance! Any move I make after tracing the BLP while on my right knee, sends my Pivot around very smoothly and strongly. ANY MOVE INCLUDES SIMPLY STRAIGHTENING MY RIGHT LEG WHEN ALL MY WEIGHT IS ON IT!
My longer right leg has a foot size that is almost one full size laarger than my left. Since a hip injury when I was 15, 37 years ago, and 11 operations ago, my right leg is accustomed to bearing my body weight every day. Doing the marching drill revealed, once I bothered to look and think, that straightening my right leg shifts my hips left and pivots me around.
My left leg weight and the artificial hip and metal rod running through my left leg (which gives the TSA something to do when I fly) simply act as an anchor and drag me sideways as I straighten my right knee! It's why I wear out the inside left edge of all my left shoes! I stride with my right leg and pivot over to my left inside foot, and drag it as I begin to step!
So on the range, today, I tried it out. Flared front and rear foot to promote PIVOT, slightly open stance, TSP with left hand tracing the BLP to shoulder height or lower. Frozen, Impact fix, mid-body hands verified by rehearsal of Both Arms Straight. Downswing waggle to guarantee the Power Package is solid well past impact with plenty of right arm. (The older men with me today, told me they could see exactly where I would hit my shots by my waggle or practice stroke, except for the fade at the end. So can I, Angle Hinge!!!! )
As I trace, my back shoulder comes back to the plane. As I straighten my right knee, my right shoulder slides down the plane. As my weight flows to my left foot, I drive my Primary Lever via PP # 1 or # 3.
I was in shock most of the day. Straight drives, and straight irons on the green or online close to the green with pro-trajectory. I forgot that I hit a straight ball several times.
I was so pumped after the first two holes, when I realized that the TGM techniques were as effective as advertised and could travel from driving range to the course, that I started forcing distances. Normally, 145 yards with 5 yards of roll is a good 8 iron for me. But I threw one up a 2 club elevation hill and was a club short. The ground has been so hard, and I have so little experience hitting the softer greens, that I have been shooting at the collars of greens expecting a bounce and run-up. But my irons are a longer by a club so I hit the edges of greens leaving really long birdie chances which I sometimes get really stupid with and try to make instead of lag.
"Shout-outs" to everyone including the people at Barclay's in NJ. Kevin and Gerry in MN (fun playing with Dodger and Bartly), OB and Daryl's very patient instruction and teasing about my "really" Bent Right Wrist, and EDZ's great exercises which I found searching "downswing," and Yoda's site, films, and his excellent site administrators have me seeing and believing par is my friend and my future.
Thanks!
Patrick
__________________
HP, grant me the serenity to accept what I cannot change, the courage to change what I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Progress and not perfection is the goal every day!
Last edited by innercityteacher : 08-25-2010 at 11:25 PM.
Hey Teach, that sounds great. By the way, a 145 8 iron is a great distance.
It's a good distance for old people from the Midwest maybe! Maybe, in the middle of winter, when the Hawks are on TV!
Maybe it's a good distance for people with normal, not bionic hips!
Honestly, with a new Titleist NXT, that shots up the hill and pin-high, a 155 yard carry. That ball rocks! I was using one I opened about two weeks ago, sitting in the trunk.
When are you playing next, Daryl? What's your course like?
Pat
__________________
HP, grant me the serenity to accept what I cannot change, the courage to change what I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Progress and not perfection is the goal every day!
I left 5 chips stupidly short (not within 10 feet).
) 
Maybe, in the middle of winter, when the Hawks are on TV! 
Linear Mode
