Golf is difficult to learn later in life. You can not make something complex simple. TGM is a solid foundation of truth. Bobby Clampett said he wished he hadn't listened to other voices. Stick with TGM. It not the study of it that is difficult. It is the implementation. All of the various combinations and choices make it an entertainment for a lifetime. Instructors reduce the frustration and I am always stunned at my false ideas of what I need to correct. Cameras help but an instructor with a complete knowledge of the swing helps you get thru the complexity.
Golf is difficult to learn later in life. You can not make something complex simple. TGM is a solid foundation of truth. Bobby Clampett said he wished he hadn't listened to other voices. Stick with TGM. It not the study of it that is difficult. It is the implementation. All of the various combinations and choices make it an entertainment for a lifetime. Instructors reduce the frustration and I am always stunned at my false ideas of what I need to correct. Cameras help but an instructor with a complete knowledge of the swing helps you get thru the complexity.
Oh boy, here we go. When is it time to lay down and pull that divot over yourself? Don’t get me wrong, because I agree more than I disagree. But, I WILL NOT GO GENTLY INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT. As an aside, what is later in life? 25? 35? Or real old like 40?-Please mail me your car keys!
Golf is a FEEL. How U get it is the mystery. Exactly what is the feel of a “satisfactory” golf stroke? When is the appropriate time to seek the assistance of an instructor? How can I take away some "benchmarks" that will keep me from running myself into the ditch? I often wonder if many of those on the tour were not just lucky when they built a foundation and learned to play. I am reminded of the Charles Barkley's of this game.
Well, I received the "Alignment Golf" DVDs yesterday and watched all of them last night. I identified some areas (extensor action and pivot) that I believed I needed to work on. Unfortunately, even after spending 7 hours today hitting golf balls, I was unable to make any progress (which I assume is due to incorrect execution).
I feel quite lost and confused at the moment. I was hoping that "Alignment Golf" was going to be the key to understanding how to build my swing pattern. However, I don't understand how to progress from basic motion, to acquired motion, to total motion. In addition, I don't understand how to identify what mechanics I am performing incorrectly. I know that mechanics are meant to produce feel and feel is meant to reproduce mechanics, but if I don't know how to perform the mechanics in the first place then it means very little.
Ultimately, it has been a frustrating 24 hours and I am sick of seeing out-to-in left pointing divots. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.
BC and David you both remind me of me, in a good way.
It took me about 3000 balls and 7 rounds of golf to understand Extensor Action or about three weeks of using it everywhere. Now, I can regularly hit chips and shots and putts at the pin. In the last three rounds, I have chipped in 6 times and had lots of "up and downs" for pars. I bet I could punch shot my way around any course with a 7 iron and a putter and shoot 80 something on most courses.
My point? The mechanics taught me the correct feel which I use all the time. It has been since March of this year that I started using the RFFW but only in the last 5 days have I locked it out and been able to hit a full swing down the middle on purpose with every club in my bag.
Learn this and have fun with it. I joke with these guys about shooting par from a 21 hcp. in one season. The damn thing is, if my body (artificial hip and short front leg, 11 hip operations) can withstand all theses changes, I'll be playing you straight up in October of this year, esp. if you don't work with this stuff. As it is, if you give me 15 strokes, my hcp. index, you'll pay for everything, all the time.
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 : 07-29-2010 at 11:07 PM.
No, without the proper mechanics, a feel is just confusion.
Originally Posted by HungryBear
Oh boy, here we go. When is it time to lay down and pull that divot over yourself? Don’t get me wrong, because I agree more than I disagree. But, I WILL NOT GO GENTLY INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT. As an aside, what is later in life? 25? 35? Or real old like 40?-Please mail me your car keys!
Golf is a FEEL. How U get it is the mystery. Exactly what is the feel of a “satisfactory” golf stroke? When is the appropriate time to seek the assistance of an instructor? How can I take away some "benchmarks" that will keep me from running myself into the ditch? I often wonder if many of those on the tour were not just lucky when they built a foundation and learned to play. I am reminded of the Charles Barkley's of this game.
Bear, your use of reductio is a concern.
Without taking risks to understand mysteries, nothing improves. A "satisfactory" golf stroke has power and precision and is repeatable under the demands of competition or personal use. An instructor is useful whenever a person wants help in learning anything anytime they feel they need help and can reasonably get that help. "Benchmarks" are provided like crazy in TGM. For example, "The Magic of the Right Forearm," offers at least five benchmarks including a way to "start-up," that is "on plane," "repeatable" "can be used by hitters or swingers," and "can be used with Basic Motion, Acquired, and Total Motion," to help any golfer achieve power and precision in their game.
(I'm sure there are 10 other insights I just haven't gotten to, yet.)
I think luck is part of a lot success as is hard work. Is hand-eye coordination talent or luck? Was Moe Norman's Autism talent or luck?
Lots of tour pros in past times had parts of the insights found in TGM. (TGM is not filled with original insights as as much as it is a catalogue of logically connected, effective insights, imho.) They combined them with hard work and made a living on tour for a time. But if any of those pros had a TGM book as we do, and experienced teachers who could communicate those insights, they would've taken full advantage. Look at how hard Hogan and Norman practiced. Which part of their lives were just plain luck without any hard work?
I have met Charles Barkley. He has been kind and generous with his time in supporting many different charities. He worked very hard to be a basketball and TV star. If he ever allowed a TGM-based instructor to work with him and his golf swing, he'd enjoy his game much more.
I hope you are enjoying your golf game these days.
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!
Bear, your use of reductio is a concern.
........................................
I hope you are enjoying your golf game these days.
Patrick
Ain’t that cool?
My interrogatory was not without prologue.
Golf, specially G.O.L.F. is not in want of ILLUSIONS-without regard of source.
As our neighbor Robert Frost said in “Dust of snow” or was it “fire and ice”,
Have A Good Day
My experience has been that TGm s a slow process, especially educating the hands. I have been a classic throw awayer and focused on my first area of wobble, which was the basic motion. I thought surely i could do the basic motion without throw away but could not. Simply was not doing what I thought or felt. However, after a LOT of closed eyes swings and look, look, look i got it.
Eventually, when you can feel what the hands are doing, big break throughs occur, and a lot of joy. So, IMO sticking with the step by step curriculum is the best method, and identifying the first area of wobble and working like heck on it before moving on.
Doing it based on feel rather than mechanics will waist a lot of time.
Linear Mode
