Scott had a mentor in Indianapolis that he wasn’t that impressed with because he didn’t say a lot, but his students got better and he helped them quickly. Later Scott could see the mastery of that. Scott’s first big break came when Mike Adams called him to come work for him. Scott was working at the Outback Steakhouse in Ft. Meyers and packed his bags up and headed for Texas. Mike was his biggest influence learning about body types and helping people quick, doing it in a corporate setting. Later Scott worked at PGA National and then at the Nicklaus/Flick Schools back down under. “You pay a guy $1000 for two hours and he tells you two things that fixes you, that’s mastery, that’s what I want to know,” Scott stated. “I’ve paid a lot of money for a lot of information but that’s not going to help you.”

Billy Casper passed away on February 7^th and we reflected on his Hall of Fame career with 51 PGA Tour wins, 3 Majors, and the best ever Ryder Cup record for an American. Billy had no one that he worked with but knew why he missed shots and could correct it on the next shot. Billy used a lot of wrists in his putting and was one of the best ever. I commented that I have helped quite a few people by giving them permission to use their hands and wrists in their putting. According to my friends with 3D, they have yet to measure someone putting who didn’t have any wrist action.

“Going back, with people like you, some other leaders of the industry, 3D is going to show that a lot of things that we have been doing for the last 35 years is actually incorrect and here’s the proof. So people are just going to have to bite the bullet, put their ego at the door, and say ok I was wrong. Research shows that this is what actually happens, and from a technology aspect, that’s where we can use technology to find out what is actually happening. We have to find the information that works the quickest and the best for that person. Your best instructors are trying to learn, always. ” Scott said. Scott Munroe can be reached at his web site www.ScottMunroeGolf.com

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We had another caller ask about face-balanced putters vs toe hang and Mike said, “There is a natural straight back and straight through putting stroke because of the incline of the shaft at address which creates a slight arc. A perfect face rotation would be the putter open four degrees and close four degrees with a six inch follow through. We are not machines and the average college player has a total of 24-28 degrees of rotation where on Tour that is six to twelve degrees.” Face balanced putters will reduce rotation so if you are pulling putts this could help you to make more putts. However, if your putter doesn’t rotate enough, then you need a toe hang putter. Have to get a putter that matches your stroke. “Anytime manipulation is a part of the stroke, we are never going to putt as well as we should.”

Linear vs non-linear: “One of the first projects that I was involved with, when I really started to move in the direction of being a putting instructor, was that I worked with seven optometrists on the role that the eyes played in aiming a putter,” Mike said. This took a year and a half and they started with a ten foot straight putt because they assumed if they could get a player to aim well on a straight putt, then as they read the break of a putt, there would be no problem for them to aim at the point where they want the ball to start on a breaking putt. One of the first players they worked with was Mark O’Meara and he was one of the best aimers on a straight putt that they had ever seen. However, on a breaking putt, he read 6” of break and aimed 12” to the right on a right to left putt, and did the same thing on a left to right putt. Payne Stewart had exactly the same results as did Stuart Appleby. So the group turned their focus to breaking putts and concluded there were two kinds of players on the PGA Tour; Analytical or left brain players and more freedom players or right brain. Left brain saw straight lines and were linear, and right brain saw curved lines and were non-linear. So O’Meara, Stewart, and Appleby saw their aim point as the end of the putt or stopping 6” to the right of the hole. Non-linear players look at the hole and picture where the ball is going into the cup, say 4:00, with the feel in their body. If non-linear players have a line on their ball and or putter, it actually creates a conflict between that player’s sense of sight, touch, and feel. As a result they get caught up in this conflict and just don’t make as many putts as they should. For linear players it’s ok to have a line on their ball and putter because they see straight lines and there is no conflict. “65% of the population is non-linear with 50% of that group trying to putt in straight lines and struggling. Tour players are 85% non-linear and 70% of that group is trying to use the linear approach. Good putters know which one they are.” Mike Shannon can be reached at the Sea Pines Golf Learning Center at 912-638-5119.

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Butch would say to Claude III, “It’s only what you learn after you think you know everything that really matters.” Butch’s philosophy was that he tried to make things simple and not take too long to help people. Golf is a fairly simple game that confuses smart people. Sometimes instruction can be so technical, an overload of information, and at the end of the day we are trying to get people to hit a ball with a stick and have them enjoy it. It doesn’t have to be difficult. So Claude III learned how simple his dad tried to make things and “when you are working with the best players in the world, you can’t guess what you think might work for them. You have to be right because they are trying to make a living and if I’m wrong, you are going to affect their livelihood,” stated Claude III.

“Players have fingerprints, things that they do in their swings, regardless of how bad they are. They have things in their golf swings that are positive that can help them, and if you change a few things, they can learn to play better golf. Get to the cancer of the golf swing. I’m changing golf swings less these days,” said Claude III. Tiger has had all these coaches and the public thinks they have to over haul their golf swings. There is a time and talent level to be able to accomplish that. Most people don’t have the time so with them don’t try to change massive things. Block practice is very good when you are first learning a skill but golf is a game played in a random fashion. So once you start to execute better shots practice in a random fashion to help you prepare to play your best golf out on the golf course. Claude Harmon can be reached at the Floridian in Palm City, Florida at 772-678-4210

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There was another junior that lived about 25 miles from Shreveport named David Toms who was winning everything. Rob met David playing in tournaments where David would play in the city championship in Shreveport. In 1989 Rob moved to Memphis and began instruction in the Mid South. In his mid twenties he started working with David who was now a PGA Tour player and struggling. Rob had watched David play a lot of golf when he was young where everybody thought David was the “Golden Boy, the kid that is going to make it.” Golf had beat David down and he wasn’t quite as confident as he used to be because when he was a kid, “nobody could beat him.” “The confidence I had in David was probably the greatest gift I gave David,” Rob said.

The style of swing and substance of the swing  is what really matters. Ball curves about the club face, path, plane, swing radius, and lag. Changing your style doesn’t always lead you down the right path to change what the ball cares about. Most people have one stroke pattern that works for them. If you go into a bunker and manipulate keeping the club face open, and try to hit shots with the champagne glass on the club face past impact, how are you going to go to the first tee and swing differently where the club face is rotating to square the club face at impact and continuing to close after impact? Even top 20 players in the world think you cut across the ball on a bunker shot with the club face open. That’s not a reliable technique because it’s very hard to control distance even for them. If you make your normal stroke pattern that works for you in the bunker, where the arms and hands are rotating through impact, you don’t have to swing as hard to get the ball from A to B. Rob Akins can be reached at 901-359-4869 or www.akinsgolf.com

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I asked Anne how she got in to teaching and she said, “I had no trouble dragging training aids out to the practice tee. I was working on my swing plane and used to travel and check as luggage a big wedge pillow that was waterproof. I was in Columbus, Ohio practicing and up walks Annette Deluca. She says, hey, what are you doing with that thing?  You look like you’re swinging pretty well. Annette I tend to be a little under the plane so I bring the pillow out and it keeps me on track. She says man that’s what I’m working on. Can I borrow that thing?” After some begging Anne gave her a mini-lesson and told her to put it her locker after she was done. The next day on the range here comes Annette and Anne is thinking ut oh…Annette says hey I shot 66, can I borrow that pillow again? Annette wins the tournament so Anne felt a small sense of satisfaction that she helped someone win. After that tournament a few players started to come up to Anne and ask for help with their game. Anne realized she had an eye for things and enjoyed helping people.

Anne said the putting yips actually occur in other professions and sports. Surgeons, neural and dental doctors, people with fine motor skills under stress will run into the yips. We have even seen it with a catcher for the Yankees who couldn’t throw the ball back to the mound. Anne believes it starts with poor technique and she starting getting the yips with poor aim. They even have a name for it; neurological focal hand dystonia. I, Larry Rinker, got out of the yips the first time by changing my goal and how I evaluated things. Success for me was a smooth stroke and the ball rolled nicely. The second time I got out of the yips I putted looking at the hole like Jordan Speith does inside of four feet. Anne said, “Doing a new motor pattern, or changing your grip, creates a new neural pathway that isn’t fried like the yipping pathway.” Anne Cain can be reached at www.AnneCainGolf.com

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I asked Henry how the kids get started in their programs and it starts with age and their number one focus is that it has to be fun. Mistakes are going to happen, learn how to control the golf ball, emotions, and thought process, and of course learn how to play golf. Equipment has to be fitted, fitness and nutrition are components, and Henry’s team maps out a plan for each junior so that they can achieve their goals. The coaches also go to golf tournaments, walk the fairways, and make game plans for tournament play. Henry said there is a tremendous epidemic where people think if their kids are early specializers, only one sport early, they are going to be the best players at the pro level. Research says this is dangerous with burnout, psychological problems, and the chance of injury goes up as well. Athletes are learning skills best by running, jumping, throwing, balance coordination, and striking things naturally and normally in a lot of different sports in the sampling years 5-12 years of age with 5-7 sports. At 12-13 years of age, this will get narrowed down to two sports, and around the age of 16 that will get narrowed to one sport that they specialize in and the coaching aligns with that. This is the normal pathway to elite athletes. Obviously there are outliers to this but let children love whatever sport they are going to love. Research shows that ice hockey, table tennis, badminton, and billiards are the best sports for golfers.

We talked about collegiate golf and the landscape is more complex with worldwide competition and kids and parents need to start planning around 8^th grade. Henry has a website, www.collegegolfplacement.com that helps families find the right situation that matches up with their goals and dreams. The Trackman Combine is now a more valuable recruiting tool and kind of an SAT test for collegiate golfers. Henry Brunton and Rick Jensen are on the TPI Advisory Board and they have a program www.CertifiedGolfCoach.com that is helping instructors take their game to the next level. To reach Henry you can email him at Henry@HenryBrunton.com.

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Mike Adams, the “Swing Dr,” has mentored a lot of professional golfers some of whom are Top 100 Teachers today. I asked Mike who some of his mentors were and he said his dad along with all the guys that he worked with on Tour. Mike started researching things and studied under Pete Egoscue among others and learned a lot about how the body works. Later along with E. A. Tischler they came out with BioSwing Dynamics and 71 out of the Top 100 Golf Teachers have gone through their certification program. “99% of what is taught is correct. Problem is what applies to whom.” BioSwing Dynamics measures and screen tests your hinge type, how the lower body is going to work, how you pivot, and there are lots of ways to go from there. Mike said he no longer has a favorite golf swing but wants to help golfers find the best functioning swing for them.  The biggest thing he sees on the Tour is guys who are trying to swing contrary to their body and two things can happen. One, they won’t hit the ball very well and two, they can injure themselves.

I asked Mike what else has he learned from the pros and he said, “No one way to swing the golf club and what is magic for one player could be tragic for another.” It’s all about understanding the player. He said a lot of guys will work between opposites or play well in the interim of going from one swing philosophy to another. As they get closer to the new philosophy they can sometimes go in the other direction or start to hinder performance. The middle ground is what actually worked for them. Stack and Tilt helped front post golfers but didn’t help other people. There is a huge range of motion and ranges of planes that work for each player. The elbow plane is easier to hit a draw from where a more vertical plane, the shoulder plane, it’s easier to fade the ball. The middle plane, the torso plane, it’s easier to hit both draws and fades. Mike said you are not going to hit it good everyday so “your putting, chipping, and pitching can never take a vacation.” Have to have a short game that can help you score. Mike Adams can be reached at 561-602-2476 or by email at laws2326@gmail.com

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In 1976 my dad took me down to Miami to have a golf lesson with the legend Bob Toski which would start a friendship and mentorship that is still going on today. Bob Toski called in and I asked him to share some thoughts about my father. “He and I had something in common that I didn’t realize. I love flowers, have a garden, and spend a lot of time maintaining it at my home. I didn’t know your father was in the flower business until I read his obituary. The result of why you are such a great family is the fact that you were raised so well from your mother and father; How to live life, how to enjoy life, how to be a good person, your dad taught you that through golf. Your dad loved golf, he loved to teach, he was very passionate for teaching, and he spent a lot of time coming down to see me to talk about the golf swing. Your dad had that energy and passion to teach the game and learn more about it.”

Toski told a couple of great stories. First when he was stationed in India, he won a tournament in Calcutta beating other service men, and thought hey, I must be pretty good. So when he got back to the States, he went out on the Tour and Demaret, Snead, Nelson, and Mangrum adopted him, and would come over and watch him hit balls. They all kind of agreed on what he should do. They said, if you’re good enough you’re big enough, you have a small light body, and know how to swing the club. So a 118 lb guy ends up being leading money winner in 1954. “I doubt that will ever happen again,” stated Toski. Demaret told Toski, “The perfect golf swing is one that you can perfect, consistently repeat, hit golf shots, and make a number. All golf swings are not the same. The player that understand his own mind, his own body, and his own swing, is a player that is going to be successful.”

Toski’s second story was that he used to spend a lot of time watching Hogan practice. “I decided that my swing was in and up like Nicklaus. I’m going to flatten my swing out, lay the club off, and I’m going to re-route it and move fast into the ball. I was hitting golf balls and Same Snead was watching me practice out of the corner of his eye. I’m practicing and my balls are going all over the place. Sam finally walks over to me and says, Mouse, what in the hell are you practicing? I said well, I’ve been watching Hogan swing and I’m trying to emulate some of his moves. Mouse let me give you some advice. You swing like Bob Toski, you don’t swing like Ben Hogan, and you don’t swing like Sam Snead. Now you get back over there and show me how you swing like Bob Toski, and if you don’t I’m going to come over there and chew your butt out! He scared the hell out of me and after 10 or 15 balls Sam said, that’s the swing that is going to make you great.” Bob Toski can be reached via Twitter @BobToski. Tom Patri can be reached at www.TomPatri.com.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Bill has mentored many teaching pros and I asked him who his mentors were. He said Craig Shankland, who he worked with for five years, Jim McLean who helped him to organize his thoughts, Dick Harmon, Ken Venturi, and George Fazio. “In the old days they used to call them nuggets,” Bill said. Bob Toski told him he used to play nine hole practice rounds with Jimmy Demaret and every time Jimmy would give Bob two nuggets. So, after 30 practice rounds Bob had 60 nuggets! Bill Davis is also known as a playing lesson coach and he said if you did nothing else other than change the clubs that people were using for different shots, he could help a 90 shooter shoot 85 by just changing the club selection for 18 holes. “There’s a lot to be learned especially for high school and college players by holding their hand and taking them out on the golf course. A lot of nuggets we can give them.”

I asked Bill, “Why don’t people improve?” Bill said they don’t stick to something long enough for it to make a change. A lot like a diet and exercise program. Some people don’t want to do that. The ones that do improve. It takes a long time for someone to learn a song on an instrument. Everything is about learning skills. Bill and I have both worked extensively with Bob Toski who he quoted, “Where is there more touch, in your shoulders or your hands?” People say they used their hands too much and Toski would say, “You didn’t use your hands correctly.” The better player knows how to use his hands to create the desired shot.

Lastly we were remembering Payne Stewart, and Bill talked about our friend, Chuck Cook, who was Payne’s teacher. “Chuck had to be very creative when it came to Payne because of Payne’s short attention span, so he came up with the idea, every five balls he changed what he was doing.” Many people practice too much block practice, or the same thing over and over again. Block practice is great in the beginning, when you are learning a skill, but later you want to practice more randomly to continue your development.  I mentioned E. Harvey Ward, who Payne worked with before Chuck, and Harvey was a “picture” coach in that he would have you hit a particular shot shape instead of telling you what to do mechanically. Harvey would create a picture like a high draw and a good player’s brain and body can figure out how to do that which was perfect for Payne. Bill Davis can be reached at 561-346-6721 or billdavis1214@comcast.net

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Laird grew up on the Monterey Peninsula, worked at the Quail Lodge Resort and Golf Club, and there he became friends with Golf Machine Instructor, Ben Doyle. Ben taught him how to swing the club efficiently and helped him to understand the mechanics of the swing. Ben talked about “unemotional execution” of the shot where a tight tee shot becomes more challenging, and how to not interfere with yourself. Later Laird would work with Jim Flick who would have a different philosophy and talk about the swing from a feel stand point. This layering of information, along with others, formed a great foundation.

I asked Laird, “How do people get better?” and he said we have to help people identify. “Players get stuck in misunderstanding concepts because they don’t understand the words behind what things mean. They think they have the information, then ask the coach for more information, when they really didn’t have it to start with, or somebody well meaning, gives them something higher up on the spectrum and they don’t have the concepts behind it.” Players have to stay with methods because they are bundled, so they have to stay the course to fruition. If they don’t understand it then they can’t apply it. A coach has to go back to where they are stuck. The whole goal is to get people where they can “fix themselves on the golf course,” because it is going to happen. Coaches have to help people to do this vs being lost out on the golf course.

Laird’s philosophy is, “People are doing what they think they should be doing, otherwise they would do something different.” He believes people can change instantly or on the next ball. It may take four or five balls to change and ownership of that skill takes time. We practice in a multi-ball environment and then go to a single ball environment on the course. Playing lessons clarify purposeful practice. Laird Small can be reached at the Pebble Beach Golf Academy.

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