I Gave Myself A Chance

I Gave Myself A Chance

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“I gave myself a chance” was Moe’s way of describing how he prepared himself to play and perform his best. This was the way Moe maneuvered his golf game and his life. He prepared himself and played golf from a place of preparation and process, not an expectation.

Whenever I play golf events and tournaments, I only have one goal – to be ready. That’s it. I don’t place expectations on my score or try to hit every fairway and every green. My only expectation of myself is to be fully prepared. Then, once prepared, I go through the process of playing one shot at a time.

We are now approaching golf season and many of you are just weeks away from your first round of the year. Are you ready? If not, how do you get ready?  In this article, I want to help you learn to prepare yourself to play golf.

Only one word describes the type of practice necessary to prepare yourself for your first round, the word is: FUNDAMENTALS.

You must start some fundamental/basic training practices so that when your first round arrives, you are able to play your best golf. Let me describe exactly what fundamental practice is and how I work on these fundamentals.

Fundamental practice is the foundation of a great golf swing. To start this preparation, you must first ask yourself how is your address position? This is the best place to start. As Moe said “If you don’t have a great address position, you ain’t got nothing”. How true this is and this fundamental starting position starts with your hands on the club.

The Grip

You must make sure your hands are correctly aligning the face and shaft from the two lines we describe in our Single Plane teaching.  I developed the GGA Training Grip/Club for exactly this purpose. It solves my grip issues and helps me get the club-face aligned.

Learn more about the “Feeling of Greatness” Training Grip/Club HERE

Arm alignment

Furthering your address position, you must work on how the arms align the club with the body. We call this the two-line address position consisting of the club aligned with the lead arm and the club aligned with the trail arm. I usually use a mirror to check this position.

Check out the Single Plane Position Trainer HERE

Arms aligned with Body

Next, you must align the two lines with the body referring to the pivot point where the club is beneath the nose (Face-on view) and the club aligns through the mid-spine intersect™ point. These lines can only be accomplished with the proper leg position (straight with a slight bend in the knees) and the proper bend from the waist. I use a mirror to check this position also.

Stance Width/Ball Position

Next, I make sure I am standing the ideal width with the correct ball position. I developed the GGA Alignment and Ball Position Trainer to help me make sure I have this issue correct each time I practice.

Find out more about the Alignment and Ball Position Trainer HERE

After I have reviewed my fundamental address positions, I am ready to begin a few target ball-striking sessions.

Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help you start your best year of golf ever.

Please don’t hesitate to call or email us anytime.

Good Luck.

Playing “Winter” Lies

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In the past few weeks, I (Tim) have been trying to get on the course more and more to start to get my game ready for the season. As always with this time of year, it is a much different game than that in the summer or even spring. The main difference is the lies you get. Yes, some of you might play winter lies (moving the ball to a “favorable” lie when the grass is dormant) – and to be honest, I am not totally opposed to that….. I would rather you enjoy the game in the winter, than struggle with lies that you would never see professionals play or even big “amateur” events being played on.

But… there are times you will need to know how to hit shots off these “tight” lies. Whether you are playing the ball down on the dormant grass that is “beat down” or as at a lot of Florida courses in the winter, the fairways are green (overseeded) – but mowed extremely tight. The fairways, the first cut around the greens, etc.. can have extremely short grass this time of year. If you don’t understand how to play shots off these type of lies, it can become very frustrating.

A golfer who finds his ball on such a lie can be helped by knowing some of the “tricks” in playing these shots.

First: If the distance to the green is within chipping or pitching range, it is wise to take a less-lofted club than normal and play a chip-and-run type shot. This is the safest choice for two reasons:

  1. The flange on the club will be narrower and tend not to “bounce” into the ball.
  2. More importantly, the club head speed for the less lofted iron will be slower than for the deep-faced, wider-flanged pitching club, so that if the ball is miss hit the error will be less severe.

Chipping, or even putting, from areas with “tight grass” from off the green is generally good advice.

If the ground is “rock hard”, and the player must use a sand wedge, be sure the minimum bounce from the sole is presented. This is accomplished by squaring the face up at address. Play the ball back in the stance so the contact point for the clubface will be at the very base of the ball where it meets the ground. Make no attempt to lift the ball. Instead, maintain the shaft angle that was established at address. It takes considerable trust to execute this shot because the margin for error is close to zero.

For full shots off of hard ground or ground with very little grass or even fairways with very “tight” lies, follow these tips:

1. Play the ball back a little further in the stance than normal. Maybe a ball or two (length) further back.

Playing the ball back a little bit will take a little of the “effective” bounce off the club and will help you hit the ball on a slightly more descending blow. You will need the “increased descending” angle to catch the ball clean as it is very easy to “bounce” the club off the ground and into the ball off the tight lie. Adding a little more “downward angle” on the shot will help.

2. Take a club or two more than you need and choke down slightly. Swing “smooth” rather than “hard” at the shot. Swinging hard will cause excess movement in the body and with minimal room for error – it is much more important to swing “smooth” and steady rather than “hard”.

3. Work on hitting the shot. It will feel like you are trying to drive the club through the ball as the club will enter into the ground ahead of the ball.

Many times on very tight fairways, or “hardpan” type shots, it is easier and more “reliable” to hit a “punch” type shot or even a hard “chip” type shot. The reason is you are more likely to keep your lead wrist firm through the shot in a punch or hard chip type shot – which will make is easier to hit through the shot. If you are swinging a full swing type shot off of a “tight” lie and cup the wrist (or breakdown) prior to impact, you are very likely to either miss the ground altogether or hit the ball and the club will bounce off the ground into the ball. Either one of these misses will lead to a “bladed” or “thin” type shot.

4. A good drill to work on hitting the shot:

Place a tee in the ground just ahead of the ball (like the golf ball feels backward off the tee). You should hit the ball and the divot should take the tee out of the ground. The divot should start where the tee is on the ground. The divot (at worst) should start at the lead side of the golf ball – the back end of the divot should be ahead of the golf ball. Or as seen in our Total Game Overview – paint a line on the ground perpendicular to your target. Place golf balls on the line. Hit the golf balls. The club should enter the ground on the leading edge of the line or ahead of the line and the divot will be in front of the line. At worse, the back end of the divot will be on the front edge of the line painted on the ground.

Ultimately, being able to hit shots off of “tight” lies comes down to how well you can hold your proper angles through impact. In other words, those that keep a “firm lead wrist” through impact will have a much easier time than those that cup or break down their lead wrist prior to impact. Working on leverage angles, leverage bag, etc.. will help master the correct positions and angles at impact.

Good Luck!!

Remember – ALWAYS PRACTICE WITH A PURPOSE!

A Hook Waiting to Happen

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Had a couple of great email questions this past week and then spent today playing in a ‘marathon’ golf match in Wichita, KS that reminded me again of “A Hook Waiting to Happen”.

First will describe the match and what I saw, then will discuss a couple of emails from this past week; hopefully will give everyone a little insight to their grip, etc.

Yesterday, July 7th, I was playing in our annual South Central PGA Match Play Championship. This year it was held at Terradyne Country Club in Wichita, KS. Teradyne is a great golf course – a links style course (very few trees) with extremely large mounds on most of the holes, many bunkers and too “top it off” a second cut of the round that is over waist deep. In fact, rough is so deep, when I asked one of my fellow pros what he thought of the golf course (after our practice round) – he responded, “I’m not worried about my matches, I’m worried about running out of golf balls!”

In the quarter finals, I was paired against a new/young professional named Bobby J. Bobby is a very nice young man who recently graduated from the PGA school in Southern Mississippi.

As we prepared to tee off, I was introduced to Bobby (for the first time – he is a “rookie” in the section) and watched him tee up his first shot of the day. Something quickly came to my attention.

As Bobby set up for his first shot, his lead hand (Bobby’s left hand) had an extremely strong grip. In fact, the V formed between his thumb and forefinger of his lead hand pointed to his right shoulder and the V formed on his trail (right) hand pointed right of his right shoulder. In his backswing, this grip caused his club face to be shut and in order to not hit the ball to the left every time, he “held on” at impact (or in other words, greatly minimized his release).

As Bobby hit his first shot, I couldn’t help by telling myself “There’s a hook waiting to happen”.

The match went on, and to be honest, Bobby did a pretty good job keeping the ball in play and Bobby is a very good putter. I played the front nine 3 under par and was 3 up at the turn (Bobby won the first hole, I won 4 of the next 8). When we made the turn I was pretty confident the match was going my way today…

Then the match turned a little. On the 10th hole, I hit my drive in the first cut of rough, cut a little “flier” on the 2nd shot and didn’t get up and down – Bobby made par – now I was 2 up. We halved the next 3 holes with one birdie and 2 pars, and on number 14 and 16 Bobby made great putts to make birdie and even the match. He was doing a great job “holding on to the club” to keep from turning over, it was obvious he practiced a lot and I keep thinking to myself, it’s a good thing he has a “young” body, I can guarantee my 40+ body couldn’t take his twisting and turning he needed to compensate for his strong grip.

On number 17, I hit my best shot of the day – a downhill 550 yard par 5. Bobby hooked the ball off the tee into the 2nd cut of rough. He hit a long drive, but due to his lie, couldn’t go for the green (creek short front of green). He laid up to 100 yards. I was 220 yards out with a 20 mph cut wind, slightly into my face. I took out my Cobra 3 hybrid – told myself this was “all or nothing” and hit a high cut 3 hybrid which landed and stopped within 5 feet of it’s divot about 6 feet from the hole. I went on to make the putt and go one up.

As good as I played 17, this “pro” committed match play “sin” on number 18. We both hit good drives and Bobby was away. He hit his second shot in the left bunker – pin high. I was 170 yards out, and instead of playing safe (sure par would win) I hit a solid 6 iron (into the wind) and caught it “too good” – the ball skipped to the back of the green – 40 feet away with an incredibly difficult putt (looked like a “roller coaster”). Bobby hit is bunker shot 2 feet from the hole, I put to 8 feet (to be honest, was a good putt to get it that close). I slipped out – and gave Bobby his putt – we were even – needless to say, “I was STEAMING at myself!!”

Off to sudden death.

Holes number 19 – 21 – we halved with pars. (Number 19 and 20, Bobby had 15 footers to win match, missed both. Hole number 21 – I had a 18 footer to win, missed.)

Hole number 22 – Needless to say, I was wearing down. This is a par 4 uphill (carry about 250 over water for short cut) or can hit to right and add about 20 yards to the hole. Bobby had the honors and hit his drive in the first cut of rough to the right. I thought, let’s do it here; I took the shot cut – hit a thin drive into the wind and saw a splash, match was over – at least I thought it was. I went to the other side of the lake, looked for a couple of minutes and Bobby found my ball literally floating between a patch of moss and the mud bank. I stepped into the mud and hit backwards toward the fairway (all I had). Now I was 150 yards out – still further than Bobby. I hit a 8 iron uphill to about 20 feet. Bobby played conservatively and hit to about 30 feet below the hole (thinking match was over..). Bobby put to a few inches, guess what – I made my putt; match continues.

Hole number 23 – into the wind – tight par 4 – only about 380 yards. Bobby has the tee and is pretty shook up after the last hole. Pulls out driver – HOOK – not a small hook, but out of play to the left hook. Ball is gone. I put away my driver (little “mind game” pulling out driver – wasn’t going to hit anyway) and hit a 2 hybrid down the middle. Bobby hits a 2nd ball (provisional for the first) – now with a 3 wood – HOOK – again out of play. Before he leaves the tee box, he removes his hat and shakes my hand – match is over….. I win one up.

Couple lessons to learn here- 1. Never say die and never say never (I reminded myself of this one today.)

Grip – you may think you can get away with a mediocre or “bad” grip with a lot of practice, but I can guarantee when the pressure is on, when it is on the line, (maybe when you are about to shoot your best score, or whenever you feel some pressure) – your poor grip fundamental is going to haunt you. I have seen it too many times. And here is the kicker – the worse the grip, the more practice you will need to even be able to keep in play or play consistently at all!!!

Bobby will learn in time, and with his short game, I guarantee he will be a player to watch in our section.

Email # 1

From: “Rudy” <rudy@***.com> To: timg@swinglikemoe.com Subject: Thank you for your website Date: Sun, 6 Jul 2008 14:01:34 -0500

Dear Sir: I wanted to thank you for posting the many informative instructions you have on your site. I am an avid Moe Norman student and have been playing [ ] golf for the past few years. Recently I developed some habits that caused me to hook the ball something awful and produce very low ball flight.

I stumbled upon your site while trying to find some Moe Norman information to try and analyze my problem. I found that my grip had lost it’s correct position and I had too strong a grip with too low a swing plane. I just got back from the range and was able to correct all my issues based largely on the correct grip mechanics and swing plane adjustment.

Thank you for your efforts to help the amateur golfer.

Rudy C… Dallas, Texas

Email # 2

From: “RICHARD J.” <dicj**@****.com> To: “Tim Graves” <timkgraves@sbcglobal.net> Subject: Re: Question Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2008 08:51:46 -0600

Tim:

I have the [ ] grips purchased for $49.00. I assumed they would be better for the [ ] Swing since they were recommended by (that company). I wear a medium-large golf glove. I assumed a larger grip would promote a fade. I usually have a hook no matter what grip size I use. I had a wrist problem for a while and the doctor advised using a larger grip. Should I take off (those) grips? I would have no problem doing this.

Thanks, Dick J. Answer:

Here is a question for everyone out there – If you were going to run a race or walk and wore a size 10 tennis shoe, would you walk into a store and buy a size 13 shoe to wear? If you were wanting a new golf glove and wear a medium, would you go into a pro shop and buy an XL glove?

You need a grip that fits your hand size. One size grip DOES NOT fit all hand sizes. If a grip is too big, it will inhibit leverage which will, in turn, decrease your distance, solidness of hit, etc.. Your recommended grip size (at the biggest) would be a mid size grip with 4 additional wraps under the lower hand, 2 under the upper (for a ML hand size). This will allow you to hold the club properly and create the maximum leverage and thus distance with your club. You can see more about recommended grip sizes on our free club fitting page of our website.

All our recommended grip sizes are based on Moe’s grip size and correlated to different hand sizes. For example, Moe had a medium cadet hand size and his grip size (on his clubs we have and when Todd measured his grip size when he played golf with Moe) would equate to a mid-size grip with 2 additional wraps under the lower hand, 0 under the upper.

Please see our chat at: http://swinglikemoe.com/index.php?pr=Free_Club_Fitting&=SID (middle of the page).

Remember – grips that are too big will not allow for proper hold of the club which will in turn not allow for proper hinging of the club which will in turn not allow for proper leverage (angles) during the swing which will in turn dramatically DECREASE power at impact which will in turn DRAMATICALLY decrease distance and solidness of impact.

Easy solution – Put on grips that fit your hand size.

Tim Graves, PGA timg@swinglikemoe.com

NEW GGA GRIP ANNOUNCEMENT

The Graves Golf Academy will soon be releasing our new grip – a grip that is USGA confirmed, can be used on all clubs and has markings so you will be able to put your hands on your clubs exactly like Moe gripped his own clubs.

Todd (Graves) put a plan in motion about 4 years ago.

First part of the plan: Develop a grip training club so everyone (whether they are with us in person or 1,000 miles away can put their hands on the club correctly and feel “Moe’s Feeling of Greatness” everything he/she grips the club. He produced the grip, and it has been a “best seller” for the GGA – if you don’t have one yet – just ask the 1,000s that have it…. ask them what it has done for their game. Imagine – every time you go to the range, pulling out the grip training club, hitting shots with “perfect” hands on the club. You can see more on our Training Grip and Club page of our website (short video about the grip/club).

Second part of the plan: Produce a video teaching everyone how to hold the grip training club and how to grip the club “just like Moe” so everyone can then work on other fundamentals to swing like Moe rather then always “fighting” their grip. This was done and with every training grip club order – the training video/DVD is included.

Third part of the plan: Produce a grip that can be used on the student’s clubs, is USGA conformed and is a “good looking and good feeling” grip that has the same markings as the GGA grip training club (without the molding). So, now EVERY student can train with the GGA Training Grip Club and then match the same markings on their clubs (with the GGA grips) and grip their own clubs just like Moe – perfect EVERY time.

The third part of the plan was completed early this year, the grips are on their way and are expected to arrive in a couple of weeks. We have already received the first 100 – they are AWESOME. They are already on our clubs, many of our demo clubs, and hopefully all our student’s clubs soon.

Fourth part of plan: A video on our website (free) – how to install the grips and tips to using the grips. Due out later this week.

And now the first public images of the GGA Transitional Grip. By the way, in ONE grip, both right AND left handed golfers (yes lefty friends, you read that correctly) can now feel Moe Norman’s grip. Here’s the pics:

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Right Handed side Left Handed side

Finally – hopefully by now, everyone reading our e-tips knows the importance of a good hold/grip on the club. Without a good hold/grip on the club, you will be building continual compensations to make up for your grip – and I guarantee this will create poor/inconsistent golf.

We are hoping by creating these new grip “tools” they will aid everyone and help shortcut the process of developing their swing to Swing Like Moe!!!!

Please watch upcoming e-tips and emails about our new GGA grips – we GUARANTEE you’ll love the look and feel of the grip and who doesn’t want to hold the club like Moe???

Remember – Always Practice with a Purpose.

Good Luck!!

How to Drop Your Handicap FAST Using the 3 P’s of Putting

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Here is one of those e-tips again… if you are rushed, don’t have much time to read, etc.. please put this e-tip down (close, etc..) and come back to it when you have time and a VERY open mind… This is one of those e-tips that will be “so important” to your game, it could/will actually shock you with the rapid improvement/lowering of your handicap.

THE 3 Ps OF PUTTING

Simply stated, it is “Practicing your Putting with a Purpose”

Folks, it is actually pretty simple and painless, you just have to DO IT RIGHT!!!

Now, before you think to yourself, “Yeah, I know, Tim always says how important putting is, but I really need to work on my full swing first”, please read the following stats and “studies” that have been conducted and then I will explain how you can literally improve your game overnight…

First – You must first realize the importance of putting. 43% of scoring occurs on the putting green for the average player (male shooting 97, female shooting 107). As the scoring increases so does the % of putts. For a scratch golfer, the percentage lowers to about 40%, but no lower.

The statistics are as follows:

  • 30 handicap golfer (aver 100) – 45 putts per round
  • 20 handicap golfer (aver 90) – 40 putts per round
  • 10 handicap golfer (aver 80) – 35 putts per round
  • Scratch golfer (aver 70) – 30 putts per round
  • Professional golfer – 28 putts per round

Second – You would think “that only makes sense” as the 30 handicap golfer will hit it further from the hole than the 20 handicap golfer, thus have more putts…. but you would be wrong. If you think of the way golf is played and the way putting stats are kept (just add up how many putts you have once the ball is in the green) – the 20 handicap golfer actually will hit more greens in regulation than the 30 handicap golfer (he/she will be chipping from the side of the green, etc..). Meaning, if you take the average distance to the hole once the player hits the green, typically the 20 handicap golfer will be further than the 30 handicap golfer… in theory, if both had equivalent mid/short games – but here lies the problem.

Third – There are only 3 areas that matter in putting (or any part of the golf swing) – Path, Face Angle, and Speed. Putting is affected by these 3 areas and only these 3 areas. Meaning, everything you work on in putting (for example the grip, set up, etc..) affects either path, face angle and/or speed. The better your path, the better your putting, the better your face angle at impact, the better your putting, the better your speed, the better your putting.

Fourth – READ THIS VERY CAREFULLY: Studies have shown that of 10 golfers who practice their putting, 5 will get no better, 4 will actually get worse, ONLY 1 will improve after practice. Please read this again – of those who practice their putting, 10% will improve the practice, 50% will not, and 40% will ACTUALLY MAKE THEMSELVES WORSE. (This study was performed numerous times testing golfers putting prior to their practice session and after.) As is said in Peoplewise Putting, “Golfers can add, subtract, multiply and divide, and they DON’T like these odds.” I don’t know about you, but if I have a 90% chance of not improving when I practice, “I ain’t practicing” (as they say in Oklahoma…)

Okay – now that everyone is on a “downer” about their putting practice, we’re here to fix that.

Over the years of playing with some of the best players in the world (including Moe, Tiger and many others), competing against many of these players, studying numerous techniques of the short game, etc… etc.. Graves Golf created/perfected a method to improve your putting. Are these “our techniques” – I would have to say no, they are techniques we have brought to you from what we have learned from the best in the world – but we have set a system to help you GUARANTEED – if you follow the Graves Golf system.

Many have/had asked me how I practice my putting – I have used this system since the early 90s when I started competing on mini-tours and other professional PGA/Nationwide Events as I saw so many other professionals using the same method.

Graves Golf SYSTEM – How to Practice Your Putting with a Purpose EVERYTIME you practice. (In other words, every time you practice, you will one of the 10% who improves!!)

It is and EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT system is you use it correctly. Meaning with minimal practice you can become a MUCH better putter and improve your handicap DRAMATICALLY! This system creates a Check System for you every time you practice and gives you a system that you can take to the golf course.

Remember the 3 Ps of Putting – Always Practice Your Putting with a Purpose

Spring Renewal for Your Game

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Views of the blossoming Azaleas at the Masters is a clear indication that the golf season is in full bloom. What a beautiful site. Golf course parking lots are filling and driving ranges are crawling with anxious golfers practicing their swings hoping to play a few good rounds this season.

I often find myself stopping to watch the flurry of activity and the varieties of golf swings, or the resemblance of what one might call a golf swing. If I watch too long, I usually walk away feeling a bit distressed that most of the people on the range, who care about hitting the ball better, will never know Moe Norman.

Why is this distressing? Because I know first hand how it feels to want to become better and how frustrating it can be. For those of you who don’t know much of my background, in 1991 after returning from the Asian Tour, I moved to Dallas Texas to develop my golf swing with Hank Haney for three years.

Those were a difficult three years. There were times where I thought I would make great progress in my golf swing. These times of great satisfaction were always followed by the defeat of how difficult it was to have a good golf swing.

It was during this time as I recall, in the back of my mind I kept hearing a voice that kept repeating; “there must be an easier way, there must be an easier way”.

I don’t know if you believe in providence, fate or synchronicity, but knowing my story would make it hard for you to deny the possibility. It was the moment I decided to look for an easier way when Moe Norman entered my consciousness. I was ready for Moe and when I was, he simplified my golf and my life.

Now, I won’t bore you with the story of meeting Moe or my time with him, that is not the purpose of my writing here. I am writing this for those who are ready to take their golf game in a new direction this year.

If you are frustrated as I was during my time with Hank Haney, I would like you to consider a few of my discoveries that I can only discuss now that I have the experience to reflect on my time with both the best teacher in the world (Hank Haney now teaches Tiger Woods) and the best ball-striker in the world.

Here are a few things that I now understand about Moe Norman’s golf swing.

1) You have to commit to learning his technique. There is no middle ground.

2) Take nothing he did for granted.

3) Understand that learning anything will take effort.

Commitment

This is a priority for learning anything. You must be dedicated to the method and the teachers that are helping you learn. There is no partial commitment. In other words, you can’t “try” Moe Norman’s golf swing. If you do you will never experience the full benefit of it’s greatness.

Take nothing Moe did for granted

This was important for me to understand about Moe and his golf swing. When I practiced his golf swing I would make discoveries. I called these my “a-ha” moments. These were moments of awareness of a new feeling and they always matched what I saw in Moe. My practice became nothing more that my own self- discovery of Moe’s feelings.

Understand that learning anything takes effort

I knew that learning Moe’s golf swing would take effort. It took me approximately six months before I could actually play tournaments however, this was still just the beginning of my learning process. Luckily, I loved to hit golf balls and study my golf swing on video. I had learned this from my days with Hank Haney. The more I practiced, the more I understood.

I often get asked why no one on the PGA Tour swings like Moe Norman. Could it be the influence of the best teachers or the best players in the game still do not understand that there is an easier way? Do they care?

While I would like to see a professional golfer take advantage of Moe’s incredible technique, it doesn’t really matter to me anymore. What matters to me is what Moe’s golf swing did for my golf game. It matters to me what learning Moe’s swing can do for those heading to the driving range for the first time this season if they are ready to listen.

For those of you who are excited about a new golf year do me one favor. Ask yourself if you understand that there is an easier way. Ask yourself if you Know Moe.

The True Moe Norman Golf Swing

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The True Moe Norman golf swing and How Clubs fit into the Single Plane Golf Swing Theory, Anatomy and a Simple Understanding

In 1993 I was finished with golf. Working with the best instructor in the United States had worsened my ability to play the game I loved so much. My frustration had grown so great that I decided to quit playing and find another direction with my life.

This new direction didn’t last long. I couldn’t stay away from the game. One year later, I found my mind asking a question that would result in the founding of the Graves Golf Academy. The question was this: “What is the easiest and best way to hit a golf ball to play the game of golf”.

Many take this question for granted looking at the PGA tour for the answer considering the tour players are the best ball-strikers. However, I had played my share of tour events to know that this was not true. The guys on the PGA tour were some of the best scorers in the game but they were not the best ball strikers.

This question also implies that there is a simple way and that simple is better. I assumed that simple was better because so far golf was difficult. Who wouldn’t want and easier way to play the most difficult game on the planet?

This question also suggests that there is a best way. Best, in my opinion, meant relative to physics, kinesiology, and science.

By asking this question, I was trying to do what few had ever done in the game of golf, solve the mystery of why everyone did not swing the same way.

Ironically, the best players in the world; my tour playing friends, led me to my answer. It came in the form of Moe Norman and his single plane golf swing.

During a clinic, watching the amazing ball striking that my friends raved about, the very first words I ever heard Moe speak were: “It’s so simple it’s laughable”.

Moe Norman: Anatomy and Kinesiology Meet a Golf Club

It is a fact that Moe Norman swung the golf club on a single plane, which simplified the golf swing. This simplification made Moe one of the greatest ball strikers in the history of the game. To see a further explanation of Moe’s single plane, click HERE (will open in a new window).

After years of knowing Moe, analyzing, practicing and discussing with him his golf swing, my knowledge goes beyond just conjecture. Moe was the best ball striker so far in the history of the game because he moved the golf club in such a way that made it easier to get the clubface square to the golf ball, more often. As Moe put it, “I have the fewest moving parts”.

I discovered Moe’s genius for myself. Not only did Moe have the fewest moving parts, he also had the most efficient moving parts. It was this simplicity and effortless that allowed Moe to hit a golf ball so efficiently. Because of his swing mechanics, Kinesiologists would agree, that Moe had an advantage.

So what was the Kinesiology behind Moe’s swing?

The answer to this question reaches beyond a simple grip change and is the magic to Moe’s single plane, simplifying golf and helping you achieve Moe-Like results.

Before we go too far into the technical aspects of Moe’s perfect biomechanics; a simple, Todd Graves, understanding of anatomy will help. It is relatively painless and goes something like this:

Your hand is attached to your arm, which is attached to your shoulders, which are attached to your torso, and spine, which is attached to the pelvis, which is attached to your legs, which are attached to our feet.

That is all you really need to know about anatomy to understand Moe’s genius and if you have questions about the golf swing or club design, this understanding will help you realize how Moe intuitively learned a golf swing that used his anatomy most efficiently. This understanding will also help you understand that improperly fit equipment can be destructive and harmful to your ability to Swing Like Moe.

Swing Plane

The term swing plane is often used and often confused when discussing the golf swing, yet swing plane is not a mystery. Using some simple logic, you can understand that swing plane is directly related to club design, which makes sense. In other words, the way the club relates to the body is swing plane. This relationship is in the form of the club length and lies angle. Knowing that simple understanding leads to what might be the most important question that you can ask:

How does the club design relate to Moe Norman’s single plane golf swing and the single plane?

We continually discuss that Moe’s genius was how he held the club in such a way at address that he aligned the club shaft with his trail arm forming a single plane. You can see a detailed picture of swing plane HERE. This single plane is significant for one main reason; this is where Moe impacted the golf ball. This impact position is where the club design meets anatomy. If you don’t think you need properly fitted clubs, think again.

Where club design meets anatomy suggests that your swing plane is pre-determined. This is true. You have a correct swing plane based on your anatomical structure. Use a highlighter on this sentence; based on your anatomy, properly fit equipment with correct hold (grip) and posture can enhance and will produce your single plane golf swing.

The contrary is also true.

With improperly fit equipment and an improper hold, you will never achieve the simple Moe Norman Single Plane Golf Swing.

So what does it mean to have your golf club match your anatomy?

(As a side note, if you look at our Seven Principle of Golf Improvement Series on your bookshelf (aligning the spine of the DVD covers), you can see Leonardo DiVinci’s Vitruvian Man appear; my way of representing that the game of golf is a blend of the physical and mental.)

The first part of the answer to this question is to look at Moe’s address position to understand the correct anatomical relationships. The one, in particular, is Moe’s alignment of the club with the spine and shoulders. We are going to do that but take note that with Moe being the model, I take nothing that he did for granted. I learned that lesson the hard way. So take my word for it, if Moe does it, then it is correct.

The Trail Shoulder Plane and Spine Alignment

When you look at the clubshaft and spine alignment of Moe’s address position you must take into consideration not only the fact that the trail arm aligns with the club shaft but that this alignment has a relationship to the spine. This relationship is significant. Moe even referred to this relationship when he said “I swing the club underneath me like a pendulum”. Click HERE for a detailed picture.

It only makes sense, based on my earlier anatomy lesson; correct arm movement will result in correct club movement. To achieve Moe’s feeling and this correct club movement, you absolutely must have a correct spine and clubshaft alignment for one main reason; the trail shoulder must be moving parallel to the plane of the clubshaft. If you stand too tall, you can not achieve the proper movement of the trail arm, trail shoulder and clubshaft.

Looking at Moe’s relationship, you see that his spine was tilted between 40 and 50 degrees from standing. This spine tilts forward achieved the correct right shoulder plane and in doing so, also achieved the correct club length.

In other words, Moe did not ever change this relationship of club shaft to spine relationship. If the club was too long or too upright for Moe, he moved his hands down or “choked down” on the golf club to maintain the correct club shaft/spine relationship.

This is an important lesson for all of us. We need not fit the club, the club must fit us. Clubs that are too long and upright do not promote Moe Norman’s golf swing.

Club Fitting, The Single Plane and a Golf Lesson

With an understanding of anatomy and the single plane, it is relatively simple to fit golf equipment to someone wanting to Swing like Moe. A few measurements tell us your hand size, arm length, height and swing speed. With these calculations we can determine how a golf club can fit your anatomy for your Moe Norman Single Plane Golf Swing.

The goal is to fit a golf club to impact where your spine, right shoulder arm and club shaft are correctly positioned. We call this impact.

Impact alignment is the purpose of great golf instruction. The goal of any instruction is to help you achieve correctly aligned impact. Ultimately this is impossible with improperly fit equipment. In fact, during schools we fit clubs with our students to help them achieve correct Moe Norman Single Plane impact alignment.

You can see our online fitting information- Free Club Fitting.

To summarize – your clubs need to fit you. The improper length and lie angles will greatly interfere with your single axis swing as you will not be able to set up properly. In addition, grips that are too big will inhibit release and proper hold on the club – greatly limiting distance (you can see more conversation about this topic on the Moe Norman Forum.

In conclusion, you may have heard us say in the past that we spend the majority of our time teaching the grip (hold) and the setup positions of Moe Norman’s swing. As I hope you will conclude from this article, it is the grip, setup, and having correctly fit clubs that will help you achieve the biomechanical advantage of Moe Norman’s swing. I hope you can also see the relationship of how Principle #1 of the 7 Principles teaching philosophy, is closely related to Principle #4. You must have the correct grip and set-up positions to achieve the ideal swing, just as you must have properly fit equipment in order achieve the correct grip and set-up positions.

Please let us know if you have additional questions /comments – Please feel free to call or email anytime, Good Luck – Remember – “Always Practice with a Purpose”

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