frustration

Thank You Conventional Golf

August 31, 2013 by admin

What do I say to all of the teachers of conventional methods, and any golf instructor NOT teaching the Single Plane Swing?

I would say – thank you. Thank you for the job security.

Your job is difficult because not matter what you do, you are at a disadvantage teaching a method that no matter what you do will be difficult for the average golfer to achieve. The conventional, arms hanging below the shoulders address position makes your job almost impossible.

You are also at a disadvantage because the amount of practice it takes to become skilled enough to achieve consistent swings to impact from the conventional address position takes extraordinary amounts of practice, timing and this still doesn’t guarantee success.

Golf is a difficult game – the goal should be to make it easier not more difficult.

The unfortunate part of this conversation is that you, the conventional student is the one who suffers. I see it every day – golfers who are frustrated because of disadvantaged mechanics. They blame the instructors but it’s not really their fault. I Their instruction isn’t necessarily bad – just almost impossible for the average golfer to achieve.

Let me say first of all that, contrary to what many believe, the golf swing is NOT rocket science, even if it seems extremely difficult for many of you. It has become so difficult because you are at a fundamental disadvantage – which can easily be corrected. Here are some of the conventional to Single Plane adjustments that can transform your conventional swing into an easier Single Plane Swing.

1) Move away from the ball and align the club with the arms – on the Single Plane.

This is the foundation of simplifying your swing because it sets the club on the same plane that you impact. It establishes a straight line to impact as opposed to starting on one plane and impacting on another.

2) Tilt your spine away from the target so you trail shoulder (right if you are right handed is lower than the left)

By lowering the trail shoulder, your hands can lead into impact, eliminating the over the top and release early. The Tilt of the spine gets the lower body moving first in the downswing allowing the hands to lead into impact to compress the ball.

3) Rotate the hips but keep the feet on the ground.

Because you are on a Single Plane, you are now able to keep the spine in the same tilt from address, to backswing to impact. You no longer need to lift your body into impact as required in the conventional golf swing. By keeping the spine in the original “tilt” your feet will stay on the ground as you rotate your hips in the backswing and downswing.

Here are a couple of my keys to great Single Plane ball-striking:

1) Build an A-frame out of the legs at address.

2) Brace around the trail leg in the backswing (do not let the knee move)

3) Rotate the hips into the downswing into a flexed lead knee

4) Keep the feet on the ground into impact

One of the “secrets” to the simplicity of the Single Plane Golf swing is how the back (spine) is being moved during the golf swing. The hips control the spine so as you rotate the hips in the backswing around a stable trail knee and then into a flexed lead knee, your spine moves forward but stays in the same tilt from start to release. I consider this “posture” where the spine tilt maintains throughout the swing.

By maintaining “posture” the shoulders also stay on plane where the trail shoulders position (lower than the lead shoulder) can get the hands leading to the left side of the body into impact.

As difficult as it is to describe the golf swing mechanics with words, you can understand that the goal of a golf swing is to achieve a perfect impact position. Therefore, simplifying your movement from address to impact is should be where you spend your time.

If you have learned a conventional method of golf instruction, consider this an invitation to help you simplify your movement and make golf easier. If you haven’t tried the Single Plane swing – give it a try. You might wonder why you haven’t tried it sooner and you might even say what many of our students say – “It just can be this easy”.

Why changing proves difficult

September 10, 2011 by admin

Over the past 7 1/2 years of my time learning, and now teaching the Moe Norman Single Plane swing to golfers worldwide, one of the most common frustrations that arise is the difficulty of making a change in the mechanics or movement. Through years of observation, I’ve found that it’s not due to a lack of desire to make the necessary change(s), nor necessarily from a lack of effort.

Sometimes, I’ve seen making changes be difficult due to lack of flexibility or mobility in a necessary body part, however, those things can be overcome a majority of the time.

I’ve always found it fascinating that when a golfer is presented Moe Norman’s Single Plane swing, and understands the golf swing as a motion to achieve an ideal impact position, they’re desire to use and match Moe as the ideal human model is very, very high. I mean, the Single Plane swing just makes sense.

But the question still remains, Why is changing or making changes to the golf swing, difficult?

To shed some light on the answer to this questions, I want to take you back to your childhood. The first question I have for you is this: How did you learn to tie your shoes?

Funny questions, I know, but think about it for a minute. Tying your shoes today is a mechanical process that you don’t even think about to accomplish. You just tie your shoes, right?

As the father of a 7 year old boy, this story is current for me, as we’ve been working with him to teach him to tie his shoes for about 9 months now. (Maybe he’s just a slow learner, or maybe he’s more interested in wearing shoes now with Velcro, but I digress).

When you learned to tie your shoes, you had someone show you how to do it. You watched as an adult demonstrated how to tie the shoelaces. Then, maybe they took your hands and tried to guide you through the process. And then you tried it on your own, and although you likely can’t remember, you probably didn’t ace the tying on your first solo try. As time passed, and you continued to practice the task of tying your shoes, you first were completely incompetent at completing the task, then you gained some competency, then, with practice, you gained mastery.

Now, thinking back on learning to tie your shoes, do you still tie your shoes to this day exactly like the person who showed and taught you? I’d be willing to be that you do.

So let’s bring that story into the context of our golf swings. As we do, let’s first think about the process you went through as a child learning to tie your shoes.

First, you had a model. Someone showed you how to do it.
Second, you watched the model demonstrate the task, likely over and over.
Next, you tried to imagine yourself completing the task
You then tried the task by yourself and likely failed miserably
And you continued to practice the task, failing, correcting, and failing, until at some point, you were able to accomplish the task.
With more repetition, you then mastered the task, and it became a subconscious habit.

When it comes to the golf swing, my belief is that we can have no better model than Moe Norman. The greatest ball striker to ever live is a pretty good model in my book. Many reading this will have watched Moe’s swing, or even purchased instruction from us about learning the swing, like the Single Plane Solution. And if you’ve watched Moe’s swing, have the instruction, you likely have tried to implement what you’ve seen, and this is the point that most golfers get stuck.

Some of the most comical comments I get from golfers go something like this; “I purchased your DVD’s, watched them yesterday, and tried Moe’s swing on the course today, and it just didn’t work.” The unfortunate and sad part of that comment is that the golfer skipped about 4 steps in the learning process, and made a judgment on those results.

Changing any dynamic bodily movement must go through the learning process, and in my years, this is where most golfers cheat themselves; they don’t submit themselves to the learning process, and lose any chance of making truly significant and positive changes to their games. It’s a sad reality of this game, however, for those who understand that there is a process of learning and submit themselves to that process, the rewards are great.

In conclusion, in order to get past the difficulty of making changes that most golfers have, you simply have to return to your youth and understand that you must crawl before you walk, and walk before you run. The process of learning doesn’t exempt us because of age, experience, or wealth. It must be adhered to, and for those that do, regardless of age, experience, or wealth, the rewards they reap are worth the effort and time that the process requires.

To your success,

Scott

“Do Not Try, Just Do”

March 16, 2011 by admin

By Dr. Ron Cruickshank, Golf Mind Coach & GGA Director, Canada

Today was a good day. My son Blade, a collegiate lacrosse player at Guilford College in North Carolina, was requested this year to take up the goalie position. Now, if you know anything about lacrosse you know this is like setting yourself up at the business end of a shooting gallery, without much padding. His first month was a regular series of phone calls asking Mom for some home remedies for bruises and bumps all over his body.

Most of his buddies questioned his sanity for taking up the goalie position, as it is common knowledge that this position can result in being ‘gun shy’ and develop an early case of the jitters as you are trying to avoid getting whacked on the shins with a ball about the same density as a hockey puck. Not fun!

So, why was it a good day when my son’s schedule calls for him to show up as the target for 30 top athletes with sticks? The reason was a call we had today in which he shared he had a great day of practice, maybe his best ever at this level. That was a change from the last couple of months.

As we queried the reasons, he told us that he had pulled some advice from the past (meaning something his old Dad had told him) and decided to start humming whenever he was under intense assault from the opposing attack men. “It worked great,” he said. “Got a few strange looks from my teammates, but they liked the results.” He further added. “I was able to quit trying so hard and just let it happen without thinking about it.”

Read carefully here and understand the message. What he was doing by humming was interrupting his own internal dialogue (negative, fearful, uncertain) and letting his body do what it already was programmed to do. That is, watch a ball coming towards him at 90 MPH and catch it in a net connected to stick in his hands. His body knew how to do that because he has practiced it thousands of times and has it stored in his brain within thousands of neural circuits. Yet, something was getting in his way.

What most often gets in the way is a negative internal dialogue that gets manifested as some self-defeating behavior. It gets more complicated when you attach real pain to this dialogue (he actually got whacked a bunch of times). It then becomes what is known in behavioral science jargon as a “kinesthetic or visual anchor’. That is, just the visual imagery of the ball or even a feeling or thought can cause the body to be less than resourceful and reduce overall performance.

Let me give you an example. If you will imagine you are driving along a nice scenic highway on a lovely spring day. Your car is new and freshly washed, the windows are down and the trees seem extra green and vivid. The flowers are out, the air is crisp and you have a sense of well-being and things seem right with the world. All of a sudden a flashing blue light appears directly behind you and the Highway Patrol guy is motioning you to pull over. Whoops! Now tell me what happened to your emotional state as you imagined this scene? That is an anchor and the feeling you got is similar to what happens when you let your dialogue get negative under stress.

There is a memorable scene I love in the movie Star Wars. Luke Skywalker is trying to raise his crashed ship from the primordial ooze and is unable. In frustration, Yoda tells him. “Do not try Luke, just do!” What a great statement by a great teacher. Yoda was telling Luke to get his preconceptions, his fears, his wishes and his wants out of the way and just let his mind and body do what it knew how to do. In Yoda’s sentiments, trying doesn’t exist, you either do or you don’t.

The lesson here, for each of us, is that performance is often inhibited because we care too much. We want to do well so intensely that the desire itself becomes a type of over care or stress and the toll it takes – is our performance.

If you are seeking to maximize your performance when playing golf, or any other aspect of your life, where you get into a state of over care, it makes great sense to reduce the significance of the event in any way you can. My son is doing it by humming because you can’t think and hum at the same time (try it, it is true).

You can practice reducing significance by trying the following:

Being truly in the here and now. Focus on what is happening this second.
Think of the game you are in as just a fun round without any real consequence to you. You dissociateyourself from the emotional meaning.
Focus on a physiological aspect, like your breathing. This moves your thoughts of performance into the background.
Direct interruption of your internal dialogue – hum your favorite tune. This can be done sub-vocalized to keep the noise down, or perhaps you might be playing with the members of a rock band and they would enjoy it.
Develop and rely on a routinethat allows you to minimize your thoughts beyond what you are actually doing. This is why so many Pro’s use a strict pre-shot routine for every shot, especially putting, because this is when they are most susceptible to minor muscle movement related to stress. When they get under pressure they have a familiar routine to fall back on that lets them compartmentalize their internal dialogue to the rehearsed procedure.

You hear this reflected often in post-round interviews when a pro will tell the interviewer. “I was trying to not get ahead (a head) of myself.” What he is telling us all highlights his desire not to let distracting, and unrelated to the task at hand, internal dialogue begins to affect his performance. If you are thinking about getting the trophy in an hour, or your gracious acceptance speech, it is hard to be lining up and executing the perfect putt.

In general, if you reduce the emotional significance of an event, you will reduce negative emotional impact on your state of being and that translates into improved performance. Your body is a closed and connected loop and every part is interacting with the other.

So, as to my humming lacrosse playing goalie son, I will report that his team is off to its best start in 20 years, with 5 wins and 1 loss so far this season. Now that’s a tune we can all enjoy.

About the Author: Dr. Ron Cruickshank recently opened the GGA – Moe Norman Golf School as part of the GGA expansion program into Canada. He is headquartered at the Royal Ashburn Golf Club in Whitby Ontario. This year’s offerings include a variety of Specialty Clinics in addition to the regular GGA Schools. If you are serious about getting better this year call Ron at 647-892-4653.

Managing Frustration When Making Changes

November 8, 2010 by admin

Whenever we endeavor to make a change in our golf swing an immediate by-product for most people is frustration. As we begin to consciously focus on “what” we are doing performance suffers because we have to think our way through things. Imagine trying to take a short walk if you were required to think about each step. “Lift your right foot up and propel forward, land on the heel of your foot and begin to rock forward onto the instep….” Yikes, that would really slow down a walk wouldn’t it? Of course it would, because so much of what we do is stored at the level of unconscious mind, such that you don’t have to be aware of it in order to do it.

Learning is a process of making small distinctions, practicing via repetition and then gradually getting the behavior mapped in your mind/body. Eventually, you generalize the behavior, allowing you to think about further distinctions and put your attention to other things. Think about how complex the act of driving is. You actually make between 48-52 minor adjustments per mile if you are driving on a highway. Yet, you can read billboards, talk to others, listen to music and talk on the cell phone at the same time. It is because you have automated the behavior (generalized it), and now have conscious mind space available to pay attention to other things.

When you decide to make a change you bring the activity into your conscious mind and hence performance suffers in almost all cases. This invariably produces frustration and I think one of the reasons people give up making changes as they don’t have an effective strategy for handling frustration. The source of your frustration is generally not living up to your own internal standards for acquiring new things quickly.

Suggestion: When you decide to make a change start with a master program in your mind. That program should include a clear understanding of “why” you want to make a change and a commitment to give yourself an appropriate amount of time to integrate the change.

Understanding “why” is related to your motivation. Why is it important to you to make a change… why is it important to you to get better? Understanding your reasons will help give you the foundation to both keep working at the changes, and as a reminder to give yourself a break by not over demanding perfection too early.

When you feel the anger building and have the desire to throw a club or engage in self-doubt and negative dialogue train yourself to STOP. Take a breath and recall why this is important to you and think about your commitment to giving yourself the time.

Winter is a great time to focus on building some new skills, especially for us living in the north. Enjoy the process of making the changes and give yourself a chance by ‘using your brain for a change’.

Moe’s Wisdom

July 20, 2006 by admin

Recently, I was given an audio tape of Moe speaking in an interview. The interview was about his great golf swing and his legacy and my name were brought up. The interviewer asked Moe if he thought I “had” his move. I thought Moe’s answer was perfect. Moe said “yes” and paused. Then Moe said the most important thing. “Because he wants it.”

I have reflected on that statement many times. And, like so much of the knowledge I have gained from Moe, I have found his statement to be most profound. Because of the act of “wanting it” is the beginning of success. Furthermore, if you don’t want it, you will always fail. So it comes down to how badly you want it. In other words, it comes down to another word Moe used often… motivation.

What is it?

When I describe it, I am describing whatever it is that helps you get to the next level. In this case we are talking about mastering Moe Norman’s golf swing and the “Feeling of Greatness”. “It” is also playing better golf because of this mastery.

So what does “wanting it” really mean?

I work with a talented 14 year old. I have been working with him for over 4 years. There have been ups and downs during the process. He has reached high levels of frustration often getting worse before he gets better. What keeps him working at it… wanting it.

I recently worked with a student who flew me out to his home 1,800 miles away. I worked with him for 3 days costing him thousands of dollars. Why did he make such an effort… because he wants it.

Here are some attributes to those who really want it.

They are willing to go an extra mile to get it.
When going an extra mile doesn’t get “it” they go another mile.
They are willing to make sacrifices in time, money and energy.
They make the process of getting it fun.
They realize that it is a process.
They love the process.
They are willing and enjoy working at it.
Everything is a learning experience for

These attributes are the actions of a highly motivated person. And, in my 20 years of teaching golf, I have never seen anyone reach mastery without this type of motivation.

Here are some very powerful words that are synonyms of motivation:

Incentive
Inspiration
Drive
Enthusiasm
Driving Force

Aren’t these words great? Don’t you find these words emotionally charged and exciting? The opposite of motivation is not to be unmotivated; it is lack of clarity of a goal.

Lack of motivation is caused by many things. Usually, it is that the goal is not clear enough. In other words, for some reason, the path to the goal is blocked by too many barriers. I often find this when I am approaching daunting projects. I look at the project and all I see is 1 million things I need to do to get my outcome so I just don’t start. It is easier to make excuses. Often I get halfway into a project and I just let it sit there. In a few months, I have ten or more unfinished projects just staring at me. It is easy to feel this overwhelmed. But there is only one way around it. Take ACTION.

But, before you take action, there is an important step. MAKE A PLAN.

So before I get too far into this ACTION PLAN, let me clarify my process and what I went through to learn Moe Norman’s golf swing.

15 years of trail and error learning golf and competition.
The University of Oklahoma Team as a player.
Coach for the University of Oklahoma Golf Team trying to understand the golf swing.
The Asian PGA Golf Tour with little success.
The desire to improve.
Dozens of the world’s best instructors (3 Years).
Hitting up to 1,000 balls each day for 3 years.
Frustration to the point of quitting.
Finding Moe.
Understanding Moe.
Making a Plan.
Learning from Moe.
Hitting thousands of balls like Moe.
Results

So here is the great news. YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO WHAT ID DID to achieve Moe Norman’s golf swing. Another great thing is that I am even going to take it a step further. I am going to lay out the plan for you!

Here is my plan for mastering Moe Norman’s golf swing and achieving the “Feeling of Greatness”.

Dedicate yourself to understanding Moe’s Golf Swing by getting video of his swing and our BASIC TRAINING which explains Moe’s single plane golf swing and gives you the tools to practice it. You can also visit our website to read our e-tips and instructional information.
Dedicate yourself to understanding your swing and compare it to Moe’s golf swing. You can do this by mailing a video to our golf academy or attending one of our golf schools.
Learn what you need to do to go from where you are to Swinging Like Moe. Understand very clearly what you need to practice and how to practice it – a lot of this is found in our TOTAL GAME OVERVIEW instruction.
SCHEDULE time for dedicated practice.
Evaluate your progress and get help when you need it.

This is, I believe, a MUCH easier way to start working toward mastering Moe Norman’s swing and improving your game that I went through. Why – because I didn’t have instructional material as a reference to help me with the process…. this is EXACTLY why we wrote our instructional material – to help you SHORT CUT the process.

As I step back on occasion, as I mentioned earlier, and look at where we are, where we’ve come from, and where we are going, our mission is to be a SOLUTION and not just another golf company out there selling a “tip” or “secret”. There are plenty of those out there to be sure, however, I can only tell you that every product, school, e-tip, and email from our company has only one purpose, and that is to HELP YOU “Swing Like Moe” and more importantly, play the best golf of your life.

Enjoy the journey.

Good Luck!!

PLEASE don’t hesitate to call or email us anytime!!

Remember – ALWAYS PRACTICE WITH A PURPOSE

Tough Love #2

April 20, 2006 by admin

This past week I started to receive our annual increase in emails – sure due to “golf season” officially starting with the Master’s, etc… With these emails I received a few that “bothered” me… to the say least… Scott (Renfrow) and Todd always say they “fire me” up, I will say “bother” me a little.

Basically, the emails were questioning our method, Moe’s Single Plane Swing – reading a little more into them, they were asking about why golfers don’t improve, or improve at a relatively slow pace if any improvement at all… An example of an email stated, “I have seen hundreds of swing methods, this is just another one of those that I cannot figure out and have seen very little improvement over the past few months…”

So……… Let’s talk… now that I’m FIRED UP as I have been told… let’s have one of those “fun” talks. In other words, hide the children (cover their ears.) – here we go…

I am SICK TO DEATH of all the junk (that is as tactful as I can write) that states you can get better at golf overnight…, 7 minutes to better golf, buy this driver and hit it 30 yards further, buy this “speed thing” and in 10 days hit it 20 yards further and straighter, miracle cure to fix the slice…… (think you get my point).

Let me give you a hint, I have spent thousands upon thousands of “7 minutes” and it wasn’t a miracle cure in 7 minutes that fixed my game – it was HARD WORK as Moe said. Moe used to say “HARD WORK” will fix anything – but more importantly WORKING CORRECTLY HARD will fix anything and make you a MUCH better player. If you think you can “miraculously” fix your swing overnight with one magic move, I am sorry, but you are greatly mistaken.

Please, give it a try if you like, you will be searching until you quit. Last year, 3,000,000 golfers started the game of golf…. yes 3,000,000…. 3,500,000 quit. 95% of those that quit, quit from frustration of not getting any better, or worse, they got worse and quit. Those that are quitting are those that think golf is a game of quick fixes…

Hint #1 – The golf swing is a learned and acquired process. It is not difficult if you do it right. In fact, many will call it “easy” if you learn by process – not guess work.

There is now written literature that states the following (by research): Only 10% of those that practice golf actually gets better from that practice, 40% of those that practice remain the same (do not get better or worse), and more alarming – 50% of those that practice actually get WORSE. Why is this?? What is going on with practice?? Are we wasting our time??

Let’s now break that down to 2 categories, the following:

Category #1 – the 10% – We will call these golfers the 10%ers… those are the one’s getting better when they practice (little better every time).

Category #2 – the 90% – We will call these golfers the 90%ers… those that are getting no better or worse when they practice.

Not let’s get into some “nuts and bolts” about getting better…. What do I have to do to get better? How do I become one of the 10%ers.

First – STICK WITH A METHOD: No matter what method you choose to swing the club, whether it be Moe’s Single Axis Swing, David Letterbetter’s swing, Hank Haney, Standing on Your Head and swinging (little laughter here…) – You need to stick with that method 100%, learn that method, study that method, treat that method as your guide to much better golf…

Obviously, we believe the Moe Norman Single Plane Swing is by far the easiest, least complicated, most easily repeatable, easiest on the body, etc… swing there is, but again, no matter which method you choose – do NOT mix methods. You notice here, I am not telling anyone they have to use Moe’s swing – that is absolutely a 100% personal decision (for many I have seen, almost as much as choosing a religion…) – but when you to decide on or study and learn a particular swing – you CAN NOT and MUST NOT mix methods.

Let me give you an example – (I have seen this personally last week): You decide to swing the club in single axis – you work on your grip, set up, etc… and decide the 36+ inches from your feet line to the ball with your driver at set up is too much for you… so you set up about 30 inches from the ball… Guess what – this is perfect example of MIXING METHODS. You CAN NOT swing the driver in an effective, consistent, powerful, etc… manner in the single axis swing that closes to the ball – NO WAY!!! You are standing conventional distance and trying to swing in a single axis fashion – NOT GOING TO WORK. By mixing methods you are a 90%er… not mixing methods – you are now on your way to a 10%er.

Second – Always, always, always (think maybe you get my point) PRACTICE WITH A PURPOSE!

What does that mean… practicing with a purpose is not “wasting” your time when you practice, having a very distinct plan when you practice… Pretty easy question before you practice next time – as you are walking to the practice tee/green, etc… ask yourself – What do I want to accomplish out here today? What do I want to start/continue to fix? Be VERY VERY specific. Meaning – for example – I want to try and hit it straight… is NOT a plan – It is a WISH.

I want to try and stop slicing is NOT a plan – It is a wish… A plan is “I want to fix my grip – fixing my grip will cause me to be able to get the club back on plane which will then allow me to hit it straighter”. A plan is “I want to work on getting the club in an on plane position in my backswing – this will allow me to get more leverage and thus hit it further with more accuracy”.

I think you get my point here… Develop practice around your plans – it only takes a couple of minutes… most of the time you can do it in the car on the way to your practice…

Side Note… Keep a journal or notepad of your practice sessions and what you wanted and did accomplish. You’ll be amazed how keeping notes will keep you on path…

Got a question for you – How many of you go to the grocery store without a list? When I go without a list, I seem to always come home with 50% of what I already have at home (didn’t need) and the other 50% seems to add up to nothing… 3 bags of potato chips, no meat, etc… Guess what is for dinner next week… we’ll have a bag of potato chips… Think you get my point here… Lists/Journals, etc… help you keep on track.

Side Note #2 – anytime – come to our academy and ask to see Todd’s and my journals… they number in the 100s…. you’ll see exactly what we are talking about…

Practicing with a Purpose is what the 10%ers do – Guessing and Wishing during practice is what the 90%ers do. The 10%ers are getting better, the 90%ers are hopefully at least getting a little aerobic exercise…

Third – HAVE CHECKPOINTS – When you practice – do you have checkpoints in your swing?

For example, when you set up over the ball – what are you looking at to check your grip, setup, stance, shoulders, etc… especially when you practice… you MUST have checkpoints. In fact, some of these checkpoints will carry over to on the course, and some will allow you to be “more comfortable” when you are in those nervous on course situations. Meaning – the better your checkpoints, the more you use your checkpoints in practice, the more confident and comfortable you will be when you “tee it up”.

Examples – (a couple).

Example #1 – What is your checkpoint between your set up and starting your backswing? Do you have one? Mine is glancing down to make sure the grip end of the club (but end) is pointing at my lead side (for me it is just above my lead hip and below my armpit) with every club (except my putter). I DO NOT pull the trigger unless the club is pointed to this position. Yes, 99% of the time this is an acquired habit – but I will also be honest, there has been times (when I am nervous, etc…) when I have caught myself “fudging” a little and the set up is too far back. Having the set up too far back for me leads to sliding through the shot, fat shots, miss hits, etc… An easy check that solves MANY problems.

Example #2 – What is your checkpoint for alignment when you are practicing? In other words, when you are practicing, how do you know you have proper alignment with our feet, shoulders, hips, etc… Is it a guessing game for you?? Or do you have a check system. I will tell you, every good player and EVER professional, EVERY time they are having a practice session to work on their swing, puts an alignment aid on the ground to check their alignment. It may be as simple as a golf club pointed at the target, a PVC pipe pointed at the target (hint, hint, hint alumni…), Ernie Els does not practice (when working on his swing) without his rolled up umbrella (typically) pointed at the target for alignment (if you doubt us, feel free to see all our V1 video of Ernie practicing – umbrella, umbrella, umbrella in them all…), even so far as Jack Nicklaus used to have a stripe painted from his practice area to the target so he could line up exactly…. now that is TRUE alignment.

That is only a couple of examples – but you must acquire CHECKPOINTS throughout your swing. Ways to check your grip, ways to check your setup, ways to check your alignment, ways to check your leverage angles, and on and on… Checkpoints allow you to determine what is good, what is bad, what needs work, what doesn’t – where to focus, etc…

Think about this… see if it sounds familiar… You have just gone through a 1 hour practice session on the range. You feel like you are hitting it pretty well… you didn’t use an alignment tool for practice. Now you step on the first tee. You line up according to the tee box, as straight as you can and hit it right into the trees. You playing partner says, “you looked like you were lined up there”. So the next tee, you think you need to close up a little to make up for your alignment – now, comes the slice…. or worse, tops… Guess what – tell me how effective your one-hour practice session was before the round??

90%ers have no checkpoints, the 10%ers have checkpoints, use them, understand them and check them often.

Last (For Now – I guess until my next “soap box” talk): You must have a REFERENCE. What do I mean by Reference – something that you can look at, listen to, maybe even “feel” that will help you in the process to a better golf swing. If you don’t have a reference, what are you trying to learn??

Let’s list some references:

A lesson / school / camp – personal attention. This is obviously the best reference – someone telling you what to do, showing you what to do (and I will admit here 100% – if they are not showing you on VIDEO – in other words – filming your swing and comparing to a model – please go elsewhere. You are not getting your money’s worth). Your swing is MUCH more important than that to you and I can guarantee the $ you spent on the lesson/school, etc… well afforded you time on the video system. Please, please, please insist (and ask) for video instruction – I will GUARANTEE you an ENHANCED learning experience once you can see yourself.
Some type of instructional material – Especially if you can not come to a lesson or school. As you have heard us say many, many times – a picture is worth a thousand words, and a video/DVD instructional piece is worth a 1,000,000 pictures. Our core instructional piece is our GGA TOTAL GAME OVERVIEW – What the Moe Norman Swing is All About. This was written by Todd and myself to help ALL our students with their long game, short game, on course, and as important – how to practice. This was written because of the lack of all other good single axis instructional material in the market. If you have others – great – I will personally guarantee this 100% – you will see no more detailed beginning instruction for Moe’s swing. If you know of any other, please let me know – would love to pass them on to everyone…

So when all is said and done… do you want to be a 10%er or a 90%er…. I know what I have spent my golfing career trying to do… let us help you… that is what we are here for.

(Last Side Note…): Scott and I (Tim) answer the phones during the day. In fact, basically from sun up to sun down, we are on the phones talking to our students/ single plane golfers…. Give us a CALL or email anytime. Don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and call us. Ask us anything about the swing, let us help you… want a good reference – CALL or EMAIL US!! And when we are in Florida, or during schools…. don’t hesitate to call then too…. you wonder why Scott always has an ear piece in…. he is very diligent about answering the phones, getting messages to me and Todd and helping you in any way he can… again – don’t hesitate to call anytime and call often.

Want to end with a quick story (ease off my soap box…)

This past week (actually yesterday), Geoff Shaw finished first in a large tournament at Gallardia Golf Course here in Edmond, OK. Many of you may remember Geoff from past emails – Geoff is one of my (Tim’s) students from Edmond. He is on the Edmond North High School team which has member’s that include Kevin Tway (Bob’s son) and others ranked very high in the US. Geoff came to me about 2 years ago, was having a hard time breaking 80 (mid-80s) and him and his father were very frustrated with a lot of instruction they had had. I began working with Geoff. He is ABSOLUTELY single axis – he is ABSOLUTELY a model of Moe’s swing – he works on it continuously, studies our instructional material often (studies and reviews our TGOV and asks questions about our 7 principles ALL the time) and is now beating all those that beat him in the past.

Yesterday, Geoff played 36 holes at Gallardia (home of the 2004 Senior PGA Tour Championship) and shot 69 – 70, for a two round total of 139 (5 under par). Moe Norman’s golf swing – Geoff (aka Mini Moe…. from the left side – Geoff is left handed) – is quickly on the way to being one of the top-rated high school golfers in the country. Already schools such as Duke, Arizona and others are making scholarship offers (Geoff is only a Junior)… if for one second you think Moe’s swing doesn’t work and isn’t on the way to being “part of the wave of the future” you are greatly mistaken….

Next time you are in OKC – at our academy, sure you will see Geoff hanging out in my office – ask him to hit a few for you… better than that, have Todd and Geoff face each other and give you a quick demo…. you’ll be amazed how easy it is…

Good Luck!! PLEASE don’t hesitate to call or email us anytime!! Remember – ALWAYS PRACTICE WITH A PURPOSE

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