If you enjoy Moe Norman stories or advocate his simple golf swing – you will probably be interested in hearing about my Top 5 Single Plane Discoveries for 2017.
Each year I learn more about Moe and his amazingly simple golf swing. What might fascinate me, even more, is how much of a genius he was. His insights about the golf swing were direct and straightforward. His messages sounded crude at the time, but as I continue to do research and dig into his golf swing with modern technology, I am discovering that twenty-three years later, he was more accurate than ever
Let’s take a look at my top 5 discoveries of 2017 and what Moe said about them over 20 years ago.
1) The address position is never square.
Moe said, “It’s a game of straight where everything’s crooked.”
Once again Moe was right on. While we align our toe line to the target and square the clubface, the body is open to the goal. We often call this “square” but in reality, other than the club face being perpendicular to the intended target, nothing of the body is parallel to the target line.
Moe Norman Overhead View
Interestingly enough, when I asked Moe how he aligned a golf shot, he always said: “Line up the club face, aim and fire.” He never mentioned the feet or shoulders.
No surprise here but the backswing is two parts.
Moe is right again when he said “IN and then UP “ when he described the movement of the backswing.
We’ve always taught the backswing this way, but this year we quantified it with 3D motion analysis equipment. While the two parts of the backswing are blended into one motion, data shows that the upper body “separates” from the lower body during the backswing motion creating two distinct movements. It is difficult to see but easy to feel. My latest video “Inside the Single Plane Swing” describes this movement and teaches how to feel it.
Single Plane Golf Swing Top View
3. Inside the SPS is a breakthrough concept. Feel is real.
Moe called his golf swing ‘The Feeling of Greatness” for a reason. It’s all about feel. This became more evident with our bestselling DVD for 2017 – Inside the Single Plane Swing. Subtitled “Feel your Swing,” SPS students have been raving about the latest instruction insights. Based on the concept of standing inside Moe Norman’s body while he moved and felt what he felt, the Inside the SPS DVD allows you to focus on the sensations of motion. The instruction is a “first” of its kind and proving to be one of the greatest of all time.
4. Less is more. Shortening the backswing produces more rotation – go figure.
If you asked any Single Plane Instructor “Have you ever lengthened a backswing?” They would answer with a resounding “no.” Students often think that a longer backswing creates more power. But as science once again proves, golf defies logic.
Quantifiably, a shorter backswing improves the amount of rotation in the backswing to impact total. In other words, when you shorten the backswing rotation, you can rotate more at impact. Together – you can produce total rotation.
A recent student was producing 90 degrees of shoulder rotation going back and only 10 degrees of rotation at impact – going forward. A total of 100 degrees. By shortening his backswing to only 75 degrees of rotation going back, he was able to get 35 degrees of rotation at impact – going forward. A total of 110 degrees.
By doing so, his hands were able to lead, and he produced more speed at the proper moment of his swing – impact.
5. A ball against the wall stops the hips from a fall. (Sorry but I felt like I had to make this one rhyme.)
In describing the backswing, Moe said “Stabilize and Energize” Well, you just can’t energize if you don’t stabilize. That’s because the hip rotation in the backswing is a critical factor to proper spine tilt and body rotation.
If you take an exercise ball and place it between your lead hip and the wall, you can move into your backswing and feel how the bone stays forward as you rotate. I call this the “wall-ball” drill. Again, the wall-ball exercise helps you feel the movement of the lower body as well as the stabilization of the trail leg.
Graves Golf Wall Ball DrillWall-ball is definitely one of the best new drill discoveries of 2017.
Originally published 2 years ago…. Now even more pertinent with Bryson’s first PGA Tour win yesterday.
Congratulations Bryson!!!
Dear conventional golfers and teachers, I’m having an “I told you so” moment. I have to admit it feels pretty good. For over 20 years I have been answering your questions and your doubts regarding the Single Plane Swing and its validity. Questions such as: “Why isn’t anyone on tour swinging this way?” or “If this is so great why isn’t everyone swinging this way?” Some even question Moe the best ball-striker to ever play the game – asking “If Moe was so great why didn’t he win a major championship”. There have been times when presenting my research and science of the Single Plane, people have attacked me saying that Moe was autistic and a savant. That nobody could swing like Moe.
Now that a Single Plane Golfer, Bryson DeChambeau is now a major champion winning the U.S. Amateur – it feels pretty good to see science (and Moe) prevail. They claim Bryson is the best ball-striker in college golf. I am not surprised one bit.
Now, I want to say something before the golf teachers start justifying that what they have been teaching for 100 years is possibly well, wrong. I want to say to conventional teachers you can’t have it both ways. You can’t claim all successful golfers as another “variation” of conventional swing mechanics. Golf swings are different – because they are mechanically and physically different. Bryson’s swing IS different, in the ways you have been doubting and questioning.
Bryson DeChambeau at address
Please, don’t try explaining his Single Plane swing with another predictable “variation of traditional golf mechanics”. Stop painting a broad brushstroke over all golf swings. Let’s face it, conventional golf mechanics don’t explain his swing starting from the beginning – his address. Bryson’s swing is biomechanically superior to conventional swings because of the way he grips the club into the hands not the fingers. Bryson aligns the club with the arms into a straight line. From the start, he has violated two basic tenants of conventional teaching; “grip the club in the fingers and hang the arms below the shoulders in an athletic position”.
Conventionally, with Bryson’s address position, there is nowhere for your instruction to go from here. You can’t explain his swing with traditional methods and how he starts and impacts on the same plane eliminating the need to move the club from two planes into impact when you claim that golfers should start with their hands low.
Oh by the way, just so you know, we have been explaining the alignment of the hands and arms for years. This is the basic principle of the Single Plane Swing. It comes down to simplifying the golf swing and eliminating much of the unnecessary movement of conventional golf swings. You must eliminate the angles at address to simplify the golf swing – exactly what Bryson is doing. You simply can’t simplify the swing from the conventional Two-plane address.
I can’t wait to read the stories of how every conventional golf instructor will try to explain Bryson’s swing. David Leadbetter and Hank Haney will probably publish a book about. Bryson winning a tournament makes it is “safe” to talk about it. I am sure that students will ask about it and many instructors in the PGA will probably change their teaching throwing away everything they have taught for the last 100 years. Just remember that Moe Norman figured this out over sixty years ago. And even though he never won a major championship like Bryson, his ball-striking make it very clear that there is an easier way to swing. It’s called a SINGLE PLANE.
Dear conventional golfers and teachers, I’m having an “I told you so” moment. I have to admit it feels pretty good. For over 20 years I have been answering your questions and your doubts regarding the Single Plane Swing and its validity. Questions such as: “Why isn’t anyone on tour swinging this way?” or “If this is so great why isn’t everyone swinging this way?” Some even question Moe the best ball-striker to ever play the game – asking “If Moe was so great why didn’t he win a major championship”. There have been times when presenting my research and science of the Single Plane, people have attacked me saying that Moe was autistic and a savant. That nobody could swing like Moe.
Now that a Single Plane Golfer, Bryson DeChambeau is now a major champion winning the U.S. Amateur – it feels pretty good to see science (and Moe) prevail. They claim Bryson is the best ball-striker in college golf. I am not surprised one bit.
Now, I want to say something before the golf teachers start justifying that what they have been teaching for 100 years is possibly well, wrong. I want to say to conventional teachers you can’t have it both ways. You can’t claim all successful golfers as another “variation” of conventional swing mechanics. Golf swings are different – because they are mechanically and physically different. Bryson’s swing IS different, in the ways you have been doubting and questioning.
Bryson DeChambeau at address
Please, don’t try explaining his Single Plane swing with another predictable “variation of traditional golf mechanics”. Stop painting a broad brushstroke over all golf swings. Let’s face it, conventional golf mechanics don’t explain his swing starting from the beginning – his address. Bryson’s swing is biomechanically superior to conventional swings because of the way he grips the club into the hands not the fingers. Bryson aligns the club with the arms into a straight line. From the start, he has violated two basic tenants of conventional teaching; “grip the club in the fingers and hang the arms below the shoulders in an athletic position”.
Conventionally, with Bryson’s address position, there is nowhere for your instruction to go from here. You can’t explain his swing with traditional methods and how he starts and impacts on the same plane eliminating the need to move the club from two planes into impact when you claim that golfers should start with their hands low.
Oh by the way, just so you know, we have been explaining the alignment of the hands and arms for years. This is the basic principle of the Single Plane Swing. It comes down to simplifying the golf swing and eliminating much of the unnecessary movement of conventional golf swings. You must eliminate the angles at address to simplify the golf swing – exactly what Bryson is doing. You simply can’t simplify the swing from the conventional Two-plane address.
I can’t wait to read the stories of how every conventional golf instructor will try to explain Bryson’s swing. David Leadbetter and Hank Haney will probably publish a book about. Bryson winning a tournament makes it is “safe” to talk about it. I am sure that students will ask about it and many instructors in the PGA will probably change their teaching throwing away everything they have taught for the last 100 years. Just remember that Moe Norman figured this out over sixty years ago. And even though he never won a major championship like Bryson, his ball-striking make it very clear that there is an easier way to swing. It’s called a SINGLE PLANE.
For the last 6 years now, I’ve been a member of the GGA team. In these 6 years, I’ve had the opportunity to meet thousands of people, make some wonderful friends, and expand myself in ways I never thought possible. It’s been a great 6 years to be sure.
One thing that some may not know about me is that before I became a member of the GGA team in January of 2004, I was a student of the GGA. I, like you, was looking to Todd and Tim to offer me a way to improve my golf game. I already knew without a doubt that Moe Norman’s Single Plane golf swing was the golf swing for me, and at my first interaction with Todd and Tim, I knew they were the ‘masters’ I would follow to achieve the improvement I sought.
One of my favorite things about Todd and Tim as teachers, besides teaching the simplest swing on the planet, is their desire to look for ways to improve, enhance, and evolve their instruction. In recent years, we have begun to try to simplify our instruction, and we now look at the golf swing in these terms:
Task – Hit a golf ball towards the intended target
Tool – The golf club in your hands
Machine – Your body
Of those 3, you really only have control over 1 of them; your body. Golf clubs can be fit to you, but they still are just a tool, and without a machine to use the tool, they are useless. Your body is truly the only variable that you can control, and over the last 6 years, I’ve often seen it hinder many, if not most, of our students trying to swing like Moe. Hell, it hinders me too. My body isn’t as strong, supple, or flexible as it was 20 years ago, and I’d bet a “dollar to a doughnut” that yours isn’t either.
So Why bring this up?
Simple; Todd, Tim and I believe with our entire beings that Moe Norman’s Single Plane golf swing is by FAR a simpler, more bio-mechanically efficient and effective way to accomplish the task of hitting a golf ball toward an intended target.
Here’s the rub, however. For the students who’ve found renewed hope in Moe’s swing, the vast majority simply don’t have their “machine” in the correct working order to move the tool and perform the task. It’s their bodies that are failing them, not their desire or willingness to work and practice. Their machines, for lack of a better term, are broken and need some work.
Now I know you’re reading this going, “Sure he says that, they’re trying to sell them to make $’s”, and you’d be right. HOWEVER, let me pose this question to you. If you buy a product that helps you tune your “machine”, which in turn helps you achieve Moe’s swing more easily, which in turn helps you perform the task more consistently, and we make a few $’s in the process, isn’t that a win-win proposition?
The Flexibility & Golf Exercises DVD came into existence for only 1 purpose, and that was to be helpful in getting your “machine” in the correct working order to give you the best chance to play your best golf. Simple as that. Go check it out, and get a copy. Do the tests, the exercises, and go forward knowing that your machine, your body, will no longer hinder your ability to swing like Moe.
We received a great testimonial from our school that just ended here in Orlando on the 8th.
Paul D. writes,
“Hi Scott,
I am sending a quick note to say thank you and that it was great meeting you, Todd and Tim last week. I really enjoyed the school. This was truly the best golf experience I have ever had and I learned more in the 3 days than I have in the last 12 years. I finally have a process that makes sense and I plan on following it as long as I can play golf.
I was on the moenormangolf.com website and looking at the Internet Golf Academy. When I scrolled down, the person in the “before and after picture” looked very familiar :). I am very flattered that you put it on the website. Todd has made me a big believer in using video. It has been very helpful looking at the video from the school that Todd analyzed. I am practicing everything I learned and will be using the internet golf academy to send in videos of my swing for more analysis.
Give a big “Thank You” to Tim and Todd.”
Thanks, Paul, it was our pleasure to meet and work with you last weekend, and GOOD work on your swing and game. Best of luck in that tourney in April!
This message is written from one friend to another. It’s intent is to be informative and helpful and to clear up the message that we offer. We often get asked the question, “What is the difference between The Graves Golf Schools and Natural Golf”. In this message, it is likely that you will also find the truth. Some of the things I say here are the things that I have wanted to say for a long time.
For the past five years, Tim and I have been developing the Graves Golf Academy with the focus primarily on helping people play better golf. To me, it has been (and still is) a labor of love. I am passionate about Moe as a human being and as a golfer who achieved a golf swing that continues to challenge the convention of the golf world. Each day I am grateful to Moe and the events that have led me down the path to meeting him and eventually developing a friendship and mentorship. The fact is that I would not be here today if it were not for Moe. I had given up on the game. (And giving up on the game meant giving up a large part of my life.) Moe showed me an easier way. He taught me to believe in myself again and he showed me how I too can achieve greatness if I am willing to pay the price. Our goal as a golf instruction company is simply to share what we learned from Moe with everyone who contacts us. But mostly, we feel honored to be able to help.
The ultimate goal of our Academy is to help you get what you need to improve. But on a deeper level, the real outcome is that you enjoy the process and your life improves, just as my life improved after knowing Moe. In my opinion Moe gave my life back to me. After understanding this, I feel that by learning the things that Moe so graciously shared with me, your life will be better and more enjoyable. That is what Moe did for me, and it is for that reason that I feel that teaching others is a privilege and a responsibility that Tim and I do not take lightly.
Natural Golf and Me
But even since the formation of the Graves Golf Academy, I still hold a place in my heart for Natural Golf (although now maybe just nostalgic). In my initial involvement with the company, it had great potential. I have much history there. Between 1994 and 2000, I was so heavily involved with Natural Golf Corporation that I was featured on the Golf Channel’s “Golf Academy Live” teaching Moe Normans’ golf swing. I was also involved in many of the Natural Golf Corporation instructional products including “Golf Reform is at Hand”, “A Lifetime of Better Golf”, “Faults and Fixes” and “Driving for Distance”. This was part of my attempt to work with Natural Golf in the formation of an instruction company.
As a side note, being involved with these productions was great, but Natural Golf only took a very small part of the instructional material we wrote and included this in their products. This is why Tim and I made the decision to produce our own instructional material in the “Total Game Overview” and now “7 Principles Series”. To tell of Moe’s swing, you cannot just tell a part, you must teach the entirety. I felt that needed to be told, not just a part or pieces here and there. As Tim likes to say, “In an hour of our videos, we’ll give you 60 minutes of instruction, no fluff – just instruction.” I was lucky to get 15 minutes in every hour in the NG productions.
My motives were simple. Tell as many people about Moe Norman’s golf swing, develop the finest most instructive teaching method and materials, and help instructors develop their abilities to teach this information. The focus was completely on instruction and listening to students and customers to learn how we could help them.
Originally, Natural Golf was a company teaching “The simplest way to hit a ball on the ground with a stick”. Moe was the validation of the science of Natural Golf. It was a beautiful fit. Natural Golf had the science and Moe was the model. It was an exciting time for me, until 1998.
It was at that time that a major shift happened in Natural Golf. It is easy to see what happened now. But back then, the struggling company had taken on new investors who unfortunately knew little about the business of golf instruction. Their focus became profit margins and golf club sales profits were on the top of their list. With club sales as the main revenue source instruction went to the bottom.
All of my, (and many others) hard work in developing instruction around Moe’s golf swing was becoming diluted. (During a meeting, the CEO even went as far as to say that “we are moving away from Moe Norman as the model for our (Natural Golf) swing.”) The company leadership was distorting the truth. The fact was that Moe did not have non-tapered grips. (He overlapped for all of his competitive life.) Moe did NOT grip the club in the palm of the lead hand. (He gripped the club in the fingers of the lead hand, palm of the trail hand.). All that I had learned from Moe was becoming corrupted by the greed to sell clubs. Natural Golf’s “equipment sales” mania drove them to cram the golf swing into a “neat” little package called the four fundamentals. In their desire to sell more equipment, Moe’s golf swing had become a gambit to sell clubs.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Until the breakage and fitting problems of 2000, 2001 and 2003, Natural Golf clubs were improving. A bit over priced maybe, but the equipment had some merit. The problem was an integrity issue. Was selling clubs helping people learn to play better golf? And the ploy to use Moe as a way to sell clubs infuriated me. It ate at my soul. Selling clubs for Natural Golf stole my enthusiasm for helping people. It was a betrayal. Even Moe, before his death, told me to “Stay away from Natural Golf”. (He must have known. They must have taken something away from him too.)
My relationship with Natural golf became strained. This turning of company focus was a major turning point for me. Between 1998 and 2000, I found myself struggling to figure out if I was doing the right thing. I felt as though I was not being honest. I knew in my heart that I could not deliver Moe’s message from the constraints of the Natural Golf business model. The company began rating their instructors on club sales. In other words, if you sold the most clubs, you were the best instructor. I couldn’t honestly tell Moe’s message and sell Natural Golf clubs.
Now I may be crossing the line here but I challenge any Natural Golf Instructor out there to convince me that they want to sell clubs for a living. If they do, they are not living their own truth. If they are honest with themselves, they will find that what they really want to teach Moe Norman’s swing and help people because that is what they believe in. The problem is that the company created a compensation structure that is heavily (almost completely) dependent on club sales. This “forced” the instructors to focus their intention on selling students clubs. It wasn’t their fault. They were trying to teach, but it was in their best interest financially to sell clubs. As for me, I couldn’t continue to do it. It was not the truth for me. The truth also included letting the student decide which club he/she wanted to hit rather than someone deciding for them.
So, with our trust in living our truth, Tim and I decided to take a step toward what we now know was based on integrity. It was based on our hearts telling us to do the right thing. It was that year that Tim and I took a step back from our full time professional touring schedule and traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico and held the first Graves Golf School.
It has been almost five years since that school. And for the last five years, we have been delivering Moe’s message. Our challenge has been finding ways to help everyone in an efficient quick way so that we can help “short cut” the process so that we can save you the trial and error of making all of the mistakes we have made and that others continue to make. And we have also learned many things.
We have learned that teaching golf is an important responsibility. This responsibility is not about a quick fix or selling clubs because we know, from experience, that clubs are just a piece of the puzzle and by themselves, do not reach our (instructor/student) desired outcome.
We have learned that the delivery of the teaching is a critical step. This includes WHAT is being delivered and WHO delivers it. One of the most challenging things for Tim and I is helping everyone who is requesting our help from around the world. We often get approached by students about training other people as instructors so that they can “spread the word” about our teachings. But it is not quite that simple. We believe that great teaching must start at the beginning. Correct information is important. The order you learn it is just as important. The beginning is UNDERSTANDING. Without understanding, you can not go forward. The goal is that instructors lead you down a path of improvement that is founded on solid mechanics and correct information.
Each one of us has had great instructors in our lives. Many of my best teachers did not come with plaques on the wall or graduation papers. This might be the most important part of this message to you. Just as Moe was a great instructor to me, I learned that great instruction comes from the heart of the instructor. It is where the truth comes from. Great instruction is forged with dedication, sculpted with passion and polished with hard work. It is with this form that instruction presents not from the instructor but THROUGH him.
No “certification” can make an instructor, it is not necessary. Real instruction forms in the heart of the instructor through experiences. Once informed, the instructor becomes the messenger because to tell the truth benefits those who hear it and the instructor feels compelled to help others with what he knows. Furthermore, this “message” can not and should not be distorted with any other motivation which includes selling clubs. In a recent conversation with the “Chief” of Natural Golf, I said “…we (the Graves Golf Academy) are an instruction company. That is where we stand. As a student of Moe and his protégé, I teach the fundamentals of Moe Norman a man known for his genius golf swing.
If we, (GGA and Natural Golf) ever have a relationship, it will start and end with helping people learn Moe’s swing.” (And since Natural Golf now offers the Moe Norman Fundamentals Golf Schools, maybe they finally heard me). If they can teach his swing with passion and integrity, I fully support their efforts. Only time will tell.
Now, since our separation from Natural Golf, our instruction is clear and to the point. Our videos are clear and precise information with only ONE thing in mind: helping you learn the game of golf beginning with Moe Norman’s golf swing. In these five years, we have helped thousands of people find a better way to play golf and our instructional videos are extremely well received.
The secret here is just solid truthful instruction with no hidden “agendas. Our goal is to deliver what we promise. This promise is to help you in any way we can whether it be experiences of video production, e- tips, lessons website information or schools.
From one student to another, my advice to you is clear. Go forward with an open mind. Listen. Pay attention to your intuition and the truth will be unmistakable. My hope for you is that in a short period of time, you can “hit from the same tee” as Moe and experience “The Feeling of Greatness”.
I look forward to seeing all of you at a future event.
Sincerely,
Todd Graves Co-Founder, Graves Golf Academy
LEARN
THE
SWING
Join 1M+ Subscribers to get your FREE Video Quick Start Guide that reveals how to hit the ball farther and straighter more consistently from now on…
