Moe Norman

The True Moe Norman Golf Swing

February 20, 2008 by admin

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”

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

The Man with the Perfect Swing-Dec. 1999 Reader’s Digest

December 20, 2005 by admin

By: Bruce Selcraig

“His game was close to genius, but could he find acceptance”

On a warm morning at a country club near Orlando, a stocky gentleman with wispy gray hair makes his way past the crowd gathered for today’s exhibition. To those who don’t know better, the impish old fellow could be just another sunburned senior dreaming of bogey golf.

He wears a black turtleneck despite the heat. The left pocket of his neon-lime slacks bulges, as always, with two golf balls – never more, never fewer. All three watches on his left wrist are set to the same time.

Taking his position at the tee, he quickly lofts a few short wedge shots about 70 yards. At first, the spectators seem unimpressed. Then they notice that the balls are landing on top of one another. “Every shot same as the last,” chirps the golfer, as if to himself, “Same as the last.”

Moving to a longer club, a seven iron, he smoothly launches two dozen balls, which soar 150 yards and come to rest so close to each other you could cover them with a bedspread. He then pulls out his driver and sends a hail of balls 250 yards away – all clustered on a patch of grass the size of a two-car garage. Astonished laughter erupts from the crowd. “Perfectly straight,” says the golfer in a singsong voice. “There is goes. Perfectly straight.”

Those who have followed Moe Norman’s career are no longer surprised by his uncanny displays of accuracy. Many professionals and avid players consider the 70-year-old Canadian a near-mythical figure. But few outside the sport have ever heard his name. Fewer still know the story of his struggle to find acceptance in the only world he understands.

One cold January morning in 1935, five-year-old Murray Norman was sledding double with a friend on an ice-packed hillside near his home in Kitchner, Ontario. Speeding downhill, the sled hurtled into the street and skidded under a passing car.

Both boys survived and ran home crying. But the car’s right rear tire had rolled over Moe’s head, pushing up the cheekbone on one side of his face. His parents, unable to afford medical care, could only pray he did not suffer serious brain damage.

As Moe grew older he developed odd behavioral quirks and a repetition, staccato speech pattern. His older brother Ron noticed that Moe seemed unusually frightened of unfamiliar situations. At night, Ron often heard his little brother sobbing in bed, devastated by some real or imagined slight.

At school Moe felt glaringly out of place among other kids. Desperate for friends and acceptance, he tried to be playful, but his efforts often backfired-pinching people too hard or bear-hugging them until they pushed him away. He heaped ridicule on himself and even coined his own nickname: Moe the Schmoe. He became known as a slow student in every subject-except one. At math no one could touch Moe Norman. He astounded his classmates by memorizing complicated problems and multiplying two-digit numbers in his head almost instantly.

When he wasn’t acting the clown, Moe walled himself off from others. Over time he plunged deeper into isolation, and yet, ironically, it was loneliness that led him to his greatest happiness.

In the years following his accident, Moe spent hours atop the same winter sledding hill, hacking around an old golf ball with a rusty wood-shafted five iron he found at home. Here in the solitary and magical world of golf, he found a reason to wake up each morning.

Kitchner, Ontario, in the 1940’s was a gritty factory town where working-class teenagers had little desire or money to play the “sissy”, upper -class game of golf. Moe was spellbound, often skipping meals, school and chores to head off by himself in a field to hit balls-500 or more a day. He practiced until dark, sometimes until the blood from his hands made the club too slippery to hold.

In his early teens, Moe got a job as a caddie at a country club only to be fired when he hurled the clubs of a low-tipping local mogul into some trees. Soon he gave up caddying to concentrate on playing, honing his skills at a nearby public golf course. He quit school in tenth grade, and by the time he was 19, he knew he was blessed with a rare talent: he could hit a golf ball wherever he wanted it to go.

Moe left home in his early 20s, hitching rides to compete in amateur golf tournaments all over Canada, supporting himself with a succession of low-paying jobs. At his first few tournaments in the late 1940s, fans didn’t know what to make of the odd little fellow with the garish, mismatched outfits, strawlike red hair and crooked teeth.

He manner was playful, almost childlike, his self-taught technique wildly unorthodox. Legs spread wide, he stood over the ball like a slugger at the plate, clutching the club not with his fingers, as most golfers are taught to do, but tightly in his palms, wrists cocked, as if he were holding a sledgehammer. Many spectators dismissed him as an amusing sideshow. Some giggled when he stepped up to the tee. Soon though, Moe Norman was turning heads for reasons other than his personal style.

Recognized as a gifted player who could hit a golf ball with breath-taking precision, he quickly became a sensation on the amateur golf circuit. In one year alone he shot 61 four times, set nine-course records and won 17 out of 26 tournaments.

Even as his fame grew, Moe remained painfully shy and could not shake the sense that he was undeserving of the attention. Rather than bask in the spotlight, he avoided it. In 1955, after winning the Canadian Amateur Open in Calgary, Moe failed to show for the awards ceremony. Friends later found him by the nearby Elbow River, cooling his feet.

The victory qualified Moe for one of golf’s most prestigious events: the Masters. When he got the invitation to the tournament, he was only 26 and spending his winters setting pins in a Kitchner bowling alley. This was his chance not only to represent his country but to show skeptics he wasn’t just some freak on a run of beginner’s luck.

But his old demons would give him no rest. Moe felt like an intruder among some of golf’s brightest lights. He played miserably in the first round and even worse on day two. So he fled to a nearby driving range to practice.

While hitting balls, Moe noticed someone behind him. “Mind if I give you a little tip?” asked Sam Snead. The Hall of Famer merely suggested a slight change in his long-iron stroke. But for Moe it was like Moses bringing an 11th commandment down from the mountaintop.

Determined to put Snead’s advice to good use, Moe stayed on the range until dark, hitting balls by the hundreds. The next day, unable to hold a club, he withdrew from the Masters, humiliated.

But Moe climbed right back up the ladder to win the Canadian Amateur again a year later. A string of victories followed. In time, he had won so many tournaments and collected so many televisions, wristwatches and other prizes that he began selling off those he didn’t want.

When the Royal Canadian Golf Association charged him with accepting donations for travel expenses, which was against regulations for amateurs, Moe decided to turn professional. His first move as a pro was to enter, and win, the Ontario Open.

As a newcomer to professional golf, Moe approached the game with the same impish lightheartedness of his amateur years. When people laughed, he played along by acting the clown. An extremely fast player, he’s set up and make his shot in about three seconds, then sometimes stretch out on the fairway and pretend to doze until the other players caught up.

Fans loved the show, but some of his fellow competitors of the U.S. PGA Tour did not. As the Los Angeles Open in 1959, a small group of players cornered Moe in the locker room. Stop goofing off, they told him, demanding that he improve his technique as well as his wardrobe.

Friends say a shadow fell across Moe that day. Some believe the episode shattered his self-confidence and persuaded him to back out of the American tour, never to return. More than anything, Moe had wanted to be accepted by the players he so admired. But he was unlike the others, and he was being punished for it.

The laughter suddenly seemed barbed and personal. No longer could he shrug it off when some jerk in the galleries mimicked his high-pitched voice or hitched up his waistline to mock Moe’s too-short trousers.

Because Moe never dueled the likes of Americans Jack Nicklaus or Arnold Palmer, he achieved little recognition beyond Canada. At home, though, his success was staggering. On the Canadian PGA Tour and in smaller events in Florida, Moe won 54 tournaments and set 33-course records. While most world- class golfers count their lifetime holes-in-one on a few fingers, Moe has scored at least 17.

Despite his fame and the passing years, Moe was continually buffeted by the mood swings that tormented him in childhood. Even among friends, he could be curt, sometimes embarrassingly rude.

At other times he was charming, lovable Moe, bear hugging friends and tossing golf balls to children like candy-the happy-go-lucky clown from his amateur days.

Through the 1960’s and ’70s Moe racked up one tournament victory after another. But in the early 1980’s his enthusiasm for competition began to wane. His winnings dwindled, and he slipped into depression. Not being wealthy, he seemed to care very little for money, lending thousands to aspiring golfers and never bothering to collect.

Broke and all by forgotten, he drifted from shabby apartments and boardinghouses to cut-rate roadside motels, often sleeping in his car. Had it not been for the generosity of friends-and a stroke of good luck- he might have faded entirely into obscurity.

Moe has never had a telephone, a credit card or owned a house. Few people know where he might be living on any given day, and he seldom talks to strangers. Little wonder it took Jack Kuykendall two years to track him down.

Kuykendall, founder of a company called Natural Golf Corp., finally caught up with him in Titusville, Fla. He told Moe that, trained in physics, he had worked for years to develop the perfect golf swing-only to discover that an old-timer from Canada had been using the same technique for 40 years. He had to meet this man.

Moe agreed to demonstrate his swing at clinics sponsored by Natural Golf Corp. Word spread quickly through the golfing grapevine, and before long, sports magazines were trumpeting the mysterious genius with the killer swing.

Among those following Moe’s story was Wally Uihlein, president of the golf-ball company Titleist and Foot-Joy Worldwide. Hoping to preserve one of golf’s treasures, Uihlein announced in 1995 that his company was awarding Norman $5000 a month for the rest of his life. Stunned, Moe asked what he had to do to earn the money, “Nothing,” said Uihlein. “You’ve already done it.”

Two weeks later, Moe Norman was elected to the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. Even today, however, he remains largely unknown outside his native country except among true disciples of the game. For them, Moe is golf’s greatest unsung hero, the enigmatic loner once described by golfer “Lee Trevino as “the best ball-striker I ever saw come down the pike.” Many agree with Jack Kuykendall-had someone given Moe a hand 40 years ago, “we would know his name like we know Babe Ruth’s.”

In a parking lot of a Florida Country Club, Moe Norman is leaning into his grey Cadillac, fumbling through a pile of motivational tapes. He seems nervous and rushed, but as he slides behind the wheel, he pauses to reflect on his life, his family and his obsession.

Moe never had a real mentor or a trusted adviser. “Today’s kids,” he says, “are driven right up to the country club. Nice golf shoes, twenty-dollar gloves, nice pants. “Have a nice day, son.” I cry when I hear that. Oooh, if I’d ever heard that when I was growing up…”

He squints into the sun and cocks his head. “Everyone wanted me to be happy their way,” he says. “But I did it my way. Now, every night I sit in the corner of my room in the dark before I go to bed and say, “My life belongs to me. My life belongs to me.”

With that, he shuts the door and rolls down the window just a crack. Asked where he’s going, Moe brightens instantly, and a look of delight spreads across his face.

“Gone to hit balls,” he says, pulling away. “Hit balls.” It is and forever will be, the highlight of his day.

Reprinted from the December 1999 Issue of Reader’s Digest @ 1999 the Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., Pleasantville, N.Y. 10570 Printed in U.S.A.

Be watching for more Winter Practice Tips in upcoming e-tips. Remember – ALWAYS PRACTICE WITH A PURPOSE

My Story

July 20, 2005 by admin

GOLF FRUSTRATION

I had just returned from the Asian Professional Golf Tour. After competing against the likes of V.J Singh, David Toms and Todd Hamilton to name a few, I knew I needed more consistency and better ball striking abilities. After discussing my situation with some of my tour friends, I decided to search for an instructor who could help me understand the swing and help me become a better player.

I often tell my students that no one has spent more time and money on golf instruction than me. At the time, I was desperate and I needed help. After all, if I couldn’t beat the guys on the Asian Tour, how would I beat the guys on the U.S. Tour? So to get better, I began to travel around the United States spending time with the most well-known instructors; the guys you see on the covers of magazines and on the golf channel today. There is only one word for the results of my attempts to get better. I finally moved to Dallas Texas to work with one of golf’s best instructors and finally, after two years of hard work and practice I can only use one word to describe my results: frustration. That is what I was feeling in late 1993. There is no other word for it. And trust me, nobody was hitting more golf balls or practicing harder than me. But I had reached wit’s end. I felt as though I had absolutely no hope. I didn’t have the money or the heart to continue and I quit playing golf.

Then one day, while living in Dallas, a friend from college came through town. He had a tape of a mysterious Canadian who was known for his unique golf swing and somewhat odd personality. The man’s name was Moe Norman. As I watched the video, one thing, in particular, caught my attention. It was the people watching Moe hit balls. They were professional golfers that I knew in college. There were dozens of them, all watching this amazing Canadian Legend hit golf balls.

Now, before I continue, let me ask you a question. Have you ever had any peculiar events occur in your life that kind of lead you in a direction? Things you might call coincidences or synchronicities? (I hate to call them coincidences because I think all things are purposeful), but have you ever had a series of events occur that kind of push you toward something? Well, during this period of my life, these types of events were occurring in my life. Because at the same time I was visiting with my friend, there was a man named Jack Kuykendall demonstrating his Natural Golf Method at a driving range that my professional golf sponsors owned.

These two events triggered a new hope in my thinking about golf. I thought, “Could there be an easier way to strike a golf ball?” Could Moe Norman have the answers? Maybe I had been searching in the wrong places for the answers to my game.

At that time, I began to look further into Moe Norman and Jack Kuykendall. What I found was that there were some differences between what Jack was demonstrating and Moe Norman. Jack discussed having the hands split apart on the club 3 inches, Moe had an overlapping grip. Jack had his own club design, Moe played with standard clubs that he altered for his swing. Also, Jack used a big grip and talked about hammering a nail while Moe had a slightly larger than normal but tapered grip on his clubs. But, even with the differences in technique, there was one thing in common, the single axis. Jack talked about the science of the Single Axis and Moe Norman was the living validation of possibly an easier way to hit a golf ball.

The Single Axis

These events led me back to the driving range, back to the video room to study my swing mechanics. Could my new knowledge give me the results I was looking for? Could the answer to a simple way to hit a ball be in the Single Axis?

I often utilized video often in my practice because I believed in modeling and not wasting time with poor technique. I had spent so much time looking at other players’ golf swings, it was easy for me to understand how helpful video analysis could be. I figured 10 perfect swings on video are a better use of time than 100 bad swings on the driving range. Besides, the driving range couldn’t tell me anything about my golf swing and I wanted to know more about the club movement. And now after seeing the video from Canada, I wanted to Model Moe Norman.

So there I was, in my teacher’s studio about to defy all of his teachings and put myself in positions that if he saw me would laugh. (I would later find a tape of Moe in my teacher’s office.) But the way I looked at it was that I had nothing to lose. So there I was, standing in front of the video cameras. As I address the ball on the video screen, I lifted my hands into a straight line with the club shaft. I widened my stance, looked down at the ball and made my first single axis golf swing. I immediately went to the video machine to play it back. As I played it back, I, for the first time in my life, found what I was looking for.

Impact Plane

Before I explain what I saw on video, let me explain my “conventional” golf swing. At address you hang your arms below your shoulders. When you do this, you can see that the club is on a separate line than the arms. This is called a two axis system. The arms are on one axis and the club is on another. The golf swing was a combination of correct arm movement, rotation, hinging of the hands and turning of the body. When I practiced and videotaped my swing, I could go back to the TV screen and draw a line on the club shaft at address. Then, I would play my swing and draw a line on the club-shaft at impact. The address line was always above the impact line. In other words, it was higher than the original shaft line at address. This meant, in conventional terms, that the club was starting on one plane and impacting on another. The problem with this “two” plane type of swing is that because the club starts on a lower plane, it must steepen into impact. This steepening of the club shaft meant that the upper body must lift to allow for the different impact plane. The upward and backward movement of the body is a difficult move and it takes coordination, timing and lots of practice. (I recently explained this in the July 2005 Golf Tips Magazine).

Consider the fact that it only takes ONE DEGREE of clubface error to hit a driver 30 yards off line. And the conventional two axis system makes it difficult to square the face at impact. With such a small room for error, the goal is to create the least amount of deviation of the club between address and impact. The goal is to swing the club on a SINGLE plane.

What I saw on Video

So, when I went to the video studio for the first day to model Moe’s golf swing, I found the answer to simplifying the golf swing.. I simply adjusted my grip, lined the club correctly with my arms and finally reached my goal. When I swung the club, the club impacted the golf ball on EXACTLY the same line as address. I finally swing the club on the single plane. It was so simple. I then realized that Moe Norman, the mysterious Canadian who swung the club what he called “My Way”, had a secret. Moe had unknowingly uncovered the answer to how to a simple single plane golf swing.

When I realized how easy it was to swing the club on plane, I then realized that all of my conventional efforts were, to put it quite frankly, wrong. I don’t think they were a waste of time because without them I would not have searched for a simple way. But I knew that I had to learn a new IDEA of the golf swing.

My concepts of how to swing the club had been drastically challenged. The conventional thoughts of arms hanging below the shoulder, lower body rotations, and shoulder turn were now dramatically altered. I knew that my understanding of Moe’s golf swing and the single plane was just a beginning of my learning process.

Meeting Moe

I must admit. After that first day in the video room, I was extremely excited. I felt as though I had discovered the Holy Grail of the golf swing. I realized that after reading all of the golf magazines, studying the best players in the world, playing on the Asian professional golf tour and then working with the best instructors in the world that I be making one very big mistake. I had been asking the wrong question. I had been searching for what works on tour however the tour is full of many swings that work. When I finally asked one simple question, “Who is the best in the world?” only one name emerged from even the best players on tour; his name was Murray ‘Moe’ Norman.

It was mid-summer 1994 and Moe was performing a clinic in Chicago. I knew that if I was to take my learning to the next level I needed to meet the man behind the Single Axis Golf Swing. I decided to drive to Chicago and meet Moe and watched Moe hit balls in person for the first time. His first three shots from 50 yards struck the target. The fourth shot wets directly under it. By the end of the clinic, Moe was striking drivers at a 250 yard post. I watched as about every 10th ball would strike the post. I can honestly say that I have never seen a greater display of control and accuracy of the golf club. I have never seen golf look so simple. It was the greatest ball striking I have ever seen.

After the clinic I approached Moe. We talked about his amazing display. I told him that I had never seen a better clinic.

And Moe’s first words to me were “I’m the best in the world”.

“There is no doubt” I said “No doubt.”

“Mind if I hit a few of your clubs” I asked.

“Sure, but they’re too heavy for you” Moe said. They weighed a ton. Lead tape covered the heads. But as I swung the club, Moe watched as I hit his 7-iron and then his 5 iron.

“Looks like me without a belly, looks like me without a belly” Moe said.

From that day Moe and I became friends. We played, practiced and performed clinics occasionally. I often visited Moe in Florida when I was either playing tournaments or working with Natural Golf. Our relationship became one of a student and teacher. Moe was extremely intuitive and played golf by feel I learned the things that Moe himself could not explain. As I spent more time with Moe, I learned to “bridge the gap” between his feelings for the golf swing and the mechanical and physical reality. I could never express my appreciation for Moe’s kindness and generosity as I diligently learned to know what he knew. It was for that reason that I have acquired the nickname “Little Moe”.

The important part of this message is the promise I made to Moe during what would be my final round with him on July 4, 2004. He was excited about all that I was doing with my swing and commented to me that he never thought that he would see it but that I had “mastered” his move. That day, I promised Moe that I would continue to be his voice to tell people about his amazing swing no matter what the consequences. I promised him that I would show others how his simple technique could help them enjoy the game just as it helped me learn to love the game again.

Todd

Commentary by Tim… (yup – older brother always has to throw a thing or two in…). Guys – THIS IS WHY WE TEACH THE WAY WE DO!!!! Do we want to teach a 1,000 people – absolutely, but whether we teach only 1 or 1,000,000 our goal is the same – to teach you MOE’S SWING the best we know how. There a many skeptics (and copies) out there (more and more every day) – but to be honest, if I was going to learn this swing…. I know where I’d go….

Please let us know if we can do anything to help you on your journey to learning Moe’s Swing.

Good Luck and Remember – ALWAYS PRACTICE WITH A PURPOSE

One Thing at a Time

April 20, 2005 by admin

I wanted to tell everyone a story about a student I (Tim) have been teaching the past few months. Of course, as always, story is to help those who read it…

I have to teach a young man from Edmond, OK for about 2 months now. His father called me in January and asked if I would take a look at his game and determine if I could assist him. This young man (Geoff) is a student at the high school down the road from our course and plays on the golf team (he’s a freshman). The tie I had with his father was I played on a Pro-Am team with him last year in a tournament I play in yearly. He remembered my game and “history” and wanted to know if I could possibly help him. I told him I’d see…

I met Geoff at his golf course and played nine holes with him.

My assessment was as follows:

Pretty good short game – (you guys knew I’d look at that first).
Swing was inside to out with almost no release – reason was very poor balance and body positions would not allow for a good release in his positions.
Because of swing he was hitting weak left shots with almost no distance (Geoff is left handed)
He was having to him mid to long irons to all par fours – his friends his age were outdriving him by 40 yards +++.
His grip was good – his set up – hands too low, head too far forward, weight center (balance) was toward the toes, and very little knee flex because of this.
There were other issues… but most others were minor.

Geoff’s stroke average for the year was 78.5 and best round was 75. So – I told his father we could start working together. I’d do some work with him.

Little history about Geoff –

He has no idea who Moe Norman is.
He has no idea what a single axis swing is.
On his golf team, he plays with many good players including one whose father plays on the PGA tour.

So we started.

The first thing I did with Geoff reviewed the fundamental positions. Geoff had a good grip, so we went to set up. He was leaning way too far forward (toward the ball) on set up. I showed him the correct position, videoed him before and after we made the change to show difference and had him demonstrate to me. He hit about 10 balls the hour lesson – mainly just set up and tried to get comfortable. Then set up again, and again and again and again.. hitting only a couple of shots. I asked him what it felt like, what he saw, etc.. This was the first lesson.

Lesson #2 – I saw Geoff a week later. When I saw him, he was back to his old set up…. (not the one we had worked on). I set him up again in a proper set up (single axis of course) and went through the exact same process of the first lesson – no more.

Lesson #3 – Saw Geoff about 10 days later. He had made great process in the setup. His lead arm was now on his trail, his shoulders were square to the target and his balance was over the balls of his feet – MUCH better than where we started. I checked these positions and had him hit a couple of shots.

Each shot he started from a good set up. So we went on. Geoff’s takeaway was slightly inside and the face of his club was slightly hooded on the backswing. I showed him the proper takeaway and where the club should be at waist high. He repeated that position (probably 200 times) during the lesson – he hit very few balls… I showed him on video, we checked, rechecked, he described the feelings.. etc… Lesson ended.

Lesson #4 – 2 weeks later – Geoff came to the academy. I checked his backswing – was inside and hooded. Showed him the correct position. His quote was he knew where we were supposed to be… I answered “Great – show me”. He showed me correct position in a drill – then when hitting a ball – brought the club inside… I had him drill to correct position again and told him to continue to work on it… that’s it, no more… (To be honest, think Geoff was a little frustrated, but he was starting to get the hint we were not going on until he fixed what we were working on).

Lesson #5 – Week later – Geoff came to the academy. Perfect single axis set up – perfect back swing. Absolutely on plane to the top of his swing… but he was overswinging and his elbow was flying. You should have seen his face when he saw his perfect backswing… Now a dilemma… I knew we needed to shorten up his swing and get his elbow in a much better position (no flying out like Jack Nicklaus). I discussed with his father and we decided to wait – not because he couldn’t handle it, but Geoff had a big tournament the next week and this change was sure to cause a lot of bad scoring (big change and dramatic different feeling in swing). So – I did the next best thing. I discussed where he needed to have his elbow at the top of his swing and why. Geoff understands it was to make sure his elbow was in front of him at impact rather than “trapped” behind him which will happen if the elbow “flies” in the backswing. So we worked on impact with trail elbow in front of him.

Next Week – Geoff’s tournament – Par 70, 30 mph wind, 36 hole Conference tournament.

Geoff shot 70, 69 (1 under) – finished top 5 Hit hit 75% of the fairways and 80% of the greens (yes, he did not putt well……but we haven’t got there yet…)

Reason I tell this story….

As you see – when working with Geoff, I worked on ONE THING and only ONE THING at a time. NO MORE. Not because he couldn’t handle more, but because any golfer who wants to get better has to MASTER one thing at a time, and only ONE thing at a time. If you don’t, you will get nowhere. The entire process will be confusing and misleading. If you progress in this manner – you’ll be amazed how much better you get FAST.

Geoff was an interesting “case” as he didn’t know what I was going to teach next… he hadn’t studied “ahead” as many of those we work with. Not that this is bad (in fact, we think it is great to “read ahead”), but you still must work on one thing at a time. No matter how much you want to skip ahead, it doesn’t work… skipping ahead only causes confusion and problems (big problems) in the swing.

Moral of story:

Get something to study to view the “perfect” model of the swing. Check your swing against this model. You will find the model in the Single Plane Solution DVDs. This is exactly why we produced this instructional material. If you haven’t got it yet.. you are missing what we believe is the best single axis Moe Norman golf swing instructional material on the market… if you don’t believe us – ask our alumni and/or those who already have the instruction material. We GUARANTEE 100%.
Get someone to look at your swing. You can video your own swing (view yourself), send it to us for comments, etc.. or see us or another instructor in person.
Take ONE thing at a time. No matter how good a student you are, you can only work on and master one thing at a time. Some will master faster, some slower… but if you do one thing at a time – you will master the fundamental positions.
Check your swing often and know the model well enough that you know when you have “mastered” a position. You will, you’ll be surprised how fast you can do this and be even more surprised how mastering just one thing will dramatically improve your swing.
Don’t put a time frame on fixing your swing. Some positions will come faster than others, but they will come with time.
GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY – as Moe always said….. Good Luck – Remember – Always practice with a purpose.

Difference between NG and GGA

January 20, 2005 by admin

Dear Friends,

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

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