Moe Norman

Lessons from the Champions Tour – Hawaii

January 21, 2011 by admin

For the past week, I have been on the main island of Hawaii near Kona. I came here to watch the Champions Tour Tournament – the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai Golf Club on an invitation from a good friend who was paired to play in the pro-am tournament with defending Champion Tom Watson.

In the two days rubbing shoulders with Tom, Freddie Couples, Bernhard Langer and 43 of the best golfers in the world including enjoying Curtis Strange hit balls and perform a personal clinic for 10 of us, as well as walking with Tom Watson for an entire practice round, I learned dozens of lessons. I want to share with you my day and in doing so, help you learn as much as I did in such a short time.

Whenever there is a tournament, I love going to the driving range. On this occasion, there are very few people in the gallery which made it much easier to see and talk to the players as they hit balls. I watched dozens of players including Mark O’Meara, Tom Kite, Jay Haas, Fred Couples, Ben Crenshaw, Tom Watson, Dennis Watson, Jeff Sluman, Bernhard Langer, David Frost, Hale Irwin and almost every player in the tournament warm up for their rounds.

The reason I mentioned all of these players is that first, all of these players are so different when it comes to ball-striking. I have to say none of them impressed me much. After all, I practiced and played with Moe Norman – how could I be too impressed? But what I will say is that all of these players were extremely adequate AND, they only missed the ball in one direction.

Watching and listening to Tom (Watson) as he warmed up he was talking about how he hadn’t been playing much. His balls were trailing left a bit as he kept saying “I have some left in my shots right now”. He was hitting light hooks. But he never hit a ball right. All of his shots were either good, really good or slightly left. When he played the round, he hit a few shots left and only one missed the fairway. He scored 7 under. Tom taught me lesson number 1:

You don’t have to be a perfect ball striker but you must be consistent and have a great short game.

By the way, Tom had about 25 putts in his round and got it up and down 95 percent of the time.

During a clinic with Curtis Strange I asked him about how he developed his game. “I was eaten up with golf when I was a kid – I still am”, he said. It was clear that Curtis loves golf. His passion for the game even made me love it more. He talked about how the Golf Channel is so confusing and that you must stick with something and stop “searching”. Practice what works and work hard. “The game hasn’t changed since Sam Snead. Why are there so many inventions when the game is the same” – he said. When I asked him about Moe Norman, he gave Moe great credit for being such a great ball-striker. He said the same for Lee Trevino. “Who would have thought that this (showing Trevino’s move) would have been so great. He (Trevino) had Nicklaus’s number – and he knew it too”, Strange said. The main lesson from Curtis Strange – lesson number 2:

Find something, stick to it and work hard.

While watching the players hit balls on the range, it was clear that there were two types of players – those searching for their swings, those warming up for their rounds. Tom Watson was warming up, Jay Haas and Nick Price were searching. Jeff Sluman’s caddy, an Oklahoma football fan, walked up to me and pointed out Dennis Watson, “There’s the best swing out here, hits it pure on the range but gets to the golf course and it goes sideways (gesturing with his arms pointing left and right)”. Dennis was a searcher. I can definitely relate to both types of players. I have been both a searcher and a warmer-upper. Guess which one will most likely win the tournament. Which is lesson 3:

If you are working on your swing, you cannot score your best.

This is the difference between Fred Couples (warmer-upper) and Jay Haas (Searcher). Fred is warming up to make birdies, Jay is hitting balls with swing thoughts. Birdies, not swing thoughts, wins tournaments.

What I also found different between the searchers and warmer-uppers was that the Searchers were always messing with their equipment. Berhard Langer (a warmer-upper) had clubs that looked like he had been playing with them since childhood. His long irons were Ben Hogan blades from the 80’s, mid irons were older Adams Irons (sponsor) and his wedges were old Titleist Vokey’s with tons of lead tape. Langer was truly a player and he taught me a valuable lesson number 4:

Find equipment you like and stick with it. Get stuff that fits you well and learns to love it.

One of the main things that impressed me about Langer was that his wedges were heavy. I always believe in heavy wedges, especially the lob and sand wedge as they allow for more feel of the club in short swings. Furthermore, heavy wedges help increase the weight due to the fact that during the short game shots, you are often choking up on the club which reduces swing weight.

Within minutes of being on the range, Tom Kite displayed the importance of great practice. The first thing he did was set down an alignment trainer toward his target as he starting hitting wedges. Tom is known as a practitioner and a swing technician. His practice regiment proved it. Not only did he have an alignment aid, he also hit at least half of his practice warm up shots with his wedges showing how important hitting wedges is for the scoring game. This was lesson number 5 and 6:

Practice correctly and hit tons of wedges.

The Champions Tour Players are great golfers – some of the best in the world. So many amateur golfers spend their time watching how far good players hit the ball when, as Curtis Strange said, STOP trying to hit it so hard and just hit it solid and straight. I agree with him. I wasn’t impressed by the distance these guys hit the ball. I was impressed by how consistent they hit the ball and by how good they could score. Learn how to learn from the best players. Watch the little things they do a stop being impressed by the things you can’t do and start doing the things that they do that you can.

IT

January 6, 2011 by admin

As the story goes, I was playing the Canadian Tour – and we had reached Toronto, the East Canada swing. I usually only hung out with Moe on the East side of Canada because he was there in the summer. This particular time I was playing the tournament at the Royal Woodbine Golf Club, a golf course very near the Toronto Airport.

Moe showed up the day of the practice round as I was warming up on the driving range. I asked him to hit a few balls as all of the players on the tour gathered around to watch. After he hit balls for about an hour with a crowd of 25 CPGA tour players, we decided to have lunch in the clubhouse.

At the time in my career, I was struggling with-Moe’s swing – my clubface was closed at the top of the backswing and, as a result, I often hooked the ball. Moe seemed to know what I was going through and as we were eating our sandwiches he said, “You won’t believe your eyes when you get it – you won’t believe your eyes”.

At the time, I really didn’t understand fully what he meant. I obviously knew that he saw a problem in my swing and I understood the “It” part but I didn’t comprehend what he meant by “won’t believe my eyes”.

Many years later, after a bit of frustration of still hooking the golf ball that I changed my lead hand grip to a fully neutral position (I struggled with this for a long time). Of course it felt horrible and I hit the ball terribly for a month or so. My swing, however, looked very good on video but because of the grip change the clubface was in a perfect position at the top of the backswing, however, I struggled with squaring the face at impact and fully releasing the club. (This is very common if you have a strong lead hand grip).

After taking some time to practice, fighting through the frustration, and working on the feeling of the lead hand position for a few months, (and to be truthful I really can’t even understand how exactly), one day the ball began to sound different than any time I had practiced before.

What was even more exciting was that my shots began to have the most incredible flight. I was hitting a 5 iron and I can honestly say I had never seen my ball fly so high, pure and straight. Since then, I have never had a problem with my grip and I have never lost it. Later that year, when Moe he saw me hit the ball he said ‘I told you so, you can’t believe your eyes- can you?” – He remembered our lunch in Toronto.

So what was “It” that Moe was referring to?

The “it” Moe talked about was simply the feeling of great swing mechanics, which resulted in great ball flight. More specifically the perfect movement of the golf club AND the movement of the body that created it.

If you had the privilege to see Moe strike a golf ball in person, you would have immediately noticed the sound and flight of the golf ball. Moe often described it as “pure”. This pure sound and flight were the result of great swing mechanics. Moe had “It”. “It” is similar to making an apple pie. You have all of the ingredients but it only tastes like apple pie when all of the ingredients are correctly mixed and properly baked.

“It” is when a child learns to ride a bike. At first, riding requires training wheels then, eventually he feels how to balance, pedal and steer. Suddenly, when the training wheels are removed, he is riding the bike. He gets “it”.

“It” is the result of having all of the right ingredients in all of the right places, at the right time resulting in a perfect result.

In my case, “It” was years of hard work, trial and error, studying Moe’s move, talking with Moe, making changes, plenty of frustration and hours and hours of practice. These were my ingredients.

“It” happens when you, at the subconscious level, are able to perform the given task without thinking about it. It just happens because, at a very deep subconscious level, that can only be reached through practice and repetition, “It” is the only way you know how to do it.

So, what are your “It” ingredients and how do YOU get it.

Well, this is what we (the Graves Golf Academy) are all about. Helping you get the ingredients you need to get “It”. The ingredients might vary for some however, there are definitely certain things that are the same for everyone.

One thing that I recommend is to do your best to “shortcut” this process – one way to do this is to use video analysis and get consistent and frequent instruction in the process while you are developing and changing your swing. If you do this, you can speed up the process and with a little hard work and practice, you won’t believe your eyes either.

Give Yourself the Best Chance in your “Scoring” Part of the Game

December 21, 2010 by admin

Hello Everyone, I thought I’d write a little about wedges, spin and the importance of having a good wedge game.

I know it’s the off-season or winter season for many, and most probably aren’t thinking about their wedge game this time of year, but with the new “groove rule” and all the questions/talk we are getting about wedges and the wedge game – thought I’d give a little information to help everyone.

First – as most of you have read from me before – the wedge game is a CRITICAL part of the golf game. When I am talking about wedges, I am basically talking about anything inside 100 yards for most. (For some will be a little further, for some a little shorter). This is a part/large part of the “scoring” part of the game.

Second – Again – as most of you have heard me say before – no one should have an advantage over you in this part of the game. Meaning – it is not a strength issue, but rather a practice/technique, etc… issue. In other words, you can have a GREAT wedge game as long as you work on it properly and have the proper equipment to give you the best chance.

Third – You need to make sure your equipment allows you to maximize your wedge game. As I have come to find out, it seems a majority of golfers don’t understand wedges, how they can work for them and how to use them…

So, let’s talk about wedges and hopefully working with your equipment can help improve your game, or at least, give you the best chance to score your best.

I believe you should carry the maximum amount of wedges “your bag” will let you carry. Meaning – as you can only carry 14 clubs – I would recommend carrying at least 3 wedges (including your pitching wedge). If possible, carry 4. (Pitching, Gap, Sand and Lob). Reason – the more wedges you carry the better your yardages will be between the wedges. In other words, you will less gap in yardages between the wedges the more you carry.
Different wedges are made to use for different shots. Let’s talk about the sand wedge first (typically 54 to 56 degrees).
Most sand wedges have at least 10 degrees of bounce or more. The Bounce is the angle on the sole from the back of the club to the front. Every club in your bag has a little bounce, the sand wedge has increased bounce (typically 2 to 3 times as much) to help you keep the club from digging in the sand (soft surface) too much. Meaning, it is a very good bunker/sand or medium to high grass club, but not so good at hitting short shots from “tight” (minimal grass) or hard lies. The added bounce on the club will make the club skip/bounce on hard ground and will cause blade/thin type shots. Most see this when hitting chips/or shot shots off of tight lies. It is not recommending to chip or pitch with a sand wedge from tight/hard lies.
The lob wedge (typically 58* +) is a great wedge for high pitch/lob type shots. Reason – appropriate bounce, added loft and typically a little “wider” sole. Most lob wedges have a slightly wider sole which will help the lob wedge slide across the ground and get more weight on the ball to help get the ball up fast.
It is recommending to have steel shafts in your wedges (gap, sand and lob). Reason – you want the added weight in the clubs. These clubs are the shortest clubs in the bag (besides putter) and are often hit with 1/2 shots, out of rough, out of sand, etc. etc… The added weight is a big advantage when hitting the clubs in these situations. Makes it easier to hit out of rough, sand, etc. Don’t have to swing so hard, club head will get through grass, sand much easier with added weight. Graphite is a great material to protect the body when the club is being swung fast and allows you to hit the club further. No needed with the wedges – wedges are “control” type clubs – the added weight in steel is STRONGLY recommended in the wedges.

Last – let’s talk about spin. We all want to create spin on our wedges. Without spin, it is very difficult to get the ball close to the hole. Most won’t be able to create spin to stop the ball completely, but everyone can and should create spin to slow the ball down which helps get it close to the hole.

The primary variables of spin are angle of attack/speed, club type, and ball type. The more speed, the more spin you can create. The softer (or more layers) the golf ball, the more spin you will create. Finally, the softer the metal of the club, the more spin you will/can create.

Another important variable and the one that is changing is the grooves on the wedges. The current groove (pre 2010) can create more spin then the one’s the USGA are requiring in the upcoming years. (2014 for USGA amateur events, 2024 for everyone).

To make a “long story short” it is recommending everyone carry wedges that give them their best advantage in their scoring part of the game.

The recommended wedges are those that are a “forged” (soft metal) type, steel shafted, with pre-2010 grooves (maximum spin grooves).

Reason I bring all this up, is these wedges that will give you the maximum advantage around the green in your “scoring” game is quickly disappearing. Most major manufacturers are no longer going to produce the wedges with the pre-2010 grooves after the end of this year. Meaning – if you are considering getting some of these wedges – get them NOW – they are literally going to be gone in a few days….

If you have any additional questions about the wedges, groove rules, etc… please don’t hesitate to give us a call or email anytime.

If you would like to order new/additional wedges give us a call. All wedges need to be custom built to the golfer’s specifications – absolutely critical to have a proper fit.

Remember – Always Practice with a Purpose.

Also, Remember – A little improvement every time you practice adds up to a lot of improvement over time.

Are you a One-Percenter??

December 20, 2010 by admin

I attend a group called Strategic Coach – an organization to help assist entrepreneurs on making progress, expanding their businesses and building value in our perspective industries. Strategic Coach is about businesses and people, just like you and me, making a better world buy creating valuable companies and most of all valuable products that SERVE people. For what use is a business if it does not serve? I love the organization. I inspire me and my business to do and be better. It also provides a fresh outlook at goals and progresses each quarter. It has become my way of refreshing my outlook at the golf business.

The “Coach” as we call it, consists of various business owners from numerous types of businesses. From accountants to restaurant owners and of course, a golf instructor. The “Coach” is a way of entrepreneurs helping each other.

While no business is easy, I am amused at how many people look at their business as “tough”. This especially holds true for the golf business. But in our coaching class, one thing is amazingly obvious. There are standouts – no matter how difficult their business is. And most of the Coach participants are standouts – these are people who take the extra steps, go the extra mile and believe in themselves. So much so that they invest substantial amounts of time and money to get do whatever they can to succeed. The “Coach” is about the successful people becoming more successful. It is about people helping themselves, expanding their awareness and developing their potential and then helping others.

It is the subject of “developing potential” that I want to explore – or what I want you to explore. What we have found in the “Coach” is that all of us, no matter what business we are in, have a 1-percent club. The 1-percent club is those of us, whether accountants or golfers, that exceed beyond the “average”. You know who I am talking about. These are the guys and gals that, while everyone is sleeping in bed, they are going to the gym, or hitting an extra 50 putts before dark. But what I have found, is that these 1-percenters have a particular mindset that sets them apart. This mindset allows them to see the world differently and because of it, expand their own worlds.

Without sounding too abstract, doesn’t it make sense that we are all a product of our decisions and thoughts – because we act upon these thoughts?

Let me take this concept directly to your golf game because, usually during a golf season, I see many of the 1-percenters at my golf schools. To put it another way, I don’t see the 99-percenters because they would never come to a golf school. Why? Because the 99 percenters don’t understand the importance of instruction or taking extra steps to achieve a goal. So to better define the 1-percenters, let me start by defining the 99 percenters with one main attribute that they all seem to have in common – they complain about not being better than they currently are.

Why do I find complaining so interesting. Because it’s not that the 1-percenters don’t complain. The difference is that the 1-percenters complain and then do something about it. The 99-percenters don’t. I have found that one of the main differences between the 1-percenters and 99-percenters is simply taking action. The 1 percenters are always taking action. They are doers and changers. If something doesn’t work, they try again and again and again. The 99 percenters might try but then, if it doesn’t work the first time, they quit – complain and then blame someone or something for their failure.

I see every year – during schools as I watch students improve and progress. Just being at the school is a good start toward the 1-percent club however, it is the follow-through that gets you the merit badges. What do I mean by follow through? Follow through is what happens after the school in the following months and years.

Here is something that the 1-percenters know that the 99-percenters don’t.

Progress takes time

This is the toughest thing for golfers to accept. But here’s the problem: Golf swing progress should be measured by a technique not ball-striking results.

I have heard professionals say it numerous times – that you should improve in every lesson but this depends on what you call improvement. Personally, I have never seen anyone change their golf swing in ONE lesson. While I have seen dramatic progress the goal of a lesson is to get the proper feelings of what is correct. Then you can go train.

To Train means to repeat feelings.

My love for teaching comes from helping people feel what is correct – and watching their light bulbs go off. Then, after training the feelings, results come in a huge way. I sometimes don’t get to see the ball-striking results but seeing the changes in student’s feelings during a school is what keeps me teaching.

As in my coaching class, we all strive to be in the 1-percent club. Or at least we would like to think that we are. The question we must ask ourselves can be honest, is whether we deserve to be in the 1-percent club. Ben Hogan, when asked to give a lesson to a friend of mine said “no”. He said “dig it out of the dirt”. Obviously, Hogan considered himself a member of the club. Digging it out of the dirt was Hogan’s way of saying that you have to work for it and when you do, it pays off.

We are heading into 2011 looking back at 2010 in our rear-view mirrors. Can you honestly say that you were a 1-percenter las year. No matter whether you answer yes or no, all you have is now, today. So what will you do today that can get you into the 1-percent club tomorrow. I don’t know about you but I’m making a list of goals. I’m headed for the 1-percent club. Why? Because I don’t really like complaining.

One thing that drives me crazy!

December 18, 2010 by admin

One thing that drives me crazy is this comment: “If Moe was so good, why didn’t he play on the PGA Tour?” Another form of this question is this: “If the Single Plane golf swing is so good, why isn’t there more tour players on tour using it?”.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the question. As a matter of fact, I myself probably asked the question 20 years ago when I first heard of Moe (Although I doubt it).

There are a few things about this question that have me flummoxed.

First, the question implies that all that there is to play the game of golf, and winning on the PGA Tour is mostly about ball-striking. This is far from the truth. As a matter of fact, a friend of mine made me laugh this week when, after caddying for a tour player in the recent Orlando PGA event, said “You know that commercial that says ‘these guys are good’. The fact of the matter is that when it comes to ball-striking ‘These guys (PGA players) are NOT that good’”.

My friend is right. The PGA tour players are, at best, adequate ball-strikers. And good players know this. There is so much to play a good round such as chipping, putting, course management, decision making, caddies, good and bad breaks…. The list goes on and on. Ball-striking is just a piece of the puzzle.

The second frustrating part of this question is that, the person asking the question is usually 10,000 hours away from being a skilled golfer. As a matter of fact, the skilled golfers I know don’t often question Moe’s ball-striking ability because skilled golfers understand the importance of ball-striking as it relates to playing the game. Is an important part but not the total determinant of playing great rounds. Heck, Moe even knew this and started every clinic by talking about how important the wedges are.

If you want to truly understand how ball-striking helps you become a better golfer, the answer lies what great ball-striking actually does for your game – one word – Consistency.

Great golf is played because, because of great ball-striking (or adequate in the case of the PGA Tour), only if you are able to predict outcomes. For example, things such as where your drives will likely end up, or how far you hit a 5 iron or 8 iron no longer leave you guessing about whether you can get over a water hazard or bunker. Furthermore, adequate ball-striking can allow you to manage your game and strategize how you play certain shots or holes.

Without predictable skills in ball-striking, there is no real way to develop consistency in your scoring. One day you will play a golf course where driving accuracy is not a premium and you might score well due to the fact that all of your off-line drives end up in bounds with clear approaches to the greens where, on a difficult course, you would have found yourself penalized and replaying shots from the tee. I recall one student in particular who kept statistics on all of his rounds such as Fairways hit (FW), Greens in Regulation (GIR) and Putts (P). One statistic he tracked was what he called BUH – for “blow-up-holes”. Not a regular statistic on the PGA tour, but maybe it should be. My students BUH statistic was related to having an explosion and making a triple-bogey or worse on a hole.

Further investigation, however, showed that his BUH’s were mostly due to bad drives almost 95% of the time. What does this tell us? Those statistics are great if you look at them correctly and that scores, as in this student’s situation, were reflected in his ball-striking ability particular to his driver. This was definitely a case of ball-striking However, often students will blame their ball-striking when statistics show that their putting is the problem.

In one situation, after working with a student for almost 6 months and huge ball-striking improvements, he was still complaining about high scores. I offered to play around and observe the real problem. After the front 9, it was obvious that after working for months on his swing, he had neglected his short game – scoring 45 with four 3-putts and two 4-putts! I decided on the back-nine to let the student hit the shots and I would play against him, from his shots, from within 100 yards. With my rusty short game, playing from my students’ shots, I scored 36, even par. My student shot 43. I beat him by 7 shots! A perfect example of adequate ball-striking is all you really need to play good golf. Consistency and a having a short game are the main factors.

Furthermore, you can’t shoot 59 three times or score 61 as many times as Moe did without both, ball-striking, short-game AND putting. Nor can you win as many tournaments as Moe did without more than just ball-striking skills.

One writer friend of mine compared most golfers challenging of Moe’s swing similar to staying in a burning house because it might be raining outside. You will only reap the benefits of Moe’s swing, and the consistency it can bring, if you step out of your comfort zone and get wet. Then again, there was no better way to understand how great Moe was and why so many people considered him the greatest golfer the world never knew. Of course I understand it because I knew Moe and maybe, more importantly, was able to do what was more convincing that anything – watch him hit balls.

So for those of you who might still doubt Moe’s Single Plane Swing – I hope you at some point will come to find the true benefits of an easier swing. Until then stay dry and call 911.

Moe’s Swing Unusual?

October 31, 2010 by admin

‘Ignorance is bliss”. I don’t know who said it but in the case of Moe’s swing, nothing could be more true.

Two years ago at a “Top 100” golf instructor dinner, I will never forget the numerous conversations in which Moe’s name was mentioned. As a matter of face, I have never been to an instructor gathering where Moe’s swing wasn’t discussed. Now how could that be? Let’s do a bit of simple deduction. Let’s look at a few facts. Fact 1: Some of the greatest golfers talk about Moe as the best ball-striker who ever played the game. Fact 2: The best instructors, including many of the top 100 teachers, talk about and envy Moe’s ball-striking ability. Fact 3: The goal of a great golf swing is to swing the club on plane. Fact 4: Moe swung the club on plane better than anyone because he started and impacted on the same plane. Fact 5: Moe’s swing was considered unconventional.

Now, after looking at all of these facts, where swinging the club on plane is the goal and the greatest players and instructors consider Moe the best – wouldn’t it make more sense that Moe’s swing is considered a standard as opposed to unconventional. There is more to my argument. Consider that back pain is one of the leading causes of injury and is the most common problem for golfers of every level and golf continues to be one of the most difficult games to learn, master and play.

Wouldn’t you think, after considering these facts, that someone might look at Moe’s swing as a SOLUTION to these problems as opposed to unusual? Well, as you know, I do. I see Moe’s swing as THE solution. The problem is that most people have been convinced, by watching golf on television, that conventional golf is bio-mechanically correct. Could it be possible that the tour players are wrong? The answer is unbelievable, yes. The tour players, at least most of them, are starting their golf swings in a biomechanically inferior position at address. How could this possibly be?

I call it the “One Mistake” where the players hang the arms directly below the shoulders – straight down- at address. Why do they do this? I really don’t know. But nobody else does either. I have talked to hundreds of instructors and nobody can explain why any player would hang the arms straight down. The only answer they can come up with is that “this is where they hang”. Logical? Not really. Because if your task is to strike a golf ball, with a golf club where the ball away from you – it makes no sense whatsoever to hang your arms in any direction other than one that is in alignment with the ball you are intending to strike.

So, logically, you should align your arms with the object you are intending to strike. So why is that so unusual?

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