Moe Norman

The Best Training I’ve Ever Seen

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At a recent 3 Day Premier school in Palm Springs, I experienced a truly amazing transformation of a group of golfers. It was awe inspiring to watch, and as an instructor, very, very exciting to see. Permit me to elaborate.

It was on the 2nd morning of our 3-day school, and the group of students were warming up that morning by practicing our PVC drill. Our group of instructors, 5 of us in all, we walking the tee line, helping each golfer individually. After a few minutes of observation of not only the individuals, but the group in general, we noticed that the majority of the students were doing the drill incorrectly.

Now, if you’ve followed our instruction, you know our firm belief that if a drill isn’t done correctly, it’s doing more harm than good. In fact, practicing incorrectly can be fatal to your game.

We decided to stop the entire group, and circled everyone up. We reviewed each position of the PVC drill, reminded the group of valuable checkpoints at each position, had the group demonstrate correct positioning, and sent them back to the line to “try again”.

What transpired over the next 20 minutes was the best training session I have ever seen.  I saw a group of golfers who were intensely focused on each position. These golfers were moving to a position, checking it, and if the position was not correct, they fixed it immediately.  It was a truly magical moment to behold. That group improved their swings in that 20-minute session, which is what the schools are all about.

It’s training, and I mean truly training, that makes the golf school experience superior to any other form of instruction out there.

At each and every GGA school program, from the 5 day Build Your Game Camp to the 1-day Single Plane Experience, our focus as an instruction company is helping you learn to train. The fundamentals of the swing, putting, and the wedge game are simple, it’s learning how to train each of those areas – correctly – that make the golf school experience last.

If you are ready to experience exactly what your perfect golf swing feels like, then I encourage you to get to attend a GGA school sooner rather than later. If you are like most of our students, you’ve spent enough time guessing and being frustrated. It’s time to experience it, learn it, and train it under the supervision of a trained eye.

To find a school, CLICK HERE , and we look forward to helping you discover what true golf swing training really is.

Hit em’ straight!

Scott

 

Thank You Conventional Golf

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4)   Keep the feet on the ground into impact

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

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

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

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

It’s Not Just Me

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What if I told you that one of the best “conventional” golf teachers in the world today said this: “Modern golf instruction has a long way to go”, “Moe Norman had as perfect mechanics as any person who has ever played and more players, even tour players, should swing like him”. Does this catch your attention?

When I say that Moe’s swing is easier, has less moving parts and all golfers can learn from him, my perspective is biased. I believe everyone should swing like Moe. But then again, I am “Little Moe” and why would I say anything other than Moe’s single plane, the way I play, is the best way? However, when Jim Suttie, a top 100 instructor who might be the only PGA Professional instructor with a PHD in Biomechanics says it, I think it’s time for all golfers, of all levels, to listen.

I recently had the pleasure of spending the day with Jim Suttie, who everyone calls “Doc”. Doc has forgotten more about golf than I have ever learned. He’s been teaching for almost 40 years and coached some great players including Paul Azinger, Fred Funk, Mike Small, Chip Beck, Kevin Streeleman, Jeff Sluman and dozens of other players have taken instruction from Doc.

It is no surprise that Doc and Moe were good friends. Every winter as Moe migrated south to Florida, he would travel through Pine Needles, and stop by the academy where Doc would watch him hit balls. As Doc put it, “there was nothing more fun than to just sit back and watch, Moe was a great showman”. In 1992, Doc shot a video with Moe hitting and answering questions about his swing. In one part of the video, Doc tells Moe that he swings on a Single Plane. I would credit Doc for recognizing Moe’s Single Plane setup before any other teacher. With his background in Biomechanics this makes sense – Doc has a great sense of the mechanics of the golf swing – even with Moe who was considered awkward and unconventional.

I find it more than a coincidence that Moe was awkward and unconventional yet is considered biomechancally perfect by a Doctor of Biomechanics.

So where does this leave you – the aspiring golfer who is sifting for and easier way to get better at golf? There is no doubt that golf instruction, in its current state is confusing. Even Doc thinks so. He will agree that most people are watching television – learning the “swing of the week” from the latest PGA Tour winner. “The answers aren’t out there. Moe was the closest to perfection of anyone I have ever seen” says Doc. He would agree that many people don’t want to look different but to get Moe like results, you need to take the unconventional leap. Here are some of the main differences between conventional golf and Moe’s Single Plane Swing:

Conventional golf teaches a narrow stance with rotation/Single Plane Golf teaches wide stance with less rotation

Conventional golf teaches an upper body speed with a rotational lower body/Single Plane Golf is upper body speed with a stable lower body.

Conventional golf teaches a straight lead leg at impact causing stress on the back/Single Plane Golf Teaches a flexed lead leg taking stress off of the back

Of course, the key is what Doc refers to as the biomechanics of getting to impact – the most important part of the swing. Doc says that the key to future instruction must be about getting to impact, and finding the easiest way to get there. This is the key to great ball striking. And by the results that Moe produced, it is evident to one of the best teachers in the world that Moe was the best.

Improve Your Move – Its Like Dominos

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Improving Your Move

Moe_1984_approaching_impact

Are you a consistent ball-striker when you play golf? Or, like so many golfers, do you have back problems? Do you slice the ball regularly? Do you sometimes hit the ground behind the ball – hitting it fat? Are there times when you hit the top of the ball hitting it thin? I bet you didn’t you know that improving the movement of your hips and legs (lower body) could fix any and all of these problems.

Here is a picture of Moe Norman at Impact. What I want you to notice is that his lower body has moved both downward and laterally toward the target. You can see the flex in his knees. There is one extremely important understanding that I want you and all golfers to know: how you move your lower body (from the hips down) affects your spine movement – and spine movement is absolutely central to every single movement of your body.

I want you to think of the movement of the body during the swing as similar to dominos stacked into a line. Once you put the first domino in motion, there is a chain reaction. This chain reaction of one domino affecting the next one in line is similar to what happens when you begin the movement of your lower body during the swing. Once you move your legs and hips, you position the lower spine which then affects how you are able to move every other part of your body including your shoulders, arms, hands and ultimately – the club.

There is a critical connection between your lower and upper body

In this anatomical picture, you can see the hip flexors (muscles attached inside the hip joint) attach to the inside of the leg bone (femur) and the attach on the inside of the pelvis. If you look closely at the pelvis, you can see that the lower spine is attached to the pelvis in the Sacrum area.

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The muscles that are attached to the pelvis attach to the legs and the spine. This is a critical juncture of your body – what I call the kinetic link. You can see by the numerous muscles and attachments that if you improperly move the muscles of the legs and hips, you directly affect the spine.

This critical connection between lower body and upper body – centered around the hips – is the focus of our latest instructional product – the “Improve your Move”  (IYM) Training Video.

Groundbreaking Instruction

If you want to hit the ball better you must move the golf club better and faster, what we consider on-plane. Improving your lower body move gets to the causes of your golf swing problems which makes our latest product the GGA “Improve Your Move” video instructionally ground-breaking. I haven’t been this excited about an instructional product since the best-selling Single Plane Solution Video. Why? Because this video is more than just golf instruction, explaining the mechanics of what to do.

IYM case

This video shows you how to train the movements you must have during the golf swing. The IYM video trains you, making it a “doing” video.

Good instructional videos show you the important mechanical movements of the swing, the IYM video goes beyond the mechanics, and shows you exactly how to train the movement behind the mechanics. Similar to difference between understanding how the pieces of a motor works, and being the motor, the IYM video demonstrates that you are the motor of your golf swing and now you can start fine tuning yourself for perfect movement.

Here are some of the areas covered inside the IYM Training video:

Specific exercises to help you gain the strength and flexibility of your lower body including: the Knee Roll, Advanced Hip Roll, Squat Stretch, Chair Twists, Leg Swings, Forward Leg Raises, Side Leg Raises/Side Leg Swings, Arm Circles, Arm Swings and the Side Step exercise.

Also included are golf training exercise including: Single Plane Training and Position and Movement training using the PVC Stretch Drill, Weight Shift Drill and Elbow to Hip Drill.

To enhance your golf position training you will also learn to train with the PVC positions including Positions 0-2, Position 0 to 3 and Position 0 to 4 drills. You will also train with a golf club mastering your backswing with posture training. And to master what Moe called his “vertical drop” we have designed the “bag in the chair” drill to help you train the movement of the lower body to get the trail hip forward allowing the arms to drop vertically.

Then, to help you understand how the legs move you laterally, you will learn the “Step Swing to Impact” drill which will Train you how to move into your lead side. All of these drills will help you reach the purpose of the IYM video – which is to separate the upper body from the lower body.

I firmly believe that there is no better training to help you become a better ball-striker (get to impact) than mastering your lower body move. Yes, the grip, hand action and arm motion are very important but nothing will advance you further than if you Improve Your Move with the lower body training found in this video.

A Swing of Disastrous Distortions

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When I watch golf swings, even swings of great players such as Rory Mcilroy, it makes me cringe a bit inside my body. Don’t get me wrong, like everyone who loves golf, I enjoy watching him play golf, hit towering drives and win tournaments. I am a big fan of Rory.  But I don’t see how the average golfer can really look at Rory’s golf swing as a swing model. Rory is in his early 20’s. He’s young, flexible and fit.  He has hit thousands of golf balls to work through his swing movements and motions. His body has developed around his movements. Do I see some good things in his swing? Absolutely. But one thing that troubles me about paying too much attention to young tour players is that many people will try to model Rory – which can be a big mistake. Let’s look at some particulars.

Without going into a complete breakdown of Rory’s entire golf swing, it is interesting to look closely into his downswing move. Keep in mind that I am not looking for positions here, I am looking for the stress it places on the body in regards to the task of reaching impact. (Impact is the goal of all great ball strikers). The perspective I take is that all golf swings are to achieve a perfect strike on the golf ball. The ability to reach impact starts at address. In other words, if you start in a misaligned position you must adjust during your swing to make an impact. The more misaligned you start the more contorted you swing. The problem here is that contortions are not efficient, repeatable or consistent. And these contortions can be disastrous to good ball-striking. Even worse, they can be extremely painful if you are not a 20-something year old Rory.

If you notice in the third picture in the sequence, you can see the crunched look of Rory’s right arm against his body. His right shoulder is jamming upward toward his head as his arms move downward. As the sequence continues, his lead leg straightens and his body move up as his arms move down – further crunching his shoulders against his torso that is moving upward due to his leg straightening. Once again, I am a huge fan of Rory, but I don’t think that this is the easiest way to get the job done for a 50 year old golfer. What I see here is a great athlete with mobility. Let me compare this with Moe Norman.

What you see from the movement forward is what I call “arm freedom”. You can see with Moe the arms have released as the lead knee has remained flexed. This shows that the arms have gone down with the body contrasting what you see with Rory where the lower body has lifted (straighten left leg) pushing the upper body up as the arms go down – crunching the shoulders and causing Rory to lean backward. This creates a reversing of the upper body or Reverse “C”.

One thing to note here is that Rory is a minimal example of this. He actually shows must less of this distortion than most conventional golfers. And as I have said in previous descriptions, this is all caused by an improper “two-plane” address position. The two plane swing comes in many forms, some more pronounced than others, sometimes in disastrous amounts. In all cases, however, the distortion of the upper body/lower body stress is a problem. I consider it a spatial problem where the conventional golfer is too close to the golf ball to start with. This results in stresses and problems reaching impact.

These things can be eliminated with the Single Plane golf swing of Moe Norman. And when they are eliminated, reaching impact is more consistent and repeatable resulting in better ball striking. The goal is to eliminate the lower body upward push. The way to do this is to get the appropriate distance from the golf ball where you start the club on the same plane at address as impact.

My Theory Confirmed

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I have a theory, here it is.

“The most important attribute to play great golf, day in and day out, is accuracy and consistency in your golf swing – not length”.  

Did you happen to watch the Ryder Cup? If you are an American golf fan, you probably wish you hadn’t. As much as I think Davis Love is a great guy, I am not sure that he had this entire event under control. I think it is one of the greatest events in golf and yes, I admit, I like the European players better than the U.S. players. Why? Because they look like they have more fun playing golf. Really, they do! Did you watch them? Golf is a game to them and it looks like they play it to have fun. They smile, laugh, make fun of themselves and cheer each other on. They look like a Team. This seems to be in complete contrast to the U.S. Team who, other than Phil Mickleson and Keegan Bradley looked like they are taking a week out of their schedules to play for charity.

This might be a bit overstated and I admit that the rookies, even though they look like deer caught in headlights, are caught up in the moment. I think that the Ryder Cup should be the U.S. rookies vs. the European rookies where the first year players from both sides of the pond play each other for the Ryder Cup. Now that would be some great golf!

It’s the older guys on the U.S. Team that seem to have the most to lose – and it shows when they get in these team events. It seems like they are trying not to lose rather than trying to win. Maybe we should rethink our selection process – I vote for all rookies, especially players like Ricky Fowler. Mostly because he isn’t afraid of match play. Who would you rather watch, Tiger protecting his reputation or Ricky going for every reachable par 4? Hey, the Ryder Cup is one of the grandest stages for golf – let’s go for it!

And after watching almost every minute of the event and witnessing the European players enjoy themselves even though they trailed the entire match until the last groups on the last day – I still don’t think that the players on the tour are great ball-strikers. Nope, sorry. If you saw the same event I did, you saw way too many shots missing greens, hitting trees and even a “shank”.

I have never played in a “Ryder Cup” however, I do play Medinah more than any course in my yearly golf schedule of 10 rounds per year. The course is demanding and difficult. It requires shots that angle over doglegged fairways where you must carry tall trees at corners with draws and fades. But the errant tee shots that clip a tree while cutting corners aren’t the ones that bother me. The ones that bother me are seven irons and wedges that miss the greens. Just like hole number 17 and 18 where we lost every match we played on these holes.

Luckily for us we had some length on our team with Bubba, Phil and Tiger – so we could reach the par 5’s in two. But what good did that do us? It was the 17th hole a water protected par 3 and the 18th a straight forward par 4, that finished us off. Once again, my theory is confirmed and Moe was right – length is great to have when you play golf. It’s a great tool to have but it won’t win you a Ryder Cup. The key is accuracy and consistency – oh and the ability to make putts.

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