BrettSmith

blade, thanks for your feedback- as you know from a serious players perspective,.... man, that brace is the absolute hub! Basically the brace is to the golf motion as the stick is to the sling. keep your eyes peeled for one of the new vids coming out on the TSG wire with the LeaderBoard Trainer. It's a device that I'm really a big fan of that lets you incrementally increase ground-up resistance in the right side. One thing that's really cool about training with this is that there is an incorporation of the correct position and function through dynamic motion instead of the traditional fixed braced set. I also like the earlier core underneath rotary set it encourages- the Appleby move. One of the pros I frequently spend time with was working with TOUR player Bill Glasson who has had numerous operations on both knees. What they were trying to do was get that core rotation working harder earlier so he can get inside it quickly and then just blast it. LeaderBoard encourages exactly that move and would be something to think about in your training arsenal. Brett

Hello maestro! This really applies to everybody too- remember from our work that dynamically the body feels different every day? When we are activated or more springy on one particular day vs the next where one may be fatigued or slightly deflated- rearing into the right brace can also take on the feeling of sinking into a shock absorber or trampoline. Whatever it takes to get that right side to fire! Looking forward to more time in the trenches. Brett

Hey G, A Draw with good trajectory is a slightly closed clubface working on a shallow, rounded approach. The hook is a slightly closed clubface coming in on a steeper, more sharp angle of approach. The hook is all about a "closed" presentation and the degree of it is accelerated by the rate and the angles. If you are a consistent striker, I'd like to see you consider fortifying your connection. Put a glove underneath your LEFT arm socket and weld it to the torso cyliner.... the under part of the upper left arm. The more over the left chest it is, the better. You have to verify that the left elbow is pointing down. FOREWARNING: this is misreble to the uninitiated, so start off with chips and pitches. The connected left will get the right side working more underneath and supporting... which is my first thought for you- the right side has to work more under coming into the ball before working 'round. btw... when i say start with chips and pitches- I mean like a couple hundred before even thinking of hitting the driver... if you're able to work the big muscle set with improved connection, graduate yourself to some mid-iron punches in the first week. Then gradually temper in some fairway woods off a tee. If those results are showing good signs- work the driver. Work this over for a couple weeks and let me know how it's going. Look at Mr. Hogan in the early 100 pages there and you will read him speaking of supination and pronation.... you will see this motion of the left elbow pointing down that I speak of.... supination. Brett

and.... if you look at that picture again on page 75- one of the things Mr. Hogan left for discovery in my opinion is that when you look at that pic, there is the feeling that the hand is pressing the club with some serious press into the outer right hip to lock it down.... a sharper right leg angle if you will, but also not letting the right hip socket get too far from the inside of the ball so that the core engages more underneath resistance earlier. Yes, consider a more aggressive brace in your staging.

In the gospel of Jimmy Ballard, who is without question the Godfather of the Modern Move- he has a chapter in "How to Perfect Your Golf Swing"... which along with Mr. Hogan, are the absolute staple bibles in my teachings. Jimmy breaks down first and foremost all of the faulty establishment propaganda. In the chapter "Misleading Terms", he specifically addresses how keeping the head "still" so "steady" is an absolute killer. The head and spine must load behind the ball and every great ballstriker does this. He makes reference to the visible lateral drift with Curtis Strange and others he coached, but also to Mr. Nicklaus who used the swivel of his head to the right to initiate the underneath rotary lateral drift. SO.... LET ME BE VERY CLEAR... believe in Mr. Ballard. Absolutely not should you put emphasis on the head fixation. In fact, in my training I coach people to release off the ball, by shifting your optic fixation. Do this by first by making a half move and releasing your head and eyes down your target line to the right. Then the next step is to rotate the torso cylinder as far as possible while letting your head revolve on the spinal axis.... like looking at an airplane in the sky behind you. It's going to feel crazy, but work with it. A student of mine showed me last year that Jim Hardy talks about this in one of his books, but I came up with the idea years ago after a couple margaritas... so I'm laying dibs on it as having this idea first. also got to address the term "turn" as well, but that's another time hope this helps, Brett

.... take some time to create MORE right leg angle and KEEP IT! Even if you feel braced, chances are you can create a more defined angle as Mr. Hogan depicts on page 75 in "FIVE LESSONS".

If you're looking for more distance or experience periods of loss- give this a try...... Brett "The right knee should be broken a shade more in to the left, if anything, than the left knee is to the right. if the right knee is pointed in, then it's "in business" all the time. It helps brace the right leg on the backswing, and the right leg must be sturdily braced to prevent the golfer from swaying his body laterally to the right as he swings the club back. For another thing, the right kneee will then be in the correct positiion for the downswing when the power of the right hip and leg is released torward the target. IF THE GOLER'S RIGHT KNEE IS POINTED STRAIGHT AHEAD OR OUT TO BEGIN WITH, HE CAN BRING IT IN WITH A SEPARATE ACTION ON THE DOWNSWING, BUT HE IS MAKING THE KNEE DO DOUBLE WORK, AND THERE'S NO SENSE IN THAT"... words from the great one- Mr. Hogan. On page 75 he depicts retaining the angle of the right with a golf club. As mentioned above there, MOST people have "flex" or a bent knee, but this is a far cry from what we speak of with retaining the angle or bracing. For 15 years, I've watched people be in a supportive position with knee flex, but not braced and maintaining..... which creates resistance for your resevoir of coil. In the supportive position, your right leg funtions like a leg to a table-- which creates more complications. (a) It requires the knee to make a larger orbit and it creates an extra move as pointed out above- and in effect "business" gets interrupted. Ultimately this is less efficient and repeatable. Athletic people create leg drive with a kick off the instep, but the definition of coiling movement becomes muddled. (b) Most people never fully harness the ground-up torque that the resistance provides.... resorting to that purgatory of "shift and lift" or "turn". In higher handicaps this is lots of lifting and with the better player, you see "turn" but not enough coil because the resistance is faux or prone to buckling.

ok- that's key. like to see you consider +1/2" and 2deg up for starters. work harder to shallow out a little bit. Char, take a look at where Mr. Hogan talks about the elbow and hip orbits too....preserve the orbits! Brett

one more thing there....in regards to the length-- what is your measurement to the ground from the cuffs of your wrists? Brett

Blade, Pick up one of those whippys- it's an absolute trip! Great practice for harmonizing transtional torque displacment. Golf Around the World has them. Also a pretty cool book you can score about the purity of the swing motion is Ernest Jones "Swing the Clubhead". A new school spin off that that's also super is someone I spent time with that really is sharp- DEAN REINMUTH. He molded PHIL's game as a junior and I learned a TON from him. His book "Tension Free" is killer and easy to read. He has some insights that will intrigue you. If you call him, he'll sign it for you-- please tell him I said hello if you do so. bSmith, part time book pimp

Thanks for your interest with the site. Currently loading it with content and working out the bugs,... but getting close. Will keep you posted. Maybe this image will help- picture rairoad tracks directly in front of you. Because of your biomechanic you will always be working the club closer to the inside rail, whereas somebody shorter or with longer arms as well would be working closer to the outer rail. Now here is the mindfreak- you need to feel like your working more to the outer rail, but in working reality, you will never get there. I highly recommend you pick up the bible: Mr. Hogan's 5 Lessons, so you can refer to the taller plane image and the previously mentioned training swing. When you get the book- really grind away at working that training swing he depicts there with a 7 or 8i- get the sense of how far you can sling it with just working that limited move. This will also integrate your question of the greater rotation. Also pick up some balance disks so you can train this move more effectively at home and start creating ground-up torque with the same training move. These disks are absolutely critical in establishing one of more core building blocks for "The New Move"- which we are going to unveil on my site. They create GRIPTION- the ground-up combo of torque and traction to be ignited from your insteps and rotational core. Also pick up NICK BRADLEY'S killer book "The 7 Laws".. Nick works with Justin Rose and several other TOUR players, this will further help with the proper imagery and training for you sight unseen. As I have spoken with Nick, this is prob the best instructional book I've seen in 10 years. One of the things I'm really excited about with my site is that it will incorporate different mediums for the serious golfer to integrate higher levels of understanding of technology with equipment, training of technique, physical training, utilization of the mind and body for increased performance. Part of this cutting edge exploration will be shooting videos with other top teachers like Nick who bring unique aspects to heightened performance- people that are out there breaking barriers. Absolutely work that training move in 5 Lessons like a speedbag- start with chips... lots of them. Get good with the body controlling the hands and arms with that motion before making bigger swings. Don't make any moves for a couple weeks that are bigger than a pitch shot. Focus on PERFECTING CONTACT. It's not fun, but that's the discipline. For example, strike 6 perfect chips before you allow yourself to hit a pitch. Then strike 6 perfect pitches before you allow yourself to let the hands and club get to the waist. Keep us posted. Brett

Char, I'm 6'6", so I understand what you're dealing with. You are in tall golfer's hell- WELCOME! You're ship is taking in water, but I've got some feedback that will help you. First my friend, you will be steep for the rest of your life unless you get arm extensions- like Davis Love, III came out of the womb with. Now, that being said... I don't like the 4deg upright as it is a masking agent for a couple flaws.... kind of like off-set drivers. If you're all in with the game,.. the chase of it- I hate to see you work a couple band-aids like that. Even sight unseen, you should be with those specs no more than 2up. If you refer to the great one- Mr. Hogan where he speaks of the swing plane relative to body type, your plane WILL ALWAYS BE STEEPER. It's the way your built man. I think one thing any teacher or swing coach worth his salt would tell you is that all of us need to work on shallowing out. Now here is the problem- you have to double-time it here amigo because of your biomechanic. Essentially> coming in more rotary level with the assembly of the clubhead, hands and arms working more underneath you. Here is how you can start: 1. Follow the gospel of Jimmy Ballard and create CONNECTION. Place a headcover, glove, can of beer, whatever underneath the back of your left arm and weld it literally on FRONT of your left chest. This will feel like crap. DO IT. The reason it will feel like crap is that it is totally restrictive... what this does is eliminate extra moving pieces AND establish the proper orbits. 2. 10x10 Principle Establish Connection and look for ways to start making moves where the ball would be above your feet. Sidehill lies are fantastic. Do you have access to making swings with the balls above your feet? If so, you can't do this enough... and I mean actually hitting balls off the slope. 10 practice swings for every shot struck. If not, during your range time, hold the club 1' foot above the ball as your address position and start your swing from there. It will help you shallow out your shaft lean through the impact zone. If you want to improve 10x as fast, remember to make the ten reps for every ball you strike in practice. Now, as the TSG experts will tell you- extra length will get you more effectively upright but you have to be careful as you longer you go, the more unwieldy the stick becomes. Much harder to create center'd flush strikes. Stay away from that turning the wrists thing... seriously go pick up Hogan's FIVE LESSONS ans look at the "training swing"... Work with what you have there, but like to see you come back from the edge there senor. Keep me posted, Brett

hey, just to reiterate here- big fan of the counter balance- i've seen amazing results. Especially on shorter putts where momentum is more easily captured with the counter weight that makes for smoother transition. It's not about heavy mind you- it's about balanced weight that suits your stroke. I guarantee that if you check this out with some diligence, it will pay off. Brett

hey there- Absolutely nothing wrong with that. the most important thing is results. There are many considerations with fitting the individual needs-- the bottomline is performance. As you mentioned there, when you DO GO TIGHTER IN THAT SHAFT-- YOU ARE COMMITTED to meeting the need of the stick. If you're happy with your golfing product, that's all that counts. My job is to help people chase the outer limits, so when I hear you say "reasonable distance", I can't help but think more can be done for you. bSmith

Dear Richmond Esquire, I must respectfully disagree with you in many areas. First, the whole idea here is exactly as you said there- "capture the kick". Training with a soft shaft brings the golfer back in touch with harnessing centrifugal force. The inside moves the outside exponentially faster. Most people have the outside moving slower than the inside. Secondly, in regards your assesments: "the more load you put on a shaft, the more you outswing the kick and end up with nothing more than an open or closed clubhead" and "shafts that are too soft have very good feel at impact but the shots go high and have no punch because the shaft has no spine"-- I do understand where you are coming from. However those results are faults within your sequential applications of motion. No pun intended couselor but I defer to exhibit A: THE MATZIE E-Z-SWINGER Whippy. If what you are speaking of would be true, than why is it that I can work the WHIPPIEST SHAFT EVER(!) in the 5iron, 5 wood or driver almost just as far as my normal equipment. I'll tell you why. It's about understand exactly what kind of motion you are harnessing and making it relative to the target. The bottom line is that we must continually ingrain surrendering the club and it's movement- the deployment of the centrifual must come first. Then we are able to start stacking with accelerants- ground-up torque, coil and re-coil, etc. I've worked this modus operandi with TOUR Professionals and high handicappers alike. We all get interrupted flow- the first key is how quickly can it be restored. The second key is being real with the equipment-- is it helping or hurting- and let me tell you, in most cases it's hurting. I'm not saying you in particular need a soft shaft, but I will ask you how repeatable your motion is-- is it a turn-key operation? In the immortal words of Mr. Hogan, "Does it hold-up under pressure?" How your equipment correlates wtih your fundamental concept is everything. The beautiful thing here is that you have a portal to the some of the finest tech minds around here at TSG and the crazy abiliity to explore ways to make the equipment work harder for you. Since your handicap is an 11, these are possible considerations. In closing, there is no "slow swing"- there is only swing. What you are attempting to referring to is that the inner mass working in a more harnessed fashion and staying out of the way- "surrendering the outside". As mentiioned above by the TSG Maestro- "brute force" is a killer. Ernest Jones outlines that exact quote brilliantly in "Swing the Clubhead". What I speak of embodies the whole concept of "swing easy and hit hard". Respectfully, bSmith

hey that's OK!... got a few things to respond to there with Richmond, but it can keep. We want to find distance through the softness first and then temper in the other flavors to meet your needs. As the TGS gurus here can tell you, softness can first be found in flex but also through torque and kick point adjustments. There are several things to look at with your overall dynamic though: 1. Is the shaft low, low-mid or mid kick? 2. What is the torque? 3. Have you had the integrity of the shaft scoped out?... checked for cpm's or frequency. 4. What is the loft of the driver? how far do you hit? how far do you hit your 3wd?... 5. Tell me about your ball flight in terms of trajectory and curvature. 6. Also, need to know how well and how far you hit 7i and 4i- also trajectory and curvature. 7. What is your handicap? You're absolutely right about the kick point being a possibility, but there are several pieces to the process. One thing that many people don't realize is that high ball flight is also crazy influenced by approach angles, so looking to these questions to help better answer yours! Brett

Exactly! Man, I see the dysfunction out here in the trenches every day. I don't want to know what your "swing speed" is-- that being your maxx out or flash speed with the hands-- I want to know what your EFFECTIVE SWING SPEED is. Flush, shallow, down-the-line and absolute "turn-key"... repeatable center-faced contact that is consistently predictable. Basically, somebody can be entirely capable of 100 mph move or more, but they should be looking at moving at more of the 80-85 range as a stock move and making the shaft work harder. Once that starts happening, the right movements start fostering- that we mentioned earlier....the golfer can get a true feel of better working their inner rotational mass and how it affects a more flexible stick on the outside. It's not all about speed- centered mass is huge! JB Holmes is 20 past Tiger and his swing speed is 6-10mph slower-- he has more mass behind it. The girls have gotten so GOOOOD at harnessing this centered inner torque and springing the shaft on the outside... that's why you hardly ever see them over-exerting-- man they got that whip doing all the work. "Slowing down" is a step in the right direction, but let me add one more notch of clarity that really may help. My last 6 clients from 20 handicap down to 5 came to realize that initially their respective effective speed had to be throttled down. So initially, yes in effect- first it's about slowing down to speed up.... and depending on how out of position the golfer consistently is, affects how much softer in a shaft we need to go. Better technique of course helps, but the yield is not as evident if the shaft isn't working hard enough. Now here's the key>> next it's about turning slowing down into GEARING DOWN-- think of a sports car. Gearing down creates inside torque. So gearing down with a springy outside (shaft) allows us to harness ever increasing traction properly.....from the ground-up core- or inside- out This allows the outside to work incrementally harder IF it is indeed being sprung-- if not, the golfer starts "looking for love in all the wrong places" as the song goes. What's really cool here is that a softer shaft can help everybody- even if it's a training club. The higher handicapper just has to work slower with stability and just "let" the shaft work- the better player can start integrating more ground-up rotary torque-- slinging it more from the hip- think of this>> an orange stuck to a nail coming out the center of the driver face. We want the orange to stay attached to the nail without sliding off, until the player slings it down the intended target line. When we create some of that sense that we must "keep it"... or the keeping of the orange on the nail longer in the forward swing, until we sling it- that's what the softer shaft starts automatically doing for people. What happens with most golfers is that the orange has slid or has been zinged off prematurely.... and last time I checked- premature isn't desireable on any level. Brett

.... One of the primary things I see in my golf performance consulting is that there is a direct correspondence between a shaft that is too stiff and several primary swing flaws. When the shaft is varying degrees of too stiff, what happens with many people is that they look to trigger it earlier and harder in an effort to make it work.... ie at the top (or in the transition stage). Instead of downshifting and getting the whip to spring from the hip, many people tug at it from the top which gets the golfer into 3 faulty sets for starters: 1. Top-Down vs. Ground-Up--the downshift never happens properly from the ground-up, so it happens from the top down- the golfer turns to the primarily dominant right hand, side and shoulder in an effort to generate more power earlier to load the shaft... trying to make it work. I say top-down, but..lol... the legs and hips never really are allowed to be summoned because the golfer is too busy trying to muscle up from the top- so what really happens is that you get slapped on both cheeks> loss of transitional load and effective storing and loss of your primary power sources- legs and hips... OUCH. 2. Steep and Across. When we start from the top-down, the golfer is inevitably steep and sharp with approach angles instead of rotary level. This encourages glancing strikes and makes the longer clubs really a challenge because the golfer is either across the line open or on top of it and shut. It's also a virtual guarantee that the head and spine are ahead of the ball even before impact- which leads us to the last hope ... the grab bag brought about by looking for "hand magic" to save you. 3. Face manipulation. Depending on skill level and what the unique "micro-climate" is for the golfer, many people try to roll the face or hands in an attempt to square-up through impact and generate more speed. This just creates more angles with the clubface. HOW I GET PEOPLE TO TURN THE TABLES: The first thing I do here-especially with the driver is get a surrogate stick in their hands. I'm talking about the whippiest shaft I can find- typically the Ladies or Senior Demo collecting dust in your proshop. Given even a fairly functional mechanical base, ( even up to 20 hcp) the golfer will almost immediately find that too much effort and in particular- effort at the wrong time provides diminishing returns. So what happens becomes a very encourage trend- the player has to "wait" for the shaft to work- WHAT A CONCEPT! When the golfer has to wait for the shaft several positive dynamics can start working: a) the golfer will stay behind it b) the golfer will automatically take more time with storing in transition and generate more effective loading technique c) the golfer will feel the shaft work and start automatically start internally calibrating to harmonize greater use of centrifugal force- the inside will be able to work the outside instead of the previous vice-versa. d) the golfer will begin to realize that when less is more- he or she can wield more effectively in BALANCE and start effectively ruling their respective rotational realm. Three weeks ago I started with a client who fit this fault profile. 12 handicap and Stock Stiff in the driver. I did implement some mechanical upgrades in the short to mid iron game, but we saved the long game for last. From a consistently closed and on top of it fault set, my client was able to generate up to 90 mph of clubhead speed, but it was steep and across- and included lots of flash speed with the hands- so consistency was a major issue. By working the surrogate stick ( the temporary training club- in this case a stock callway ladies 11 deg), he was forced to REALLY wait for it and improve his rotational choreography. 3 Things happend very quickly: 1. Better Balance 2. Sharp and steep angles were replaced with more rounded and shallowed because the body was encouraged to take more time during the loading and unloading. 3. Rotational Release Rates started snapping more effectively from the more braced, stacked and powerful physical sets. The idea here is that you shouldn't need your BEST move to be effective. The shafts need to work HARDER FOR YOU. We have since transitioned my client from a 10.5 70 gram stock stiff into a 12 deg and 55 gram soft regular with a 5degrees of torque to work the head for him and a higher kick point to keep it from ballooning. I'll be posting the numbers as we break out the launch monitor this week, but I'll say this- we're already 15 yards consistenly longer just from more effective launch angle patterns that are more sustained down the line with 75% less dispersion. Now we are really able to augment performance training to meet his needs because he is more consistently in the right sets. So what's really cool is that as these sets gel a little bit, and we establish some fluency- we can start shopping for a TSG hot-rod ... and really take it to the next level. An amazing transformation and a cutting edge way for many of the golfers out there to start or re-visit getting into the right sets and slots when things get a bit "ayrie mon"... as my favorite caddie used to say who was from Jamaica. Let me know if I can answer any questions or help! Brett

that is SWEET. does it have that same feel as the other limited edition with that chisled in-lay pattern?

there should be some really good examples this week at Doral on the approaches.... man that's the home of the knock-downs! punch-press-hold> - think of a stinger pitch shot...start with say 30 yards. mash down on it and "saw off" your finish just after impact- back of the left hand should be flush with the target. the ball should have that stinging sizzle to it. work to abbreviate the finish like crazy at first. impact and hold. impact and hold. then increase your range of torso rotation making sure to keep the hands well under the shoulders- no lift. watch the rehearsals if you get a chance of the TOUR guys... note that they work a slo-mo torso move with elbows pointing DOWN. i actually shot a video with this- more soon. Brett

i tried that beast and it was just too much- slipped on a paddle grip, so that the left and right hands press torwards each other. It's works much better than the standard grips, because you eliminate left hand flippy... the one i'm using is a ping

shaft of choice for the young guns- Camillo, Charles Howell and more. my intel says they are working 45"... both of them experimenting with slightly longer than previous. if you pull the trigger, interested to hear your feedback. Bret

hey, can you give me a little more scoop on that shaft feedback relative to your type of golfing move?... got one of my clients considering reshaft in his Epon 7wd- was considering recc that shaft. any feedback there would be much appreciated... thanks! Bret

loving my Epons.