School of Golf
 

So after suffering through a Haney Project episode (I've been pulling for him thinking..."there's no way this is it", but I officially give up), I just tuned into the first half of "School of Golf" with Martin Hall.

THANK YOU LORD.

What a breath of fresh air. Not sure his background, but TGM influenced no doubt. I'm sure others can fill me in. Now don't get me wrong, I'd have been tickled to have gotten Lynn or Ted in there, but this has been spot on....a far cry from the last two hosts.
.....and by the way, let's keep it on Martin Hall please. A thread on the other would be heading into a fairly obvious direction quickly...... and there's plenty of other forums for that kind of chat

I watched his first class too.

It was pretty good.

I'm gonna try his driver address advice. I think I have a tendency to place the sweet spot right behind / under the ball.

There were traces of great golf thinkers and great golf thinking in his show. When he referred to Annika Sorenstam's tip about keeping the right hand straight in the back stroke, he was also talking about TGM extencior action.

Then he said that he had spent the summer studying some golf biokinetics - and proceeded to talk about spine side bending. I suspect that he has been reading up on one of my favourites, mr Kelvin Miyahira.

I also liked his "getting rid of the slice" tip - wiping the milk off the table. That's really just another way of preparing a TGM finish swivel, isn't it?

I was rather impressed with his way of explaining highly technical details in a simple way.

Martin Hall's first show blows away the ridiculousness that is usually seen on TGC.

A 30 minute show gave us 1)a centered head 2) extensor action 3)proper spine tilt/how/why 4) exaggerated feeling of #3 roll and HH to fight a steered slice 5) rhythm versus over acceleration in pitching 6)proper address alignments for the driver

*** Accident or not, TGC's finally got it right.....

A THING OF BEAUTY SO FAR MARTIN!

KUDOS :salut: :salut: :salut:

I thought the episode was OK, not great and not bad. His explanation about spine tilt was confusing at best. I read/heard Plummer and Bennet explain the side bend so I knew where Martin was headed but his explanation has me still trying to figure out what he was saying. The Golf Channel wants quick "MIchael Breed-esque" quips and tips but that is not Martin Hall. I hope they give him a chance to find his way with the show and I hope it is TGM influenced.

The Golf Channel needs some new (and more importantly) good programing.

On a side note, how is Haney even working at this point? Between Barkley, Romano, and now this mess he is 0 for 3. The show is not entertaining and his credibility has to be at an all time low with pros and well as the public. It has to be discouraging for most struggling amateurs like me who believe with that kind of attention from a "world class" teacher, we could become scratch. However, Haney going 0 for 3 on his goals doesn't look good.

Martin Hall is a GSEM.

As far as I can see, Martin Hall's explanation about side bending isn't in the S&T book. Plummer and Bennet basically talks about tilting. Tilting and side bending isn't the same.

I actually enjoy both teachers, I'll bet they would be a lot of fun to take a lesson from.

Kevin

Agreement
 

That was my checklist, too. I'm glad i wasn't over imagining it! Thanks JT.

ICT

Tapes
 

I watched their DVD's a couple weeks back, Bernt, and they mention it in their 2nd and 4th DVD. They mention a lot of things in those DVD's so it is very possible to miss their remarks imo.


ICT

Martin said he had studied biokinetics so I assume it was more than a mention on a couple of DVD's. But there are not so many ways to rotate your shoulders and still have roughly the same geometrical forward bend, so he might as well has piced this up from somewhere else.

In any case: Kelvin has written several papers that deals with how the spine works in the golf stroke in an entirely different and more detailed manner than I've seen anywhere else. Sidebend in the down stroke is an important part of it. And a TGM flat shoulder back turn / steep shoulder down turn is very very very close to what Kelvin has found when he has studied some of the best current golfers. What I see in S&T in this regard is very different and not as well founded, IMO. But that is based on the H2 pictures in the book, since it is not very well described.

Bernt,
In the DVDs the S&T guys do explain side bend quite extensively. It was very enlightening to see how the spine changes angles through out the swing. I am not a S&T guy but I did find that interesting. Martin had me very confused with those PVC poles around his hips and shoulders and the door frame image. As for those guys teaching tilting, you are indeed correct but they do explain side bending as well.

Either way, I hope the show turns out to be good. I think the Golf Channel needs something other than re-runs and infomercials.

Kinda like
 

I enjoyed the show but maybe for different reasons.

Martin comes off as an educated gentleman who sincerely wants to

share his wealth of knowledge.Lynn and Martin in demeanor are

very much alike,the viewer or (student) gets the impression

he or she is being taught by someone possessing confidence

I have always maintained that its not only the info that we

seek, but even moreso an instructor truly wanting for us to get

better and works hard at "bedside manner" to make sure we understand

op85

martin
 

I thought it was ok t best def better than what we have seen, Def TGM influenced. Being in the TV industry myself I think he will struggle with the producers and what not of Television. So when we criticize keep in mind that he doesn't have full reign. I will watch it.

Best I've seen on Golf Channel.

Does he become a solo act next week? Was Breed on just to ease him into being on TV or as a "guest star" to jump start School as a spin-off from The Fix?

best so far!!
 

I have to agree it was the best of GC so far, I am still holding out hope for Lynn to "show" up on GC somehow, sometime!!!


Todd

I do not see how Yoda would fit into the present philosophy on TGC. Each show either states generalizations or "tips" on golf. In Yoda's lessons and presentations, he gives philosophy, alignments, the essentials, imperatives and structure. Once that package would be unleashed on the golfing public, many of those so called teachers would have to find another means of fleecing the viewers.

JerryG, I mentioned that earlier, TGC wants quick fix "tips" and apparently, so does the average hack. Intellectually most people will say that they know that the secret to the golf swing is a hard work, good instruction and more hard work. However, it seems most of the average Joes out there seem to think that with a new quick fix from instructor X, they will become a scratch golfer in a week.
IMHO, this is why the fast paced, quick gimmicky drill is what they will ultimately watch.
I am very glad that I found this site and the people here. It has been a great way to go so far.

Me too, Scott. It is like an oasis in the desert.

Martin Hall certainly does a good job of translating good fundamentals to analogies, metaphores and drills that everybody can relate to. This is a double edged sword. We who are familiar with TGM see the TGM and the debth behind his messages, but those who don't know TGM doesn't. It may be the best way to reach a large audience but a lot of the substance is lost in translation.

It will be interesting to see whether Martin aims higher as the series progresses or he stays at "wipe the milk off the table" level throughout. I hope he has the guts and gets the green light for raising the bar gradually throughout the show. Going from "wipe the milk" to hinge action and finish swivel would really be something. If he does, those who watch every show will learn a lot.

I haven't seen Yoda try to reach down to a translation that fits TGC. But I am convinced that he has the ability when the situation calls for it.

You're exactly right about the double edged sword BerntR. You could stick to TGM and make all 100 of us happy or dumb it down to practical analogies to the public. John Q understands "milk off the table" and unfortunately ain't real concerned with the mounting of a hinge pin. Everyone's looking for the quick tip, but the facts are that the golf stroke is a little more complicated......us TGM'ers vs. quick tip hyper guys is kind of P90X vs. a fat pill....while one makes you a stud, the other leaves you hopelessly where you started. And theres a whole lot more fat pills sold than P90X survivors trust me!!! Lynn is the best IN THE WORLD at explaining the truth.....unfortunately, not everyone's willing to hear it..............job security?:laughing1

Well I'm glad we have this forum where we can go deeper. How many members are there here now? 10 000? More? Anyway a big head count for a high end golf discussion forum. LBG is something quite special.

I'm glad, too. I'm hoping more folks get active in the discourse. Feels like a handful of gladiators with a lot of citizens sitting up in the stands of the arena...and so far, I feel like I can only clean up after the animal acts...

Must to the book for my learning...study to show thyself approved and all that..:read:

As I said, I enjoy both teachers, and take away something every lesson. Gotta give it the litmus test first, what would Homer think? When I watch Lynn's videos, I KNOW I can hang onto every word... I'll bet Mr. Kelley would enjoy these professionals as well, and be proud that so much of it is based upon his work.

Kevin

Prize Pupil
 

And, my student in May 2004 in my "comeback" school at the PGA TOUR Academy, St. Augustine, Florida.

:golfcart2:

Its nice to hear some prime time truth!....can't wait to hear about your trip Yodaman....give me a holler when you get to the lake!!!

Martin Hall is also listed on Haney's website as going through the first level of his associate pro program. Agree that Hank hasn't shown much in his show, but think part of it is that I don't believe these lessons are taken that close together and in some cases the student doesn't do anything between sessions.

Any way to watch these shows afterwards for us who can't see them live?

Golf channel

Go to the video section.

How long are these programs? I can only find 3 minutes clips.(Extra Credit Tip )

Usually 30 minutes, including commercials and "coming up's".