A Ben Doyle Lesson -- Part III / Ball-Turf...Please

[Yoda]

The student continues his Turf-Ball difficulties. Ben continues to stress Ball-Turf as the desired end and Impact Hand Locaton as the necessary means. To no avail, a water bottle, golf balls, the tire -- each is positioned at one time or another outside the student's left foot and in his line-of-sight through the Impact Hand Location.

Note the difference in the position of the student's body -- Head centered, Hips and Weight left -- when Ben is hands-on and dragging the Hands down-and-through into their correct Impact Location. Then see how the student reverts to his habitual alignments -- Bobbing down and Swaying back and Scooping up -- when Ben is hands-off. He obviously is a strong Swinger -- a Hitter, actually, in my opinion -- who itches to hit full shots, no doubt to prove to Ben that he is far more capable than these little Shots seem to indicate.

But he is not more capable. Though he has good control of his Clubface (Hinge Action as controlled by the Flat Left Wrist), his control of the Clubhead Line-of-Flight (Inclined Plane as controlled by Right Forearm and #3 Pressure Point Tracing) is abysmal. Even in these powerfully-made full Shots, his sweeping Impact Geometry reveals the truth -- he hits Up through the Ball, not Down, and has no idea how to achieve a true Three-Dimensional Downstroke (Downward, Outward and Forward). To the student's chagrin, Ben keeps going back to the Short Strokes, striving to ingrain the Hands-in-Front Feel -- against the tire, the ball box, the ground, the Ball. Nothing seems to work. Both student and teacher are giving 100 percent, and the growing frustration is palpable.

The clip ends abruptly, as did our tape, and we are left to our own conclusions: Was the problem solved by lesson's end? Was it solved with post-lesson practice? Or was it, like so many of the world's problems, never solved...only reconciled with an acknowledgement of limitation and an attitude of toleration. For this concluding sidelines view into an hour of the life of Ben Doyle, click on www.lynnblakegolf.com/Video/Doylelesson3.wmv .

And as you watch, remember: Building a successful Golf Stroke is all about continuous progress toward an attainable objective, not instant perfection. We each have our own limitations -- time and talent are two 'biggies' -- and we should not expect any more of ourselves than we are both willing and able to give.

The good news is that even the most humble expectations can lead to a lifetime of enjoyment as we meet -- each at his own level -- the unending challenge of Golf.