To: Chuck, Yoda, Gofingrandy and all other contributors,
I have been lurking for some time now. Reading, learning, playing with hinges, dowels and all manner of ironmongery and hardware.
I just wanted to come out of the woodwork and declare that the stuff you guys are posting here is scandalous...........ly brilliant!!
How can I ever recover from all the garbage, lies, half truths, old wives tales and "golfing science" lore that I, and I'm sure a great deal of others, have had to endure since we took up this game.
I did my best, I went to several PGA pros, I read extensively, from Hogan to Leadbetter, and Pelz to Wiren.
Progress was faltering, slow, backwards at times but most of all it was frustrating. One Pro would say one thing, another would say the exact opposite, - one of the swing Gurus would have yet a third thought and all the time I was floundering in the mire. I kept hitting a brick wall and could make no progress at all.
I then discovered and bought a copy of The Golfing Machine. It may as well have been written in Sanskrit. I tried and tried but kept stumbling. I persevered but there were no blinding flashes of light. Some titbits here and there helped but I couldn't hang it all together sufficiently to actually make a real swing change that put a satisfying grin on my face.
Then I discovered this site, read and followed the topics and suddenly the place is awash with light. I am nowhere near au-fait with all the terminology, geometry or principles but things are beginning to really come together.
I play a lot of links courses. So having worked my way through the dowel I started my swing renaissance with my 8-iron pitch and run and chip shots. The swings have been no more than 3 ft. back and then "down, down, down".
My #3 pressure point has been working overtime. Hell for years the World and his mother has been telling me to keep my right arm, elbow and shoulder OUT of my swing.
To suddenly read that the Right hand controls the clubhead and the Right forefinger and Right forearm control the club shaft and a properly constructed left hand grip with flat wrist controls the club face just blew me away.
I tried some of the routines at home, decided I couldn't wait any longer so on my way home early a couple of days ago I took my 8 iron and shag bag to the practice chipping green.
An hour later, having put some of yours and Homer's writings into play, I set up with 100 balls and a 30 – 35 foot bump and run shot.
Not 1 fat shot, not 1 duffed shot, not 1 shot that didn't leave a very makeable putt and I even had to empty the hole several times with balls dropping on such a regular basis.
The consistency, the feel, the confidence and most of all the satisfaction that I achieved was something that I don't think I will forget for a very long time.
Living in Dublin Ireland, my nearest AI is probably hundreds if not thousands of miles away. I simply could not have made the progress that I am now showing without this site and all the stupendous posts.
Please be assured that I, for one, am in awe of the time, commitment and passion that your posts, threads and articles take. Please accept my humble and gracious thanks and PLEASE PLEASE don't stop!
To all the valued contributors - keep up the good work – we in the non-TGM wilderness would be lost without the help.
Paul
AKA – 4Greenfields, ShamrockSlasher, Slasher, Irelander et al.
Thanks, 4G,
You didn't have to write your post, but you did. And each of us 'regulars' onthe Site appreciate it.
I'll tell you one thing:
Nobody would have been more pleased with your progress than Homer Kelleyhimself. He knew his information was accurate. He spent forty yearsmaking sure that it was! At the same time, he knew that his talent lay inproblem-solving. He was The Researcher whose job was to establish theLaws and Principles that govern The Golfing Machine and to catalog theComponents and Variations necessary for its operation. His mission was to'solve the problem' for once and for all time and to get it down for othersto use.
The 'problem' -- "The Project," as he liked to call it -- turned outto be much more difficult and much larger than he had thought:
"Never did I feel I was more than a week away from finishing! But The Waycould only lie down as the ten trillion ways swept over it!"
"This book should have been written 100 years ago," he told me.
Well, maybe so. But who could have written it? No one before Homer. Andcertainly no one after. And how do I know? Because nothing anywhereclose to the genius of this work has ever been produced -- before orsince.
His work was almost complete -- only the 7th edition ("the last," hesaid) remained. He knew the difficulty of The Golfing Machine and thathe needed a network of Authorized Instructors to assist students inunderstanding its Science (the Engineering System) and then integrating it intotheir Game (the Feel System). He had only just begun to devote his time tobuilding that Network when, on Valentine's Day 1983, while addressing anassembly of PGA Professionals in Macon, Georgia, he died. His work done, therewere only 19 Authorized Instructors to carry it on.
For a variety of reasons, none of which make any sense in the light of thegenius of his work, The Golfing Machine has basically lain dormant thesepast twenty-one years. Now a new ownership has taken the reins, and wehave this living, breathing thing called the Internet. Together, theyoffer the potential for a renaissance that could revolutionizeprofessional golf instruction throughout the world. I am humbled to play atleast a small part in these early days of that rebirth. But most of all...
I am excited by the vision that, pulling together, we could finallymake it happen!
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