The getting to know you thread.......

[Bagger Lance]

Trigolt or Bagger,

Anyway to attach these posts to each person's profile? Might be a nice idea to remember who we are talking to.

Drew,

Let me sleep on it, baby baby let me sleep on it. Let me sleep on it, I'll give you an answer in the morning.

While I'm here...

I'm Mike (Bagger) Lance, 46 years old with a wonderful family including my wife and two teenage kids here in Austin, TX. I grew up on the West Coast and started my family in So. Cal while attending Biola University, a Christian Seminary. I've been in High Tech since the early 80's and now manage a billion dollar portfolio of products for a large computer company. The company is not the one you might be thinking of in Austin.
I've traveled the better part of the world which started when I took a solo summer trip to Europe at 15.

I took up golf at 39 and stumbled on to TGM about 5 years ago while looking for the latest golf tip over the internet. A handful of you might remember Chucks original forum. I called Sally and purchased the book from her in 2001, cancelled all my Golf Digest and Golf Tips magazine subscriptions and never looked back. I'm a 9 index today but as Trig will tell you, I give away about 4 or 5 shots around the greens. And I mean give away...

My favorite golf memory is playing the Old Course at St. Andrews a few years ago. I left with an 81 and 4 birdies. One of my better rounds at the time. As I was walking up the 18th fairway a rainbow came up over the Clubhouse and it literally brought tears. Yes, I'm a full on Golfaholic and I'm looking forward to many more great memories.

My life revolves around family 7x24, work 6x12, supporting Lynn 7x4, playing and practicing at my home club 4x5, and my fitness routine 1x5. I've yet to figure out how the math works. No time for anything else except keeping a good sense of humor. Life is very, very good and it's all about keeping the right attitude.

Bagger

[jim_0068]

My name is jim...

I've been playing golf for about 5 years, however i only began to try and get better at golf 2 years ago. I've been an athlete my whole life and was always a little above average in all of them but never a "star." I've worked since i was 14 and am the only person in my family to graduate college. I'm 23 now.

About 2 years ago i decided i wanted to see how good at golf i could become. With the help of a friend who didn't know much i managed to shoot a 10 over at a US Open qualifying site (not in those conditions however)

About 1.5 ago i decided to learn as much as i could about the swing to get better. With the help of some the forums i did my best to apply them. Springtime came and i shot consistently around par but knew there was more. Kept practicing and found some lucky rounds and shot in the 60s here and there. I was preparing for a tournament and my swing went hay wire as i tried to flatten it a little bit to keep the ball down for a windy tournament.

Thats when i went to see brian manzella for a weekend, we changed a bunch of stuff but it wasn't too bad. Took me about a full 6 months to adopt the changes. During the summer i'd shoot anywhere from 60s-80s cuz i was adapting.

Around October i became extremely comfortable with my swing and decided to really get fitted and went to see my fitter and we fixed my clubs and am all ready for the season to begin.

My first goal is to get my handicap in the 0-+2 area and then i play to try and compete in some amatuer events and try and monday qualify for some mini-tour events, 1 nationwide, 1 pga and for fun i'm going to give the US Open qualifying a go.

I have the drive, i feel i have the talent, i just need to get my handicap and see if i can handle the pressure. I'm in a good postion right now where i'm young enough, have a flexible job, a wonderful g/f who takes care of me mostly, and a brother who can support me financially if i need it.

I feel i have a chance due to my attitude, my putting and short game. I can keep learning all about the full swing and getting better but my putting and short game is what made me shoot those scores on my own before so i'm very anxious to see what i can do this year with a MUCH improved swing and the same putting and short game.

I go to see brian in april and then its time to get my official handicap and try to do the best i can. Maybe if i'm blessed enough i'll be able to come back and put up a link to where i finished in some tournaments.

Sincerely
jim

wish me luck

[bew69]

My name is Bruce. I am 54 and live in Syracuse. I currently play to a 3 hcp and have been addicted to this game since the age of 14.

I read all of the golf books but took very few lessons until I became interested in Natural Golf in February 2001 after I saw Moe Norman at an exhibition in Orlando. I bought all of the Moe videos and must have watched them hundreds of times. I also became a friend and student of Todd and Tim Graves (Todd was Moe's protege), both great guys who give 110% to their students. Through their help, I dropped my handicap from 6 to 3.

Then last September I met a local TGM AI, who gives lessons a mere 6 miles away from where I live. His name is Ted Britschgi, and as I've posted here before he is a devotee of Mac O'Grady. So I converted from Swing-like-Moe overnight, which I must say was quite a drastic move. However, I've since improved my distance and ball striking significantly. I have also tried to digest and apply the wisdom of Yoda, a man who I have come to admire as much for his exceptional writing ability (and wit) as his golfing knowledge (I'm a lawyer, so I really appreciate good writing).

My greatest enjoyment in the game, other than working on my game at the range (I spend above half of my golf time playing and half practicing), is playing golf in Ireland or Scotland. I go almost every year and have logged over 100 rounds there -- special hellos to our Scottish forum members! I love everything about the countries -- the courses, the people, the pubs. I'm going to Scotland in August and will be firming up my tee times over the next week. If you Scots have any gems that I might not have played thus far, I'd love to hear from you!

Incidentallly, just for the record, there is a double entendre in my forum name bew69, but not what you would think. It's the year I graduated from high school (a great year too -- Woodstock and a man on the moon), and also my scoring goal at my home course. I've shot 70 many times there, but can't seem to break that barrier...yet!

Bruce

[BerntR]

Name: Bernt Ronningsbakk

HCP 6

Age 42

Started: 1989

Have a wife and 3 girls from 2 to 10 years old.

I have a PhD in business administration and work as a business consultant with my own practice.

I've always been active in sports. While I still love physical exercise - golf is the sport for me now.

Home: Stavanger, Norway

The ambition with my own golf game is to understand and master the game - technically and mentally. I love to visit new courses, to compete, to practice, to experiment and to study the game - and above all - the estetics of golf. Nothing beats the smell of spring accompanied by a compressed ball leaving the clubface!

I believe that producing a good stroke is like riding a bike (albeit a very difficult one). Once you know H2 - you never forget. I just haven't got there yet!

[drewitgolf]

Mike,

"and a little Emeril (the accent) in him."

Are we talking about the chef? If so he is from my home town of Fall River, Massachusetts. A New England boy!

Bam, Bam!

[brianmanzella]

My name is Brian and I teach golf.

I am from New Orleans, currently live in New Orleans, teach some in New Orleans, but the majority of my lessons are in Louisville, Kentucky, a fact that confuses even my family but delights the Airlines.

I wanted to be the greatest something in the world, and have been hard at it since I was really little. Best 10 and under drummer (got bored), Best 12 and under football player (tired of dealing with coaches and my 4.9 & 5'9"ness).

Tried to become the next self-taught Nicklaus-beater like Lee Trevino, and made it from walk-on to #1 player at two Universities, but couldn't even beat Dave Peege (look'em up).

Found out by accident that even though I had been 'teaching golf' for about two hours, I was already better that 75% of the rest of the field and figured this would be the shortest mountain to climb.

23 years later, I've taught 23,000 slicers not to, taught Craig Perks to chip (watch the highlights this weekend and visit my site and look at my chipping motion), taught David Toms so well I made him and his other teacher famous, learned more from Ben Doyle than anyone alive, found out what the heck Homer thought was best through Yoda, and gotten kicked off of four web forums, and gave life to three others.

After 9 serious relationships that went bust, met the ONLY woman on EARTH that could meet with the 100% approval of the dozen people who got tired of me whining about the first nine, AND actually really love me, too, and married her a year and a half ago.

I am also "GA-GA" to the four kids who call mikestoc Dad, who by the way, met me when I was an Assistant Pro....

...(I had worked my way up from stock boy)....

...still am.

[JohnThomas1]

Thanks heaps guys, you have made this thread well worth starting

[LSH]

Good thread John, I had considered asking if there were any members near me and were interested in getting together this summer for a round. So far I see one from Syracuse, NY. about two hours north of me.
Bruce are you interested in getting together for a round?

My name is Steve Harvey, I am 51 and I live in Nichols, NY. Married with six children and two grandchildren. I was introduced to golf by a friend when I was 15. I played a couple times each summer using borrowed clubs till I was 18 when my brother gave me a starter set . I played a bit the summer I graduated H.S. and after that played 3 to 6 times per year, untill one of my sons indicated they wanted to play. That was 1998. Now it is a way of life. My current GHIN hdcp is 8.1. But it is an inconsistent 8.1.
I recently discovered TGM in my Quest for the Perfect Swing. I had seen it referenced on another forum and read the success stories. I just recently had a TGM based lesson and am trying to comprehend what I was shown and incorporate it. I read the forum, try to read the book, and ask an occasional question, and anxiously await the first opportunity to get out and play. The weather around here is the pits!!!

[8cork]

Hi all,

My name is Steve, and my family and I live in Fletcher, NC. I own a lawn and landscape business, but the most of my time is centered around my 3 sons. Zane age 4, Eli age 3, and Ivan 1. I am 35 and have been playing golf since I was about 14. I have been around a 10 handicap for the past 10 years and have been on a quest to find that magical swing key to get me toward becoming a scratch golfer. I have tryed Scigolf, Peter Croker, Paul Bertholy, among many other methods along the way. I have always been a hitter, but just didn't know it. One day I was doing a search on the web about the right arm in the golf swing, and stumbled on Chuck Evans website. I have been glued to TGM ever since. Just by studing the book, and reading the forums I have shot my 3 best rounds in the past 3 months. (2 75's and a 74) I have signed up to attend the Bash at the Beach and look forward to meeting some great people and learning as much as I can about my golfswing.

[Yoda]

...gotten kicked off of four web forums, and gave life to three others.

[Bold by Yoda.]

"Hello Mudda...

Hello Fadda...

Here I am..."