Two Peas In A PODS
 

This past Tuesday and Wednesday, I had the great pleasure of working with PGA TOUR player Brian Gay at the PODS Championshiip at Innisbrook Golf Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida. Tuesday was spent on the range with a few dozen of the best players in the world and on Copperhead, site of the Championship. Wednesday was spent on the Island course, with both Brian and his caddy, Kip Henley ripping shots from tee and fairway.

Now, if playing golf with your caddy seems a bit out of the ordinary for a PGA TOUR player, consider the following dossier of one Kip Henley, III:

-- Born in Crossville, Tennessee, and raised in Chattanooga.

-- Member, PGA of America, since 1988.

-- Tennessee State Open Champion, 1982 and 1987.

-- PGA Section Player of the Year, five times.

-- PGA Section Championship, three times.

-- Winner of "zillions" of other tournaments (including the self-professed runner-up in the Grassy Cove Invitational (Hint: there is no Grassy Cove Invitational and there is barely a 'Grassy Cove' :laughing9 ).

-- Winner, The Golf Channel Big Break II.

Now, just what do you get when you're a Big Break II winner?

-- 4 Nationwide Tour Exemptions (best finish: -2, Missed Cut).

-- Car (Ford 500)

-- $10,000 cash.

-- Total 'take' with various endorsements -- "about $150,000."


And yes, he declared it all! :evil5:


Trust me: Kip is one-of-a-kind and an all-'round good guy. He and Brian are a great team. Expect to hear more about these two...

Much more.

Meanwhile, I shot a brief video at the PODS Championship...Kip and me 'just talkin' about gettin' the job done on TOUR. We will get it up soon in the LBG Gallery.

Well, let's start a Grassy Cove Invitational ! :sunny: A LBG sponsored invitational. Let Kip pick a charity and a Yoda Thorphy for the winner.

The Candy Store
 

From the Atlanta airport, it was 'wheels up' at 6:35 a.m. Tuesday morning heading for Tampa, Florida, and the PODS Championship at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor. I was met at the airport by PODS volunteer Charles Smith and ferried to the course in a Buick courtesy car. Thanks, Charley...and Buick!

After depositing my luggage in the players' locker room -- :happy3: -- I hopped on a cart and headed toward the range. Brian Gay would be driving in from his home in Orlando, and we would be meeting up about noon. Meanwhile, 'ol Yoda had the place to himself!

#1 Charley Smith and me in the Transportation 'War' Room at Innisbrook.

#2 Player Registration. You meet the nicest people, and if you're lucky, can scrounge a Krispy Kreme doughnut!

#3 On the way to the range you pass the first tee, and even at this early hour, big doin's are underway...

#4 Recognize this guy (Stuart Appleby)?

#5 He can hit it!

#6 The putting green, including 'set-ups' by more than one or two of the fine folks who market their wares directly to the 'world's best.'

#7 From a vista above the Putting Green, the scene of the day's work lies before me -- The Range. It is already being populated by the greatest players in the world, and I can hardly wait!

The mothership called LBG has landed. The revolution will be televised.

Heath Slocum And Mark Blackburn At the PODS Championship
 

Way back in 2005, Heath Slocum was struggling. He was playing poorly and in danger of losing his PGA TOUR card. That year, Heath met Mark Blackburn, PGA, GSEM, my student and LBG friend, and a partnership was formed that would transform his game. Before the year was out, Heath won the Southern Farm Bureau Classic and in 2006 would post career-high official money winnings of $1,180,681. http://www.pgatour.com/players/02/22...dia-guide.html

This year, he is off to a red-hot start. With back-to-back top-10s -- a 4th at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and a 6th at the FBR Open -- and one top-20 in his first three starts, he has won $505,000. Not coincidentally, he also leads the PGA TOUR in Scoring Average.

"Leads the PGA TOUR in Scoring Average."

Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

:)

Here are a few photos of Heath and Mark gettin' it done on Tuesday. I filmed some video in the afternoon, including a Q&A on what they're working on. We'll get it up soon!

#1 Mark and Heath still dressed for an early morning Florida chill.

#2 Their own 'Battle Central' located at the far end of the range. The strapping young fellow immediately to Mark's left is Heath's caddy, D.J. Nelson. D.J. and Heath played on the same college golf team, and trust me, this guy can hit it!

#3 Sharing a laugh between two stations.

#4 Heath in a 'Slow-Mo' drill programming his entire stroke. This is after Start Up and into the Backstroke. Check out the bag in the lower left corner...would those be dowels? ;-)

#5 The Finish of a fine golf shot.

#6 More 'Slow-Mo.' This time, at the Top (Hands at Right Shoulder and On Plane).

#7 'Slo-mo' drill -- at Release. BTW, in the background, that's Brian Mogg working with Joe Durant.

#8 A beautiful Pivot with a centered Head position. If anybody is wondering what we teach, you're looking at it. And on golf's biggest stage.

#9-#11 Mark tweaking the 'Slow-Mo' alignments (at Address and Release).

#12 Back at it after lunch. No need for those pullovers now!

Results?

In Thursday's opening round, Heath shot a blistering 3-under par 68 and is T-6 in a 144-man field of the game's greatest players. Congratulations, guys, keep it going! :salut:

But don't get too comfortable, 'cuz...

Brian Gay is only a shot back at 69!

Grassy Cove Invitational
 

Kip will be making a special appearance at our LBG Academy at Falcon's Fire next week. We'll see if we can't get something like this started!

Also, I filmed a brief interview with him at the PODS Championship. We'll get it up soon. He's a special guy, and I want everybody to get to know him.

Man oh Man. Those Dowels are hot stuff in those bags. What is it a sercet club or something? Wonder when TGC notices.

Only at lynnblakegolf.com! This place is amazing!

I noticed Yoda that you have a green id tag, very nice!

Not For Sale
 

Thanks, Matt. 'Preciate those comments!

I am proud to have qualified for that PGA TOUR INSTRUCTOR credential you mention. It gets me onto the Practice Tee and into the Locker Room and Clubhouse at all PGA TOUR events. It's a good thing! :-D

And trust me...

It ain't for sale at Edwin Watts!

:laughing9

I really like Heath Slocum's game. There must be something in the water around the Milton/Pensacola area with Slocum/Weekley/Watson & Durant all doing well.

Why would Joe Durant leave Ron Gring after being a top 10 ballstriker all these years to work with Leadbetter disciple Brian Mogg? Not hating, just asking.

They are Tour Issued Dowels....only Tour Players and Yoda can get hold of them :D
This is great stuff Yoda. Good to see Brian playing well again after a couple of hiccups over the past couple of weeks. Did you guys work on anything special or is it just a case of things clicking again?
Alex

Great pics yoda. Looks like some fun down there. lets hope we see brian sunday come out on top

solid driving
 

Brian might not come out on top, but you guys must have worked hard at the driving. He's T1 in accuracy, he's missed 3 fairways in 36 holes, pretty impressive!

Halfway Home At the PODS
 

The Copperhead course at Innisbrook Resort is living up to its name. At the PODS Championship in Palm Harbor, Florida, 77 players in a starting field of 144 of the world's best made the cut at +2. This is only the second tournament of the season where over-par stayed for the weekend.

Up close and personal...

Heath Slocum, student of LBG Pro Contributor Mark Blackburn and the subject of a feature post (#5) earlier in this thread, shot 69 in the second round. At -5, he is now in solo 2nd, only one shot back of the lead.

Brian Gay shot 71 and is T29 at -1.

Moving On Moving Day
 

With the leaders yet to tee off, Brian Gay has opened with birdies on three of the first eight holes. That fast start puts him -4 for the tournament and T4.

Go Brian!

:salut:

Striking Distance
 

Wow, what a great showing today!
Nice work Brian. :thumright =D>

Copperhead Commandos
 

Brian Gay shot 66 today, five-under on a day when the 2nd-round leaders are basically standing pat.

Whoosh!

Stand still on the PGA TOUR and you're buried!

The leaderboard will change a bit over the next hour or so, but at -6 for the tournament, Brian has moved from T29 at the start of the day into a current 5-way tie for 3rd. That logjam includes Heath Slocum, who is at -1 for the day through 8. Both Brian and Heath are one shot back of last year's winner, K.J. Choi, and three back of leader Mark Calcavechia.

Did you guys see Brian setting that Right Forearm in NBC's down-the-line camera view on the 18th fairway? As they say on TOUR...

"That's money!"

Go Brian and Heath! :rambo:

My prejudice is showing, I know, but ya gotta love it!

:toothy1:

Each week while sitting (attched) to this picture desk, I look for a photo of Brian Gay competing in the week's tournamnet to post here.
But it is always the same- NOTHING. Last picture in the system is from 2006. I'm going to do my best to get his picture in the paper the Sunday he wins- and used big.

I'll keep looking.

Saw it and taped it, and then saw it a few more times!

I got some footage of Heath's action as well.

Two great golfing machine swings!

Lynn,

Great showing for the tgm guys!!! Say hey to Blackburn for me!!

Is Jay Overton still at Innisbrook?

Many moons ago as a young PGA apprentice, I spent two winters working at the Sandpiper and Island courses there at Innisbrook. Had a blast, learned alot, taught some clinics, goofed around a little, washed alot of carts and played some golf at the great courses they have.

I was partial to the Island Course since that was where I worked my second winter, but The Copperhead was a great test of golf.

Good Luck Brian and Heath tomorrow,


Todd

Right Forearm Magic On the PGA TOUR
 

The Right Forearm positioning is a real key to an On Plane Stroke. Both Brian Gay and Heath Slocum set the Right Forearm On Plane and In-Line with the Clubshaft during their pre-shot routines.

In the actual Address, Brian maintains his On Plane alignment. Heath, on the other hand, lowers his forearm a bit at Address and then returns to its pre-shot alignment during Impact.

In today's NBC telecast, there were several good views of Heath's Forearm pre-positioning from down-the-line, e.g., on the 15th tee, and also from 'in front and forward' on the 18th tee.

Both players make obvious use of the technique in their Putting.

With Heath tied for the lead at -9 and Brian tied for 4th at -6, things are looking pretty sweet for the Right Forearm Gang!

:)

The Mystic Goodies
 

The NBC commentators mentioned that Heath Slocum had worked with his instructor earlier in the week and made a few adjustments.

Unfortunately for the television audience, they did not mention either the instructor or those adjustments.

But...

Fortunately for the members of LynnBlakeGolf.com, I did a video on Tuesday afternoon with Heath and his instructor, Mark Blackburn.

The subject of that video?

I bring glad tidings...

That would be those very same adjustments, as they were being made!

I'm off to Orlando tomorrow for the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill (and our fully-subscribed LBG Academy at Falcon's Fire later in the week), but I'll get Mrs. Yoda to ship the video out to Bagger on Monday. Assuming he is not otherwise engaged in his day job of multi-jillion dollar product launches with a major S & P 500 company -- I luv ya, man! :) -- he'll get it up toward the end of next week.

Is this a great place or what!?

:D

The mothership has landed . . . The revolution will be televised.

It was great watching Brian set up to his shot with the right forearm on plane. I pointed out to my wife that his set-up procedure was exactly the way Yoda taught me exactly 2 years ago this month down at The Swamp. Whether you are a double digit handicapper, single digit handicapper, or touring pro------the TRUTH is the TRUTH. Thank you Mr. Kelley. Thank you Yoda. Let's hope the Mr. Gay and Mr. Slocum have a huge day on Sunday.

Hunting Season
 

Thanks, Dr. Dave. As usual, your thoughts are "Money." :)

And I'm with you on tomorrow. All Big Dogs were once Small Dogs. Tomorrow...

Let the Small Dogs hunt!

:salut:

The Back Office -- In Style!
 

Try this one, Mike, courtesy of the PGA TOUR during a 'family outing' event last year. It should help the cause! :thumright

Not only is Brian's wife, Kimberly, a huge part of Team Gay, she also plays a pivotal role in many events for wives of PGA TOUR players, especially for those new to the TOUR. Her latest is an all-day event for the ladies at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.

I witnessed first-hand her behind-the-scenes talents when she organized Brian and me last November for the Verizon Communications Executive Clinic at the Golden Bear Club at Keene's Point, Florida. The event involved some 40 or so VIPs for Verizon, and it went off without a hitch.

Thanks, Kimberly!

:)

Stepping Stones
 

Didn't know you had that great experience behind you, Todd. And here I thought you just came into the world ready-made as Head Professional of a prestigious private club! :laughing9

Yes, Jay Overton is still at Innisbrook. He joined in 1978 as Head Golf Professional and vice president of the resort. He now serves as Director of Golf and oversees the entire 72-hole golf complex.

Lew Smither, III, is the Director of Instruction for their Innisbrook Golf Institute. Rated one of the Top 25 Golf Schools in America by Golf Magazine, the Institute is quite an operation in itself. For more on the Innisbrook goings-on check out www.golfinnisbrookresort.com.

The Beauty of Right Forearm - Heath Slocum
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a63O702pNI4

http://www.freeimagehost.eu/image/0a789b105995

Great Pic
 

Awesome stuff, KOC, I especially like the pic with lines drawn on it.

I'll be pulling for Heath and Brian today......I said it last week and I'll say it again....with pics like this and the ones Lynn posted earlier in the week, this site is getting really SWEET!

Sorting Through the Instructor's Textbook.

B-Ray

Brian Gay
 

http://www.freeimagehost.eu/image/1896ea105998

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1ywUDCfFI0

KOC, you sure have some cool stuff on youtube! I have quite a few of your videos on my favorites list.

LBG China Connection
 

Great stuff, KOC. Many thanks to our LBG Hong Kong Support Team! :salut:

WHAT A SHOT! Go Brian. 9 under

Okay, T-4- not too bad. 230+ Grand- not shabby either. And FedEX points (remember Green Stamps? Anyone?)

Ouch that missed putt for par. Glad he got some late TV time.

Nice Work!
 

Congrats to Brian on his T4!

Thanks Yoda for the appreciation.
It is my dream of visiting to the Swamp someday and has a KOC change over for my poor swing. Really not qualify as a LBG support term member! :sad2:

I'm proud of y'all boys! Way to go! Congrats to Brian for a great week. It's going to happen . . .

And how many top 100 teachers could put something like this up without total embarassment?



I'm taking the under on 1.5.

I still maintain that Hogan is wearing a hat, Yoda is not!

17th Hole
 

Congrats Brian and Yoda. Did you hear Johnny Miller's comments on Brians' 17 hole iron shot.........

"Boy that sounded good" :salut:

Congratulations
 

Congratulations to Brian and Heath for a fantastic perfomance.

Thany you for showing us the Master's application of the "Magic of the Right Forearm".

:salut: :salut: :salut:

Well done to all involved!! This is going to be a banner year for Brian, Heath and LBG!
Alex
p.s. Anyone know/have the final round on CD or where I can find it on the 'net?