[phillygolf]

Was on the phone earlier this evening with PGA TOUR player Brian Gay, and I congratulated him on his recent fine play. The conversation went something like this...



Brian: Well, thanks there, Yoda. This TGM stuff is making a lot of sense, and I'll admit I have been hitting the ball better. Just haven't been making the putts.

Yoda: Brian, I must share something with you.

Brian: What's that, Green Thing?

Yoda: The latest stats are out and the jig is up: With an average of 27.37 Putts per Round, you now are officially ranked the #1 Putter on the PGA TOUR.

Brian: Really!

Yoda: Yep. 520 putts divided by 19 rounds equals 27.27 per round. Can't argue with the math.

Brian: Well, yeah, but that's just because I'm a good scrambler. How about my Putts per Green in Regulation?

Yoda: More bad news, Brian. At 1.677 per GIR, you're #2 in that category. And that 4th round at the Chrysler? The number was 1.429. You didn't miss anything under 10 feet. Outside that distance, you made one-third from 10-15 feet, half from 15-20 feet and two-thirds from 20-25 feet. Let's face facts, Brian: You're a good putter. You've made 75 birdies so far this year, one for every third green you've hit. That's better than David Toms, Davis Love, Stuart Appleby and Sergio Garcia, to name a few.

Brian: Okay, I guess I shouldn't be complaining about my putting. But, seriously, I do seem to be missing more lately.

Yoda: Brian, please. You shot 30 on the back nine Sunday on your way to a 66. Passed a lot of fine TOUR folk on your way to the pay window, too. You don't do that without making putts. But...I know your problem.

Brian: What's that?

Yoda: Did you look at your GIR stats at the Chrysler Tuscon?

Brian: Not yet. I got in from Tuscon about 1:30 AM, logged onto LBG to check the latest, then hit the sack.

Yoda: You're sitting down, right?

Brian: Of course, I'm in the car headed to Doral.

Yoda: Good. At Tuscon, you averaged 14 greens per round. The final round was even better, 77.8 percent.

Brian: Really! My average last year was 62.3 percent.

Yoda: That was last year, Brian...last year.

Brian: So, I'm hitting more greens, and that makes me feel like I'm missing more putts, even though I'm making more than anybody else?

Yoda: Something like that. But it gets worse.

Brian: Whazzupp?

Yoda: Your Driving stats.

Brian: Naah, I'm short.

Yoda: Not any more. Your 4th round average was 316 yards.

Brian: Really! You know, now that you mention it, I have been hitting it further.

Yoda: Yes you have, and that has had more than a little something to do with the four eagles you've made on the 5-pars this year. Not to mention last week's double eagle at the Nissan, the first on the PGA TOUR this year. But...I have more bad news.

Brian: I can hardly wait.

Yoda: You hit 85.7 percent of the fairways.

Brian: Really!

Yoda: Yeah, it's a nightmare: You're long and straight off the tee. You hit a ton of greens. And statistically, you're the best putter on the PGA TOUR.

Brian: Hmmm...that's pretty interesting stuff there, Yoda. I've been out here eight years. Maybe things are starting to turn my way.

Yoda: It's you, Brian. You've put in the time. You've done the work. Now comes the reward.

Brian: Hey, gotta go, Green Thing...I'm turning into the parking lot and the Blue Monster's waiting. Anything else I should be doing?

Yoda: Deltoid exercises, Brian. You gotta start working the delts. Those trophies are heavy. And you never want the guys behind the cameras see you sweat.

Excellent post Yoda....

Not necessarily because it's Brian Gay, PGA Tour Player (though that does add to the it!)....

And not because, as his teacher, you have sliced and diced his pertinent statistics, which obviously displays a true interest in his improvement...

No sir.

Know why (in my opinion at least)?

Psychology.

No Maslow. No (thank God) Freud. Nope. Just the plain old facts (or is it Plane ole facts).

Yes sir.

You have taken, backed with real life statistics, what he perceives (the operative word) to be a weakness and educated him on what he is really doing - versus the perception he may have, and hopefully he can use that as a spring board to reach his goals/dreams, etc.

And that, my friend, is what separates the mens from the boys (from both a teaching and playing perspective)!!!!!!!! Great stuff!

-Patrick