[YodasLuke]

I was responding to a poster on another site and thought it might interest a few in here, so here it is:

"If you have any interest at all, I'll tell you a little about the guy with Polio. He's left handed, as his right arm has the deformity. His right arm is about 6 inches shorter than his left, it won't straighten, and his hand is withered. One of the things that brought him to mind was the beginning of the thread and the talk of the arms hanging. For him, he only had one arm that would hang. Without the pictures found in TGM and the exaggerated form of separated hands, I might not have ever thought to build the type of club this man would need. I built him a club that was 6 inches longer than standard, with a grip in the standard location and an additional but smaller grip on top. His hands are separated by about six inches of space.

When he began with me, he had terrible posture from attempting to play with standard clubs. The only reason he came to me in the first place was his son. He had heard through a few people in Atlanta that I had worked with some very good juniors. He had no intention of getting any better himself, he just wanted his son to get help. He reluctantly took off his jacket and showed me his problem and asked if I thought that I could help him. I thought there were a few things that we could do. So, I went home and went straight to the book (TGM). I started with the grip, where I knew there were many options. He's got some of the longest clubs in the business, and has had more success than he had ever dreamed of having. He presently hits a 7 iron about 145 yards, and has a smile on his face every time golf is mentioned. I'm in the same boat as you, in the respect that I would never claim to have the intelligence or the patience to write a work like TGM. But, I can read. And with that ability, I can help people. Even if they are the only person in a million that would use that specific pattern, it's in the book."

This is another instance where TGM is thought to be a method, but fits anyone. Congrats to Homer for giving me the blueprint for this man's golfing happiness. Without Homer's genius and foresight, without Yoda's willingness to share his knowledge, without Henry-Griffitts being willing to make a club 6 inches over standard that has two grips, this man wouldn't have had a chance. He's presently addicted to the game and has to beg his 15 year old son to go play with him. Previously, it was his son doing the begging. He thought he'd never be able to play a game or sport with such passion, because of his limitation.

I thought the funniest thing was when this Jewish man was so happy with his golf game and was so thankful for the help I had given him, he gave me a Christmas present! I have many Jewish friends/students that are kind enough to wish me a Merry Christmas, and I wish them a Happy Hannukah. But, I usually don't get Christmas presents. I'm so happy about his success and so happy for him, I can't stand it!

Moral of the story: TGM can work for anyone, it's not a method.