A Question for Yoda, regarding Homer and Shaft Flex

[YodasLuke]

I once asked Tom about hitting vs swinging. Also release types.
All stress the clubshaft different ways. Tom now has some of that in his fitting program but still believes in the old ball flight laws. That is a shame and shows there is still a ways to go for the average fitter to improve the tools in hand.

Rifles - years into this game and I do not ever stock them.

"Play the lightest shaft that you can control". Note not "play the lightest most flexible shaft that you can control" which is the industry catch cry. Why? Coz too many fitted players end up way too whippy. But for an average Joe, better too whippy than too stiff.

I just pulled apart a so called fitted HG club for a client today. Fitter had to have been on drugs. Builder must have had a quota for glue that had expired. I fix more HGs than almost any other brand of 'fitted clubs'. Not having a go at HGs just stating what I see. Over priced and the fitting system is still in the stone age. Most fitters are not TGM pro's and so just are ice cream salesmen...unlike the fellows who run this site
If you are going to get HGs, go there or do your dough!

The Chairman of the Board of Henry-Griffitts and I had a chance encounter that changed my life. His name is Billy McDonald. He's a delight and a very knowledgeable man. When I was at my previous facility, we had hired a new teacher, Steve Ferguson. Steve has become one of my best friends. He and I have also changed facilities and have remained together. Steve was an HG fitter and thought it would be a great product for us to use in fitting, as I had not been exposed to HG.

Billy, as anyone that knows him would know, is not one to sit in a boardroom and let things happen. He makes things happen. So, he wanted to be in the field as a Regional Director in addition to his other duties. Therefore, I had my encounter. I call it an encounter, because Billy is like a squirrel on crack. If you blink, you miss him. I love his energy and passion.

When he was spending time at my facility and was observing me as a teacher, he said he was having trouble with his short game, mainly with chipping. So, he asked for a chipping lesson. I gave him one and he said it had been a long time since he heard that sound. I jokingly told him that it was called "compression". He asked me, "where did you learn how to do this?". I told him that I had taken lessons from a TGM instructor, and was just telling what I had been told. Billy thought it was the best chipping lesson he'd ever received, and wanted to know more about it. So, I recommended that he contact Danny and Joe, who at the time were co-owners of TGM.

Billy started piecing things together and found that his most successful accounts had ties to TGM. When he realized this, he started his quest to get everyone TGM Authorized, including me and all other fitters in his territory. So, our chance chipping lesson evolved into something much bigger.

So, I went to get Authorized in TGM. And, then the greatest blessing to my teaching ability walked through the door during one of our classes, Lynn Blake. He was just sitting in my class and listening, but in true Lynn Blake fashion, he couldn't sit still when G.O.L.F. was being spoken. Joe Daniels let him teach part of our class, and from that point on, I started wearing out Lynn's cell number to get him to come see me at my facility. I was relentless with the calls, because I knew he was one in a million. I had the hunger and he could fill it.

Lynn finally came to my facility after all the badgering, and he watched me teach. He loved what I was doing (as he should have, since I was doing everything he told us to do in the class). Then, I showed him the changes that I had made in my own motion since the class. I think 'astounded' would be an understatement, because he couldn't believe it was the same guy he saw in the class. As a result, he asked for my participation on his site and we became partners in the schools. I was honored to do anything he wanted.

All of this resulted in the largest number of new AI's in TGM, thanks to Billy. He wanted all of his fitters to also be the best teachers. So, TGM and HG have been joined at the hip ever since. I'm happy to have served any role in that evolution.

So, my journey:
Ted with some TGM > Steve Ferguson > Billy McDonald > HG Fitting > TGM Authorization > Lynn Blake

My life wouldn't be as rich without each of these people and experiences. I've been blessed beyond measure by each of them.

[12 piece bucket]

The Chairman of the Board of Henry-Griffitts and I had a chance encounter that changed my life. His name is Billy McDonald. He's a delight and a very knowledgeable man. When I was at my previous facility, we had hired a new teacher, Steve Ferguson. Steve has become one of my best friends. He and I have also changed facilities and have remained together. Steve was an HG fitter and thought it would be a great product for us to use in fitting, as I had not been exposed to HG.

Billy, as anyone that knows him would know, is not one to sit in a boardroom and let things happen. He makes things happen. So, he wanted to be in the field as a Regional Director in addition to his other duties. Therefore, I had my encounter. I call it an encounter, because Billy is like a squirrel on crack. If you blink, you miss him. I love his energy and passion.

When he was spending time at my facility and was observing me as a teacher, he said he was having trouble with his short game, mainly with chipping. So, he asked for a chipping lesson. I gave him one and he said it had been a long time since he heard that sound. I jokingly told him that it was called "compression". He asked me, "where did you learn how to do this?". I told him that I had taken lessons from a TGM instructor, and was just telling what I had been told. Billy thought it was the best chipping lesson he'd ever received, and wanted to know more about it. So, I recommended that he contact Danny and Joe, who at the time were co-owners of TGM.

Billy started piecing things together and found that his most successful accounts had ties to TGM. When he realized this, he started his quest to get everyone TGM Authorized, including me and all other fitters in his territory. So, our chance chipping lesson evolved into something much bigger.

So, I went to get Authorized in TGM. And, then the greatest blessing to my teaching ability walked through the door during one of our classes, Lynn Blake. He was just sitting in my class and listening, but in true Lynn Blake fashion, he couldn't sit still when G.O.L.F. was being spoken. Joe Daniels let him teach part of our class, and from that point on, I started wearing out Lynn's cell number to get him to come see me at my facility. I was relentless with the calls, because I knew he was one in a million. I had the hunger and he could fill it.

Lynn finally came to my facility after all the badgering, and he watched me teach. He loved what I was doing (as he should have, since I was doing everything he told us to do in the class). Then, I showed him the changes that I had made in my own motion since the class. I think 'astounded' would be an understatement, because he couldn't believe it was the same guy he saw in the class. As a result, he asked for my participation on his site and we became partners in the schools. I was honored to do anything he wanted.

All of this resulted in the largest number of new AI's in TGM, thanks to Billy. He wanted all of his fitters to also be the best teachers. So, TGM and HG have been joined at the hip ever since. I'm happy to have served any role in that evolution.

So, my journey:
Ted with some TGM > Steve Ferguson > Billy McDonald > HG Fitting > TGM Authorization > Lynn Blake

My life wouldn't be as rich without each of these people and experiences. I've been blessed beyond measure by each of them.

Great post! Love all this history - how it come to be stuff.

Question: What was the chipping lesson?

[YodasLuke]

Great post! Love all this history - how it come to be stuff.

Question: What was the chipping lesson?

It was mainly focusing on lag pressure. I had him do the machine-gun drill. I told him as soon as he touched the ball that bullets were going to come out of the grip end. He stopped flipping pretty quickly, when it had life and death consequences.

I usually put a fiberglass rod in the grip end, so if they flip it, they hit themselves in the ribs.

[BlackjackNY]

I usually put a fiberglass rod in the grip end, so if they flip it, they hit themselves in the ribs.

Ted, this is so funny- a buddy of mine is the worst flipper you have ever seen. A few years ago, I put a similar aid on his wedge before a round, and naturally, he smashed himself in the ribs, twice. So, what did he do? Did he think to himself, geez, I'm doing something wrong here, I'd better fix it? Or, geez...I'd better see an instructor and get this fixed? Nah...all he did was say, "Damn, this thing hurts!", took it off, and never gave his flippy ways another thought again. He can still flip a hamburger when he chips...

[BlackjackNY]

Just a guess....would it maybe decrease it? Cause the shaft would never unload....???

Nope. It would increase it just 2-3 degrees. You'd think it would be so much more.

Regarding unloading, Wishon says:

"When we release the wrist-cock on the downswing, the arms begin to slow down, and the club begins to speed up...arms lose energy, club speeds up."

There's a lot of other fascinating stuff. Myths regarding loading and unloading the shaft...it's a great read.

[Delaware Golf]

Ted,

Great story...thanks for taking the time to share it.

DG

[YodasLuke]

Ted, this is so funny- a buddy of mine is the worst flipper you have ever seen. A few years ago, I put a similar aid on his wedge before a round, and naturally, he smashed himself in the ribs, twice. So, what did he do? Did he think to himself, geez, I'm doing something wrong here, I'd better fix it? Or, geez...I'd better see an instructor and get this fixed? Nah...all he did was say, "Damn, this thing hurts!", took it off, and never gave his flippy ways another thought again. He can still flip a hamburger when he chips...

I have to tell you a story that sounds like a fairy tale, but I promise it's true.

I was using the old stick (orange flag that goes on the back of a go-cart, cut in half) in the grip drill with a student. I get a very unusual phone call from a woman. She starts by asking, "do you teach my boyfriend, Tim (to protect the innocent)?" I said, "yes, I do." She then asked, "were you the one that put those marks on his side?"

Wanting to laugh hysterically, I said, "actually, he made the marks. I just made them possible."

I wanted to say, "no, it wasn't me. Have you asked that other girl that he was with today?"

[12 piece bucket]

I have to tell you a story that sounds like a fairy tale, but I promise it's true.

I was using the old stick (orange flag that goes on the back of a go-cart, cut in half) in the grip drill with a student. I get a very unusual phone call from a woman. She starts by asking, "do you teach my boyfriend, Tim (to protect the innocent)?" I said, "yes, I do." She then asked, "were you the one that put those marks on his side?"

Wanting to laugh hysterically, I said, "actually, he made the marks. I just made them possible."

I wanted to say, "no, it wasn't me. Have you asked that other girl that he was with today?"

Or . . ."Man if you think those are bad . . . you should see the ones on his ass."

[mcflog]

Or . . ."Man if you think those are bad . . . you should see the ones on his ass."

Thats said with a lisp right

[YodasLuke]

Ted,

Great story...thanks for taking the time to share it.

DG

I appreciate you thinking so. Isn't it amazing how things work out so well?

I wouldn't change those events for anything. And, Lynn's house can't be more than 7 miles from my facility. I'm just thankful his grandchildren live here in Atlanta. It makes me feel safer about not having to move to follow him somewhere.

Lynn calls all these events serendipitous. But, I think it was God having pity on a middle-aged, red-neck, golf pro, from the other side of the tracks (me), that needed a little more education. So, he brought Lynn out of hibernation to help me. That’s the way I see it.