[Yoda]

How did Seve get to be so good? Do you really think he had a silent stash of Yoda's notes and read them all by the time he played the British Open at age 17?

For that matter, how do most kids under the age of 14 learn? How could anyone under the age of 21 achieve anything without an encyclopedic command of technical instruction????
Break down the words creativity and imagination, and you might have an answer!

I haven't taken any offence...I do think it is a little one dimensional to diminish how 'prolly' 9 out of 10 PGA tour guys would have acquired their skill sets.

I find it interesting how one of the top instructional web sites devote as much time to a brilliant dissertation on Steve Elkington's flop shot can then write (off) Seve's brilliance in three lines(one post), and one line(another post)!

I have long maintained that the Uncompensated Stroke as revealed and taught by Homer Kelley in his book, The Golfing Machine, is the simplest, most efficient move in Golf. I have also maintained that I, or anyone else adequately trained in his Star System of G.O.L.F., could teach it to a six-year-old without once mentioning the terms Geometry or Physics, much less any specific application of the two. At bottom, all that is required is that you keep your Left Wrist Flat and swing On Line through the Ball. And with training, that can be done reasonably well whether you are six or sixty-six and whether you have yet to graduate from grade school or hold a doctorate degree in physics.

The language of TGM facilitates discussion of the Golf Stroke, particularly by adults with an inclination toward such things and, also by those who wish to 'talk golf' through mediums that do not enjoy the visual and kinesthetic benefit of 'hands-on' demonstration. However, it is not at all required by adults not so inclined or children not yet mature enough for a detailed explanation of the concepts involved, but who do have the benefit of competent one-on-one instruction. As Homer used to say, "Most people don't want to be mechanics. They just want to be good little car steer-ers."

Regarding my Elkington versus Ballesteros posts...

In the Elkington post, I responded to a request to analyze a specific short Pitch Shot in TGM terms. And that is exactly what I did.

In the Ballesteros post, I was asked to "classify...in a golfing machine context" the principles Seve uses to perform his short game artistry. And, again, that is exactly what I did. Despite its brevity -- and remember, it takes time to be brief ("I would have written a shorter letter, but I didn't have the time." ) -- that post was comprehensive and quite specific as to the mechanical G.OL.F. principles involved.