In 279 PGA TOUR events over the past 12 years, Jay Williamson made 137 cuts and $3,677,453. He had finished 3rd, but never 1st. In 59 Nationwide Tour events, he had made 31 cuts and $189,837. He had finished 2nd, but again, never 1st. Knee surgery caused an abbreviated 2005 season, and when his Major Medical Extension status on the PGA TOUR expired in 2006, things were looking bleak.
Late last summer, referred by John Riegger and Brian Gay, Jay called. He told me he would be playing the Nationwide Tour and was looking for answers, particularly about the Release. We talked a bit more, and he scheduled a half-day visit to The Swamp.
During the four-hour session, Jay really didn't hit a lot of balls...it was more of a 'skull' session than a scrimmage. Mostly, I explained our approach to the Golf Stroke and how it differed from many of the things he had been advised to do (and that were now resident in his swing). More than once he said, "I've been to everybody, and I've never seen anything that comes close to this. I've wasted ten years." The next week, Jay tied for 8th in the Albertsons Boise Open, and his 12-under-par 272 included a tournament low of 64 on Saturday.
Three weeks ago (April 16), we got together again, this time in a no-holds-barred encounter at TPC Sugarloaf in Atlanta. We took his swing apart and reassembled it piece-by-piece. We worked for five hours in each of the Three Zones -- Body, Arms and Hands -- and added the precision alignments of The Golfing Machine. Over the next two days, we reinforced those concepts at Jennings Mill, the site of that week's Nationwide event, the Athens Regional Foundation Classic. Jay played well, going into Sunday T5 and eventually finishing T29 after disappointing bogies on the last three holes.
The following Friday morning at the Henrico County Open at The Dominion Club in Richmond, Virginia, I stood by his bag and watched him warm up for the day's round. He struck the ball beautifully, but when one drive got away, I said simply, "Punish yourself." He immediately did several Start Down Waggles, using his pivot to pull his hands and club directly at the plane line, and the next soared long and true. His work done, he returned to the bag, handed the driver to his caddy and stripped off his glove. We looked each other square in the eye and talked:
Jay: The game's supposed to get easier, not harder, when you're 40, isn't it?
Yoda: The years don't make it any harder, Jay. You just become more aware.
Jay: Yeah, that's right. More aware.
Yoda: But you're looking good now. Really good. Your pivot is centered, and your grip and flying wedges are perfect. You're on plane during the start down, and you're tracing well through impact. You are releasing the club as you should, and you have a beautiful hinge action.
Jay: I guess what you're saying is that I don't have any excuses, right?
Yoda: Just do it.
Jay finished the week with a solid 8-under par 280 and a T18. Then it was down the road to Arkansas and the Nationwide's Fort Smith Classic. Yoda headed for Las Vegas and his LBG Academy at Paiute Golf Resort. At week's end on Sunday, May 6, I had just finished lunch with our Academy class and had the opportunity to check my voice mail. Two messages awaited, and each bore the same news:
I stepped out of the Paiute clubhouse and into the desert sunshine. My Academy students were awaiting their final session, and life was good: Jay had won, and the principles and procedures that had worked so well for him were working just as well for them. I was every bit as proud of their accomplishments that week as I was of his.
Put it all together and on that particular Sunday afternoon, one thing was for sure:
In 279 PGA TOUR events over the past 12 years, Jay Williamson made 137 cuts and $3,677,453. He had finished 3rd, but never 1st. In 59 Nationwide Tour events, he had made 31 cuts and $189,837. He had finished 2nd, but again, never 1st. Knee surgery caused an abbreviated 2005 season, and when his Major Medical Extension status on the PGA TOUR expired in 2006, things were looking bleak.
Late last summer, referred by John Riegger and Brian Gay, Jay called. He told me he would be playing the Nationwide Tour and was looking for answers, particularly about the Release. We talked a bit more, and he scheduled a half-day visit to The Swamp.
During the four-hour session, Jay really didn't hit a lot of balls...it was more of a 'skull' session than a scrimmage. Mostly, I explained our approach to the Golf Stroke and how it differed from many of the things he had been advised to do (and that were now resident in his swing). More than once he said, "I've been to everybody, and I've never seen anything that comes close to this. I've wasted ten years." The next week, Jay tied for 8th in the Albertsons Boise Open, and his 12-under-par 272 included a tournament low of 64 on Saturday.
Three weeks ago (April 16), we got together again, this time in a no-holds-barred encounter at TPC Sugarloaf in Atlanta. We took his swing apart and reassembled it piece-by-piece. We worked for five hours in each of the Three Zones -- Body, Arms and Hands -- and added the precision alignments of The Golfing Machine. Over the next two days, we reinforced those concepts at Jennings Mill, the site of that week's Nationwide event, the Athens Regional Foundation Classic. Jay played well, going into Sunday T5 and eventually finishing T29 after disappointing bogies on the last three holes.
The following Friday morning at the Henrico County Open at The Dominion Club in Richmond, Virginia, I stood by his bag and watched him warm up for the day's round. He struck the ball beautifully, but when one drive got away, I said simply, "Punish yourself." He immediately did several Start Down Waggles, using his pivot to pull his hands and club directly at the plane line, and the next soared long and true. His work done, he returned to the bag, handed the driver to his caddy and stripped off his glove. We looked each other square in the eye and talked:
Jay: The game's supposed to get easier, not harder, when you're 40, isn't it?
Yoda: The years don't make it any harder, Jay. You just become more aware.
Jay: Yeah, I guess that's right. More aware.
Yoda: But you're looking good now. Really good. Your pivot is centered, and your grip and flying wedges are perfect. You're on plane during the start down, and you're tracing well through impact. You are releasing the club as you should, and you have a beautiful hinge action.
Jay: I guess what you're saying is that I don't have any excuses, right?
Yoda: Just do it.
Jay finished the week with a solid 8-under par 280 and a T18. Then it was down the road to Arkansas and the Nationwide's Fort Smith Classic. Yoda headed for Las Vegas and his LBG Academy at Paiute Golf Resort. At week's end on Sunday, May 6, I had just finished lunch with our Academy class and had the opportunity to check my voice mail. Two messages awaited, and they both bore the same news:
I stepped out of the Paiute clubhouse and into the desert sunshine. My Academy students were awaiting their final session, and life was good: Jay had won, and the principles and procedures that had worked so well for him were working just as well for them. I was every bit as proud of their accomplishments that week as I was of his.
Put it all together and on that particular Sunday afternoon, one thing was for sure:
'Ol Yoda was a plenty happy guy.
We ALL win STICKMAN . . . We all win . . .
Got the fight on PPV Saturday night . . . at one point in the fight Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s trainer and uncle looks at him and says . . . "Just keep bein' you. You just be you." And that's all you gotta do too! You be you . . . and people will win . . . LOTS. 1. Take ball 2. Run fast.
Congrats, Lynn. Is it easier working with a tour player than your average joe? From this limited perspective, it seems that it's easier for them to "get" what you're giving them.
Congrats, Lynn. Is it easier working with a tour player than your average joe? From this limited perspective, it seems that it's easier for them to "get" what you're giving them.
What is fun about working with tour players -- and it is fun, especially the 'inside the ropes' rush -- is seeing recommended adjustments implemented virtually immediately. That is special. But...
I am a realist and always ask my players, "What can I contribute? You are already a wonderful player. That is why you are here. What, in your opinion, would constitute success in this relationship?" At the PGA TOUR level, a quarter-shot per round improvement in Scoring Average is a tremendous accomplishment, one that can translate into significant additional earnings, not to mention career longevity. And that is important, no doubt. But just as the wise stock market investor never confuses brains with a bull market, I do not hang my teaching ability -- for better or for worse -- on a tour player's next four rounds.
And then there is the bulk of my work with 'average' students. Here there is the potential for a 50 percent improvement, maybe even more. An 18 handicap goes to 9. A 10 goes to 5. And a 5 -- like Tim Rash so many years ago -- takes the training in the spring and goes on to win the Richmond City Amateur in the summer. I love being part of that process!
I am privileged to be working with tournament players and hope to do so for the rest of my life. There is no question that Homer Kelley's great work and my abilities to teach it can make the difference to those seeking success at golf's pinnacle. But the real thrill comes as it did last week, when Daryl DelSasso, alumni of three LBG Academies and now a true friend, shoots a 2-over 38 -- he was 1-under through 7! -- in our 9 holes on Snow Mountain at Paiute in Las Vegas. I watched him pound towering drives down the middle, bore iron shots into the wind that streaked for the flag, and execute deft little pitches from awkward lies that trickled to 'gimme' distance. All the while telling me exactly what he was going to do, how he was going to do it, and then doing it!
Now, with all due respect to the future Masters, U.S. Open, British Open or PGA Champions who may be coming my way, that display of golfing prowess -- one born of desire, will and discipline -- will remain forever one of the highlights of my teaching career.
What is fun about working with tour players -- and it is fun, especially the 'inside the ropes' rush -- is seeing recommended adjustments implemented virtually immediately. That is special. But...
I am a realist and always ask my players, "What can I contribute? You are already a wonderful player. That is why you are here. What, in your opinion, would constitute success in this relationship?" At the PGA TOUR level, a quarter-shot per round improvement in Scoring Average is a tremendous accomplishment, one that can translate into significant additional earnings, not to mention career longevity. And that is important, no doubt. But just as the wise stock market investor never confuses brains with a bull market, I do not hang my teaching ability -- for better or for worse -- on a tour player's next four rounds.
And then there is the bulk of my work with 'average' students. Here there is the potential for a 50 percent improvement, maybe even more. An 18 handicap goes to 9. A 10 goes to 5. And a 5 -- like Tim Rash so many years ago -- takes the training in the spring and goes on to win the Richmond City Amateur in the summer. I love being part of that process...
Thanks, Lynn. That confirmed what I suspected was the difference between teaching tour pros and average guys.
The next week, Jay tied for 8th in the Albertsons Boise Open, and his 12-under-par 272 included a tournament low of 64 on Saturday. 
-- is seeing recommended adjustments implemented virtually immediately. That is special. But...
Hybrid Mode
