Proof positive! Do you recall what ideas in particular spurred your student on? i.e. which concept started the ball rolling for him? Example: for me it was understanding the way the right arm bends and straightens, or is straightened. This helped me understand the flying wedges, extensor action, and the sequencing of the accumulators.
The biggest difficulty with Richard was having his dominant arm on the front side of the club. I much prefer to have the student's dominant arm on the back of the club. So, it was difficult for him to learn to use the right arm. It's still instinctive for him to attempt to employ the left arm when going for the additional speed.
During the lesson today, we had some interesting things happen. We quickly returned to the same success with the irons that we had in the last lesson (like the previous pictures in this thread). In fact, his speed with the irons was faster when hitting the ball than it was in the practice swing. I've found this to happen many times with my own stroke. I have much faster speed when hitting a ball. I can't get the club to move as fast without a ball.
Here's the interesting part. When Richard tried to max out the driver speed, he reverted to some of his original alignments. Each of the pictures on the left are of a practice swing, where he was trying to exaggerate some of the alignments. The pictures on the right are hitting a ball, where he returned to some faults. Amazingly, his speed when hitting the ball was 107 mph, with poor alignments. So, he's gone from 84 mph to 107 mph. That alone would qualify him for an amazing change. But, even more amazing was the speed on the practice swing. It was 118 mph!!! You can get some false readings if it picks up a portion of the ball speed. But, it's impossible to get ball speed when you're not hitting a ball!
As Homer said, "Impact is not a destination." When Richard learns this (physically) and is no longer ball bound, he can find his true potential in clubhead speed. 84 mph to 107 mph is a great success story. But, I can't wait to get him from 84 mph to 118 mph, when hitting a ball. I've never seen that much change. I know it's just a practice swing. But, I'd challenge anyone to get that speed with a golf club, with or without a ball, when your starting speed was 84 mph!
From afar over the past 18 months, I've watched Ted and Richard work their magic. Teacher and Student, each committed to a defined system of alignments, and each with a total trust of the other. What they have achieved is nothing short of amazing.
I encourage those currently engaged in the alchemy of golf instruction to re-read the second sentence above:
Student and Teacher, each committed to a defined system of alignments, and each with a total trust of the other.
Some think of the Student-Teacher relationship as a reversion to grade school: The dominant Teacher sends, and the subservient Student receives. Learning may or may not take place. That is not the way Ted Fort teaches. Instead . . .
Teacher and Student are adult equals. One with a superior knowledge of Golf Stroke Mechanics, and the other seeking to learn same. But the road to Golfing Perfection varies from student to student, and the Teacher's ability -- and willingness -- to explore those individual pathways defines his art. Those necessary efforts will be stifled if the Student does not trust -- and thus enable -- his Teacher to open and explore those pathways with him. Such Student resistance will quickly close promising doors and leave others unopened. Conversely, when the Teacher knows that his basic and exploratory efforts will be met with trust and 'can do', the fear of rejection evaporates, and the doors of opportunity open wide.
Attitude matters.
As in any quest, the treasure is seldom found straightaway. But, where two are bound together in sound principles and a search for truth, the answer always awaits.
Hybrid Mode
