Do you subscribe to a method? More specifically a swing method? There are many to choose from and the appeal of these is real and results are impressive for some of them. Let’s look at a couple.
The father of methods as we know them now, is probably Homer Kelley who wrote The Golfing Machine. A book I’ve read a few times that requires a sniper’s concentration and the patience of a Tibetan monk. The most famous disciple of this book is probably Mac O’Grady who set up MORAD golf. MORAD is the precursor to Stack n Tilt and breaks the swing into ten parts that are done a specific way. There’s no argument that Mac could hit it and his students could hit it. The list of guys that went to see him from the tour reads like a who’s who. The scientific shit that goes into it though is enormous and while that appeals to some I think it would frighten the pants off others.
Gary Edwin is an Australian based coach with a specific pattern for swinging the club. He starts you in a reverse K shape and has you move around that. It’s very effective and his tour guys are known for their ball-striking. He’s a great guy too as are the boys that teach with him. He has a loyal following of GEGASites.
Stack n Tilt came about from Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer who took Aaron Baddeley to some success. The move is basically to keep weight left and arms straight to keep the low point of the swing constant. Again the teaching has some merit, I think and the followers of SNT are somewhat fanatical.
Should you follow a system, or a coach that using a system? Allow me to let you in on a wee secret – every coach has a system or series of parameters that they prefer to see when coaching a golfer. Critics of the ‘branded’ systems suffer from a bit of tall poppy syndrome. Perhaps because they look a little different, perhaps because they have cult-like followings – who knows.
The point is, find a coach who gets you results and you can relate to. They may be a ‘method’ guy or gal, they may profess not to be. Who cares – it’s your game and you do what’s best for it. Oh and have fun doing it. No fun = shit golf.
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