[innercityteacher]

Hi. I just wanted to thank the folks here at LBG with actions and not just words. I have been on the forums for a couple of weeks now and Kevin Carter and O. B. Left have been amazing in encouraging me and helping me learn this wonderful book and meditations on the theory and practice of TGM.

I have purchased the LBG videos, in addition.

I also have 3 of Brian Manzella's videos but have not been able to get much from them in the last two months owing to the fact that I did not have the mentoring I found on this site. I do not even look at those DVD's.

I also had the S&T videos and book but again, while the support was much better than the Manzella forum on all the S&T sites (the people there seem very nice), I simply could not get my artificial hip and shorter front leg to withstand the practice routines I tried to use to learn their system.

In an attempt to withstand the wear and tear of the game, I even went to the Graves Golf Academy and have their impact bag, some dvd's, and their practice club. I found nothing like the precision and clarity of causality at Graves' that compares to the explanations and logic of TGM and this site's helpfulness.

Imagine my delight when I realized that much of Moe norman's incredible golfing skill, Ben Hogan's, Tommy Armour and even Faldo and Ledbetter (my first golf videos and books), are easily explained in the circle of TGM!

I have played five 9-hole tracts yesterday and today, on three different par 35's which are part of my public course in Ambler, PA, Limekiln Golf Course. The course is very soft and all the greens have been top-dresed.

Yesterday, I shot a 47 and 46, trying to employ the elbow-controlled putting insight and the "punch elbow" style of golf stroke as I interpret them through LBG postings and dvd's. Today, another beautiful day weather wise, saw me shoot a 46, 45 and 43.

How did I screw-up? Yesterday, I had 30 putts in 18 holes. I had 23 ineffective or "complicating" chips that did not get me close enough to the hole to achieve a "gimme" putt. I also had 6 bad drives or first shots defined as a shot that forced me to hit an escape shot to the middle of the fairway. One such shot was caused by my snapping the handle of my driver as I attempted to use my version of "punch elbow." That and two other bad first shots resulted in two 8's and one 7.

Good news, yesterday? Almost every shot I made was struck with purpose and struck hard. I had two pars and one birdie amongst the wreckage. I actually got in trouble trying draws and fades I would never attempt before. And, I had 8 putts in the last 7 holes as I learned to shoten the elbow stroke and trust the mechanism. I had some great pitches and chips. I never felt lost or overwhelmed. And, physically, I was able to play 27 more holes today, which I never could have done last year!(Seniors take note!)


In the 27 holes I played today,I had 48 putts. One of my regular foursome from a year ago said "you are dropping them from everywhere!" "How are you doing that?" Again, the greens sometimes had 1" of sand on them in very odd places! Bad news? 22 bad chips on 27 hole including several shanks in the first 10 holes. Two 8's and five 6's resulted. I finally extended my left arm with my thumb on the aft side built my flying wedge and started chipping to the whole leaving several chips within 2 feet. (I used this technique again and again.)

I hit only 4 bad first shots/drives in 27 holes! In the last 9 holes I learned several important things. 1) I can tee the drive much lower, not above the driver, and punch hit more down and through to the ground to get a very hot, penetrating shot. 2) I must stay on plane with all shots. Visualizing the plane allows me to swing with the shoulders or drop the elbow, or punch the heck out of the ball. The last three holes of practice I simply imagined the plane and swung or punched on plane without thinking of the mechanics. Two drives plugged underground at 230+ yards making me dig the ball out. All the "plane" shots were penetrating and straight with a little draw at most. In the last three holes I had two birdie puts.

Anyway,yesterday's 93 gave way to a 91 and lower, today. And a 43 where I had shot a 46 earlier in the day was very encouraging.

Patrick