On the Telephone With Brian Gay
 

Was on the phone earlier this evening with PGA TOUR player Brian Gay, and I congratulated him on his recent fine play. The conversation went something like this...



Brian: Well, thanks there, Yoda. This TGM stuff is making a lot of sense, and I'll admit I have been hitting the ball better. Just haven't been making the putts.

Yoda: Brian, I must share something with you.

Brian: What's that, Green Thing?

Yoda: The latest stats are out and the jig is up: With an average of 27.37 Putts per Round, you now are officially ranked the #1 Putter on the PGA TOUR.

Brian: Really! :shock:

Yoda: Yep. 520 putts divided by 19 rounds equals 27.27 per round. Can't argue with the math.

Brian: Well, yeah, but that's just because I'm a good scrambler. How about my Putts per Green in Regulation? :p

Yoda: More bad news, Brian. At 1.677 per GIR, you're #2 in that category. And that 4th round at the Chrysler? The number was 1.429. You didn't miss anything under 10 feet. Outside that distance, you made one-third from 10-15 feet, half from 15-20 feet and two-thirds from 20-25 feet. Let's face facts, Brian: You're a good putter. :lol:

Brian: You think?

Yoda: You've made 75 birdies so far this year, one for every third green you've hit. That's better than David Toms, Davis Love, Stuart Appleby and Sergio Garcia, to name a few.

Brian: Okay, I guess I shouldn't be complaining about my putting. But, seriously, I do seem to be missing more lately.

Yoda: Brian, please. You shot 30 on the back nine Sunday on your way to a 66. Passed a lot of fine TOUR folk on your way to the pay window, too. You don't do that without making putts. But...I know your problem.

Brian: What's that?

Yoda: Did you look at your GIR stats at the Chrysler Tuscon?

Brian: Not yet. I got in from Tuscon about 1:30 AM, logged onto LBG to check the latest, then hit the sack.

Yoda: You're sitting down, right?

Brian: Of course, I'm in the car headed to Doral.

Yoda: Good. At Tuscon, you averaged 14 greens per round. The final round was even better, 77.8 percent.

Brian: Really! :eek: My average last year was 62.3 percent.

Yoda: That was last year, Brian...last year.

Brian: So, I'm hitting more greens, and that makes me feel like I'm missing more putts, even though I'm making more than anybody else?

Yoda: Something like that. But it gets worse.

Brian: Whazzupp?

Yoda: Your Driving stats.

Brian: Naah, I'm short.

Yoda: Not any more. Your 4th round average was 316 yards.

Brian: Really! :eek: You know, now that you mention it, I have been hitting it further.

Yoda: Yes you have, and that has had more than a little something to do with the four eagles you've made on the 5-pars this year. Not to mention last week's double eagle at the Nissan, the first on the PGA TOUR this year. But...I have more bad news.

Brian: I can hardly wait.

Yoda: You hit 85.7 percent of the fairways.

Brian: Really! :eek:

Yoda: Yeah, it's a nightmare: You're long and straight off the tee. You hit a ton of greens. And statistically, you're the best putter on the PGA TOUR.

Brian: Hmmm...that's pretty interesting stuff there, Yoda. I've been out here eight years. Maybe things are starting to turn my way.

Yoda: It's you, Brian. You've put in the time. You've done the work. Now comes the reward.

Brian: Hey, gotta go, Green Thing...I'm turning into the parking lot and the Blue Monster's waiting. Anything else I should be doing?

Yoda: Deltoid exercises, Brian. You gotta start working the right delts. Those trophies are heavy. And you never want the guys behind the cameras see you sweat. :cool:

:)

Very cool!
 

Green thing:

Gotta love it...thanks for the quick snipet! I know we'll all be wishing Brian the best of luck and will monitor his progress this year!!

If I might ask, what was the focus of your and Brian's work together? Usually at the PGA Tour level, there is some minor tweaking that happens...any insight in which you (and Brian) would mind sharing would be great!

Thanks in advance!

FL-John

If I was on Tour!!!!
 

The Laptop and the PGA Tour Player....

If I was on Tour...I would be spreadsheeting my stats...then slicing and dicing them in all kinds of ways....daily stats, stats relating to a particular course, looking for problem areas, etc....getting creative with the stats and building a game plan from them. Possibly seperate the stats according stroke execution versus more course strategy stats....then after that I would take the stats of the 5 to 10 best players and analyze them the same way. I bet if a player did that they would come up with some interesting insights...in the world of business we do that, the world of professional golf is no different, it's a business.

In a lot fields, to get ahead in that particular field one needs a real edge over the other participants...being a professional golfer is one of those fields. I say get stat happy!!!

DG BBA 05' Wharton School

very cool
 

Nice to share that with us Lynn, ahh Green Thing ! Lots of new Tour guys to cheer for. Can't wait to see JR and BG holding the big cardboard check some Sunday afternoon.

Deltoid exercises? Not the Bertholoy dumbells? :p :p

Of course, Yoda, you can hold the trophy as their hold the big check ! :D

Brian Gay Stats Feb 2006
 

For those who are interested:

http://pgatour.com/players/stats/149707/2006

Power over Accuracy
 

One of the most common strong points for the top pros is GIR "Greens in Regulation" and Power....accuracy takes a back seat to those two stats. Interesting...

No wonder Tomasello placed an emphasis on POWER...I didn't get to study with Tomasello long enough... but I know from other students that Tommy had his students track each of their rounds with a unique tracking method...

DG

So his 4th rd. driving distance average was 316...

For 2006 overall it's 278...

Any idea why he was pumpin em last week?

Brian Gay's Driving Distance At Chrysler Classic of Tuscon
 

Brian Gay's driving distance for the four rounds at the Chrysler Classic of Tuscon:

1st 276.4
2nd 265.5
3rd 285.2
4th 316.0

Average for the week: 285.8.

Brian tells me he is strongly sensing the Lag Pressure in the Right Forefinger (#3 Pressure Point) -- even more at the Nissan than last week -- and he is using the Magic of his Right Forearm to drive that Pressure directly toward the Ball. In his room after his rounds he drills with the dowels and a club, checking, for example, his On Plane alignmens, Flying Wedges and Extensor Action. As his Golf Stroke has become more and more precise, less energy is consumed fighting conflicting forces and more goes into the Clubhead Lag Pressure. And that is the name of the game.

Pattern?
 

Based on the above is he a Hitter?

And BG has the best "hang time" for a putt too. But a flag was thrown. :rolleyes: BG sounds hooked.

Tracking
 

.................................................. ....

Tom had a sheet called The Analyzer.

Greens hit. Greens missed-- left, right, short, long
Fairways hit. Fairways missed-- left, right
Quality of each shot-- straight, slice, toe, heel, etc.
Putts-- Putts made. Putts missed-- short, long, etc.

Seems like there were some other things on there also--weather that day, course conditions, etc..A player can see after several rounds the patterns that may develop. On long par 3's, for example, one may notice that nearly all misses are short, right.

Tom's tour players used these sheets. They then knew better how to practice, i.e., what they needed to work on. Most people tend to practice, it seems, what they are already good at... most of the time.

:smile: Fasinating Insight Yoda : Thanks for Sharing

Thanks Lagster...I believe club selection was part of the analysis too. If someone has a copy of the Analyzer sheet...how about scanning it and posting it on line.

There was a copy of Jodie Mudd's record breaking final round scorecard from (record score of 63) the 1991 British Open on the internet at one point that had markings on it that were in line with the above "Analyzer" analysis. Hmmmm...another opportunity for spreadsheet analysis!!!

DG

Stats ar stats
 

And Brian's stats for last four weeks are not great....wondered what happened?

Work In Progress
 

Brian called and told me he hadn't been hitting the ball quite as well in Florida as he did on the West Coast swing. We got together on Wednesday of the BellSouth Classic in Atlanta and worked on the basics. He went on that week to hit 72.2 percent of the greens -- above the TOUR average -- and finished T-19, his best tournament of the year.

It takes time.

Yoda,
What did you adjust to clear the fog?

Thx

Ten-Under And Counting
 

Nothing but the fundamentals. The Hands and their Clubhead Lag, Plane Line Tracing and Hinge Action. Also, the Address Routine, Power Package alignments and Execution. With lots of video to reinforce the points.

Meanwhile, Brian continues on his tear...

...with a 5-under-par 66 in today's first round of the Verizon Heritage. On the demanding Harbor Town Golf Links and in a 144-man field of the best players in the world, he is tied for 6th. Together with his final round 67 at the BellSouth Classic in Atlanta, that puts him 10-under in his last two rounds.

Not too shabby!

It takes longer for some than for others.

Surprise Party
 

Brian Gay just finished his second round of the Heritage Classic with a 4-under-par 67. The round included five birdies and a lone bogey (on the tough par four 4th, ranked second-toughest on the course) and birdies on the closing hole of each nine. As I write, his two day total of 66-67=133 puts him in a tie for second.

I remember talking with him in Atlanta and mentioning that he should do well at Hilton Head.

"Harbour Town's a tough course," said I, "but not too long, and the winning score is usually one of the higher numbers on TOUR."

"Yeah, that's what my friends have always told me. But I play there every year, and I've only made the cut once."

"That was the old Brian. This is the new Brian. I think you might surprise a few people this time 'round. Maybe even yourself."

And now on this Friday afternoon he sits high atop the Leader Board at nine-under. Which, I'm sure, really is a surprise to some people. But not to me. No sir, ol' Yoda isn't surprised at all...

Not one bit.

In between the ears...
 

You know, Brian may benefit as much from your pep talks as your teaching. Maybe when he gets that first win under his belt, he will realize how talented he is.

Leader Of the Pack
 

In a dog-eat-dog business, it never hurts to be told...

"You have dog on your breath."

Working With Brian Gay -- The Video / Down-the-Line
 

Here's a video clip of Brian Gay from our session at the BellSouth Classic in Atlanta. Also heard (but not seen) is his caddie, Eddie Grace. We worked on the opposite end of the range to avoid the Pro-Am activity you see in this Down-the-Line view. We'll put up a Face-On view later today. Enjoy!

www.lynnblakegolf.com/gallery/files/BrianG1.wmv

Tour Lesson
 

Yoda,

Great stuff! I plan to watch some of the event today and hope to see Brian getting a lot of "face time".

Thanks (to you and Brian) for posting the clip.

CG

Working With Brian Gay -- The Video / Front View
 

Here's a front-view clip.

www.lynnblakegolf.com/gallery/files/BrianG2.wmv

Thanks for putting this up. It's great to see one-on-one Machine application with such a talented person. His swing is looking good now - I really like his plane and how he's using his pivot.

Thanks for the vids Lynn.

It would be great though if you guys could somehow make them so you can scroll forward and back in the video. You have to start at the beginning and watch to the end.....

....and listen carefully cause if you miss something you can't go back.

Oh nevermind....

If you use the old Windows Media Player you can scroll it.

...

BTW Lynn,

You talked about irons having a "hooked-face".....I don't get this.

...

Also.....you mentioned something that Nicklaus and Grout worked on....what were you talking about?

Jack Nicklaus's Worst Swing Fault
 

Actually, Jack Nicklaus and his teacher, Jack Grout, worked hard on preventing Jack's tendency to overaccelerate from the Top. Their term for this bad habit was "flashing hands." According to 'Jack himself', this was the number one swing fault he had to overcome on his way to becoming a champion.

I had that too . . .
 

I had "flashing hands" too! Landed me in the back of a squad car. I find it hard to believe that Nicklaus was actually doin' that on the golf course. You must be "pullin'" our leg on this one. I could see that with Fuzzy or Daly . . . but not Jack.

Hi Yoda,
Just wondering what BG's misses with the driver are.

The Right Stuff
 

As Brian said on the second segment, "More right than left."

Credit Due
 

Hats off to Bagger for this one, guys and gals. It wouldn't have happened without his weekend efforts during his stay with me during The Masters and then even more time on the project once he returned home. This place really is a Team Effort -- big-time! -- and it shows.

Also, of course, thanks to Brian Gay for his permission to put these up. He's a great guy and a wonderful golfer. We are fortunate to have his participation on our site.

Tour
 

I saw Brian strike a shot at Doral. A tee shot with probably a three wood. He drilled it straight down the middle. The shot had good sound of compression. The swing(looked like a SWING) looked good.

Yoda,

Awesome video...great to see and hear the master at work with his student (Thanks Brian for allowing Lynn and company to display the video). Any chance in posting Brian's stroke pattern???


DG

Congratulations, Brian Gay!
 

Brian closed with a one-under-par 70 in the 2006 Verizon Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. For the tournament, his eight-under par 66-67-73-70=276 was good for a T-9 finish and a check for $148,400.

That will buy a few dowels. :D

Congratulations, Brian!

Great stuff Yoda and Brian. I downloaded the videos are they are gems. Lots of stuff to learn and its great to see the interaction between you, Brian and Eddie.
Alex

Short Stuff
 

Anyone see Brians greenside sand save broadcasted on Saturday? Artistry.
Furyk had a similar shot on the same hole. Bogey.

Movin' On Up
 

Congratulations on your good work with Brian Gay. That was a good find of yours to have him move the ball closer to low point. I notice Brian had a top ten finish at Hilton Head and was in the top 15 in driving accuracy.

All boats rise in the three-dimensional tide.

Watch out -- or get Scrambled!
 

At the time of writing, Brian Gay is at the top of the PGA Tour’s Scrambling Stats – making par or better 67.9% of the time when he misses the green. Go to http://pgatour.com/stats and you can even see Brian's little head at the bottom, one of the major perks for being the top player in any of the main stat categories. Good stuff :cool:.