The Machine, the Tool, and the Task
For the last 6 years now, I’ve been a member of the GGA team. In these 6 years, I’ve had the opportunity to meet thousands of people, make some wonderful friends, and expand myself in ways I never thought possible. It’s been a great 6 years to be sure.
One thing that some may not know about me is that before I became a member of the GGA team in January of 2004, I was a student of the GGA. I, like you, was looking to Todd and Tim to offer me a way to improve my golf game. I already knew without a doubt that Moe Norman’s Single Plane golf swing was the golf swing for me, and at my first interaction with Todd and Tim, I knew they were the ‘masters’ I would follow to achieve the improvement I sought.
One of my favorite things about Todd and Tim as teachers, besides teaching the simplest swing on the planet, is their desire to look for ways to improve, enhance, and evolve their instruction. In recent years, we have begun to try to simplify our instruction, and we now look at the golf swing in these terms:
- Task – Hit a golf ball towards the intended target
- Tool – The golf club in your hands
- Machine – Your body
Of those 3, you really only have control over 1 of them; your body. Golf clubs can be fit to you, but they still are just a tool, and without a machine to use the tool, they are useless. Your body is truly the only variable that you can control, and over the last 6 years, I’ve often seen it hinder many, if not most, of our students trying to swing like Moe. Hell, it hinders me too. My body isn’t as strong, supple, or flexible as it was 20 years ago, and I’d bet a “dollar to a doughnut” that yours isn’t either.
So Why bring this up?
Simple; Todd, Tim and I believe with our entire beings that Moe Norman’s Single Plane golf swing is by FAR a simpler, more bio-mechanically efficient and effective way to accomplish the task of hitting a golf ball toward an intended target.
Here’s the rub, however. For the students who’ve found renewed hope in Moe’s swing, the vast majority simply don’t have their “machine” in the correct working order to move the tool and perform the task. It’s their bodies that are failing them, not their desire or willingness to work and practice. Their machines, for lack of a better term, are broken and need some work.
As I write this, I’ve just finished watching our new Flexibility & Golf Exercises DVD. I had previously seen it all in clips, but had never had the chance to watch it beginning to end until today.
After viewing it, I will make the pronouncement right now – there isn’t one single Moe Norman golfer out there who shouldn’t own a copy of this DVD. Period.
Now I know you’re reading this going, “Sure he says that, they’re trying to sell them to make $’s”, and you’d be right. HOWEVER, let me pose this question to you. If you buy a product that helps you tune your “machine”, which in turn helps you achieve Moe’s swing more easily, which in turn helps you perform the task more consistently, and we make a few $’s in the process, isn’t that a win-win proposition?
The Flexibility & Golf Exercises DVD came into existence for only 1 purpose, and that was to be helpful in getting your “machine” in the correct working order to give you the best chance to play your best golf. Simple as that. Go check it out, and get a copy. Do the tests, the exercises, and go forward knowing that your machine, your body, will no longer hinder your ability to swing like Moe.
All the best,
Scott Renfrow
Tiger – What’s Missing?
Like almost everyone, I admire Tiger Woods- or at least I did until Thanksgiving. Then something happened; Tiger Woods became human and golf’s superman revealed his kryptonite – an appetite for women and a disregard for his wife and marriage.
I am not judging Tiger but I must say, like many, I am disappointed. Disappointed that even the strongest of persons can succumb to a weakness. I also feel a bit defrauded but there is a part of me that feels compassion for Tiger. Here’s why.
It comes down to this. Any addiction or compulsion, in Tiger’s case women, shows that somewhere, deep inside of Tiger, something is missing. What could this possibly be? It would seem, on the surface, that he has everything – enough for one thousand men. Yet, he was still searching for something in women outside of his marriage.
Think about it. Most people learn about themselves when they go through life’s struggles whether it be trying to find a job, money, loss of relationships or simply trying to survive.
Tiger has never had to face these challenges. He has been in the spotlight since he was four years old. His teen years were consumed by golf and becoming the best player in the world. When did he ever find time to discover himself behind the layers of a golf superstar? When Tiger won his first Masters in 1997, his mystique deepened. He took the spotlight and never looked back and he never had a chance to really discover himself.
Some people think that his Asian heritage gives him a deeper understanding about concentration and mental toughness. I say bullshit. Let’s face it, what Tiger is searching for in all of those women is himself. He is looking for something that he can’t find by winning tournaments, cruising around on his yacht or having a billion dollars. There is not doubt about it, Tiger is on a spiritual search – looking for the part of him that is missing.
Because of Tiger, I go to the gym more often, play with more passion and look at the game from an entirely different perspective that before I ever saw him play. I have learned a lot from Tiger. For that, I thank him.
Of course, I am not happy with his “transgressions” however, I offer him my prayers that he can find what he is looking for. If he does, it will be his, and our, biggest lesson of all. Good luck Tiger.
