First of all, my apologies for our blog being so quiet lately.  Summer is usually our busiest time.  Jim takes some time off at his cabin in Colorado and Chris’ students are in full tournament mode. 

So, I guess you folks are stuck with me.  Heh.  The old cliché of “something is better than nothing” is about to be put to the test.  For those that don’t know me, one of my tasks is to develop and manage the technology for the Plane Truth.   Also, I bring the “student” perspective to the development of our material.  Chris O’Connell and I were teammates in college and while I don’t play a ton anymore, I can still get it around the golf course.  I have been a student of the Plane Truth concepts for several years and often feel the same success (and pain) that all of our forum members share.

So in the coming weeks, I’ll post on here a few times with my thoughts as a student, a technology guy, and just a general golf guy.  I’ll also be giving you a peek at our Plane Truth Information Matrix that you may have heard about (or seen) through our Certified Instructors.  Lastly, I’ll be giving you a preview of a technology tool called the Player Profile that we built specifically for you, the student.  I think you will find it pretty cool.  It will be rolling out in the very near future.

Opening Someone Else’s Medicine Cabinet

Those who have met me at either a school or seminar or read some of my posts on the forums know that one of my biggest pet peeves is people taking medicine prescribed for others.  Quite often, people will read a post that someone makes describing a swing key or drill and immediately go and experiment.  I know it happens because it is human nature….and I used to do it all the time.   It is hard to resist.  I still believe it stems from our penchant as people to always search for the magic bullet.  America is littered with business models designed to provide the magic pill or potion to give you whatever you want – instantly.  Many don’t work for the buyer, but the seller makes millions.  And the buyer winds up with a closetful of crap.

It is no different in golf.  For example, you may read a post about a player who finds a really powerful swing key to avoid hooking (or slicing, pulling, etc...).  You decide to try it.  The problem is that you may not even have this issue with your ball flight.  One person’s medicine not only won’t help you – it could even make you sick.  So this key, while possibly very valuable to some, could be construed as wrong to others.   Imagine doing this over and over again, ad nauseam.  Confusion sets in.  You search harder.  You never seem to improve.  Sooner or later, someone tells you that mechanics aren’t all that important and that golf is 90% mental and now you’re convinced it’s all in your head….yikes.

Another wonderful example of this penchant for seeking is Hogan’s “secret”.  This might be my favorite.   The actual details of Hogan’s secret might be debated forever.  I have little doubt that it existed.  I have little doubt that for him, it turned his career around.  However, I think a lot of people truly believe that if they find out what it is and try it, they will immediately strike every ball perfectly.  It is their keys to the “kingdom of scratch golf”, so to speak.  This is simply crazy.  Now if your swing had all of the unique characteristics (and faults) of Hogan prior to his domination, then his secret might work for you.  I would advise you to continue your search.  If not, I doubt it would do you much good at all. 

There is not one universal secret.  Each person has his/her own individual ones - the key to golf is finding your own.  If you have a player that is hooking and a player that is slicing, their respective secret to correct repetitive impact will not be the same.  In fact, it might even be opposite.  So how do you separate the information that applies to you?  I’ll get to that in a moment.  But first…

The Double-Edged Sword Called the Internet

The internet is both a blessing and a curse.  It is a bottomless bag of whatever you want.  You name it, you can find it – often for free.   It is open 24/7 and from anywhere in the world.  All it costs you is time (and a device that can connect).  It can be a great resource.  It can also lead you on a wild goose chase.  The other really cool thing about it is that it is always moving forward.  Technology evolves very very quickly.  It may have started with a computer and dial-up line years ago.  Now, we’ve got handheld devices that can film HD video and wirelessly send it anywhere in the world in real time.  What next?

For golf, the internet represents a tremendous learning tool when managed properly.  It allows you to access information anytime, anywhere.  You can pull up a video and look at it at home or on the practice tee.  You can store it and watch it again (and again, and again….) whenever you like.  Literally millions of pieces of information on the golf swing.   Some of it is very good.  Some of it is horrifically bad.  There is no shortage of advice givers and advice seekers, either.  It costs nothing to give advice.  Anonymity behind a computer screen can create some pretty strong opinions, too.  And it is all up to the consumer to judge whether or not to consume.   So as a consumer, how do you separate the information that applies to you?  Oh, wait, I already asked that question…

“What if I could create a matrix of every fault in the golf swing?”

I’ll remember those words like they were yesterday.  Chris asked me this question a number of years ago.  If he could build this "matrix", could I create an online system from scratch to manage it?  I forget if it was his idea or Jim’s - or both of theirs, but I remember the question.  It was late at night, I was in my office at home working, a little tired, a little delirious, and I remember thinking sarcastically, “Oh, sure, Chris, I got you covered”.  His basic premise was that he felt they could list and categorize every single fault in the golf swing for both the One Plane and Two Plane swings.  Further, they could be organized in multiple ways (i.e. Address, Backswing, etc…).  Lastly, for every fault, there was an entire list of drills to fix each one.  At this point, I’m basically thinking to myself that this is crazy.  There has to be literally thousands of faults.  Tens of thousands of drills.  The golf swing is pretty complex, right?  So my response to him was, “Absolutely, I can build it.  Just get me the information and I’ll figure it out”.  I then went to bed, giggling slightly because I was tired and thought he was a little nuts, but excited because if he wasn’t, this could be a really cool challenge.  Needless to say, I didn’t yet put it on my To Do list.

So why a “matrix”?  He used the term “matrix” because that is essentially what it was.  It was a set of giant spreadsheets of cross-referenced information that resembled a matrix.  He wasn’t kidding.  They did exist.  And they weren’t nearly as big as I thought.  However, in their current form, they could be a bit confusing and intimidating.  The next evening, I sat down at my desk in a Mountain Dew™ induced fervor and got to work.  A couple hours later, the technology framework for the Plane Truth Information Matrix was born.  We had gotten halfway to answering the question “how do you separate the information that applies to you?” by creating the framework to sort through it all.

In my next post, I’ll give you a look at the Plane Truth Information Matrix….