He continued on. “Until you understand the physics of the golf swing you will never excel. I know my techniques may be odd, but the purpose is to teach you to think a different way. I have been doing this for a long time. And I can tell you that a lot of the people that I have taught, just don’t get it. They just cannot wrap their brain around what I am teaching. And they are never able to improve their game significantly. But the ones that have grasped my techniques and learned to train their brain to understand the true nature of the golf swing have excelled and pushed their game to a new level. Whether they were a beginner, or a mid handicapper, scratch golfer or a pro. They have all pushed their game to the next level. And I can tell who gets it and who does not,," he said in a serious tone. “And Jim, I know that you get it," he said in a positive tone.
“I do, I do," I replied. I told him that now when I swing or think about the golf swing. I truly see it in a different way than I ever have before.
“I know you do," he said shaking his head in satisfaction. “So here’s the plan," he said in a positive tone. He explained that the hard part is done. I got that nailed down. Now, it is just golf. He told me that he will be going over some advanced lessons that are meant for a professional, not a weekend golfer. He explained that we not going to make any major changes. We are just going to make adjustments that will allow my swing to do all that physics stuff that we went over the last few days. He explained that he has already made some adjustment on my swing that I may not have even noticed. He explained that we have three days left and we are going to hit a million balls. We will also play at least 9 holes everyday.
“After these three days and the lessons are over. You have to practice on your own for seven straight days to hone these techniques down. So you are in the middle of a very important two weeks of your golfing career. Got it!?," he said very seriously looking at me eye to eye.
“I am ready man” I said confidently. And I was. We started to work. The rest of the day it was just normal golf lessons. But I was so intrigued by his golf knowledge. He really is a master of the game. As we continued the last three days, we hit a lot of balls. We would hit a ton of balls in the morning, then play nine holes. Then came back and hit more balls.
The thing that really surprised me was when we were playing on the course he would really go over the mental game of golf. He showed me how to look at things differently. How to not let your emotions get involved in your swing. How to commit to just a few seconds to your setup and the swing with no emotion and no outside interference. He explained that it is really a mentality or attitude or even a philosophy of the game. And this is a huge part of his teachings. I guess it is history with physics background. Focus on the math equation, problems, or whatever it may be. In this case it is the Golf Swing. He explained that once a professional golfer or any type of athlete in any sport gets the physical techniques down, the rest is just pure mental. The difference between the elite athletes and the normal athletes is not the physical talent, but the Mental Fortitude and ability to block outside interference. If I can master that, then I will be successful.
As we continued. My tempo was improving and may swing is getting more smoother. My power was really starting to show. The adjustment he made really did not seem like much. But he explained that my swing is now taking advantage of that pendulum with the centripetal force and a powerful impact. I am now hitting three clubs less than before. I hit a 8 iron where I used to hit a 5 iron. And now my long irons. “My Gosh.” They are smooth and crisp and dead on. I do not feel much difference in my swing because the adjustments Gus made seem to be small, and I was able to adjust without feeling that I made major changes in my swing. But I am hitting the ball more solid and my distance has increased dramatically. I feel like my swing is more smooth, but more powerful. I really feel a big difference mentally or emotionally when I hit long irons. I am not anxious or nervous any more. I feel relaxed and confident. I now feel as comfortable hitting a long iron as my short irons. And my drives, I see a dramatic change. Before, I averaged about 280 to 285 yards. That does not cut it on today's tour. Now I am averaging at 305 yards for my drives. Not as far as some of the guys nowadays, but a great boost for me. So longer drives and shorter iron approaches will be good thing. And of course with new swing, my emotions or that crazy stupid voice in the back of my head is really happy. Golf is so much fun when you hit the ball well.
The last three days I am not sure if it is just me, or if it is Gus. But his demeanor seems to be more patient and not the grumpy old guy when he is not in teaching mode. When he is in teaching mode, he is always calm, patient and professional. But when he was not in teaching mode he always seemed like he had a rough edge. But now he seems to be more calm and easygoing. He really has become somewhat of a Father Figure for me. I really enjoy being around him and I would do anything for him.
Sunday which our next to last day, we really worked hard. I hit a lot of balls in the morning. Then played nine holes. Then worked hard that afternoon on the range. Basically fine tuning the things we were working on with my swing. And he talked a lot on the mental part of the game. I really feel like the mental part of the game is a major breakthrough for me. That in combination with my swing changes and understanding of the golf swing. I feel like I have an opportunity to bring my game to the next level. I am looking forward to the US Open which is just around the corner.
Late in the afternoon we were hitting balls. Gus told me he will be right back. He came back in a few minutes with that same contraption he had the first day. The two big pieces of half plastic, which he put together and made a big circle around me, which marks on it in various areas. He took video of me and had me hit several clubs. And as before we went to different marks on the circle and would speak in the microphone numbers or letters. Then he took out his camera and went to the marks and took still shots. After he was finished, he gathered up everything. “Ok See you tomorrow, 8:00am, our last day," he told me. I told him goodbye and went home wondering what the next day which is our last day will be like.
The next day which is Monday morning. I am driving to the course. I felt sad. Today is my last day with Gus. I have noticed the last few days that he seemed more calm and patient and easy to get along with. I do not know if he has changed or if I have just got used to him. I have really got to like Gus a lot. And I enjoy being around him. As I was driving I was thinking about all the things that we have covered this week. I am amazed at the knowledge of the game that he has. Also I almost feel that he has become somewhat of a father figure to me. I think I would do anything for this guy. Today is our last day and I will pay for his services. He is charging only $75.00 a day which is $525.00 for the week. That's crazy. Most professionals golf coaches would charge thousands for the amount time and quality instruction that he has given me the last few days. I am doing fine with money now, I plan to give him a nice bonus.
I arrived at the course and we did the normal drill and I got warmed up hit some balls and used my pendulum. When he came up, he said we will just hit a few this morning and then go play nine holes which we did. I was hitting the ball great. That little voice in my head that is always thrilled is really happy now. I still do know understand where that voice is coming from, but I have just adapted to it the last few weeks. Almost seems second nature to me now. I just write it off as the fact that I won the masters and I have a new enthusiasm for the game. Or I am just going nuts. But I don't care, I am just focused on my game. As we were playing he went over some points that we have been going over the last few days. But this was more of a relaxed round. He basically just went over the mental part of the golf swing. How to block everything out for those short few seconds when you are swinging and not to let emotions get in the way. “Look Jim," he said in a serious tone. “You got the swing down. Now it just mental. Make yourself concentrate on every swing. Give yourself some mental queue to block out everything. Then swing without emotion." He told me confidently.
He explained that we
are human and emotions will get in the way. And that will cause problems when we get in critical and stressful situation on the golf course. But if I can block out a few seconds of emotion during my swing that I have a chance to be successful. He recommends to give myself a mental queue. For example. I can say to myself “Tempo” or “Pendulum." Just something that I think to myself to block outside distractions for a few seconds. “I will think of something," I told him. “As long it is not “Keep it Parallel Jim," I mumbled under my breath. “What?," he responded. “Oh nothing. Just a little private joke I have with myself," I replied. He just blew it off not knowing what I meant. But I was laughing to myself. We finished about noon. He told me to meet him in his office after lunch at 1:00pm. That caught me off guard, but I told him I will see him then.
After lunch I went to his little building in the back. I walked in the main door and looked back in his workshop area. “Come on in” he said as waved to me in. “Sit down here” he said in a positive tone. In front of me were two an old TV’s. Not a Flat screens. But a big old Tube TV’s like we have had in past.
“Ok” he said. “I video taped you the first day and yesterday. We are going to look at some before and after shots of your swing. I started to laugh to myself when he pulled out two VCR tapes and plugged them in. Each TV had a VCR player in front of him. “Gosh I have not seen a VCR player in years. This guy is really stuck in 70’s," I said to myself laughing.
“High tech is a great tool for examining the golf swing," he said in a serious tone.
“High tech? This guy has to be playing me. He can’t be serious," I am thinking to myself.
He plugged in each VCR tape in both players. Then he picked up a remote and pointed at the VCR’s. At that point, I felt like I had a good opportunity to make fun of him. “Wow! you got a remote control, now you don't have to push the buttons manually," I told him laughing. He just looked up at me in a not too pleased attitude. Like that's not funny. I felt like a little kid who just did something wrong. “Ok, sorry” I replied.
He continued on. “As I was saying. This is a good tool that we can use to examine your golf swing. The circle I had brought out the first and the last time had marks on it. That allowed me to take the before and after shots at the exact same location of your swing. The screen on your left is your old swing. And the screen on your right is your new swing," he told me as he was pointing at the TV’s.
We spent an hour going over the before and after videos. I was truly astounded at the differences of the two swings when I saw it on tape. I know that he made some adjustments with my swing, but I never really felt any great changes. He was able to adapt his techniques to my swing, so it did not feel like a major swing change for me. But there it was right in front of me. I could see the differences between my old swing and my new swing. He showed me how my swing path has changed. He showed me that now I have a nice smooth pendulum swing with a powerful impact with the ball. And the most dramatic difference that the videos was my tempo. My old swing basically had a different tempo for every club. It was jerky, not consistent and down right ugly. But my new swing has a consistent tempo no matter what club I am swinging. I was truly amazed at what I was seeing. He would point out how in my old swing I was not letting my club swing freely and was too tight. My swing path was way off track and I was always trying to muscle the ball. But now it is smooth and powerful. I am generating a lot more club head speed than before which has increased my distance.
Then we looked at the still shots. He turned on the slide projector which was behind us. It was one of those old style projectors with the Circle Cylinder on top with the little white slides in the slots with the pictures. He turned the machine on and it shined up on the projector screen he had on the wall. Somehow he was able to have the old swing and the new swing side by side on each slide. “I guess that’s high tech” I joked to myself. But looking at the still shots also told a major story. He had gradually changed my setup which allowed me to position my body to make a good swing. He had still shots at all angels. I could see that on my old swing my setup was different for every club. My posture looked terrible. But my new swing I had basically the exact same setup for every club. Just the position of the ball in my stance would change for different clubs. I also looked much more balanced and stable. He went over how my setup was so far out of whack before. I could not bring the club back smoothly and I could not swing through the ball. He had shots of impact and you could see how my old swing I was flipping my hands at impact. But my new swing I was driving down onto the ball properly with my irons. I am now hitting the ball just past the bottom of the Arch of my swing. So the ball is flying off the release point of the centripetal force. My woods would also show releasing just past the bottom of the arch.
So after all we went over the last few days, I can see the actual results. This was just another moment where the lightbulb turned on in my brain. I really understand the concept now.
“Well that's it," he told me. “By the way. I got copies of these videos and slides, do you want them?," he asked looking at me intently. He could see that I was squirming and thinking to myself. “Where the hell and I going to find a couple of VCR players and a slide projector?," I was asking myself.
“Don’t worry he said," smiling. “I got you covered.” He handed me a USB Memory stick. “Ronny in the pro shop put everything on this thing. He said you would probably know what to do with it," he said as he handed it to me. I laughed while I took it from his hand. “Yeah, this will work," I replied.
He got real serious for a minute. “This is very very very important. I want you to review these videos and still shots often. At least twice a week or more. I don’t want you to forget what you learned. If you go back to your old ways. Then all this that we have accomplished the last few days will be for nothing," he told me. “Absolutely," I replied. He also told me that since I live in this area he would like to see me from time to time to make sure I am staying on track. I told him I would do that for sure.
We started finishing up and we both knew that this was it. And I felt a little uncomfortable. I sensed he did he felt the same. I am wondering how I am going to say goodbye. This was not just a typical lesson from a swing coach. This may be a life-changing event in my career. And I have really become attached to this guy. Then I remembered it was time to pay him for his lessons. So that was a good way to break the ice and start talking business.
“Ok you said $75.00 a day correct?," I asked. “Yep, he replied” Ok for seven days that is $525.00. I had that in cash. Five 100’s, a 20 and a 5 all folded in half and I handed it to him. He took the cash did not look at it. He just put it in his pocket. “Thanks” he replied.
Then, I looked at him. “Gus, I feel like you have really done an incredible job of teaching me the last few days. You have transformed my swing into what a golf swing is supposed to be. Hopefully I can put all together and bring my game up to the next level. This may be a real turning point in my career. I am very grateful for what you have taught me. I want to give you this for your time," I told him sincerely.
I pulled out a check in my front pocket. It was folded in half. I unfolded it and handed to him. It was a check for $5000. He looked at that and shook his head. “Thank you very much. But I cannot accept this. This is a lot of money. I am not doing this for the money. I am doing this because I enjoy helping people. I am not hurting for money. Besides one of the biggest reasons I am doing this is because Jerry Churchill asked me to. I would do anything for Jerry. He helped me out so much when I first started out on the tour as a teacher. And when my wife got sick with cancer, he was there with us all the way. I did not have much money then. Sure we had insurance. But we had to go out of town for treatment which we could not afford. Jerry took care of us," he said and he seemed to start to tear up. “Jerry Flew us all the way to New York for the finest Cancer Center Treatment in the Nation at that time. He paid for the flights, the hotels and everything. There is no way I could have afforded that. And b
ecause of that my wife recovered. I don’t think she would have made it if it was not for Jerry’s help. So I will always help Jerry out anyway I can. By the way Jim. If you are fortunate enough to have Jerry as your friend, you are a very lucky person," he told me smiling.
As he was telling me all of this, I was trying to keep from tearing up myself. Then he went on. “As as far as that money. If you feel strong about it. Give it to a charity. I sure it would be put to good use," he told me. “Fair enough. I would be happy and honored to do that. Who’s your favorite Gus?. I would be happy to donate to your favorite charity in your name," I told him. “Ah no no no," he said waving his hand. “You do not have donate to anyone in my name. Just donate to someone," he told me in an embarrassing tone.
“Seriously Gus. I want do this. Who would you like this to go to?, I asked. He thought a few seconds. “Well, there are a lot of good charities out there that thankfully get a lot of good donations. But I can think of an organization, local here that could use some help. Have you noticed that High School just right down the road on the right side about 6 blocks from here as you are driving back to the freeway?," he asked. “Yeah, I see that every day. It has a sign that says “Home of the Fighting Lions," I replied.
He explained to me that his school is really under funded in their Athletic Department. They have a golf team and he helps the kids out sometimes with Lessons. He told me that boys and girls basketball team has old uniforms that are coming apart and their football equipment is in really bad shape. “I am sure that money would help out their Athletic program quite a bit.” My kids went to school there years ago. It is a good school” he told me proudly.
“Done Deal!," I shouted out. I can drop by there on the way out. “Great," Gus replied and her really seemed happy. He told the main office and ask for Bud Elkins, he is the athletic director. Gus told me that he saw him yesterday and he said he is busy winding down the school year he is there.
Golf In A Parallel Universe Page 14
