SEQUENTIAL LEARNING VS. DYNAMIC LEARNING
 

There seem to be two major schools of thought in learning golf.
#1 Sequential... Leadbetter's Links, TGM's Chapter 12-5, The Eight Step Swing, etc..

#2 Dynamic... The motion is not broken so much into segments, but is taught as a whole... Gravity Golf, AJ(Secret Revealed), DeLaTorre's teaching, I think is mostly as a whole swing concept, etc..

Payne Stewart would not think of positions, I am told. Couples, and I think Nicklaus are similar also.

Tiger and many others do use positions, or stages.

Do you think some people are better suited to one or the other, due to their learning style? Can TGM be taught as a dynamic whole from the start... with much success?

Re: SEQUENTIAL LEARNING VS. DYNAMIC LEARNING
 

There are no positions in TGM. Homer refers to geometry, when you read the prefix, as motion. Not fixed lines but MOTION.


The book as a guide has to make references the three zones and the 24 components. No other way to write a book but .... TGM is not a method to teach. AIs make decisions on teaching.
The geometry is motion, fixed positions could never work except one: hold the finish and smile.

For some time I have argued with myself regarding this statement, TGM is a catalog, not a method or style. It has been said many times in defense of the book, etc.

Granted the book first 11 chapters are in fact a catalog, a description, etc. but none really meat the definition of a style or method.

Now Chapter 12 provides two stroke patterns (Hitting/12-1 and Swinging/12-2) which define a golf stroke style. Take 12-5-3, the method defined, how to teach either of those patterns.

In addition, throughout chapters 2 - 10 there are a number of drills and exercises to support Chapter 12.

TGM would in fact meet the standard definition of method and style regarding the golf stroke.

The application of the method and style is the bare bones, it does need the flesh and approach added to make it a polished product as well as personalized to both the instructor and student learning style and method of instruction.

A lot of golfers often have trouble understanding the difference between 'position' and 'alignment'. Explain the bent right wrist or flat left wrist, they see that as a position. The understanding of alignments often lack relationships and appear to be positions.

How it is actually taught and learned, Tom Stickney wrote an article a while back regarding the kinds of teachers and to more less the extent how golfers learn.

http://web.archive.org/web/200303121...r/stik0302.htm

IMO TGM has more than some give it credit for....

I totally agree Martee.
I have always said that TGM is more than a catalog. Many claim the book is just a reference catalog. I think people who only see a catalog have narrow insight to the book. It is both a catalog and a system. Homer included two classics strokes- 12-1-1 and 12-2-0. Study TGM with Yoda and try to say you just learned the catalog portion of the book.

and...

Alignment golf sets the stroke in motion. The problem with (fixed) position golf is that it lacks the connection of the dots. There is so much between each position. It is like presenting a Broadway play using every third line of the script.

Learning
 

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Good posts by everyone!!

What about the learning styles? I think that the reason many are afraid of TGM is because in their mind it is something that is learned in segments, positions, alignments, or whatever term one might choose to call them. Some people simply want to think of their swing as an entire motion at all times. They are probably the so called non-mechanical, "FEEL" players.

Now... many things are usually learned in segments. Typing, dancing, musical instruments, etc.. Among these, there are those rare people that teach themselves to type, can dance from observation and mimicking, and can play musical instruments by ear(they don't even read music).

How would you handle this type of person if they wanted a little TGMizing?

Lagster....

I think stickney article in the frist four type of instructors provides how each teaching style would need to be handled.



I know that the following wont be popular or agreed with but I do think Mr. Kelly had it right. You need an AI. In fact if you want to argue that Mr Kelly was 100% right or 100% wrong in total regarding the book, this is a section area where I believe that he was wrong. He contradicts himself by saying that this is for all golfers, but yet to be successful he does state clearly that you should use an AI. It is the AI's job to be able translate so he can communicate in the best means for the student to get the information, be it terms, drills, etc. And each student may and will probably be different to degree, just as each golf stroke. At a minimum I beleive that Mr. Kelly caused a confusion factor in how some believe that the average joe golfer can build a golf stroke by him/herself, I strongly support the need for an AI guidance.

Learning Styles
 

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Good information Martee!!

I agree that not many probably can get much from the book without seeing an A.I..

As far as teaching styles... there probably are not many Harvey Penick types left, I agree. He would try to give the student only one task to do during a lesson, if at all possible. The lessons were usually only 15 minutes. He did not use video.

If a teacher can take the TGM concepts, and incorporate them in such a way as to satisfy different learning styles... he should be successful.
If an "artist" goes to see a pure "mechanic", for example, he may have problems, and vice versa.

Say NO to Positions, and YES to Conditions... If i hear that on TV or a DVD my lawyers will be ALL over YOU:naughty: :naughty:

Teach, learn, practice, fix, do, study "cause", not "effect".
 

The Analytical Teacher, The Feel Teacher & The Model Swing Teacher are "effect" teachers.

The Psychological Teacher and The "Intention" Teacher are "cause" teachers.

The body does what the mind intends to.

quantumgolf
 

A good or great teacher/coach (assuming they have an understanding and knowlegde of their subject) must be able to help the pupil by using all senses (ie visual,verbal feel)when explaining or better still understand which sences the pupil uses when filtering the information. If they can't do this they will struggle to have any sort of success rate, they will only be good with those who filter information using the sences the teacher or coach uses.