And a great Teachers tool is the rest of the title to this post.  Let me first say that the TrackMan launch monitor is the best launch monitor on the market today.  It’s accurate and extremely dependable for inside and outside applications.  If used correctly it’s a time saver.  The main things a good Coach will use it for is Club and Ball fitting, getting the correct distances the student hits each club and for practicing and playing when you can’t outside in poor weather.   It’s also a blast playing different Golf Courses from around the world in comfort.

Here is just some of the measurements that Trackman relays back to the Coach and student.
TrackMan Pro measures and displays the full trajectory of any shot, from 6-foot pitches to 400-yard drives, pinpointing the landing position with an accuracy of 1 foot at 100 yards. Delivering state-of-the-art data without using any modeling, TrackMan Pro displays the shot’s actual 3D trajectory in real time together with all impact, ball flight, and TrackMan Combine information.

CLUB DATA	LAUNCH DATA	FLIGHT DATA	COMBINE DATA
Club Speed Attack Angle Club Path Dynamic Loft Face Angle Spin Loft Face To Path Swing Plane Swing Direction	Ball Speed Smash Factor Launch Angle Launch Direction Spin Rate Spin Axis	Carry Height Total Side Side Total Landing Angle From Pin Hang Time Last Data	Score Target

Obviously that’s a lot of information and this is where a great many of the instructors that rely on Trackman start ignoring the all important and simple fundamentals that all golfers must adhere to, if that instructor knows the proper fundamentals to start with that is.

I think Brandel Chamblee had a funny but accurate statement on Tiger’s choice of Coaches over the years.  He said Tiger started out on the Mount Everest of teachers in Butch Harmon.  Then he fell halfway down the mountain working with Hank Haney. He hit bottom working with Shawn Foley, and now he’s working with Chris Como a guy that works with only three players anyone has even heard of and only one of those guys kept his Tour Card for this year.

Shawn Foley and Chris Como are two guys that rely on Trackman to do the teaching for them.  Foley has said many times that he doesn’t even have his players send him video anymore, they just send him their Trackman numbers, WOW!!  Yep, sounds like a person that just got done completely destroying the most Athletic and Fundamentally sound swing since Ben Hogan’s.   When was the last time Trackman told Tiger that was a crappy swing, you have a big block flip and you were way under that one??  And if that guy next to you has no idea what I am talking about, here is the fix.  I guess Tiger is really on his own, if he keeps doing what these guys want, bye, bye.  If he touches on the right stuff he can fix himself in an afternoon.

Now Como has said, Tiger and I are working on getting back to his old swing, let’s see how they are doing shall we?

This is Como in last months Golf Digest talking about set up, he wants you to have your left side higher than your right with weight on your left foot. Now lets look at where the best really are at address.  And especially Tiger while working on correct information as he did for so many years.

Here is Tiger right out of his book as is Hogan.  Gee do you think Tiger copied everything Hogan ever did?  Remember he was working with Butch who learned everything from his father Claude.   I have talked many times about the Ben Hogan, Claude Harmon, Jack Grout and Sam Byrd link.  Just look at these guys pure athletic and fundamentally sound set ups.  In this position you can simply hinge your elbows straight up like your curling a weight and notice how the club is dead in front of your chest.  THIS is how every great player keeps the club in front of them at address and throughout the swing.  Another side note, get the January 2015 issue of Golf Digest and burn the article by Ricky Fowler working with Butch Harmon into your mind.  It is all there in those few words and a couple simple thoughts.  This is where Lydia Ko, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Annika Sorenstam, Tom Watson and Stacy Lewis all are when playing well.  Simple, pure fundamental positions.  In those few pages is Hogan’s entire Five Lessons book……..

Now set up where Como and yes, Foley want you, these guys are one in the same you know.  Hinge your elbows and you will see the club go behind you, out of center and your right side is now trapped simply because it is at address.  How can Tiger get back to his old swing when his Coach has no idea how he set up in the first place?  As Sam Byrd told Hogan years ago Ben, you are dead before you start with that set up.

Como says he is a master of Biomechanics and how the body works in the golf swing, NO WAY.  If he wants his players set up this way it’s solid PROOF the guy has no idea how the body works in motion.  He might be able to get his test scores right for his professors, so what…….you need to know how to apply it to the golf swing to help players and keep pressure off the back.

And speaking of putting severe pressure on the back, here is Como telling people that on the downswing you must feel your hips move forward as your left shoulder moves up and out of the way. Yep, that will send you to the hospital in no time.  All good players feel a high right side through impact.

Here is Tiger last month in a horrid position, look at the left arm above the right with a flip of the hands, my back hurts just looking at this position.  This guy is just horribly lost right now, and the abuse of Trackman is a huge factor, Tiger along with his Coach have no idea how to fix the problem.  Rocco Mediate said he just needs a couple minutes with him, NOT TRUE, he is so far gone it would take a good Coach a full week working all day on fixing him.  Most of that time would be getting rid of the bad information in his head, it would only take an hour to explain what’s wrong.

As far as his poor chipping goes, you know the chunks, shanks and topped shots flying over the green.  Well this says it all baby.  Look at the left arm pulling the club across his chest and the line of flight.  This is purely from swinging left like his last couple Coaches have fooled him into doing.  Remember Foley is a stack and tilt guy with a little Mac O’Grady sprinkled in.  And so is Como although he has learned a ton from Grant Waite, you know the guy that has resurrected Mike Weir’s golf game, or is that wrecked.  You be the judge, Mike came out on Tour with a perfect swing and the last several years he has made one cut……….ONE…….

And the one good thing I can say about Haney……..HE DID NOT TOUCH Tiger’s short game.  He got the club shut and behind him in the full swing but he stayed away from the best short game in golf.  But not the last couple of guys………

Now let’s look at where a couple of the greats finish.  Here is Ben Hogan and his Coach Sam Byrd.  Sam taught him the proper fundamentals of any swing with a stick and a ball, and how to use the body and arms together correctly to hone a perfect, repeatable golf swing.

Two final pictures, here is Hogan before he met Byrd.  It looks like Chris Como is working with him.  Just goes to show you, nothing new by these guys its just regurgitated old information that didn’t work back then and doesn’t work now.  Aren’t you glad Hogan learned the correct information, he got years of  a perfect swing winning many majors, and we got a correct book out of it, Five Lessons.  And Sam didn’t even have a degree in biomechanics……..

And Fred Funk, as in all proper setups, taken from the proper angle, notice how you cannot see his left arm in the picture.  Quite different from Hogan’s bad setup from Power Golf.  Fred can simply hinge his elbows, wrists, or a little of both and the club is in front of him and square.  Also in this article he is talking about being able to use his right side as well as left from this position.  Good stuff.

One question I love to have students ask other “Coaches” that claim they understand physics is this.  In the change of direction, what happens first, the pull or the slide?  I bet my house the person will not answer this question correctly.  And if you understand how the body works in the golf swing, this is an easy question to answer.