Young Yoda

Yoda
I was going through some old boxes this weekend and came up with these photos. They were taken in 1983 at a golf school I conducted at Sawgrass. At least I think it was Sawgrass. May have been at Raintree C.C. in Charlotte. Before I "went away a spell," I was already stirring the TGM pot pretty good. That's Dr. Gary Wiren, then Director of Instruction, PGA of America, at the far left in the PGA-crested blazer. He and two of his associates flew in from PGA Headquarters -- a Men in Black sort of thing -- and spent a full day at the school. Gary walked away with a yellow pad full of notes and his incubator humming.

By the way, notice that in this little set-up -- you can't see it but the Clubshaft is resting on a straight stick suspended between two chairs -- if you Trace a Straight Plane Line, the Clubhead automatically moves in the most perfect curve. In other words, Tracing the true Geometric Plane Line automatically produces the Arc of Approach.

This Arc of Approach is now the New Big Thing in conventional instruction. They don't call it the Arc of Approach (or anything else for that matter), but the big deal is all about visualizing curves on the ground and 'going left' with the Hands and Clubhead through Impact and Follow-Through. All being done, of course, with absolutely nothing to guide the Clubhead in its curving path.

The solution to all this confusion is to do what Homer Kelley taught me 24 years ago and what I have taught countless others since: Trace a Straight Plane Line with the Right Forearm and #3 Pressure Point.

It is the Third Imperative.
Doug
Nice pic..

How about a video sample of your first Golfing Machine home school.
Yoda
Originally Posted by Doug
How about a video sample of your first Golfing Machine home school.


Doug, did we look at that when you visited?
Doug
Originally Posted by Yoda

Doug, did we look at that when you visited?
Yes ...It was a late night movie..

It was a week that I'll never forget.
MBCpro
Lynn,
Nice wear spot on your wedge in the pic!!

How about any handout materials?

I love the setup of the mirrors and plane and stance lines.

Can you compare progress between indoor teaching and outdoor, ball flight affect on motion between the two?

Thanks,

Todd
Matt
I remember watching some of the Sawgrass video last spring. It's weird - yet encouraging - that the info is exactly the same now as it was almost 25 years ago. While the clothes and hairstyles have been updated, the information remains consistent. Same easel and 'geometry of the circle' illustration as well.

How about that brochure too Lynn? I remember you saying, "How many other instructors today could use their pamphlet from 25 years ago and not have to change a word on it?"
drewitgolf
The more they stay the same.

Didn't Dr. Gary Wiren base his concept "Laws, Principles, and Preferences" on Homer's work, only to get them mixed up?
Yoda
Originally Posted by drewitgolf
Didn't Dr. Gary Wiren base his concept "Laws, Principles, and Preferences" on Homer's work, only to get them mixed up?
That's right, Drew. And it always rankled Homer that the only acknowledgement of that fact came in the book's Foreward, something to the effect: "This book is based on the work of others. They know who they are."
drewitgolf
The Law should explain the Principle, not the other way arround?

BTW, even back then you had a preference for green (nice sweater).
milan
Very Cool Stuff!!

What are those circular things in front of the students? mirrors?

I think that in the first shot Yoda is either holding a light sabre (darth maul style) or two flashlights joined at the ends.

Best wishes
Milan
Yoda
Originally Posted by Matt I remember watching some of the Sawgrass video last spring. It's weird - yet encouraging - that the info is exactly the same now as it was almost 25 years ago. While the clothes and hairstyles have been updated, the information remains consistent. Same easel and 'geometry of the circle' illustration as well.

How about that brochure too Lynn? I remember you saying, "How many other instructors today could use their pamphlet from 25 years ago and not have to change a word on it?"
Digging deeper into the box for you, Matt. Hmmm...that brochure is around here somewhere. Hey, while I look, how about this one? As you said, that Circle Geometry ain't changin' any time soon!
YodasLuke
Originally Posted by Yoda Digging deeper into the box for you, Matt. Hmmm...it's around here somewhere. Hey, while I look, how about this one? As you said, that Circle Geometry ain't changin' any time soon!
Who's the strapping young lad with the dark hair?
Yoda
Originally Posted by YodasLuke
Who's the strapping young lad with the dark hair?
Enough of that, young Luke!

I was only 635 years old at the time. And the hair was blond. That B&W photo has an attitude!
12 piece bucket
Originally Posted by Yoda
Digging deeper into the box for you, Matt. Hmmm...it's around here somewhere. Hey, while I look, how about this one? As you said, that Circle Geometry ain't changin' any time soon!
Cool! Do you still have that prop? that is an awesome teaching tool.
Yoda
Originally Posted by Matt
How about that brochure too Lynn? I remember you saying, "How many other instructors today could use their pamphlet from 25 years ago and not have to change a word on it?"

Here we go, Matt. This is my brochure exactly as it was printed in 1982. Every word is there, and I wouldn't change one. No need to!

Notice that Young Yoda in the large photo is Swinging with Horizontal Hinging. How can you tell? The toe of that Club is pointing right along the Plane Line.

There is one other thing that I thought was very important (and still do). Homer Kelley had trademarked the names Star System of G.O.L.F. and Star System Press,and he specifically approved my proprietary use of the name Star System Schools of Golf. I personally designed and had printed the brochure you see. Even so, my own name is mentioned only once in the entire piece...in small type at the bottom of the last page within an address block.

It was my intention that the brochure serve a world-wide network of competent Instructors and that each individual personalize it for his or her own marketing purposes. Even then I knew that Homer's work is far bigger than any one person or any one life and that it will take an army to take its message to the Golf World. Whether heralded as The Golfing Machine or some specific application of same, its concepts, principles and procedures will one day dominate the world of golf instruction. It is not a question of if...it is a question of when.
Yoda
Here are a few more photos from my second TGM school (winter 1982). I conducted it at my home...in the living room (actually the den) and in the back yard. The captions (in order):

1. Demonstrating Vertical Hinge Action with the model I built from Homer's plans.

2. As I was making some obviously important point to the class, Doug White is look, LOOK LOOKING!

3. My own not-too-stable version of the Inclined Plane.

4. Doug really got into the program. He actually built a plane board that he kept in his garage. And that was long before anybody ever heard of a plane board. Doug was a 16-handicap when he signed up for the class. Some eighteen months later, in the fall of 1983, he was down to a 4-handicap and shot a one-under par 71 in a club competition on a true Championship layout. Doug's 63-years-old now and still limping along with that 4 (although he went as low as 3 before Father Time started doing his thing). Moral of the story? With diligent application of precision TGM principles and procedures, progress can be very rapid...and permanent.

Those were the days, my friends...
ChrisNZ
So cool Yoda! So Cool.

One day I'm going to build a plane board - pictures like these go into my motivation incubator.

Chris
Yoda
Originally Posted by ChrisNZ
So cool Yoda! So Cool.

One day I'm going to build a plane board - pictures like these go into my motivation incubator.
Chris,

I notice the little home-made device you've got in your avatar. Interestingly, I took a snapshot of Homer Kelley demonstrating the Flying Wedges with clapped hands. I had Greg McHatton, a fellow class member and now a GSED and PGA teaching professional in California, put some cardboard in the same configuration as your avatar device to demonstrate the relationships. I'll see if I can't find that photo and put it up.
comdpa
Lynn,

Thank you for sharing all these precious photos...now I finally know where those drills originated from!
tongzilla
Thanks for these great photos Lynn.

I always wondered why Homer called it the Computer Age Approach to Golf. To my knowledge most of his research was done without a Computer or any other high-tech equipment.
Trig
Great, great, stuff Yoda!
Matt
Very cool brochure and pics, thanks for posting them!
Yoda
"The wicked flee when no one pursues. But the righteous are bold as a lion."

--Proverbs 28:1

After my initial exposure to The Golfing Machine and especially after I had spent a week studying with Homer Kelley, it didn't take me long to begin the assault on conventional golf instruction. And it mattered not the target of my corrective efforts (in this case, one Jack William Nicklaus after his Golf Digest article in December 1982).

Arrogance?

Or The Truth articulated in polite but no uncertain terms?

You be the judge!







Mathew
Great post yoda
Yoda
Originally Posted by Mathew
Great post yoda
Thanks, Mathew. It is old news, but still fresh as the morning dew.

Homer Kelley was far ahead of his time. Too far, really, for him to see the universal acceptance of his ideas.

But his time has come...

And it is now.
Jim.Cook
Isn't it interesting......
Your letter was dated December 18, 1982, yet I can go to the range today and still see the diagram. Years later and your information is still as true as the day you typed it. Unaffected by todays glitz and glammer, this is a sign of the real TRUTH.

Last night at the range I watched for an hour as one of the highest rated (rated by one of those magazines) instructors in Massachusetts was giving lessons. I was in the same place as his student..... just not getting it. Until, that is, I met Yoda and the fog lifted. I just wanted to shout "YOUR TEACHING IS ALL WRONG" but I held my breath and felt sorry of the student.

By the way, what word processor did you use for your letter?
dcg1952
Yoda, just curious----did Golf Digest or Mr. Nicklaus ever reply to your letter???
Yoda
Originally Posted by Jim.Cook
By the way, what word processor did you use for your letter?
No word processor, Jim. Just an old IBM Selectric typewriter with a Courier 72 ball. My how things have changed!
Daryl
Originally Posted by Yoda "The wicked flee when no one pursues. But the righteous are bold as a lion." --Proverbs 28:1
"Yes, but didn’t the Lions eat the Righteous? A few of them anyway." Daryl, 2006


"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."
(Theodor Seuss Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, 1904-1991)
Yoda
Here's a letter dated May 9, 1967, that I received from Ben Hogan in reply to my request for private lessons. At the time, I was a 21-year-old serviceman who was doing the best he could to get the information he so desperately needed.

The Golfing Machine was still two years away from its first edition, but what I would have given to have known of Homer Kelley way back then. Short answer: a lot! But, alas, that road was not to be, and another fifteen years would pass before our paths would cross.

In any event, I may not have gotten Ben's lessons, but at least I got his letter. And that ain't all bad!
Daryl
Originally Posted by Yoda
Here's a letter dated May 9, 1967, that I received from Ben Hogan in reply to my request for private lessons. At the time, I was a 21-year-old serviceman who was doing the best he could to get the information he so desperately needed.

The Golfing Machine was still two years away from its first edition, but it sure would have been great to have known of Homer Kelley way back then. And, knowing Homer, I'm sure he would have been happy to help.

In any event, I may not have gotten Ben's lessons, but at least I got his letter. And that ain't all bad!
A wonderful letter. I'd keep it in the Frame.
birdie_man
Cool!

How did he hit it anyway? What do you remember?
Yoda
Originally Posted by birdie_man
Cool!

How did he hit it anyway? What do you remember?
I watched Ben Hogan practice at the Masters. As everyone knows, he hit a fade. Most of the time, the ball went pretty straight and just fell to the right. But sometimes, one would get away from him, and the ball worked hard left-to-right. He used to practice only on the tee to the right of Magnolia Lane (looking from the Clubhouse), a tee no longer there. (It is now a dedicated short game area.) And he would practice only from the far right side of that tee. If another player was there, he would wait for that spot!

One morning, Ben arrived and found some poor devil hitting in 'his' spot. Ben stood with his caddy some 6-8 yards back of the offender. Ben lit a cigarette, cupping it in his hand between draws. He stared ahead looking at nothing...and waited.

But not very long!

With the way cleared, the caddy laid Ben's bag flat on the ground—It was just a plain, black leather bag; no fancy logos like all the other pros had; it didn't even have his name on it. Then he dumped the shag balls and hustled out into the range to be used as both a ball retriever and target (not exactly without risk when your boss is Ben Hogan!). In those days, there used to be a hedge down the right side, and Ben would curve the shots back toward it. Most of them landed at the caddy's feet, but the ones that got away...well, it was over the hedge and 'adios amigo' .

As I recall, Ben wore the same outfit every day. Or at least it looked like it: all black laceup shoes (without the kilties or buckles that were popular back then); navy pants; white or powder blue shirt (with a navy sweater if it was chilly); and a white cap (Hogan-style, of course!). Or maybe it was gray pants and a navy shirt. Anyway, he always looked the same...blues and whites and grays.

Another memory:

In the 1964 Masters, Ben was in the hunt late in the 3rd round, and I caught up with him on the 17th tee box. He was registering red numbers like crazy on those big scoreboards, and everybody knew that 'ol Ben was takin' care of business. The next day, he would fade into a tie for 9th behind the winner, Arnold Palmer. But on this glorious Saturday, he would shoot 67 and beat The King by two shots.

Anyway, the roars were echoing through the pines big-time, and even though I was only 17 and a mere spectator, my nerves were jangling with the electricity that can come only at Augusta. As Ben assumed the tee, I distinctly remember wondering if the aging Hawk was feeling it, too. Surely he had to be!

He addressed the ball, waggled once and then stopped abruptly. Without moving out of his stance, he raised his driver a few inches above the ball and proceeded to tap the teed ball down. One tap. Another tap. And then one more. The ball never wavered on its tee. It just went down, down, down. Satisfied that the ball was now at the correct height, the great Hogan waggled once more, and with all the authority and 'swoosh' of his whiplash swing, sent the ball whistling down the middle of the fairway.

I could not believe what I had just seen. I can't do that lttle trick when nothing's on the line, much less under the gun of the most intense competitve pressure. Add one more reason to the list why he was Ben Hogan...

And I'm not!
tongzilla
Originally Posted by Yoda
He addressed the ball, waggled once and then stopped abruptly. Without moving out of his stance, he raised his driver a few inches above the ball and proceeded to tap the teed ball down. One tap. Another tap. And then one more. The ball never wavered on its tee. It just went down, down, down. Satisfied that the ball was now at the correct height, the great Hogan waggled once more, and with all the authority and 'swoosh' of his whiplash swing, he sent the ball whistling down the middle of the fairway.

I could not believe what I had just seen. I can't do that lttle trick when nothing's on the line, much less under the gun of the most intense competitve pressure. Add one more reason to the list why he was Ben Hogan...

And I'm not!
That is awesome.



I want to learn that!
neil
Originally Posted by Yoda Here's a letter dated May 9, 1967, that I received from Ben Hogan in reply to my request for private lessons. At the time, I was a 21-year-old serviceman who was doing the best he could to get the information he so desperately needed.

The Golfing Machine was still two years away from its first edition, but it sure would have been great to have known of Homer Kelley way back then. And, knowing Homer, I'm sure he would have been happy to help.

In any event, I may not have gotten Ben's lessons, but at least I got his letter. And that ain't all bad!

PS For best viewing, click on the thumbnail, then go to 'View' on your task bar and click 'Full Screen.'
Wonderful Boss,
KOC
Originally Posted by Yoda Dr. Gary Wiren, then Director of Instruction, PGA of America, at the far left in the PGA-crested blazer. He and two of his associates flew in from PGA Headquarters -- a Men in Black sort of thing -- and spent a full day at the school. Gary walked away with a yellow pad full of notes and his incubator humming.


The ball doesn't know, Yoda knows and Homer knew.
Yoda
Originally Posted by drewitgolf
Estimated Value (based on the collectors I deal with) depending upon condition of the book:

1st $100-$300

The value increases, especially in the first edition, if signed by Mr. Kelley.
During my personal study with Homer Kelley at his home the week of January 11-15, 1982, I began a reasonably intensive personal lobby for a 'first edition' of The Golfing Machine. He said he didn't think he had any more around, but that he would look. Over the next ten months, by phone, I continued to lobby, and he continued to look.

Finally came the day when I went to the mailbox and discovered his 'care package.' I stripped away the envelope and wrapping and there it was: the First Edition. Alas, as was so characteristic of his humble nature, he didn't sign it. But he did include an invoice in his own hand dated December 6, 1982, clearly stating the contents:
"1 Copy 1st Edition"
And the price...
"$7.50."
At the bottom of the invoice he penned this note:
"In putting the 6th edition material in storage I gathered up everything and put the archives in order. I found it pretty bare, but not empty. Have fun.

Homer Kelley"
What is this combination of book and personalized invoice worth today?

Who knows?

Who cares?

It belongs to me, and I ain't sellin'.

The memory I share with you.

Yoda
A long time ago in a galaxy far away, Young Yoda had his first converation with Homer Kelley. The call was placed from Tom Tomasello's living room in May 1980, and we recorded it. It's been floating around the Internet for a couple of years now, but we've never posted here, so many of you may never have heard it.

There's a little story behind the call; I'll edit this post later and tell it.

For now, just visualize Tommy dialing the phone -- he had recently ordered some TGM books from Homer and had made the initial contact -- and me waiting in the wings . . .

http://www.lynnblakegolf.com/assets/...mer_Kelley.mp3
birdie chance
wow
I love the discussion on hinge action, very helpful
thanks for the post!!
Yoda
Originally Posted by birdie chance
wow
I love the discussion on hinge action, very helpful
thanks for the post!!
You're welcome, birdie! That conversation took place 28 years ago, yet it seems like only yesterday.

I'll be 62 on my next birthday.



Better get busy . . .

lordreigns
Originally Posted by dcg1952 Yoda, just curious----did Golf Digest or Mr. Nicklaus ever reply to your letter???
I was going to ask the same question.
The letter was so well written that they probably didn't have any comeback.
Yoda- you must have a great filing system seeing that you are able to easily retrieve a letter written 24 years ago. I can't even recall where I left my TGM book that I read last week.
birdie_man
As everyone knows, Ben Hogan hit a fade. Most of the time, the ball went pretty straight and just fell to the right. But sometimes, one would get away from him, and the ball worked hard left-to-right. He used to practice only on the practice tee to the right of Magnolia Lane (looking from the Clubhouse), a tee that is no longer there (it is now a dedicated short game area). Furthermore, he would practice only from the far right side of that practice tee. And if someone else was there, he would wait for that spot!
He could of done that so everyone could watch him hit balls....to build fear.

(muwahhahaha)