the dowels their history

Just curious who first started using dowels for golf instruction. Also do many of you golfers spend a lot of time with dowels to practice and learn versus working with a actual club?

Dave

Originally Posted by davel Just curious who first started using dowels for golf instruction. Also do many of you golfers spend a lot of time with dowels to practice and learn versus working with a actual club?

Dave

Absolutly Dave.
From Plane line ,target,angle of approach,wrist positions,flying wedges,ball position - you name it ,Dowels will help.
The biggest difference they made to me were understanding the correct left and right hand wrist /hand positions -and how the hand alignments translate to clubshaft alignments.
Sorry for the long answer, it should just have been YES

Dowels represent the invisible - the sweet spot plane - where the pp3 in your hands is the same as the normal pp3 but the tip of the dowel represents the sweetpot ( the centre of gravity of the clubhead) - it is a visual representaion of a line of force...at least that is the way i see it - please correct if wrong!

It is confusing because it looks like a shaft but rather than have an imaginary clubhead at the end of the dowel , one should have an imaginary hosel on the undersurface- then you have no problem understanding that the hosel rotates around the sweet spot and not the other way round.

The point you made in this posting was what I though of this morning. If the end of the dowel represents the shaft everyone is practicing a shank. If the end of the dowel represent the club head the dowel is correct.

Now for myself the dowels are good for explaining and demonstrating concepts. Using them constantly as a training tool for myself I find very boring to the point I get diminished returns . I can get a real golf club and attach lasers and track a plane line map and feel I am doing something more golflike and achieve my golf of training my hands and the plane to make the lasers track the plane line.

Dave

Originally Posted by golfbulldog Dowels represent the invisible - the sweet spot plane - where the pp3 in your hands is the same as the normal pp3 but the tip of the dowel represents the sweetpot ( the centre of gravity of the clubhead) - it is a visual representaion of a line of force...at least that is the way i see it - please correct if wrong!

It is confusing because it looks like a shaft but rather than have an imaginary clubhead at the end of the dowel , one should have an imaginary hosel on the undersurface- then you have no problem understanding that the hosel rotates around the sweet spot and not the other way round.

Originally Posted by davel The point you made in this posting was what I though of this morning. If the end of the dowel represents the shaft everyone is practicing a shank. If the end of the dowel represent the club head the dowel is correct.

Now for myself the dowels are good for explaining and demonstrating concepts. Using them constantly as a training tool for myself I find very boring to the point I get diminished returns . I can get a real golf club and attach lasers and track a plane line map and feel I am doing something more golflike and achieve my golf of training my hands and the plane to make the lasers track the plane line.

Dave

Hi Dave - i know what you mean with lasers but they so rarely trace the sweetspot plane- they usually just give an extension of the shaft plane.

The sweetspot plane is the "living and breathing" plane in golf... the shaft is a convenient simplification ( and hence not as accurate)

I have one of those DIY laser devices which project a straight line onto any surface... put it on the grong and you have your plane line going on to infinity... works well indoors ( outdoors only at dusk/night) but you can trace this line with your dowel or your pp3 with club in hand ... ( some may get worried about reflections from chrome clubhead but in reality you will do know harm!)

Not sure about who in golf started with dowels . . . . but the who in The Golfing Machine was Mr. Homer Kelley himself.

Dowels get the Mind out of the clubhead- the worst place to have it -and into the Hands and alignments. The clubhead and ball are incognizant collaborators.

"incognizant collaborators"

Wow!!

I thought that was you and the bucket, Mike.

My laser is the butch harmon laser which lets you set the beam to the sweetspot of the club.

Dave

Originally Posted by golfbulldog Hi Dave - i know what you mean with lasers but they so rarely trace the sweetspot plane- they usually just give an extension of the shaft plane.

The sweetspot plane is the "living and breathing" plane in golf... the shaft is a convenient simplification ( and hence not as accurate)

I have one of those DIY laser devices which project a straight line onto any surface... put it on the grong and you have your plane line going on to infinity... works well indoors ( outdoors only at dusk/night) but you can trace this line with your dowel or your pp3 with club in hand ... ( some may get worried about reflections from chrome clubhead but in reality you will do know harm!)

Originally Posted by Yoda The original 'Dowel Magic' came through my personal training with Homer Kelley. I later learned a 'variation on the theme' from PGA Master Teacher Paul Bertholy. These two served as the inspiration for my own methods and their 'vigorish.'

I've got a post out there somewhere detailing Homer's applications in the Short Course (introductory training) and the Normal Course (Authorized Instructor training). If someone would find it and provide the link, I'd appreciate it.

Lately, my ideal 'kit' has evolved to two dowels (to illustrate Flying Wedge alignments) and three reflective markers (for Plane Line, Stance Line and Target Line alignments). The dowels are thicker -- more like the clubshaft -- and the markers don't warp (or break when hit as 'dead aim' targets). Each makes 'invisible' lines visible.

Lines of Body, Arms and Hands relationships.

Lines of Power Package Delivery.

Lines of Lag Pressure Thrust.

Personally, I would find it difficult to teach without these aids.

When headed to a PGA TOUR event, I travel light, so my first stop from the airport is the nearest Home Depot or Lowes. There I replenish my inventory of dowels and markers.

I have yet to take any home.

You need to get a rubber stamp with your name and web site and a green ink pad for those dowels.

Here ya go.

http://www.lynnblakegolf.com/forum/s...se#pos t17171

Yoda's post:

I got the idea of using dowels from Homer Kelley. In his work, he used dowels as a proxy for the Golf Club until very late in the training. I use them for this purpose as well, but I also use them in my own way to demonstrate the various Principles, Procedures and Alignments of The Golfing Machine®.

Homer provided Authorized Instructors with two Curriculums of study. The first was a six-session Short Course Curriculum for use with students. The second was a twelve session Normal Course to be used in the training of Authorized Instructors. Actually, the Normal Course involved 24 sessions: the 12 sessions were done first using the Hitting Basic Stroke Pattern (12-1-0) as Section A and then repeated using the Swinging Basic Stroke Pattern (12-2-0) as Section B.

The Short Course Curriculum featured the use of a Clubshaft only for demonstration purposes for the first four sessions. Session Five introduced the Putter and Ball and finally short Strokes with a Club. Only in the final Session Six was the student required to demonstrate accuracy, consistency and alignment execution with the longer Strokes.

The Normal Course featured both short and long doweling. Short dowels were used for the first six sessions and then long dowels through Session Nine. An actual Club was introduced in Session Ten and a Ball in Session Eleven. The final Session Twelve involved demonstrating long shots on the range.

Beyond these two Curriculums provided separately, Homer also offered two Curriculums in the book itself. First, the original Stroke Pattern concept of Chapter 12, including an abbreviated version using Components 2, 3, 6, 10, 11, 18 and 19 from either the Hitting or Swinging Basic Patterns (12-0). Second, he introduced the Three-Stage Basic Motion Curriculum that could be used as a stand alone course but that was mandated for use in all other G.O.L.F. Curriculums. As with the Stroke Patterns, he asterisked items for use in a short course (12-5-1/2/3). No doubt Homer would have endorsed the idea of Clubshafts and Dowels in this training as well. The reason is quite simple...

Without a Clubhead to flip past the Hands or a Ball to hit 'at,' alignments and motions can be quickly learned and integrated into the student's Basic Pattern.
__________________
Yoda

Originally Posted by 6bmike Here ya go.

http://www.lynnblakegolf.com/forum/s...se#pos t17171

Yoda's post:

I got the idea of using dowels from Homer Kelley. In his work, he used dowels as a proxy for the Golf Club until very late in the training. I use them for this purpose as well, but I also use them in my own way to demonstrate the various Principles, Procedures and Alignments of The Golfing Machine®.

Homer provided Authorized Instructors with two Curriculums of study. The first was a six-session Short Course Curriculum for use with students. The second was a twelve session Normal Course to be used in the training of Authorized Instructors. Actually, the Normal Course involved 24 sessions: the 12 sessions were done first using the Hitting Basic Stroke Pattern (12-1-0) as Section A and then repeated using the Swinging Basic Stroke Pattern (12-2-0) as Section B.

The Short Course Curriculum featured the use of a Clubshaft only for demonstration purposes for the first four sessions. Session Five introduced the Putter and Ball and finally short Strokes with a Club. Only in the final Session Six was the student required to demonstrate accuracy, consistency and alignment execution with the longer Strokes.

The Normal Course featured both short and long doweling. Short dowels were used for the first six sessions and then long dowels through Session Nine. An actual Club was introduced in Session Ten and a Ball in Session Eleven. The final Session Twelve involved demonstrating long shots on the range.

Beyond these two Curriculums provided separately, Homer also offered two Curriculums in the book itself. First, the original Stroke Pattern concept of Chapter 12, including an abbreviated version using Components 2, 3, 6, 10, 11, 18 and 19 from either the Hitting or Swinging Basic Patterns (12-0). Second, he introduced the Three-Stage Basic Motion Curriculum that could be used as a stand alone course but that was mandated for use in all other G.O.L.F. Curriculums. As with the Stroke Patterns, he asterisked items for use in a short course (12-5-1/2/3). No doubt Homer would have endorsed the idea of Clubshafts and Dowels in this training as well. The reason is quite simple...

Without a Clubhead to flip past the Hands or a Ball to hit 'at,' alignments and motions can be quickly learned and integrated into the student's Basic Pattern.
__________________
Yoda

I heard there was once a dude that got RUN off a website for pointing out these facts.

Originally Posted by Yoda The original 'Dowel Magic' came through my personal training with Homer Kelley. I later learned a 'variation on the theme' from PGA Master Teacher Paul Bertholy. These two served as the inspiration for my own methods and their 'vigorish.'

I've got a post out there somewhere detailing Homer's applications in the Short Course (introductory training) and the Normal Course (Authorized Instructor training). If someone would find it and provide the link, I'd appreciate it.

Lately, my ideal 'kit' has evolved to two dowels (to illustrate Flying Wedge alignments) and three reflective markers (for Plane Line, Stance Line and Target Line alignments). The dowels are thicker -- more like the clubshaft -- and the markers don't warp (or break when hit as 'dead aim' targets). Each makes 'invisible' lines visible.

Lines of Body, Arms and Hands relationships.

Lines of Power Package Delivery.

Lines of Lag Pressure Thrust.

Personally, I would find it difficult to teach without these aids.

When headed to a PGA TOUR event, I travel light, so my first stop from the airport is the nearest Home Depot or Lowes. There I replenish my inventory of dowels and markers.

I have yet to take any home.

Lynnardus Magnus . . . Since we're on the subject of dowel practice. Do you vary the speed at which you swing/hit with the dowels? Slo-mo and full speed?

Originally Posted by Yoda My students never swing the dowels. They only (a) use them for Plane Line, Stance Line and Target Line identification; (b) pose with them in the desired alignments; and (c) move very slowly with them through the Twelve Sections of the Stroke (Chapter 8 ). All in compliance with the Mechanical Checklist For All Strokes (12-3).

In addition, I will sometimes use the dowels for a drill I make up on the fly based on the student's need. Or to illustrate an important concept in a new and different way. Or to execute an established drill, i.e., the low bench drill (2-G). Finallly, we even 'double them up' to hammer home Inclined Plane Concepts. There seems to be no end to the way dowels can be used to facilitate learning.

There is one exception to the 'no swinging' policy, and that is where the student executes the motion I demonstrate in my 'Roll On Line' video (see The Gallery) filmed by 6BMike.That drill features the Left Arm and Club (the Flail) moving from Release to the end of the Finish Swivel. After the posing and slow motion work, this drill is done at speed...continuously back and through. At first emphasing only Arm and Hand Action and later adding the Pivot.

It is the 'heart and soul' of the Swinging Golf Stroke.

Thank you sir . . . in essence if we focus on the longitudinal center of gravity the golf club is a dowel. Love dowels. I had a wedge that I stuck a bicycle flag stick into the grip cap that was good . . . but the wedge ate it.

Yoda

Yes I remember well the finish swivel dowel drill. It was not too difficult to do with the dowels left handed only. But yes once you plut that clubhead in your hands and you try to square off a clubface inproperly things can go astray. Great information for who may be was the first to you use the dowel drills and that is homer. Second there practical use to understand concepts and specific alignments. And Yes I knew the clubhead and clubface and ball were removed from the equation as it was easier to see these alignments. My post to me about playing golf without a ball was just basically a joke. Finally the student eventually will have to get the real clubhead and ball and it is hard to maintain the quality of the drills when that happens. Slow motion and dynamic fast motion are very different.

Great infromation from everyone.


Dave

Originally Posted by Yoda My students never swing the dowels. They only (a) use them for Plane Line, Stance Line and Target Line identification; (b) pose with them in the desired alignments; and (c) move very slowly with them through the Twelve Sections of the Stroke (Chapter 8 ). All in compliance with the Mechanical Checklist For All Strokes (12-3).

In addition, I will sometimes use the dowels for a drill I make up on the fly based on the student's need. Or to illustrate an important concept in a new and different way. Or to execute an established drill, i.e., the low bench drill (2-G). Finallly, we even 'double them up' to hammer home Inclined Plane Concepts. There seems to be no end to the way dowels can be used to facilitate learning.

There is one exception to the 'no swinging' policy, and that is where the student executes the motion I demonstrate in my 'Roll On Line' video (see The Gallery) filmed by 6BMike.That drill features the Left Arm and Club (the Flail) moving from Release to the end of the Finish Swivel. After the posing and slow motion work, this drill is done at speed...continuously back and through. At first emphasing only Arm and Hand Action and later adding the Pivot.

It is the 'heart and soul' of the Swinging Golf Stroke.