Hello, it's my first post here - a friend/student turned me on to the site & said I might find it interesting & also be able to help some people. I'm a PGA Professional, full-time instructor, & one of the first to be Certified in Instruction by the PGA of America. I've taught everyone from Ryder Cup players to beginners. I won't go through my entire resume/credentials (unless asked), but I teach 40+ seminars/year to golf professionals on how to teach, and give around 1200+ lessons/year.

Scanning the forum before I posted this, it looks like there's a lot of members wanting to improve their game - I'll be more than happy to help, answer any questions. I'm not sure how many actual professionals are already on the forum, so if there's no need for another, just let me know.

I travel a lot, so I have time to answer questions and offer advice, so hopefully, I can meet some new people, and help lower some scores.

Name?

Rob Stocke, PGA Certified Instructor & Director of Instruction at The Golf Club of Georgia.

Bench?

Rob is the real deal guys. He doesn't know me, but he came and spoke while I was at Mississippi State in the PGM program.

Golf Club of Georgia is A+++. I played the Lakeside 18 not all that long ago. Really, really good.

Rob, a cool topic might be how you use MATT in your teaching/fittings. I think you guys have that setup there.

Rob, welcome and thank you for your offer!

gotta love the internet

welcome Rob!

what brings you to 2p2? Are you a poker player or do we just have one of the bigger golf forums on the internet at this point?

God almighty, I hope that's not true!

Anyway, welcome Rob!

Help us.

Not sure what that means. Can you clarify?

Manbearpig - thanks for the compliments! Where are you now? You must have been there with Brian Wallace - he's an assistant at our place now. Always good to get back to Starkville! Yes, I'm lucky enough to have the 1st Taylormade MAT-T system,(outside of the Kingdom), in the world - I would be happy to share some data that we've uncovered with the system!

Oddly enough, I found 2+2 through a frequent flier forum, directed me to a neat post from a Delta Pilot on here. Then I was talking w/a student (who is a professional poker player & on here a lot), he said I should check the golf section out and post something! Thanks for the warm welcome from everyone!

Here's the deal. I'm anywhere between a 12 and a 15 depending upon how fat I am. You help me get down to a 5 and in exchange I will make you a winning Omaha 8 or better player. You could win hundreds of dollars!

This is the first time I heard the details about manbearpig. I knew he was obv a reliable and legit golfer but I had no clue his background.

@ OP welcome!

Niss - thanks for the offer - although I must admit I have no idea what an "Omaha 8" is! That must be a poker term, and I'm pretty horrible at poker. I would, however, love to help you reach your golfing goals! If you don't mind, I'd like you to tell me a little about your game: what are your strengths & weaknesses? what do your bad shots do - left/right, fat or thin, too high/too low? In a typical round do you have a string of bogeys or pars then a big number (double/triples). Lastly, how is your short game - wedges & putter (be honest! ha ha).

Welcome to 2+2. I look forward to reading your posts, and hopefully stealing some of your ideas!

Kind of a hijack... but I started another thread in this forum about my complete inability to balance in a swing.

How crucial is it to not be able to hold a follow through given that my handicap with my current swing has hovered around +1 to 2 over the last 6 years?

Rob- I'm sure it will be difficult to help me over the net, but I would certainly appreciate any advice you would give me. I used to be a pretty decent player as an amateur(a bunch of top 5s in my state am, made match play at us mid am, missed match play at us am by a couple) then I had a mediocre at best professional playing career that lasted about 3 years. I then became a club pro and maintained a decent game (+2 to +4 hdcp), but a recent career change has allowed me to get my amateur status back and I will be able to start playing amateur events in ~20 months. My strengths are iron play and course management, my biggest weakness by far is chipping(I get long and lifty on the way back and then have to backup on it). I believe I can play club events and state opens during my waiting period, but my goal is to be ready to go on the amateur scene when I get my status back. Do you have any good drills, thoughts etc that I could work on to become a decent chipper?

Thanks.

No hijack - it must have been your thread where I posted a couple ideas. I believe you have found a way to play really well even with the problem of falling off the ball in your finish. However, for someone who plays to your level, and wants to improve, a small miss can become a "deal breaker" in a great round. I would love to see some video of your swing (I think in your thread you mentioned you'd post some when the weather improves), because to play at even a higher level than where you are, improving your balance could prove really beneficial. It probably doesn't cause as many problems off the tee or on good lies, but on uneven lies or shots where you have to create a shot or play to your non-stock shot, it could create a miss that is more penalizing than what is acceptable to you. Some PGA Tour players swing with some compromise in balance (to a very minor extent) - think Ryan Moore - comes up on his toes through impact - in those situations, timing becomes crucial! My guess is (just a guess, since I've never seen you swing - so please don't crucify me if I'm wrong), that when you get to play 3, 4, 5 days in row, your game improves, where if you have a week where you don't get to play for a few days, you'll have some shots that don't fly on the trajectory or line that you expect - the balance factor rears it head when timing gets off. Feel free to shoot me a video if you have one & let's get you playing to your potential this year!

Getitifixed - congrats on the new career - I'm sure you'll love being able to play MORE golf! Sounds like you've had a pretty sweet playing career thus far, and I hope I can help you reach some new playing goals. Honestly, the short game is my strength and what I love to teach! With someone who has played at your level, and with your skill, the basic tips are really irrelevant, so if you don't mind, could I get a little more info - what happens on your bad shots - do the shots not have the spin you want, or is the trajectory or distance inconsistent, or is it just poor contact. Based on what you told me, my first thought would be to work on keeping your left shoulder "down" through impact (assuming you are a right-handed player) -I like the left shoulder to work down & left through the shot so the handle of the club works around instead of up. I'm a big believer that when a player learns to use the bounce of the wedge, that they open up a whole new world of pitching/chipping as well. It sounds like the backing up is a result of a club coming down too steep, and with too little loft (due to the backswing), so naturally you have learned to fall back and gain a little loft back. In addition to the left shoulder, I'll give you a couple tips, and maybe you can shoot me a video so I can see a little more. I would try to set the shaft neutral at address - not leaning toward the target - this will activate the bounce, then try to let the club work around your body on the backswing - not straight up. Use your pivot to control the distance - not length of swing. Those are pretty basic, but it's something to work on until I can get a little more info on what the poor shots are doing.

Sorry for the long reply - I'm just not one of those guys who believes in b.s. generic fixes, so I want to give you the best advice I can based on what you need. Don't hesitate to send a video & I look forward to hearing about some great tournaments this season! BTW, what year did you play in the US AM?
rob

Yeah, I know B-Mac (although last time I saw him I called him that and he gave me a funny look and said that nickname was no more); I think he was a year behind me at State. He is actually who invited me to play GCofG the couple of times I did while I lived in Atlanta.

I am out of the business now. I graduated and taught at GolfTEC for a year, then moved and got a job selling software. Better hours, more money, and I play golf way more.

As far as MATT goes, I think at some point starting an "ask me" thread where you talk about the system would be great. So much good data out of that stuff, I think it would be interesting. Just start a thread where you give some details of the system, share your experience, maybe some pictures, etc and then people can ask follow up questions. It would be a good one for sure.

Where did you live/work in ATL? Good idea on the MAT-T thread - I'll get on that tonight.

p.s. -- GO STATE!!

Thanks for the quick and wonderful response!

1) My default chip/semi-pitch is with a 60*, jam it back in my stance, open face, a TON of hand action through the ball resulting in low spinners (if I happen to hit it solid). The guy I have worked with back when I played really worked on neutral shaft lean and more centered ball position. I would go in spurts where I could do it, but never with any consistency. My jr golf instructor was a big "triangle" guy and I have never been able to shake it. I have had to always work hard in my full swing to get the club to set properly (I get to long armed and lifty). I will work on the left shoulder down idea and report back.

2) I played the am in '02 I think. It was at Oakland Hills.

3) I'm short and stocky, does that change anything I need to work on from a chipping/pitching standpoint?

Thanks again!!

Edit: I never answered what my bad shots are. I struggle with distance control and spin control. I feel because of my face rotation, speed and fade away there is really no way to be consistent. I am really good out of bunkers, I don't know if that reveals anything or not.

Welcome!
I am usually about a 5-10 handicap depending on how often I find time to play and money available. (college student so these vary summer-to-summer) I also play a lot better if I've been working out recently, which is of course no secret to golfers. Any advice on what lifts and exercises I can do that are most beneficial for the golf swing?

Totally makes sense why you have difficulty with this shot, and why you are so good out of the bunkers! All that hand action can be a good thing, but not always, and without it in your current setup, you would trap the ball and lose any height and spin. I think you could develop a "combo" of your swings that would give you great results and open the door to a variety of new shots once you get really comfortable with it. Let's try adjusting the setup where the ball is up under the logo on your shirt and your weight is forward (you are going to feel like it's waaay up there, but be patient), shaft will be neutral, and face will be square. Go ahead and set the angle on the backswing like you do now - just try to keep the handle "in" - imagine a pane of glass coming off your chin - the handle must stay inside that glass - the head can go outside it (if that doesn't make sense, let me know & I'll reword it). Once you've gotten the set, rotate your body around keeping the hinge -this will be along the lines of the "triangle" you mentioned. Your follow through will be low and around - I try to get students to put the butt of the club in their back left pocket (for a righty) - this keeps the hands from flipping the club and forces the body to rotate. When you finish, the clubface should still be facing skyward (open) and your right wrist will be still slightly bent. The first few shots might be a little awkward, but not for long. You can control distance with the pivot through the ball and not worry about your backswing. It's a really reliable way to hit some sexy pitch/chip shots, and because the hand action is minimized, you can adjust setup (ball position/shaft lean) to change trajectory. I've got some great videos I've taken of a lot of tour players hitting shots like this, so if I can figure out how to post them on here, I'll get them up soon.

Short & stocky shouldn't be a problem, but you will most likely need more hand action in the takeaway than a player who is tall/lean. Also, are your wedges adjusted? If they aren't, start by bending them flat - at least 1-2* - almost every player I work with needs the wedges flatter - and that could easily explain why you play it so far back & open. If the heel catches first, the ball is coming out hot, low, & left!

'02 was the year Ricky Barnes won, right? He's a member at my club, but doesn't get to ATL much anymore. Great natural talent, and one of the best at forgetting a bad shot that I've ever seen.

Try some shots and give me a report!

Packers fan, huh? Nice win - I'm a big Bears fan, thanks for the beatdown!

Sounds like you've got a pretty solid game and you're doing the right stuff by working out! I'm won't claim to be an expert on the fitness side - we hired a full-time TPI fitness instructor at my club last year, and it's amazing how much he has taught me about the body in the golf swing. That being said, the 2 biggest areas I see golfers lacking are flexibility & balance (one side stronger/more flexible than the other). Since you're a college student, I'm going to assume you're more flexible than, say, a 40 year old, so keep stretching - especially your hamstrings & lats. I would work on doing some stork turns with your upper & lower body - cross 1 leg behind the other & try to turn the chest each way as far as you can without the lower body moving (rest your hands on a club to help you balance). 10 reps with each leg behind. Then do the same turning the lower body keeping the upper body still. This will increase your range of motion and separation between upper & lower body. As far as lifting goes, it's tough without seeing you, but I will tell you, almost every PGA Tour player (especially the young, fit ones) have amazing lats - stand behind Adam Scott and look at the "cobra-head" his back forms - that's a lot of power! Squats are a great exercise, however, I caution people that form is more important than weight, so start without any weights and work your form. If you really want some great exercises, go to www.mytpi.com - they are the experts in this field, and there are some great techniques on there!

Good luck with your game! Keep me posted on the progress!

I think we've met

you did PGA checkpoints right?