SNL On The Haney Project

The Ubiquitous Hank Haney?

For a man who doesn't think much of the media, it's just heartwarming to see Hank Haney making the rounds now to talk about Tiger. First there was the call in to Alan Shipnuck, then now he's on FanHouse, then yapping it up with Golf.com's Connell Barrett and finally, doing Ryan Ballengee's podcast.

But it wasn't until Monte Burke nabbed Haney for Forbes.com that the truth came out.

You recently became the spokesperson for Charles Schwab's ( SCHW - news - people ) retirement services. Are there parallels between golf instruction and retirement advice?

There are lots of parallels. The most important thing you can have is a plan, whether that's for your investments or your golf game. You have to be patient. Both require longterm approaches. There are ups and downs, and you can't get too high with the ups or too low with the down.

After that, don't ever tell me this blog fails to provide you with useful information. Ever!

Haney Eliminates At Least Three Of Barkley's Backswing Belches

Telegraph: "Scientists find secret of perfect golf swing"

Take that, golf magazines!

Reader Michael passed along Caroline Gammell's Telegraph exclusive on the news we've all been waiting for: scientists discovering the perfect golf swing secret.

The key is knowing at exactly what stage of the swing you should exert the maximum force, according to research.

Hmmm...that's helpful.

Using a complex mathematical equation, Professor Robin Sharp from the Department of Mechanical, Medical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Surrey, has calculated which parts of the upper body should be used at what stage.

Breaking with conventional thinking, his study suggests that the wrists are not as important as the way a golfer uses their arms.

His research also concludes that height is not as advantageous as previously thought, with short people able to hit a ball almost as far as their taller competitors if they use the right technique.

Verne Troyer will be relieved.

Prof Sharp studied three professional golfers from the 1968 Ryder Cup - Bernard Hunt, Geoffrey Hunt and Guy Wolstenholme - whose swing action was photographed on a high speed camera.

Guess footage of Dai Rees wasn't available. Boy and that was a great Ryder Cup team. Too bad they didn't play one in '68 or that Wolstenholme never played in a Ryder Cup!

"Bring back walking. Play with nine clubs."

Jim Achenbach is advocating playing with fewer clubs, but not as a way to combat distance increases. Instead, he has folks who think it'll make your game better.

Leadbetter Dishes On Wie, Els

Robert Thompson found David Leadbetter in a chatty mood about his clients Michelle Wie and Ernie Els and offers some interesting thoughts on what it all means. Thanks to reader Andrew for this.

"Stage a tournament for marquee instructors."

I'm a little behind in my reading, so I just got to Bill Fields' column from the March 14 Golf World where he suggests his platform if he were President of Golf.

While I loved all of his ideas, I particualrly loved the thought of this one.

• Stage a tournament for marquee instructors. How fun would it be to see Hank Haney, Butch Harmon, David Leadbetter and other teachers to the stars practice what they preach? The odds against that happening, though, might be greater than getting Tiger back to play in Milwaukee.

"I've been surprised at the level of contempt"

Lorne Rubenstein sat in on a Stack and Tilt clinic with Mike Plummer and Andy Plummer and relays his observations.

Meanwhile, some teachers and players have been critical of stack and tilt. Well-known instructor Jim McLean points to photographs of Nicklaus that he says refute the impression that he didn't shift his weight during his backswing. Six-time major champion Nick Faldo works for The Golf Channel and was critical during the Mercedes telecast.

"I've been surprised at the level of contempt," Plummer said.

Some of the complaints came in this Golf Digest piece. And here is the answer why there has been so much contempt:

But students have been doing well. Weir has been working with Plummer and Bennett for more than a year. Aaron Baddeley has won twice since beginning to work with the twosome. Plummer and Bennett are in demand from professionals and amateurs alike, and believe their critics wouldn't be so harsh if they understood their ideas. Their database includes more than a million swing photos.

"Just to be clear, though," Plummer said, "we're not doing this because Nicklaus and Ben Hogan did it. They're examples of what we're saying."

"For the same reason it works for the best players, it works for everyone."

Golf World includes the Stack and Tilt dudes in their year end newsmakers issue. Peter Morrice writes:

On the PGA and Champions tours, six players have won in a year and a half using Stack & Tilt: Aaron Baddeley (pictured), Mike Weir, Dean Wilson, Eric Axley, Will MacKenzie and John Cook. Converts also include: Jesper Parnevik, Steve Elkington, Charlie Wi and about a dozen others. Plummer estimates they'll add 10 more tour students before next season. But the Plummer-Bennett plan sees the tour as just a stopover. "Teaching tour players gets you great exposure, but we want to change the way the average person plays golf," says Bennett, 39, who grew up in upstate New York and still tries to Monday-qualify for tour events. "It's the simplest way to swing a club," adds Plummer. "For the same reason it works for the best players, it works for everyone. The geometry doesn't change."

Stack and Tilt Part 2

Having toyed with the Stack and Tilt concept a bit more on the range, and having had the privilege of working with Mac O'Grady back when he was still mad at Deane Beman, I now regret my initial remark that this is Mac Made Easy. Several elements are quite different from Mac's teachings, particularly the takeway (was that P2 or P3!?) and some of their thoughts on the role of the right leg. 

Anyway I haven't been able to follow the little community within a community that has developed on the original post here, which is up to 327 comments.

The latest Golf Digest installment's best component is the input from other jealous instructors trying to debunk the potential of Stack and Tilt.

The MIDI!

Thanks to reader Tuco for the heads up on Damon Hack's New York Times story about an interesting new tempo device. There's also a video segment on the story narrated by Hack, who clearly missed his calling as an NPR reporter.

Grober has created an instrument that gives a player an immediate response to the golf swing. A smooth, rhythmic swing with Grober’s sensor emits a pleasing tone. A herky-jerky motion lets out a wail.

To create the sound of a golf swing, Grober used Musical Instrument Digital Interface technology that combined instruments like the piccolo, the oboe and the French horn. The music — an audio interpretation of the swing itself — is transmitted wirelessly to the golfer through a headset.

“This dimension that they can access while they’re hitting the golf club opens up a whole world of information that they hadn’t otherwise had,” he said. “Getting it in this format, in a real-time basis, helps people to change on time scales which are much shorter than traditionally. It used to be if you wanted to make a mechanical change in your golf swing, it could take months to do that. But if you can hear what’s going on, you can change the sound space almost instantly.”

Grober said by having players focus on tempo instead of swing mechanics, the mechanics often followed anyway. “Really quickly they understand it’s about tempo and they forget all these complicated thoughts about position,” he said. “When the motion becomes dynamic and smooth, there are some good physics behind that.”

Grober, whose product is scheduled for release in January, said he has worked with 200 golfers and teachers on his invention. While the technology is new, the idea of using physics to teach a golf swing has been around for decades.

Ben Doyle, who wrote the foreword to Homer Kelley’s popular instruction book, “The Golfing Machine,” said he could see benefits in a golfer being able to listen to the sound of the golf swing.

“You hear the thrust of centrifugal force,” said Doyle, the golf instructor at the Golf Club at Quail Lodge in Carmel, Calif. “If a student can hear that sound, it’s very important feedback.”