There’s madness in methods, There’s madness in methods, etc. ad infinitum.

Ever feel like you need proof or genuine reverse engineering of your favorite subject – your golf swing? Then, why is it we have not entered that discussion in the last century or more? More specifically, why have we lionized golf swing personalities without questioning their knowledge? Relax, you’re not to blame.

Furthermore, have you noticed the number of catchy methods proliferating the golf scene over the last thirty years? A method is ‘Orderly arrangement of parts or steps to accomplish an end.” Natural Golf, One-Plane, Stack-and-tilt, and A-Frame come to mind. Methods even exist in other disciplines. For example, Keto, Adkins, Transcedentalism, Jungian, Freudian, Vedic, Western, Scientific, and on are methods within disciplines.

Methods are a way for lazy but ambitious people to short-circuit the learning experience in favor of gaining income from quick novelty or fleeting notoriety. They invent a way to talk about movement that seeks to encompass everything in what is commonly referred to as an “Elevator Version”.

Elevator versions are usually rife with name-dropping, scientific terminology, statistics, insults, circular logic, and bait-and-switches. And you cannot disagree with them. No no, my friend. Then you become one of those golf swing ‘insert derogatory term here-ists’.

Consequently, the method gurus main goal, in the absence of research or knowledge, is to assume original, unassailable ‘knowledge’. And, since that knowledge cannot be about the golf swing, they focus on marketing a visceral phrase or term to distract people from asking questions about the real foundation of their wisdom.

Methods are created by clever people. Don’t get me wrong. But, they are lazy people. Unfortunately for the popularity-minded method mavens, they inevitably become a cautionary tale or butt of a joke. I cite Hank Haney and his “Hit the outside half of the ball” method. Manuel de la Torre pretty much dismantled that junk single-handedly in one minute. Now, Hank is mass mailing golf gadgets online.

Due to the laziness inherent in these ambitious, meat-headed line-cutters, they introduce madness into the discourse of the golf swing. Their expanations become more like word salad. ‘Much ado about nothing’ or, even better, “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” – Macbeth.

Take your pick of ANY GOLF INSTRUCTOR ON EARTH, AND LISTEN TO WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT THE GOLF SWING. Then ask why ‘that statement’ is important; why that position or movement is necessary. They will NEVER go that far. If they ever do, its because they’ve read and memorized my work.

I recently took part in a PGA teaching seminar where the concept of ‘intent‘ was finally discussed by the presenters. What a novel idea! I’ve only been talking about it since 2010. They didn’t combine it with any other adjacent discipline though. Seemingly, our golf world controllers seek to compartmentalize knowledge to shorten their learning curve and maintain, as George Costanza said, their “delicate genius”. It won’t work. I and my students are too far ahead for their relevance to last.

Golf Methodologists will stop others’ digging by stating how their expert statement applies to ‘their players’. What they really mean is, “according to my (imaginary) sources. Let’s stop talking about it now”. What better way to insulate their delicate genius than with the ‘higher power’ gambit.

I am BEGGING you all to test your instructors and coaches knowledge. Why are you trading your hard-earned money for celebrity instead of knowledge? I suppose its easy for someone like me, who is unaffected by celebrity, to say ‘That’s crazy’.

Most celebrities have no idea how they even became famous. Celebrities are unwitting by-products of “Western Culture” or, as Living Colour sang, “Cult of Personality”. Fame is born of ambition. But, ultimately, ambition cannot exist in the presence of knowledge, and vice versa. Therefore, the more you learn about the golf swing here, the less able the lazy are to get your lesson payments.

For example, ambitious people (Go-Getters) invented the phrase “I can learn the job after I get it”, and “I can fake it ’til I make it”, etc. Golf Methodologists are among this group. Unfortunately, ambition blinds people to the affect they have on others, who either become assets or liabilities, keepers or disposables. And I don’t see people that way.

Our golf method ambitioneers, like celebrities anywhere, push their ‘buyers’ to the microphone and deride their sellers – both without ever discussing how their method betters the human condition. Suffice it to say, their ascent comes without grounding in real, studied knowledge. It’s madness. And we all know it.

John Wright – Founder
The Open Stance Academy

Constantly Asking “Why” Identifies Knowledge

Knowledge Is Not In The Illustration, But The Explanation

How Our Feet Can Change Our Ball Position