Matt Saternus

I have to say that my favorite thing about Rotary Swing is the mix of drills and advice for beginners, intermediate, and better players. Most sites you go to are geared towards one set of problems (usually slicing), which makes it of limited value. As far as that drill I mentioned, I did pick up a full club with my irons and hit the ball beautifully straight (on GOOD swings). It wasn't the magic elixir, 12 second cure all that the site claimed, but it's definitely something I am going to be working on. I could see some good results with the driver, too, but it was not quite as consistent. Going to keep working.

I'm looking forward to that feeling. I've gone through a weird progression from being an arms-y swinger with limited power, then a "hip spinner"/too-much-left-side-downswing where I picked up some power and distance, but the driver is just too unpredictable. At every stage, I've always felt like I should have more clubhead speed. Not that I ever felt like I needed it or that it was the missing link, but I just felt that, based on my age/strength/etc, I should hit it farther. Now (I hope), I will.

HOLY *#$&! JMiller, I just watched the "Throw The Ball" drill (Phase 5) and I felt like they were talking about me the entire time. I'm taking that one into the bay tomorrow. If it works like they claim...wow...because I'd really like another 18 MPH of clubhead speed...a lot. Hell, I'd take 10. Report to follow.

You're making me very eager to plow through Phase 4 and get to Phase 5. My godfather has the best saying, "Golf is a game you rent, you never own it."

I am disappointed that I didn't see that parallel before: little bump, then turn, very nice call. I think that the weight shift is under-emphasized in their videos, or, more specifically, it doesn't seem built into the rest of the takeaway moves. Lots of emphasis on shoulder blade glide, not enough on the importance of the shift.

I've watched everything up through Phase 3, and I'm halfway through Phase 4. Overall I'm pretty impressed with the presentation and the way things are explained. While I generally don't care for anyone who says, "This is THE way to do things," I would say that they/he does a good job with the tone of his videos. Also, I appreciate that he needs to say that his way is best because it's what he's selling and, I would guess, he believes it. There are definitely some thoughts and feelings that I am adopting with some of my students. I particularly like the idea of the takeaway as a pull instead of a push. I also appreciate the fact that he doesn't BS about how long change takes. My only concern with recommending this system to someone is knowing whether or not they are the type to do all the drills and totally rebuild their swing. I'm eager to get into the downswing stuff, but I'm trying to work through it all methodically.

Bump.

If there are any MGS readers in the Chicago-land area who would be interested in helping us out with some MGS Labs articles, please send me a PM or email me at [email protected]. Thanks!

I will certainly keep this thread going as I watch the videos. Just getting started and the biggest thing I like is the tone. It's not sales-y, more factual. I also thought his point about the trends in golf instruction (from Jones to Hogan to Nicklaus to Norman to Tiger) is fascinating.

JMiller: Rotary Swing ought to give you a commission because I just signed up. I watched the free videos, liked what I heard, so I went ahead and signed up for a month to check out the rest. Definitely some good stuff there, and I like that it's all very simplified. One of my pet peeves is all the instruction I see that seems to exist only to create new jargon/bulls***.

Thanks for the write up. I might have to pony up the $20 and see what they have to say.

Personally, I've got no issue with the staff bag. As others have said, I tend to walk/push so I wouldn't want to use one in that situation. If I'm riding, why not?

Golf Digest makes me want to puke. Do they have any shame at all? You can practically copy and paste the "Gold" winners from drivers to fairways, and hybrids! Apparently the only really good products come from TM, Callaway, and PING. Here's the thing: I love TM and PING. My bag next year will be mostly PING with (probably) TM woods, maybe hybrids. But that's just my preference and I recognize that there are other equally good, or in some cases better, fish in the sea! Does Golf Digest think we're so stupid that by throwing in one "outside" pick per category they can fool us into thinking that this is objective? As I said in the predictions thread, if Byron and Bettinardi are not Gold medalists in the putting categories, this is a joke. Anyone who can hold either of those putters next to any one of the medalists and say that the Byron or Bettinardi is inferior...well, you don't know the first thing about golf clubs. Oh, wait, I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't giving sufficient considering to "Buzz." What a joke.

There's definitely something to that idea of "breaking the mental lock". I remember a Playing Lessons episode with Geoff Ogilvy where he said that he would occasionally switch putters (same overall style) just to see something different. I think what's at the heart of my work with Bruce is the desire to end that cycle of "putt well, putt bad, switch something, repeat." I want to understand what my putting stroke is really about, how to fix it, how to assess it, and how to make it better. I can confidently say that after just a few emails, I'm on the road to that, and I think the round grip is part of that future.

Interesting. Now that I think about it, I'm a little surprised at how quickly I took to the round grip. I think it's definitely a concept that you have to commit to, and probably give some time. I did get two rounds in with it and found that I was hitting more pulls. Bruce explained that this is a normal reaction because there's no more "steering" which is what I did with a putter grip, just a natural open and close of the putter. I'll say one thing for round putter grips: it's one of the cheapest putting experiments you can do.

As a student of Bruce Rearick's (you can track my progress here: http://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/4799-my-quest-to-putt-better-with-burnt-edge-consulting/ ) I have recently switched to a round putter grip. When I decided to make the switch, I wanted to do so with a top shelf grip, not just another rubber grip, so I contacted Harry at BestGrips.com. Harry informed me that his grips have less taper than most round grips, which is perfect. He was also kind enough to send a couple grips for me to test. I installed one on my current gamer, the Bettinardi SS11, and I absolutely love it. The leather is soft with a slight tackiness that allows me to have a nice loose grip. It will definitely be my putter grip of choice for the foreseeable future. Moving to the topic of round putter grips in general, you might be asking what the benefit is. The first thing I have noticed is that I can release the putter much more naturally with the round grip. With a standard putter grip, I often felt that I used the flat surface to steer (and often block) the putt. As a result, my miss was short and right. Additionally, getting rid of the flat surface on the grip removes another straight line input from a round motion. What I mean is that the putting stroke, like any golf swing, is round/curved, not straight. Knowing this, I do not want any straight line inputs (sight lines, flat surfaces on the grip, etc) confusing that point. This isn't the kind of thing that has a tangible benefit such as releasing the putter better, but I do believe that it's important. What are your thoughts? Have you tried a round grip on a putter? Is it something you might consider?

This does remind me of a story I heard from a fellow golf coach when I lived downstate. He was playing twilight golf somewhere, just trying to squeeze in a few holes, and he gets paired up with a guy who's only carrying a wedge. The wedge carrier offers to play him for a dollar per hole. The coach knew this was a hustle, but said ok...and was promptly hustled. Apparently the guy could blade the wedge perfectly on command, putted well with it, and threw darts when he was within range. The"hustler" was a gentleman though and did not take the money when it was over, said he just did it for fun.

I'm loathe to gamble with anyone I don't know or haven't played with quite a bit. Probably a "No" for me.

Beautiful putter, Dave. Which Bombora headshape is that?

For those of us who aren't too familiar with the process, how is powder coating different than other putter finishes? Benefits/drawbacks?