Texarkana Trip Report - 3 Days with Mr. Jones

[Hstead]

I recently drove the 820 miles down to Texarkana to spend three days with Geoff to learn the rotary swing. I have been a stall flipper for over 20 years resulting in a two way miss. When my stall flip timing was on, I could shoot under par, when I was off, I could shoot in the 80's. My handicap has bounced between 2 and 5 for a long time.

 

The first day, we videoed my swing, which Geoff said was "good" BUT, I was taking the club away inside, getting it across the line at the top making it steep, then rerouting it on the downswing which meant the only way I could do that was to hump the goat a little, and then I would stall and flip the release. He said my impact position was better than most scratch players he sees, but with my move I had, I was going to continue to have a two way miss and be inconsistent.

 

We started with the grip, which I had close, but he made a few adjustments. He drew on my glove, which was absolutely WAY better than the gloves I have seen on Youtube. He moved my right hand closer to my left so that I could not see any left thumb at all. We then changed my setup angles a little. I thought I was in a reverse K, but I was doing it more by tilting my shoulders away from the target which created a curve in my spine with my hiips level. Geoff had me just kick my right hip toward the target which fixed everything and made it much easier to turn. Next was the take away, which for me was much more difficult and will and has been something I have had to work on for years. At the end of three days, it was better but I still have a ways to go to get the club in a better delivery position at the top. Lastly came the release, I had to learn to quit stalling and flipping. This was WAY HARDER than I thought it was going to be. I did not think it was going to be easy, but I do have the ability to change my swing fairly easily in the past but this was just hard for me to figure out because I have never done it before.

 

To make these changes, the colorful glove made the grip change easy, the setup changes were easy, the take away is still a work in progress, and for the stall flip release, he had me hitting a lot of 9 to 3's. He would show me a lot of swings from the great ball strikers and explain what they were doing a lot of different ways, and I understood what they were doing, I just couldn't feel it correctly. I really struggled for all three days to be honest, trying varying feels to get it right. By the end of day three, it was better than when I got there, but as Geoff described it, I was half way between swinging it left and rotating, and still flipping a little which led to terrible shots.

 

The last night, he went over the short game shots, which use the same swing basically, no hands and pivot driven. I was surprised at how much difficulty I had picking that up too. But, after about twenty minutes, and me and Geoff getting on the same page, I felt the swing and was able to rotate and release the club properly. The thing that helped me most is that he had me setup way open and said "you have to have this left hip out of the way to make room for where your arms swing the handle to.". This was the A HA moment for me. The last two days here at home I have spent a lot of time hitting those little shots and finally figured out that I had to get my left hip WAY the hell behind me and out of the way. Now I am striping the piss out of the ball and haven't hooked a shot for two days. I have eliminated the left side of the range.

 

I still have to work on getting my club in a better position at the top so I can just release it left, but I feel like I have now got the rotary release feeling down cold.

 

NEGATIVES - Geoff can get side tracked and lose his concentration at times and there is a TON going on down there with the book, other students, life in general, etc. I probably didn't ask for help often enough, but when I told him I needed more help the last day, he really tuned in and spent a great deal of time with me. So, when you go down, do not be hesitant to ask him.

 

POSITIVES - I think Geoff knows more about the golf swing than probably anyone in the country. I truely believe that. I have been to a lot of "Big name" teachers and they cannot hold a candle to Geoff. His students demonstrate it and they have some of the absolute best swings you will find. The thing that makes Geoff so good, is that he has done it all himself. He has been there and done that. I would bet both of my testicles that Geoff knows more than Harmon, Haney, Leadbetter, and McClean any day of the week. I have an 11 year old son, if he is going to really fall in love with golf and want to be great, I will be taking him to Texarkana. Other positives, you hit ProVs on his range, no yellow Spauldings at his place. You get to meet some great golfers and see some really good swings. His family is really nice. Geoff himself is an absolute gentelman and a really nice guy. He genuinely cares that you improve if you want to. He gave me a bunch of good drills the last day. I will be using the Gyro Swing, Weighted Driver, and an Impact bag quite a bit now.

 

One of the coolest parts of this story is that when I returned home, my son wanted to know how it went blah blah blah. So I showed him part of one of 2 DVDs I came home with. He wanted to go with me to the range after watching it. I drew the same lines on his glove as mine, changed his setup angles, and he started hitting 90 yard 9 irons with a flight that he has never seen in his life. He was naturally swinging the handle left and just turned through his shots. He had no idea how good his swing looked. He hit some fat and some thin, but he didn't hit a single 9 iron more than 30 feet off line right or left, which he didn't even realize how straight he was hitting because he thought it was supposed to fly that straight. He is so excited about golf now because he can finally hit it solid every time for the most part.

 

Overall, I would highly recommend making the trip to Texarkana. Make sure you ask for help. Make sure you take a new glove. Make sure you are prepared for a difficult swing change if you are a flipper. Make sure you thank the man. Thanks Geoff.

[SunkTheBirdie]

+1. Thanks for the post !
We want some Swing footage

[mikpga]

Great stuff. Now if he could build a great short game area there!

[rhh7]

Thanks for an excellent review!

[russc1597187869]

It was good that you asked him for more help. Geoff really loves to teach and wants his students to understand what they need to do to improve.When he asks his students "do you understand" he sincerely wants his students to ask questions about any part of their instruction that needs clarification. Some on Golfwrx think that posts about his teaching ability and his in depth knowledge about all things golf are hyperbole..Those who have seen him know that if anything,such posts are understatements

Just some advice
BE PATIENT.Ingrained swing errors do not disappear overnight. Last year i asked him about the swing of one of his young teenage students who had just won a major junior event.His suggestion"do a zillion 9-3 drills.Failure to do is the number one reason why most golfers fail to substantially improve".
Geoff has given you a blueprint for building your golf game..Follow this blueprint and your golf life will be forever positively changed .

[Wedgefromhere]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Asleep]

This was WAY HARDER than I thought it was going to be.

 

I know for me it'll be very difficult to get the feel that matches the desired changes.

 

Geoff can get side tracked...

 

Welcome to Slicfixerville. I'm going to have to try to stay on point because we've got wayyyy too much stuff to talk about.

 

Now I am striping the piss out of the ball and haven't hooked a shot for two days. I have eliminated the left side of the range.

 

Pretty good result.

 

 

I think Geoff knows more about the golf swing than probably anyone in the country.

 

Geoff himself is an absolute gentelman and a really nice guy.

 

Agreed, Geoff is good people.

[j2_a2]

Hstead, do you mind uploading a pic of the glove with the lines that geoff drew? I have the old pic that was uploaded years ago, and just want to see for comparison since you said it's way better than the ones you saw on youtube. Did he also change your lie angles and grind your wedge?

[CSagan]

Nice meeting ya hstead. Glad to hear your son took a liking to it....hope he sticks with it. Like russ said....hit a brazillian 9 to 3s.

[Oldnavycdr]

[quote name='j2_a2' timestamp='1361036270' post='6440225']
Hstead, do you mind uploading a pic of the glove with the lines that geoff drew? I have the old pic that was uploaded years ago, and just want to see for comparison since you said it's way better than the ones you saw on youtube. Did he also change your lie angles and grind your wedge?
[/quote]

Yes, please do!

[SunkTheBirdie]

[quote name='CSagan' timestamp='1361036317' post='6440231']
[color=#ff0000][b]brazillian[/b][/color] 9 to 3s.
[/quote]
Brazillian eh ?
hehe.
That's a Bazillion 9 to 3 with a bikini on ?

[Hstead]

[quote name='CSagan' timestamp='1361036317' post='6440231']
Nice meeting ya hstead. Glad to hear your son took a liking to it....hope he sticks with it. Like russ said....hit a brazillian 9 to 3s.
[/quote][size=4][quote name='j2_a2' timestamp='1361036270' post='6440225'][/size]
Hstead, do you mind uploading a pic of the glove with the lines that geoff drew? I have the old pic that was uploaded years ago, and just want to see for comparison since you said it's way better than the ones you saw on youtube. Did he also change your lie angles and grind your wedge?
[/quote]

I will take a picture of it tonight and upload it. When I drew on my sons glove, he said "this is easy" and his grip looked perfect on the handle. My only concern is that I remember exactly where to put my hands when I use another glove. My tendency is to let my grip get too weak. I may even draw on my gloves myself from now on.

[quote name='CSagan' timestamp='1361036317' post='6440231']
Nice meeting ya hstead. Glad to hear your son took a liking to it....hope he sticks with it. Like russ said....hit a brazillian 9 to 3s.
[/quote]

WRXers - this dude right here can golf his ball. Great swing this guy has. It was nice meeting you too and thanks for helping me. Pretty much all I have been hitting is the trap wedge and then 9 to 3s. These are really helping me get the feeling now of getting the left hip out of the way. Remember when i was hitting the 9 iron pretty good on day two but lost it? Now I know why I was hitting those good, it was all the left hip getting out of the way and continuing to rotate behind me instead of up and blocking my rotation.

[Hstead]

Hstead, do you mind uploading a pic of the glove with the lines that geoff drew? I have the old pic that was uploaded years ago, and just want to see for comparison since you said it's way better than the ones you saw on youtube. Did he also change your lie angles and grind your wedge?

 

Yes, please do!

 

Ok, here you go.

 

 

Here is my sons.

 

[sblack5]

I will be there in 3 weeks....cant wait

[russc1597187869]

I just want to point out one thing about the drawings on the glove.They look to be pretty much the standard Slicefixer lines..Geoff's main concerns with new students is to get them to swing with their pivot as the engine of the swing( inside swinging the outside),the arms synched up to the pivot and maintenance of their leverage (with special emphasis on the right wrist) through impact.After this is accomplished Geoff will then alter the grip(primarily the strength of the grip) based on an individuals ball flight and his/her ability to rotate.
One point to note on Hstead's description of changes that Geoff suggested,i.e. moving the right hand so that the left thumb is not visble.When I was observing Geoof teaching last year ,i noticed that every one of his new students and some of his returning students did not have the right hand close enough to the left .Having the right hand close enough is integral in allowing the 2 hands to work together as one unit

Hstead
If you could teach your son one thing,it would be the Slicefixer grip .This grip would allow him to set his levers to the maximum.

[bdcava]

Maybe Geoff should patent those grip markings so he can sell gloves with his book.

[verderraul]

great trip report. welcome to the gang.

[Eag1e]

Anyone who cares about their students and the game, and does things in a manner such as that multiple students are around (like Geoff does), is prone to distractions. Any single thing can lead to a huge train of tangents because he isn't trying to get away from people. It's not offensive to those types of people if you beckon them back to you. Put it this way: He's off with other people not because he's ignoring you, but because he's [i]not ignoring[/i] them. It basically comes down to whoever the last person to ask them something was is who's gonna be getting their attention at any given time. So if you feel neglected - make yourself that last person. Imo it's nothing but a positive quality, it just demonstrates that they've got commitment to their students and will go on whatever trails of discussion come up without trying to look for an escape route. They just immerse themselves with the students.

[russc1597187869]

[quote name='Eag1e' timestamp='1361069958' post='6442921']
Anyone who cares about their students and the game, and does things in a manner such as that multiple students are around (like Geoff does), is prone to distractions. Any single thing can lead to a huge train of tangents because he isn't trying to get away from people. It's not offensive to those types of people if you beckon them back to you. Put it this way: He's off with other people not because he's ignoring you, but because he's [i]not ignoring[/i] them. It basically comes down to whoever the last person to ask them something was is who's gonna be getting their attention at any given time. So if you feel neglected - make yourself that last person. Imo it's nothing but a positive quality, it just demonstrates that they've got commitment to their students and will go on whatever trails of discussion come up without trying to look for an escape route. They just immerse themselves with the students.
[/quote]
Geoff teaches from 10 until sunset or even longer ..Do you think any person is going to need someone looking at you every second..The lesson to take from the Hstead's comments is just to ask for help
.As someone who saw him once and who has decided to see someone else , your comments lack credibility

[MNLH11]

Great trip report. Thank you for taking the time to write it.

John

[verderraul]

[quote name='russc' timestamp='1361070373' post='6442961']
[quote name='Eag1e' timestamp='1361069958' post='6442921']
Anyone who cares about their students and the game, and does things in a manner such as that multiple students are around (like Geoff does), is prone to distractions. Any single thing can lead to a huge train of tangents because he isn't trying to get away from people. It's not offensive to those types of people if you beckon them back to you. Put it this way: He's off with other people not because he's ignoring you, but because he's [i]not ignoring[/i] them. It basically comes down to whoever the last person to ask them something was is who's gonna be getting their attention at any given time. So if you feel neglected - make yourself that last person. Imo it's nothing but a positive quality, it just demonstrates that they've got commitment to their students and will go on whatever trails of discussion come up without trying to look for an escape route. They just immerse themselves with the students.
[/quote]
Geoff teaches from 10 until sunset or even longer ..Do you think any person is going to need someone looking at you every second..The lesson to take from the Hstead's comments is just to ask for help
.As someone who saw him once and who has decided to see someone else , your comments lack credibility
[/quote]

Russ,

I know you like Geoff. But i think you are being a bit too emotional here. I see nothing wrong with Eagl1e's comment.

[Eag1e]

[quote name='russc' timestamp='1361070373' post='6442961']
[quote name='Eag1e' timestamp='1361069958' post='6442921']
Anyone who cares about their students and the game, and does things in a manner such as that multiple students are around (like Geoff does), is prone to distractions. Any single thing can lead to a huge train of tangents because he isn't trying to get away from people. It's not offensive to those types of people if you beckon them back to you. Put it this way: He's off with other people not because he's ignoring you, but because he's [i]not ignoring[/i] them. It basically comes down to whoever the last person to ask them something was is who's gonna be getting their attention at any given time. So if you feel neglected - make yourself that last person. Imo it's nothing but a positive quality, it just demonstrates that they've got commitment to their students and will go on whatever trails of discussion come up without trying to look for an escape route. They just immerse themselves with the students.
[/quote]
Geoff teaches from 10 until sunset or even longer ..Do you think any person is going to need someone looking at you every second..The lesson to take from the Hstead's comments is just to ask for help
.As someone who saw him once and who has decided to see someone else , your comments lack credibility
[/quote]

...seriously, did you just come in here trying to find a fight? My post was a compliment to Geoff's legitimacy in his desires to teach students. I said nothing negative about him.

And as someone who drove 986 miles each way and spent three days and a lot of money I think I'm hardly lacking in credibility to comment on him. It's not as if I've talked to him on the phone for half an hour and decided to post my thorough examination of his character or something absurd like that.

I'd encourage you to actually read what I said rather than just looking to get pissy with someone. It's clear you didn't since the phrase, "Imo it's nothing but a positive quality" was specifically in my post, following a smile nonetheless. Get over yourself.

Also, my decision to move on was after more than half a year of making every effort to stick with him after the initial visit and due to reasons that I've chosen to never say anything about because of people's willingness to blow things out of proportion, as well as tremendous respect for Geoff and not wanting some hothead to take a comment out of context and use it as fire against Geoff, because Geoff [i]is[/i] a fantastic guy and great teacher and I'd want nothing I said with non-insulting intentions to be quoted in an insulting manner. You act as if I went to him for an hour, hated his methods, immediately moved on and have walked around spreading nasty rumors.

[JPGolf FL]

[quote name='russc' timestamp='1361070373' post='6442961']
[quote name='Eag1e' timestamp='1361069958' post='6442921']
Anyone who cares about their students and the game, and does things in a manner such as that multiple students are around (like Geoff does), is prone to distractions. Any single thing can lead to a huge train of tangents because he isn't trying to get away from people. It's not offensive to those types of people if you beckon them back to you. Put it this way: He's off with other people not because he's ignoring you, but because he's [i]not ignoring[/i] them. It basically comes down to whoever the last person to ask them something was is who's gonna be getting their attention at any given time. So if you feel neglected - make yourself that last person. Imo it's nothing but a positive quality, it just demonstrates that they've got commitment to their students and will go on whatever trails of discussion come up without trying to look for an escape route. They just immerse themselves with the students.
[/quote]
Geoff teaches from 10 until sunset or even longer ..Do you think any person is going to need someone looking at you every second..The lesson to take from the Hstead's comments is just to ask for help
.As someone who saw him once and who has decided to see someone else , your comments lack credibility
[/quote]

I think he just called you a traitor

[rocker40]

I went for a one day trip to see Geoff and only got one DVD with the Grip, Setup and 9-3's. Does Geoff go into more detail on the swing??? Like the takeaway, downswing, release and followthrough?

So whats on the 2nd DVD ??? ( Whats behind curtain # 2 ? )

[Eag1e]

[quote name='rocker40' timestamp='1361076119' post='6443445']
I went for a one day trip to see Geoff and only got one DVD with the Grip, Setup and 9-3's. Does Geoff go into more detail on the swing??? Like the takeaway, downswing, release and followthrough?

So whats on the 2nd DVD ??? ( Whats behind curtain # 2 ? )
[/quote]

Probably is the difference between a 1-day and 3-day school. I have 3 DVDs. First one is the fundamental stuff you're taught when you first come in - overview of the swing, components, improvement plan, video comparisons of Hogan/Matt/Kendall/various other players. Haven't ran em in a long time so I don't remember for sure but I believe one is the short game DVD + swing comparisons over the course of my time there, and the other is a sitting where we went over course management, practicing, and lifestyle management geared toward professional golfing.

[prsgtrman]

back on topic, thanks for the report. i hope your new swing works out for you.

[Timanator]

Good stuff, and your negative might be hope for alot of us. It means the book is being worked on!!!

[rocker40]

[quote name='Oldnavycdr' timestamp='1361039330' post='6440449']
[quote name='j2_a2' timestamp='1361036270' post='6440225']
Hstead, do you mind uploading a pic of the glove with the lines that geoff drew? I have the old pic that was uploaded years ago, and just want to see for comparison since you said it's way better than the ones you saw on youtube. Did he also change your lie angles and grind your wedge?
[/quote]

Yes, please do!
[/quote]

Did he give you the pressure points for the left and right hand?

[SunkTheBirdie]

ahem.
[quote name='prsgtrman' timestamp='1361076829' post='6443503']
back on topic
[/quote]
good idea.
russc and eag1e are great members ... let's move on to the topic.
I'll repost the topic : [b]Texarkana Trip Report - 3 Days with Mr. Jones[/b]

[j2_a2]

Thanks for posting the pic Hstead.