My name is “Sensei Mark Anthony” Montaquila. I’ve just finished watching How to Master The Golf Swing by Scott Hazeldine. I have to tell you, this is a great video! I think it will help the average golfer have a better understanding of the physics and dynamics of the golf swing without getting too confusing.

Scott takes the student through some very effective exercises in the first half of the tape that are designed to teach the feeling of whipping the club through the point-of-impact without forcing the student to agonize about what’s going on everywhere in his body, which only confuses the student.

His Eastern martial arts approach is definitely the coming thing in golf training. I know this because I’ve been a martial artist for over 22 years and have been a golf instructor for ten years. I approach teaching golf the same way Scott does with amazing results.

Here’s why I believe the Eastern way to teach golf is superior.

Traditionally in martial arts, there is a formal, disciplined relationship between the student and the sensei (teacher). This relationship is necessary for the student’s benefit because the reasons that one is doing a certain exercise aren’t always explained to the student. Sometimes, the drills are quite tedious. However, every one of them is considered necessary and has a specific goal.

The sensei tells the student to “do this” and the student does it until he understands why. He doesn’t ask why…that would be very disrespectful. He just does it. Westerners would think this as arrogance. It’s quite the opposite. There are many reasons for this method of teaching.

Here in the West, we’re so wrapped up in wanting to know everything about everything, that we get lost in the “whys” instead of learning the “how-tos.”

If the sensei were to go on and on with an explanation of all of the physics involved in a simple punch, he’d cloud the students mind so badly that the student would never learn a most simplest of day-one techniques. This is called information constipation, and is the main reason most golfers can’t hit the ball straight. It’s just more economical to do it the Eastern way. Why confuse the student?

“Wax on, wax off.”
With the Eastern way, the teacher is not wrapped up in needing to explain the deeper meanings and reasons that everything works. Like I said before, the student is told to “do it this way” and he does it. He’ll learn the what’s and why’s later. In the beginning, he needs a foundation in the proper mechanics and there’s only one way to do this…by doing it, not analyzing it. If you remember the old “wax on, wax off” drill from the movie The Karate Kid. You’ll know what I mean here.

You have to put in the reps to get skilled and that’s all there is to it. There’s plenty of time to learn the physics if you stay with it. But you need to learn the foundation of the movements to get a grasp of how to be powerful. If all you did were agonize and analyze instead of actually doing it, you’d never be able to defend yourself with the techniques!

On Chi-Golf and Golf Kata… Scott’s Chi-Golf and Golf Kata technique is a brilliant way to “burn in” the necessary mechanics that 99% of amateur golfers have no idea how to use and what keeps them from breaking 90 or 100. The slow deliberate practice is an ancient Eastern way to train body movement first developed centuries ago by the founders of Tai-Chi Chuan. Considered the father of all Eastern martial arts, Tai Chi is learned and trained in meticulous slow motion and constantly refined over a lifetime of practice.

I know that most people have never seen Tai Chi demonstrated dynamically, but let me tell you I know from hard, first-hand experience that the dynamic application of the technique is devastating. In fact, the reason that the soft, whipping power in golf is effective is precisely why you see little young guys like Sergio out-drive the big guys. It’s all technique, not muscle. This is nothing new. Tai Chi uses the exact technique to generate power in strikes. However, without the proper mechanics and the use of correct body structure, generating effortless power is impossible. Hence the slow, deliberate practice utilized.

Scott’s video gets the student started on the road to that effective technique and in the second half of the video; he takes the student to the driving range to develop the swing more dynamically. He demonstrates his effortless 115mph swing and shows how anyone can do it with his exceptional technique.

What really impressed me was that after learning and training the swing in the studio, he asks the student to forget about mechanics and teaches to swing while the ball is “in the way.” This is what every amateur golfer needs to understand, bar none. In order to be powerful, one must swing and not hit. The average weekend golfer will try so hard to “hit the ball” that his swing becomes a chop and will stop at the ball. This, every pro knows, will actually slow down a swing instead of improve it and its one of the most elusive things in golf to teach and grasp an understanding of. However, I think that Scott has developed a great system that will show any golfer this little-known feeling in a well, done one-hour video.

Scott’s video is a great step-by-step tutorial on how to develop a smooth fluid, effortless swing in 30 days or less and I give it my highest recommendation. Please congratulate and wish Scott luck for me on this great video.

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