What the great year 2017 has been. Looking back, I can see how much fun we had and how many people we helped have more fun playing golf.
Let’s take a look at some highlights of the year.
The Moe Norman Wedge – developed by Tim Graves and Roger Cleveland
Our influence with Callaway Golf has resulted in a close relationship which undoubtedly feeds GGA’s vision for growth. GGA is Callaway’s most abundant “green grass” seller of their equipment and that translated into advantageous marketing leverage with them. The partnership includes a great new product line and a likely co-promotion
sure to gather golf world buzz for both companies.
We’ve launched the production and marketing of a Signature Moe Norman wedge line, produced for us by Callaway and designed by Roger Cleveland whose name is as essential to wedge design as Moe Norman’s is to ball striking prowess.
learn more about the Moe Norman Wedges
Sporting, a Moe Norman etched autograph on the hostel; these Callaway wedges are designed with Moe’s characteristics (what he liked) in a wedge. In other words, it has the highest technology in the wedges (grooves, face, etc.) with the characteristics that make it the perfect Single Plane wedge(s).
Inside the Single Plane Swing – produced by Todd Graves
More specifically, what if you could stand “inside” the swing of Moe Norman, golf’s most celebrated ball-striker, and SEE and FEEL his swing. Well in 2017 we figured it out and now you can.
Inside the Single Plane Swing is a groundbreaking approach to help you SEE and FEEL Moe Norman’s Single Plane Golf Swing. Taking a holistic and multi-sensory approach, Inside the Single Plane Swing gives your insight into precisely what you should be visualizing and feeling throughout the entire Single Plane Swing motion.
Through the power of technology and Point of View (POV) video, Todd Graves takes you “inside” to learn what your feet, legs, hips, arms, and hands should feel like at address, in the backswing, in transition and ultimately at impact and release.
By understanding the Single Plane Swing from the “inside,” you can practice visualizations, perspectives and approaches to create your biomechanical feeling of the Single Plane Swing.
Most importantly, you can learn what Moe Norman called, the “Feeling of Greatness.”
Single Plane Golf Schools
Director of School Programs, Shannon Friday, took the lead role in growing the best golf schools in the world. The Single Plane Golf Schools had the best year to date – teaching over 1200 students in 2017.
The programs expanded to another headquarters at the Legacy Golf Resort in Phoenix, Arizona.
Measuring the Single Plane Swing
We introduced some new motion measurement tools this year to help the instructors quantify causes and effects.
The K-Vest System has added a new dimension to Single Plane Swing instruction.
Measuring the details “Inside the SPS” allows the GGA instructors to solve students swing issues more quickly and efficiently.
It also helps us understand the many effects of awkward positions and their impact on the movement of the body during the swing.
Wes Wilkinson – Product Specialist / GGA Path To Success
With so many great training products and instructional DVD’s, Wes Wilkinson joined the GGA Team to help students get the most benefit from their training.
With the introduction of the GGA “Path to Success,” Wes can walk people up the ideal road map to their Single Plane Golf game goals. The Path to Success is a window into years of helping golfers develop their golf games, observing the most efficient way.
The Feeling of Greatness Biography – Second Edition
Re-issued by the Graves Golf Academy in 2017, and re-written by the original author Tim O’Connor, The Feeling of Greatness includes three new chapters covering the Canadian legend´s last nine years until his passing in September 2004.
The biography features a foreword by Lee Trevino, who has commented, “He´s the best ball striker I ever saw come down the pipe. I don´t know anyone who could hit the ball better than Moe Norman.” His ability garnered him fame and notoriety but alas, so did his extreme shyness and lack of social graces.
“O´Connor tells the story in an objective and sympathetic voice, relating and debunking much of the folklore that earned Norman the stinging derisive label of ´the Clown Prince of golf´ in a well-written, meticulously researched defense of one of golf´s most maligned and misunderstood figures.”
Buy The Feeling of Greatness Here
The GGA Bunker Board.
Simple, Efficient, and easy to use. That is the idea behind all of Graves Golf Academy’s training aids. This year we introduced the GGA Bunker Board.
The GGA bunker board is one of (if not THE) most innovative and EFFECTIVE training aids ever created… (Single Plane or elsewhere!)
You now can systematically “spot check” every position before, and after every shot, you hit from the sand. The GGA Bunker Board allows you to quickly select HIGHER or LOWER chances depending on the bunker you’re in.
With LEFT and RIGHT handed versions available, every Single Plane student can now get out of the bunker cleanly every time.
Professional Golfer Reed Howard
It’s been over a year now when I received a call from a stranger. Reed laughs about it now, but he interrogated me for over 20 minutes about the Single Plane Swing and Moe. I answered his questions, and we met a few weeks later in OKC for our first lesson together.
When I first saw his swing, I thought “Wow, he has tons of power and he has great movement, but he hits it way too low.” I asked, “Do you always hit it that low.”
“Lately, at least for the last year or so.”
“You have to hit it higher if you want to play at the highest level.”
That is where we began the process of building Reed’s swing to where it is today. I don’t take much credit for Reed’s hard work. He is a diligent student and has specific goals and practices habits. If there is something I need him to change during a lesson, he builds a feeling for it. Then he names it.
When I taught him Moe’s address position, I moved his spine into the proper tilt. Reed then waggled the club back into a body-centered position. He then promptly named it the ‘Tilt Waggle”. It stuck.
One of the significant aspects of Reed’s practice rituals is he builds feelings around mechanics. When I teach him a new movement or position, Reed spends the rest of the time feeling it. Once he creates a feel around the right move he puts in the hours he calls ‘pounding the rock”.
We look forward to watching Reed reach his goals in 2018.
The Feeling of Greatness Documentary, The Moe Norman Story
A final highlight for 2017 is about one of the greatest stories in sports history.
Barry Morrow, screenwriter and Academy Award winner for the movie Rainman, has teamed up with Graves Golf and Producer Nathan Edwards to produce the Feeling of Greatness – a documentary about our hero – Moe Norman.
The Documentary Team began interviewing Moe’s friends and family in 2017. Interviews will continue throughout completion by the end of 2018. You can find out more at the film’s website – www.thefeelingofgreatness.com.
If you are interested in donating to the film and being a part of history, contact me (Todd Graves) at Toddg@moenormangolf.com.
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