News
An instructor’s perspective on the Chamblee/Dufner Twitter controversy
If you have not had a chance to read the latest exchange on Twitter between Brandel Chamblee and Jason Dufner — and his teacher Chuck Cook — you have missed a wonderful controversy brewing. As you may know, Brandel is never one to hide his feelings on his views of the golf swing (he’s against The Golfing Machine teachings). And when people disagree with him (Jason Dufner), he’s not hesitant to tackle his opposition head on.
I’d like to take the time to weigh-in on what I feel should be focused on from an instruction standpoint, instead of what has been said on Twitter in this controversy.
Brandel’s side
First of all, I consider Brandel to be a friend of mine and he has been nothing but gracious to me during my professional career; though we have differing viewpoints on certain things. I have often called or emailed him, asking his opinion on one thing or another, and he has never failed to answer me. In fact, I love hearing what he has to say, even if it’s the opposite of what I feel personally and professionally — he hardly speaks without research to back it up. When you have the kind of stage he has, you must be armed with facts.
As we all know, Brandel is not a fan of the new breed of instruction. He prefers the old school methods, and clearly from his initial Tweet that sparked the entire controversy, he prefers an upright backswing. He is not a fan of most technologies used on the lesson tee, and he is very vocal regarding the Golfing Machine book and the Trackman launch monitor. While I hold both these things dear to me personally, I do understand how he could not be as convinced as I am of their successes within the game.
People must understand his opinion is a matter of perspective, and though he has this perspective as a player, and as a player-turned-teacher, he does not have the thousands and thousands of hours on the lesson tee. This does not make him right or wrong, it just gives him a different viewpoint.
Dufner’s side
As a teacher myself, I admire Dufner’s rise to fame and to the top ranks as a player, and I applaud him for doing so in spite of the odds and the drama that has gone on within his personal life over the last few years. I am proud to see him step up on a public forum and defend Chuck Cook (his long time teacher) on this Twitter thread. It is refreshing to see! Though I don’t know Jason, I’d like to shake his hand for doing so. My biggest gripe with Tour Professionals, in general, is their failure to stand by their instructors when things are not going well.
The last time I saw a player defending his teacher this adamantly was in a text string I had with Kevin Kisner (who is a great guy and friend) and John Tillery (his teacher and also a friend), who was not picked as one of the Top-100 Teachers on the latest list by Golf Magazine. As I told Kevin and John, it is a matter of time before he is recognized by Golf Magazine. The lists are subjective and many things go into the selection process; they make good choices and other times they make mistakes. John is a heck of a teacher and will always be Top 100 in my book! So kudos to Jason and Kevin for standing up for their guys…they both deserve it 100 percent.
Chuck Cook’s side
How Chuck was dragged into the middle of this whole controversy is beyond me, because he is one of the nicest and most soft-spoken guys. I also consider him the top-1 percent of teachers within our business. Chuck was in Vail for many years while I was also teaching there, and we have been on many outings together. He has been nothing but professional to all of us and anyone he comes into contact with personally. When someone questions him or his ability to teach at the highest levels, I can only say look at the two U.S. Open Champs he has taught, as well as what he’s done with countless other people within the game of golf. He is a smart and stand-up guy and deserves nothing but respect from all of us.
Chuck, I wish I could be HALF the teacher and person you are and have always been! That is a fact.
The Golfing Machine
Now, we could write an entire article series on the book I call my bible within the golfing world. However, 99 percent of the people in the world call it a “method,” or too complex, although every top teacher uses its methodologies within their instruction. It is ONLY an encyclopedia of motion — that’s it. It tells you what will and will not work together during the swing. What the book lacks has been the proper messenger to get the word across and that blame is only on timing. That’s not a knock on the past teachers who have used it or the players on Tour who have employed it.
Homer’s great book was born in 1969, and sadly the world would not be ready to hear these type of ideas in this type of format until now. And, like anything, it has been grossly misunderstood. The book and teachings have been chastised and will continue to be until a few more generations realize the greatness of what is contained within its pages. Only time will help our cause.
The Conclusion
Its all good… it’s not a big deal people! Please understand we ALL come from different places within the game and have our own opinions based on our perspective. Remember that these are all subject to change and can at any time. Every one of the people in that string of Tweets have their own agenda to promote and have the basis to call themselves great in what they do for a living. As long as we all have a drink and a laugh together at the end of the day, I see no harm in a gentleman’s disagreement between friends as long as nothing was done out of malice.
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Morning 9: Wyndham Clark on back injury | DiMarco’s bold Champions Tour take | Houston Open photos
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News
Four books for a springtime review
One thing that never changes over time: snowy evenings give purpose to reading (is it the other way around?) It has been a snowy 2024 in western New York, and I’ve had ample time to tuck into an easy chair with a blanket, coffee, and a book. You’re in luck, because despite the title of this piece, I’ll share five books and their worth with you.
There is great breadth of subject matter from one to five. Golf is as complicated as life, which means that the cover of the book isn’t worth judging. The contents begin the tale, but there is so much more to each topic presented within. If you’re like me, your library grows each year. Despite the value of the virtual, the paper-printed word connects us to the past of golf and humanity. Here’s hoping that you’ll add one or more of these titles to your collection.
Hughes Norton interviewed with Mark McCormack for 20 minutes (30 if you count the missed exit at Logan International) while driving the founder of IMG from Harvard to the airport. The lesson of taking advantage of each moment, of every dollar, because you might not get another opportunity, is the most valuable one that life offers. I say to you, be certain to read this book, because another opportunity to bend the ear of Hughes Norton may not come our way.
Hughes Norton was with Tiger Woods for waaayyy fewer years than you might guess, but they were the critical ones. Be warned: not all of the revelations in this tome are for the faint of heart. Some, in fact, will break your heart. Golf was a sleepy hamlet in the 1990s, until the 16-lane interstate called Eldrick “Tiger” Woods came into town. Everything changed, which meant that everything would change again and again, into eternity. Once the ball starts rolling, it’s impossible to stop.
My favorite aspect of this book is its candor. Hughes Norton is well into his time on Planet Earth. He has no reason to hold back, and he doesn’t. My least favorite aspect is that George Peper got the call to co-author the book (and I didn’t.) Seriously, there is no LFA for me, so this is the best that I could do.
Decision: Buy It!
The Golf Courses of Seth Raynor
Michael Wolf, James Sitar, and Jon Cavalier, in abject partnership, collaborated to produce a handsome volume on the work of gone-too-soon, engineer-turned-golf course architect. Seth Raynor was pulled into the game by Charles Blair MacDonald, the crusty godfather of American golf. Raynor played little golf across the 51 years of his life. His reason? He did not wish to corrupt his designs with the demands and failings of his own game.
Jon Cavalier began his photography career as a contributor to the Golf Club Atlas discussion group. I met him there in a virtual way (we still have yet to shake hands) and have exchanged numerous emails over the years. Despite the demands of his day job, Cavalier has blossomed into the most traveled and prolific course photographer alive today. His photography, both hand-held and drone, makes the pages pop. Michael Wolf invited me and two friends to play his home course, despite having never met any of us in person. His words, melded to those of James Sitar, are the glue that connect Cavalier’s photos.
My favorite aspect of the books is the access it gives to the private-club world of Raynor. Fewer than five of his courses are resort or public access, and knowing people on the inside is not available to all. My suggestion? Write a letter/email and see if a club will let you play. Can’t hurt to try! My one complaint about the book is its horizontal nature. Golf is wide, but I like a little vertical in my photos. It’s not much of a complaint, given the glorious contents within the covers.
Decision: Buy It!!
Big Green Book from The Golfer’s Journal
Beginning with its (over)size, and continuing through the entire contents, there is no descriptor that defines the genre of the Big Green Book. It is photography, essay, layout, poetry, graphics, and stream of consciousness. It harnesses the creative power of a lengthy masthead of today’s finest golf contributors. Quotes from Harvey Penick, verse from Billy Collins, and prose from John Updike partner with images pure and altered, to immerse you in the diverse golf spaces that define this planet.
One of my favorite aspects is the spaces between the words and photos. Have your friends and others write a few notes to you in those blank areas, to personalize your volume even more. One aspect that needs improvement: the lack of female voices. I suspect that will be remedied in future volumes.
Decision: Buy It!!!
Troublemaker and The Unplayable Lie
Books that allege discrimination and mistreatment check two boxes: potentially-salacious reads and debate over whose perspective is accurate. In the end, the presentation of salacious revelation rarely meets the expectation, and the debate over fault is seldom resolved. Lisa Cornwell spent years as a competitive junior and college golfer, before joining The Golf Channel as a reporter and program host.
Despite the dream assignments, there were clouds that covered the sun. Cornwell documents episodes of favoritism and descrimination against her, prior to her departure from The Golf Channel in 2021. Her work echoes the production of the late Marcia Chambers, who wrote for Golf Digest in the 1980s and 1990s. Chambers took issue with many of the potential and real legal issues surrounding golf and its policies of access/no access. Her research culminated in The Unplayable Lie, the first work of its kind to address issues confronted by all genders and ethnicities, and immediately predated the professional debut of Tiger Woods in 1997.
My favorite aspects of the two works, are the courage and conviction that it took to write them, and believe in them. My least favorite aspects are the consistent bias that many groups continue to face. Without awareness, there is no action. Without action, there is no change.
Decision: Buy Them!!!!
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
GolfWRX is on site in the Lone Star State this week for the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
General galleries from the putting green and range, WITBs — including Thorbjorn Olesen and Zac Blair — and several pull-out albums await.
As always, we’ll continue to update as more photos flow in. Check out links to all our photos from Houston below.
General Albums
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Monday #1
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Monday #2
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #2
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Thorbjorn Olesen – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Ben Silverman – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Jesse Droemer – SoTX PGA Section POY – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- David Lipsky – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Martin Trainer – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Zac Blair – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Jacob Bridgeman – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Trace Crowe – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Daniel Berger – WITB(very mini) – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Chesson Hadley – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Callum McNeill – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Rhein Gibson – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Patrick Fishburn – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Peter Malnati – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Raul Pereda – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Gary Woodland WITB (New driver, iron shafts) – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Padraig Harrington WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
Pullout Albums
- Tom Hoge’s custom Cameron – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Piretti putters – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Ping putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Kevin Dougherty’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Bettinardi putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Erik Barnes testing an all-black Axis1 putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Tony Finau’s new driver shaft – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Jack
Dec 22, 2017 at 2:08 am
How is Brandel a teacher? He’s a full time TV personality and a former pro who didn’t do much. Impressive still but not sure why he’s qualified to teach people.
david
Dec 17, 2017 at 4:06 pm
Tom I gave you a shank, and it hasn’t been the first time. You sat on the fence on this one and didn’t have the apparent guts to tell us how you really felt, I guess if you’re afraid to because someone in question is your friend, you shouldn’t be writing articles. Sorry this one was worse than a shank, it was a wimp!!!
MikeyB
Dec 14, 2017 at 6:42 am
Well where’s the parade of Symetra and Web.com players that Brandel has whipped into top 100 player ranking status in only 60 days using Tathata Golf???? It’s ok, I’ll wait for you to post the list…..*crickets*
Michael
Dec 13, 2017 at 7:13 pm
Any media guy who puts himself out there and who is going to act all righteous and arrogant over someone else’s use of strong language and use that as an excuse to cut off the conversation is worthless. Chamblee’s behavior for many years is all the justification that’s required.
HDTVMAN
Dec 13, 2017 at 6:23 pm
EVERY GOLFER I KNOW…EVERYONE…has stopped watching The Golf Channel studio shows when Chamblee is on. He is disliked by EVERYONE I know, he is a golf FAILURE, won once (Putt-Putt Championship in Podunkville), is an absolute zero, and should be fired. We would all like to see him replaced by “Bones” when he isn’t on location doing a tournament. Hey NBC/Universal/Comcast?Golf Channel, fire this idiot!
DG
Dec 13, 2017 at 5:06 pm
Love to see someone put The Golfing Machine into an order without all the cross referencing, in other words write it in layman’s terms.
On Chamblee, he has a podium and states his view in a very outspoken manner. He needs to realize that there is not one way to skin a cat.
fred
Dec 13, 2017 at 8:43 pm
TGM is total rubbish written by a fraud. Homer is not an engineer and his science is wrong.
Roscoe B.
Dec 13, 2017 at 4:38 pm
OK, I am a GOLF -WRX Junkie, and don’t miss much golf related media in US. In this case, “Tom, you owe me 5 minutes of my life back!” I mean, what did you actually say? You vaguely told us you like Chuck Cook and you consider Brandel a friend. What exactly do you consider your “perspective” that you shared with the reader as per the headline?
Harold W. Haldeman
Dec 13, 2017 at 1:57 pm
If A argue heads while B argues tails, each invested in the result, A and B will be at odds interminably. Rather, agree that the coin is useful for decision-making only if it has both. The golf swing coin is physiology and physics. Whichever side comes up when you flip it, talent changes the result; that is, the individual’s in-born nature to, and instructor-nurtured eye-hand-body coordination to, strike that damn little sphere to obtain the desired result. The best instructors don’t fool with talent, and, with us, the innumerable untalented, use whatever means the instructor finds we can understand to achieve a swing we can repeat with reasonable, albeit marginal, success — dealing, in both cases, with variable physiologies. When in the history of the game has anyone agreed on the proper method? There isn’t one. The pros, including the parties to the current contretemps, prove that every time they take a club back. Golf’s industry of equipment manufacturers, its legions of instructors, owe their livelihood to it. Imagine the result if everyone agreed and everyone swung that way.
Steve S
Dec 14, 2017 at 9:10 am
I’ve been looking at pros swings for the last few years and they are mostly different except at the point of impact. If you look at stop action of all the great ball strikers you’ll see that they are all virtually in the same position. Because of this the key to a good swing is RELIABLY getting to that impact position no matter how you do it. That is what all players and teachers should focus on based on your flexibility, body type, strength, joint damage, etc. NOT what someone thinks is the best way to swing the club. There is no ONE best way…..
Andrew Cooper
Dec 14, 2017 at 10:41 am
Yes, but impact is a result of what’s gone before. A functionally sound swing will create a sound impact position, an unsound swing won’t. From the top of backswing to impact is less than 0.2 seconds, you simply can’t consciously put yourself into a pro impact position if what’s gone before wasn’t any good. You can’t fake it. So much of what happens once the downswing starts is reaction and compensation, at all levels e.g. Start down steeply, you’ll have to stand up and/or release early. Or get your arms stuck behind the body and you’ll have to stall the body and flip your hands and arms through impact. Knowing where you’re trying to get to is important, but you have to also have an idea of how to get there.
stevek
Dec 14, 2017 at 2:38 pm
So what you are implying is that the golf swing is a series of compensations and adjustments, until you reach impact position where it all straightens out?
Andrew Cooper
Dec 14, 2017 at 5:43 pm
Stevek, absolutely a golf swing is a series of compensations and adjustments. It’s working out how to balance it to make it effective and avoiding doing anything catastrophically bad. Any really poor impact position though will be the result of something really bad preceding it.
Bob Jones
Dec 13, 2017 at 10:51 am
Regarding The Golfing Machine: I have a copy that I try to read from time to time. The book suffers because Kelley was not much of a writer; I won’t go into that. But what really disappoints me is that I cannot find where he says, “If you do X, then don’t do A. Do B instead.” There is the general hitter list and swinger list, but there is much more in the book than what is on those lists, and where does all of that fit in? There has to be something I’m not seeing, and I don’t think I’m alone.
fred
Dec 13, 2017 at 8:41 pm
TGM is total rubbish and Homer was a fraud. Only the gullible will try to make something out of it. It’s a total scam.
SK
Dec 14, 2017 at 2:45 pm
TGM was evaluated by a scientific expert with a doctorate degree in biomechanics who has researched and published technical papers on the golf swing, and his judgment was that TGM had an error on every page. Also the definitions of a ‘swinger’ and ‘hitter’ are unrealistic.
Ron
Dec 13, 2017 at 10:44 am
While I agree with your final comment about having a drink together and no harm done from a “gentleman’s disagreement”, Dufner took it outside the realm of a gentleman’s disagreement with his arrogant profane comments. And then continued to act like a teenager by proudly celebrating the fact that Chamblee blocked him. What people don’t realize it that acting like he did weakens his argument. I lost a lot of respect for Dufner. Good for Chamblee for being the bigger person. And this has nothing to do with whose opinions were right or wrong.
Sherwin
Dec 13, 2017 at 11:20 am
I feel the opposite. Brandel looks weak. It was easier for him to block Jason than defend his opinion.
Ron
Dec 13, 2017 at 2:11 pm
It’s difficult to defend your opinion when someone tells you to shut your Fing mouth. It’s best not even to feed into that type of banter any further. I’ve seen Brandel defend his opinions many times on TV. I don’t think he would have had a problem having a civilized discussion with Jason Dufner.
M-Herd4
Dec 13, 2017 at 1:30 pm
I agree with your comment Ron. I’m not a huge Chamblee fan but in this case I think he did the right thing. Dufner needs to act like the 40 year old professional adult he is and not some foul mouthed immature younger version of himself.
Tom
Dec 13, 2017 at 8:33 am
Chamblee is an idiot
NormW
Dec 13, 2017 at 1:44 pm
Thanks, Tom. Very constructive.
stevek
Dec 14, 2017 at 5:01 pm
Homer is an idiot too… TGM… Totally Gullible Men