I turned pro at Exmoor CC at the age of 16.
I was a fan of Ernest Jones and his philosophy, so that is how I patterned my teaching to some of the richest people in Illinois.
A year and a half later I was introduced to John Jacobs, An amazingly quiet man who taught me how to teach hi Practical Golf or Ball Flight Teaching method which was very close to Jones, so it was easy to adapt.
Over the coming years I was introduced to the Connection Method of Jimmy Ballard. On tour, Hal Sutton was a devotee. I loved the method and the results. There truly is magic in the words if not the images in that book.
Then, as I mentioned, meeting Mr. DeLaTorre at PGA Business school in Florida, he shared the stage with Bill Strausbaugh, nice guy but his teaching method thrilled NOBODY in the morning session and was politely "golf clapped" off the stage. It was Manuel's turn. With a couple of stage props and dry swings, he had EVERYONE'S attention within 10 minutes. He left to a standing ovation albeit only 12 of us in the room.
He mentioned that if anyone would like to get a little one-on-one teachinmg, he would be happy to go out to the range as he "couldn't stand being in this tie any longer". hahaha
Only two of us went with him to the back of the range.
He sat in the cart, sidesaddle while he talked/taught. He was so upset at my grip pressure with the huge basket of balls in his cart he kept tossing "another" as he said.... He got out of the cart and said, TOO TIGHT, I asked how he knew. He laughed and said, well, if that grip were made of wet clay, what would it look like after I swung it one time? and literally the a golf ball at my knuckles... Perfect hit. It took three more knuckle shots for me to grip it lighter.
I hit two, brutal pull hooks as I came over the top and again, he got out of his cart, stood about 15 feet in front of me, DIRECTLY in line with my 150 yard target flag and said.... "Mike, if you hit me, my dinner plans will be ruined, and I really like this place. " - "Staring right at me from 15 feet he said, hit this ball ANYWHERE to the right, NOWHERE to the left and again, DON'T HIT ME!, and you better take enough of a swing to hit the 150 target you have been aiming at"
So nervous, I tried adjusting my aim to hi oh so near left shoulder.
He said... "NO, do it right"
I asked what he wanted me to do and he said, just don't hit me and continued to stare at me front 15 feet.
No other instructions were given to me.
It was at that moment that ALL of that Ernest Jones book & years of being a devotee to John Jacobs Ball Flight Swing came back to me as if in a movie scene.
Three perfect 6 irons missing him by 5 or 6 feet and softly drawing back to the target.
We were both really happy, but he was probably happy because he was still standing. hahaha
That summer I went to work teaching all day clinics at the John Jacobs Golf Schools in Camelback Arizona.
I was almost 19, and sitting in the orientation conference room in Arizona, we all were to chose our stations for the day. The students, all wealthy, would learn a station for an hour and then drive to their next station.
John Jacobs would ask us to raise our hands when we heard a station that we wanted for the week.
Woods, irons, pitching, chipping, sand shots and putting.
Nobody raised their hands for the sand and since I wasn't taken on the earlier rounds, I raised my hand again on this one.
I was the only one to do so.
All the older pros snickered and smiled... I heard from the side... "Go get em' kid". I didn't know what he meant.
Well, it turns out that I failed to realize that after 8 hours of standing in the sand, the bottoms of everything on my face were sunburned to Hell. Bottom of my chin, upper lip, underside of my nose, just under my eyebrows - all bright red.
I was using the water glass all night at dinner to try and relieve the pain.
Teacher after teacher coming by to see how I did. Funny now, but also simply fun.
Sorry for the length of this post.
Mike