|
Graves_Golf_Academy
Administrator
15 Posts |
 Posted - 01/20/2006 : 15:25:18
|
From Tim Graves -
Thought it was probably time to tell the "real story" about the relationship between the TGGS and Natural Golf, what we teach, etc.. Saw some posts on the Single Axis Forum and have been getting a few questions on my personal email about how are we related to NG, thought I would clear the air... usually one of the topics that comes up at our lunches at our schools... so those who already know, sorry for the the redundent story.
About 4 years ago, Todd Graves (my bro) came to me while we were tourning (Hooter's Tour, Tight Lies, Nike, etc..) and asked me if I was interested in starting a school to teach Moe Norman's Swing for Natural Golf. As we were on the road it had become very apparent Todd was getting overwhelmed with inquiries for lessons, etc.. that he could not handle as he was trying to make a living full time playing. There were many times on tour, there would be maybe 100 total spectators on the course, 1/2 coming out to see Todd as they had heard the model for NG was in the area.
Anyway, Todd decided he wanted to take the time and set up a school for those who were interested. But, he wanted to have a school that made a total golfer, not just a ball striker, but a golfer who would see significant improvement in his/her game and we all know that is alot more than just ball striking....
I decided it would be a great idea, and I could hopefully take a little time away from touring and set up the schools with Todd. We knew we needed help, so we hired a school director who would schedule, get courses, etc.. The hope would be we would set up our schools and get back to touring in a few years if time permitted....
Todd went to NG with the idea. If you don't know the history of Todd and NG... quickly... he is one of the original individuals who "started" NG (as of today, he is the only one left who actually still does work with NG that I know), he has been involved with basically all instructional material that has come out of NG until about a year ago, he wrote the driving for distance tape, helped write the faults/fixes tape, was one of the few consultants and authors of the original instructional manuals for NG, basically was the one responsible for interpreting what Moe Norman did in his swing, was on the Golf Channel for NG, was in Golf Digest for NG, was the model in the original Lifetime of Better Golf for NG and much more. He was inducted into the NG Hall of Fame as one of the original five members and finally still is a stock holder in NG. Needless to say, Todd has put alot of his heart and soul into NG.
Back to the story... NG decided they wanted to advertise our schools as a their Signature School. We went to hq in Chicago a couple of times (this was 3 1/2 years ago) and they came up with the plan to have seperate advertisements in the Magazine, in USA Today, etc.. for our schools. We wanted to set up the schools as a situation that would go into areas of the country that did not currently have certified instructors or areas that the certified instructors were having a hard time and help build their area. Remember, we would only go into an area at most, once per year and then the students we would see would obviously get follow up from the local CI - help his business dramatically.
When the process of establishing the school with hq was complete, hq decided the cost for our one day school should be between $499 and $599 per day (to pay for our expenses, travel, advertising (look in past issues of NG magazine and you'll see some very nice ads, etc..). We tried this for about 2 months... saw 2 students.... complete failure. We were on commission only as are all CIs, needless to say, it wasn't working. Todd and I were making nothing... we had just come off the road that we were playing for sponsors and supporting our families, and now making nothing. We went back to hq.
Hq decided the program was a failure. If we were making nothing, you can figure how much they were making. We decided to try ourselves. We would advertise, we would find students, we would do everything between Todd, myself and our school director. We started to see some success, but the price was still the issue. Next, we decided to lower the price to $399. But, now hq was doing basically nothing to support our school. No advertising, no listing, no support from hq for our schools. Definite moral support, but we were handling all the work on our end. We started to book schools ourselves at this time. We started to see some success. In fact, we almost could scrap a living now. Yes, our schools were at the local putt putt, we fought for about everything we wanted, and so on.
We needed more advertising and needed a bigger bang for the buck.... We had the bright idea to get a large mobile home (bus) to take on the road with us. Wow... not a really good decision, but one we made. Todd and I with help from one of our biggest supporters/alumni purchased the bus and took on the road... until it died.. but that's another story....
In this entire process, two things became very apparent very fast. 1. Hq was tracking and following what we were doing and 2. Most CIs did not want us in their area. They were very threatened by us coming into their location. The result of the above was us meeting with Ng many more times to try and work things out. In fact, we (Todd mainly) met with hq 7 times to work something out. We even offered hq a very significant francise type deal to work with our schools. But the numbers never worked. Remember, the original numbers involved schools with a cost of up to $599 per day... we had history of that not working. 2nd - We would work with the CIs who were willing to work with us and support them to the best of our ability, but those who did not to work with us, we really had little to do with them. Other than many were actually trained by Todd in the CI schools in the past....
So, we went on. In the process of improvement of our schools, in just the "learning curve" we have learned much. We are no longer on putt putts, in fact, we pride our schools at being in some of the top courses in the country. We have hired a third teacher who is absolutely great. Todd, myself and Joe teach at all our schools, but we specilize in different areas where our strengths lie....
We have now built a large state of the art training facility that we believe is the "ultimate" learning environment in OKC. The facility was 100% funded/sponsored by a very good friend and student of ours that we will be forever thankfull for (and indebted I am sure....)
We have been asked by a very exclusive new course in Orlando to be their teachers and only teachers. They have asked us to staff the facility with teachers. They plan this facility to be a top 15 course and practice facility in the US and guess what... it will teach the Moe Norman Single Axis Swing. To me, that's coming a long way in just a few years for the Moe Norman Swing.
To clear up many questions and comments...
1. Todd is with NG because Moe Norman was/is with NG. Todd is Moe's prodigy, if you question that, just ask Moe.
2. We continually get asked, do we teach what NG teaches. I can tell you, we teach the Moe Norman golf swing. What we believe is and always will be the best and simpliest swing to learn. To be honest, that is what NG used to teach (when Todd was highly involved with hq directly), now we really don't know what NG is teaching. We hope they are still teaching his swing, but with over 150 CIs in the US and what we have seen in the field, we do have our questions. So do we teach what NG teaches, I guess the question is What does NG teach now vs. when Todd was responsible for the instruction?
3. There are some great CIs in the field for NG. We still perform schools with some who we consider to be great teachers and will continue to help support them to the best of our ability. All you have to do is call us and ask, we will be more than happy to recommend those we know.
4. We have never received financial support for our schools from NG. Todd and I have both been paid employees for NG for a very short time, but that was for another program and has since ended quite a long time ago.
5. We still sell NG clubs and will continue to do so. In fact, the commission we make off the clubs definitely helps support our schools. But, we can now offer many different brand names for those interested that also fit the single axis swing. We are more than happy to discuss all options with anyone interested and greatly appreciate anyone who orders through us as that is how we make our living.
6. We have never received any database or that type of information from NG. We continue to try and figure ways to find those who might be interested in our style of teaching and swing and greatly welcome any suggestions from those who I am sure know more than we do.
7. We believe in teaching the Moe Norman Golf Swing first, Moe Norman Golf Swing second, and Moe Norman Golf Swing third. We do not believe in over selling golf clubs in order to make a living. I can tell you I have been approached lately by a very large manufacturing company to "rep" their clubs, but that is not why I am in this business. There is nothing better than seeing people improve at a game we have dedicated our lives to.
8. I believe Todd is absolutely, hands down, the best teacher (not just single axis) I have ever witnessed. Yes, he is my brother (little brother, so I can pick on him a little), but if you have not seen him in action, you are missing something very special. I am not sure there is anyone in the world who has spent more time and money perfecting his trade, and I get to see it pay off every day at our schools. Guys.... at most every school, we'll be working with someone who looks at us with absolute amazement in their eyes and will say, "I have played golf for 30, maybe 40, years, have taken 100s of lessons, and this is the first time I actually understand what I am suppost to do".... now that is really cool!!!
9. There is absolutely no way we could have got to where we are today without the support of our loyal alumni/students/customers and more importantly, we consider them friends. Absolutely, we hope to take this to levels beyond what we can dream, but I think we have come a long way in a short time and we thank all of you for that. And we know there is no way to get where we want without the enormous support from all of you.
10. Lastly, we do support NG, we do support all those trying to make NG work. But, as with most all big business, there are some things we just don't see eye to eye. Some of those are considered big, some small, but to outsiders, I believe this is why there is a question about our relationship with hq.
11. We believe we perform the best golf schools in the industry and continue to improve on them on a daily basis. We have a enormous list of alumni that are improving that would absolutely shock the industry experts and plan to do so in the near future.
Again - sorry to those who have heard this before, but I wanted to clear the air... again...thanks for taking a little time to read our story....
From Todd:
Dear Friends,
This message is written from one friend to another. It's intent is to be informative and helpful and to clear up the message that we offer. We often get asked the question, "What is the difference between The Graves Golf Schools and Natural Golf". In this message it is likely that you will also find the truth. Some of the things I say here are the things that I have wanted to say for a long time.
For the past five years, Tim and I have been developing the Graves Golf Academy with the focus primarily on helping people play better golf. To me it has been (and still is) a labor of love. I am passionate about Moe as a human being and as a golfer who achieved a golf swing that continues to challenge the convention of the golf world. Each day I am grateful to Moe and the events that have led me down the path to meeting him and eventually developing a friendship and mentorship. The fact is that I would not be here today if it were not for Moe. I had given up on the game. (And giving up on the game meant giving up a large part of my life.) Moe showed me an easier way. He taught me to believe in myself again and he showed me how I too can achieve greatness if I am willing to pay the price. Our goal as a golf instruction company is simply to share what we learned from Moe with everyone who contacts us. But mostly, we feel honored to be able to help.
The ultimate goal of our Academy is to help you get what you need to improve. But on a deeper level, the real outcome is that you enjoy the process and your life improves, just as my life improved after knowing Moe. In my opinion Moe gave my life back to me. After understanding this, I feel that by learning the things that Moe so graciously shared with me, your life will be better and more enjoyable. That is what Moe did for me, and it is for that reason that I feel that teaching others is a privilege and a responsibility that Tim and I do not take lightly.
Natural Golf and Me
But even since the formation of the Graves Golf Academy, I still hold a place in my heart for Natural Golf (although now maybe just nostalgic ). In my initial involvement with the company, it had great potential. I have much history there. Between 1994 and 2000, I was so heavily involved with Natural Golf Corporation that I was featured on the Golf Channel's "Golf Academy Live" teaching Moe Normans' golf swing. I was also involved in many of the Natural Golf Corporation instructional products including "Golf Reform is at Hand", "A Lifetime of Better Golf", "Faults and Fixes" and "Driving for Distance". This was part of my attempt to work with Natural Golf in the formation of an instruction company.
As a side note, being involved with these productions was great, but Natural Golf only took a very small part of the instructional material we wrote and included this in their products. This is why Tim and I made the decision to produce our own instructional material in the "Total Game Overview" and now "7 Principles Series". To tell of Moe's swing, you can not just tell a part, you must teach the entirety. I felt that needed to be told, not just a part or pieces here and there. As Tim likes to say, "In a hour of our videos, we'll give you 60 minutes of instruction, no fluff - just instruction." I was lucky to get 15 minutes in every hour in the NG productions.
My motives were simple. Tell as many people about Moe Norman's golf swing, develop the finest most instructive teaching method and materials, and help instructors develop their abilities to teach this information. The focus was completely on instruction and listening to students and customers to learn how we could help them.
Originally, Natural Golf was a company teaching "The simplest way to hit a ball on the ground with a stick". Moe was the validation of the science of Natural Golf. It was a beautiful fit. Natural Golf had the science and Moe was the model. It was an exciting time for me, until 1998.
It was at that time that a major shift happened in Natural Golf. It is easy to see what happened now. But back then, the struggling company had taken on new investors who unfortunately knew little about the business of golf instruction. Their focus became profit margins and golf club sales profits were on the top of their list. With club sales as the main revenue source instruction went to the bottom.
All of my, (and many others) hard work in developing instruction around Moe's golf swing was becoming diluted. (During a meeting, the CEO even went as far as to say that "we are moving away from Moe Norman as the model for our (Natural Golf) swing.") The company leadership was distorting the truth. The fact was that Moe did not have non-tapered grips. (He overlapped for all of his competitive life.) Moe did NOT grip the club in the palm of the lead hand. (He gripped the club in the fingers of the lead hand, palm of the trail hand.). All that I had learned from Moe was becoming corrupted by the greed to sell clubs. Natural Golf's "equipment sales" mania drove them to cram the golf swing into a "neat" little package called the four fundamentals. In their desire to sell more equipment, Moe's golf swing had become a gambit to sell clubs.
Now, don't get me wrong. Until the breakage and fitting problems of 2000, 2001 and 2003, Natural Golf clubs were improving. A bit over priced maybe, but the equipment had some merit. The problem was an integrity issue. Was selling clubs helping people learn to play better golf? And the ploy to use Moe as a way to sell clubs infuriated me. It ate at my soul. Selling clubs for Natural Golf stole my enthusiasm for helping people. It was a betrayal. Even Moe, before his death, told me to "Stay away from Natural Golf". (He must have known. They must have taken something away from him too.)
My relationship with Natural golf became strained. This turning of company focus was a major turning point for me. Between 1998 and 2000, I found myself struggling to figure out if I was doing the right thing. I felt as though I was not being honest. I knew in my heart that I could not deliver Moe's message from the constraints of the Natural Golf business model. The company began rating their instructors on club sales. In other words, if you sold the most clubs, you were the best instructor. I couldn't honestly tell Moe's message and sell Natural Golf clubs.
Now I may be crossing the line here but I challenge any Natural Golf Instructor out there to convince me that they want to sell clubs for a living. If they do, they are not living their own truth. If they are honest with themselves, they will find that what they really want to teach Moe Norman's swing and help people because that is what they believe in. The problem is that the company created a compensation structure that is heavily (almost completely) dependent on club sales. This "forced" the instructors to focus their intention on selling students clubs. It wasn't their fault. They were trying to teach, but it was in their best interest financially to sell clubs. As for me, I couldn't continue to do it. It was not the truth for me. The truth also included letting the student decide which club her/she wanted to hit rather than someone deciding for them.
So, with our trust in living our truth, Tim and I decided to take a step toward what we now know was based on integrity. It was based on our hearts telling us to do the right thing. It was that year that Tim and I took a step back from our full time professional touring schedule and traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico and held the first Graves Golf School.
It has been almost five years since that school. And for the last five years, we have been delivering Moe's message. Our challenge has been finding ways to help everyone in an efficient quick way so that we can help "short cut" the process so that we can save you the trial and error of making all of the mistakes we have made and that others continue to make. And we have also learned many things.
We have learned that teaching golf is an important responsibility. This responsibility is not about a quick fix or selling clubs because we know, from experience, that clubs are just a piece of the puzzle and by themselves, do not reach our (instructor/student) desired outcome.
We have learned that the delivery of the teaching is a critical step. This includes WHAT is being delivered and WHO delivers it. One of the most challenging things for Tim and I is helping everyone who is requesting our help from around the world. We often get approached by students about training other people as instructors so that they can "spread the word" about our teachings. But it is not quite that simple. We believe that great teaching must start at the beginning. Correct information is important. The order you learn it is just as important. The beginning is UNDERSTANDING. Without understanding, you can not go forward. The goal is that instructors lead you down a path of improvement that is founded on solid mechanics and correct information.
Each one of us has had great instructors in our lives. Many of my best teachers did not come with plaques on the wall or graduation papers. This might be the most important part of this message to you. Just as Moe was a great instructor to me, I learned that great instruction comes from the heart of the instructor. It is where the truth comes from. Great instruction is forged with dedication, sculpted with passion and polished with hard work. It is with this form that instruction presents not from the instructor but THROUGH him. No "certification" can make an instructor, it is not necessary. Real instruction forms in the heart of the instructor through experiences. Once informed, the instructor becomes the messenger because to tell the truth benefits those who hear it and the instructor feels compelled to help others with what he knows. Furthermore, this "message" can not and should not be distorted with any other motivation which includes selling clubs. In a recent conversation with the "Chief" of Natural Golf, I said "…we (the Graves Golf Academy) are an instruction company. That is where we stand. As a student of Moe and his protégé, I teach the fundamentals of Moe Norman a man known for his genius golf swing. If we, (GGA and Natural Golf) ever have a relationship, it will start and end with helping people learn Moe's swing." (And since Natural Golf now offers the Moe Norman Fundamentals Golf Schools, maybe they finally heard me). If they can teach his swing with passion and integrity, I fully support their efforts. Only time will tell.
Now, since our separation from Natural Golf, our instruction is clear and to the point. Our videos are clear and precise information with only ONE thing in mind: helping you learn the game of golf beginning with Moe Norman's golf swing. In these five years we have helped thousands of people find a better way to play golf and our instructional videos are extremely well received.
The secret here is just solid truthful instruction with no hidden "agendas. Our goal is to deliver what we promise. This promise is to help you in any way we can whether it be experiences of video production, e-tips, lessons website information or schools.
From one student to another, my advice to you is clear. Go forward with an open mind. Listen. Pay attention to your intuition and the truth will be unmistakable. My hope for you is that in a short period of time, you can "hit from the same tee" as Moe and experience "The Feeling of Greatness".
I look forward to seeing all of you at a future event.
Sincerely,
Todd Graves
Co-Founder, Graves Golf Academy
|
Todd Graves, Tim Graves, Scott Renfrow, Brent Reid |
|
The Real Story behind Graves Golf Academy
Topic Locked
