Perfect Impact Golf Secrets

I thought any book by Tiger Woods concerning his swing technique would be a 'must have'. But this coffee table book is a sad disappointment. Great photos of his swing, but there is nothing new here, it is a rehash of all the old stuff we've all read so many times before.

No way can this book improve anyone's game. I bought 'Perfect Impact' recently and it is far superior in terms of having new ideas. 'Struggler' (Internet Message, GEA golf forum)

Well, tried the new grip George recommends out on the course today. I hit it good, the only problem was.... I was hitting the damn thing too far!! haha. Just have to take one less club- too easy. I've not driven that well in ages! Another problem is that those nike tech feel gloves I got for christmas are useless now that I no longer need the extra palm material- hell that part doesn't even touch the club anymore!

AND no more toe shots- I stand closer to the ball, and more upright now and its made an amazing difference- single figures here I come (I'm 11.9 now).

I read the book three times, each time picking up something else to help me. For me, it confirmed a few ideas I had but explained it a lot better. Within the first month of having PI and the 3 set videos, I picked up a whippy. Using the two together, immediately improved my game.

PI works like a champ for me, I went from a hitting type swing, to a smooth "sling" type swing. It's the best golf book I own.

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I would highly recommend George Hibbard at the Perfect Impact Golf Academy. My wife and I attended last February and we thought he was fantastic. My wife shot in the 110's and is now in the high 80's. I shot in the low 100's and now am in the 80's and for the first time in over 20 years of golf can hit a draw on demand..my drives have never been as long as they are now. ES, Sept 2001 (E.S., Wisconsin)

I just got the book and video yesterday and am _very_ impressed. My game is such that I can hit some really nice shots, but I also hit some really awful shots (i.e.; 10 yard topped dribblers). I watched the 45 minute video yesterday and went to the golf dome, and I hit my shots more consistently than I ever have before.

\l "" 5:53 pm To: \l "" unread (22 of 22) "/golfequip/messages?msg=68581.22" in reply to "message.asp?webtag=golfequip&msg=68581.9" I have been working with the tapes and George since July and not on a full time basis, my Hdcp has gone down 7 strokes. Let me know if you want to play in Atlanta and I can try to explain as much as I can.
George and PI have been very helpful to my game.

COMMENTS OF OTHER RECENT PURCHASERS

Forum: the Golf Aficionados Forum
Subject: Natural Golf Opinions
From: Kitch (BWKITCHE)
To: (ALL)
DateTime: 5/18/01 7:48:34 AM

My younger brother gave SA golf a try over the course of a month. He struggled with consistency with his normal swing (and I know now why...he is a very strong, athletic person who uses much more muscular exertion in his swing than he needs to). When he went to SA golf he did gain a bit better direction control but he lost distance. With a normal golf swing I
have seen him carry his 4 iron upwards of 205-210 on good days (admittedly, it's a strong 4 at 23*). With SA golf, he never hit the same club over 190 yards. After giving SA an honest try he has decided to go back to a conventional swing. I think once I introduce him to George's materials, he will have the capability to start shooting some very good scores. He's already a very good putter and once he can hit the driver
straight, with his length, he will be on most par 5's in two.

I myself have never given SA golf a try. However, based on his experiences and the way his swing appeared to be so effortful using SA, I never will try it. I was a 6 handicap two weeks ago struggling with consistency in certain areas of my game. My first two scores out after starting to incorporate some of George's ideas from his book were 68 and 73. I had not broken 74 more than 3 or 4 times in the past year and a half (let alone on back to back days) before George's
book. After spending all week up until last night doing nothing but hitting chest high to chest high pitching wedges and making sure I was hitting the center of the clubface, I decided to move to longer clubs and give them a try. Honestly, last night on the range was the first time in my life I can ever recall my swing feeling effortless!. I have always muscled the club with my arm and shoulder muscles in the past.
George's book is, in all honesty, the first instructional material I have ever bought that I truly feel has helped my game. A lot of the things in the book address things that most people have probably heard before(though there are quite a few things in the book I personally have not seen in intructional materials elsewhere). However, he covers the why's of doing
certain things where most instructors just tell you to do this or that.

I simply cannot say enough good things about George's instruction. Ithas, quite simply, clicked for me. As always Your Mileage May Vary, but with the money back offer he makes, there's nothing to lose. I am making adjustments to my vacation plans in October so I can go to Palm Coast and attend one of his 3 day schools.

Forum: the Golf Aficionados Forum
Subject: Perfect impact question
From: Near Perfect Impact (E.) (ECBARBOU)
DateTime: 5/18/01 8:10:15 AM

Just wanted to chime in here. I first ordered the video and used it for about two weeks with amazing results. I say amazing because, for me it helped me make sense of the grip and the core motion I needed to make in order to hit the ball on the center of the club. In the past, I had been prone to hitting the ball all over the club face. Once I was able to concentrate my shots on the impact zone, I achieved a ridiculous increase in distance and my greens in regulation increased dramatically because I could actually hit them!

I then ordered the book which I highly recommend. It made the video make a lot more sense and the drills of how to swing the club like a pendulum and let it get into the right swing-plane as opposed to trying to direct it there is explained in very, very clear detail.

I have posted this before, but reading and understanding the Perfect Impact materials has made the game of golf very enjoyable for me in a very short period of time. I highly recommend George's method of achieving Perfect Impact with progressively longer clubs rather than immediately
jumping to the longer clubs. I made this mistake at first, then simply starting going to the range with the lob wedge. The next day, I would take the lob and pitching wedge and so forth.

The money back guarantee made the purchase of the materials a no-brainer for me. If you are still skeptical, I let my brother take a look at the stuff when he was visiting this weekend and it immediately made perfect sense to him. He shoots in the high 90's, has never taken a lesson, and
is pretty determined not to take one. We played an executive course this weekend, and from a sheer improvement standpoint, I think he did excellent. He shot a 75 on a par 61 course. This is a tough executive course in my opinion and if I were to equate his score to a regular course, he would have played a little better than bogey golf. That ispretty good in my opinion considering he has never played that well in his
life.

Forum: the Golf Aficionados Forum
Subject: Natural Golf Opinions
From: pi_golfer (SA_GOLFER)
DateTime: 5/18/01 11:16:21 AM

you won't be sorry! George is the man as far as i am concerned!! never has my ball striking 'clicked' as it has these past couple of weeks.
short swings, chips, drives...you name it. its all extremely mindless and joyful now. words of advice on his material: don't take anything he says for granted, and don't try to improvise on your own. pay attention to what he says and give it an honest try and you'll do great. i am constantly re-reading the book and the light bulb goes off every time with a bit of new information that i didn't pay much attention to before.

Your 5 min video has really helped my swing! I've gained 10 - 15 yards on my shots and my accuracy has greatly improved. I shot 39 yesterday for 9 holes and only missed one green, which hit the fringe and bounced to the right. My scores before were generally around the mid 40's. Now there's a great "solid contact" sound whenever I strike the ball. On my short iron shots into the green the ball takes one hop and stops, before I had to try and land the ball at the very front of the green so it would stop rolling near the center.
During that round I made solid contact on ALL my shots, never hitting fat, thin or topping a single one! The thought of having my left thumb bisect my right shoulder on the back-swing has really helped me groove a proper and repeatable swing path. It's nice stepping up to the ball and knowing you�re going to hit it solid! The added confidence feels great!

I want to tell you I gleaned as much information as I could from the GEA forum and went out with my shag bag this morning.

Hit about 200 balls, and using the grip, hip turn and letting the club open up on the takeaway. got great results! Towards the end of the hitting session I was hitting solid 6 irons straight or with a nice draw. I have never had this kind of consistency before.

I am a 15 handicap, 54 years old, about a 95 mph driver swing. I have always fought the high rights when I am swinging bad.

With the info I used today, I seem to be hitting on an in-out path more consistently.

Forum: the Golf Aficionados Forum
Subject: Welcome New Sponsor: Perfect Impact
DateTime: 5/21/2001 2:43:35 PM

So far George has my vote for �GEA Rookie of the Year�;. Since he's now gone �pro�, does this affect his chances?

Honestly, I find George's posts - and his instructional materials - to be about the most useful golf reading I have done in years. I'm glad he is a member and now a sponsor.

Forum: the Golf Aficionados Forum
Subject: Perfect impact question
From: Near Perfect Impact (E.) (ECBARBOU)
DateTime: 5/21/01 12:45:47 PM

I really recommend you focus on working on your short clubs before you start playing a full 18. Being a knucklehead, I jumped to playing rounds before fully ingraining the Perfect Impact understandings and some of my wicked old habits started creeping into my swing which only led to frustration. Once you get the hang of your shorter clubs, move up to the
next longer club like George says and you will be pleased with your results. The book explains this in detail (which I highly recommend) and strongly encourages this.

I understand what you mean by the increased distances though. I played 18 yesterday and forgot my 3 and 4 iron at home because I was cleaning all my clubs up for a trip with the boys this coming weekend to Miami. I was faced with a 195 yd par three and I could either choke up on my 18*
Quickstrike or use a 5 iron. I am much better at hitting full shots than I am at judging how much to back off of a club so feeling confident, I chose my 5 iron and hit it about 195 yds to the edge of the putting surface. I was on the green and had two putts for par from about 15 feet.
Never before could I hit shots like this.

As stated earlier, I am headed to Miami this weekend for the annual fellas weekend with some old Business School chums and various tag along buddies and I can't wait to play. We are betting big money on this year's event (a whole buck per hole!), but I plan on cleaning up this year!

Forum: the Golf Aficionados Forum
Subject: Perfect Impact Pre-Testimonial
DateTime: 5/21/01 11:24:46 AM

I ordered the 5 Minutes to a Perfect Golf Swing tape from
George Friday evening on the website. I was eager to view the tape so I paid the extra $5 to have it shipped 2nd day air. George sent me email back later that night saying that if I shipped UPS 2nd day that it wouldn't go out until Monday, but USPS priority would go out the next day (Saturday). After telling him to mail it USPS, I expected to get the
tape Tuesday or Wednesday. Well it was waiting in my mail box this morning (Monday). I opened the package and inside was the tape, a booklet and a $5 bill. I don't think that I've ever received service this good!
Thank you George and I can't wait to watch the tape tonight.
Donnie

I also had a very good experience with it. Today I looked at the setup part for driving and that was a great help. Took the chipping grip and boy was it a great help. If only with the right setup so many things can be cured. Have a lot of fun. I sure am

I am a freelance golf writer and golf talk how host. I would love to have you on my show as a call-in guest some time soon. My show runs every Tuesday evening from 6:30 - 7:00 pm Eastern time. It runs on a local AM radio station here in Port St. Lucie, FL. Fortunately we have a radio link on the station's website and anyone anywhere around the world can listen in on their computer through Yahoo Broadcast.

Forum: the Golf Aficionados Forum
Subject: Perfect impact question
From: (DPCHANCE)
DateTime: 5/21/01 8:48:45 AM

Well I played 18 yesterday at Olde Homestead in the Allentown PA area yesterday, This place is the best deal in the whole Philadelphia Area.

I adopted the grip and switched from a 10 finger to an Vardon. I started to stand as upright as I could.
I kept my feet closer together as George suggests.

I think I am getting the swing but I have a hard time using the visual swing thoughts that I received from the video. Let you left hand naturally turn over 180 degrees, straight right foot, and especially pull down the left hand on the forward swing;

Right off the bat the grip brought my Drives back to where they were last year which is 250+ (like every GEA'er I have hit a couple of 300...)

I gained distance on the short irons...unfortunately I flied 3 greens. My 57.5 degree Ping eye 2 sand wedge was going about 120-125 up from an easy 95.

If I had not started out double and quad bogey (4 to get on + 4 putts) I would have shot my best score, which is a 93, instead I shot a 95. Not bad for me but I intend on breaking 90 soon!

I'm not really shore what to focus on with my PI learning, I thing I'll stick to the PW and just try to focus on hitting it straight.

PS with my driver I put my thumb slightly right of center with a stronger right hand.

From: \l "" 10:20 am To: \l "" I have had the PI "5 minutes" tape for a few months now. I have had very good results and plan on purchasing the book soon. I had some of the same questions in the beginnng that you are having. I found out that most of my "problems" were worked out after I became comfortable with the grip. The forearm fatigue went away and I picked up a tremendous amount of distance. Last year at this time I was hitting a 6 iron 150. Now I'm hitting an 8 iron 155. That is total carry not including roll. I haven't changed any part of my swing except for the grip. My set up has changed a little because of the different grip but I still have my same basic swing. I hit the ball dead straight now but can fade the ball if I need to. I haven't even attempted a draw yet.

Like any swing change it is something that you need to stick with. The results have exceeded my expectations.

I'm thinking it could be "release related." I've never had any kind of effective "release" move. I cast the club big time with a very very early release at the top.

The PI swing shows me how to release at the bottom. That is maybe why my "swish" with the club is louder? Also maybe what is making my forearms tired?

George
Sorry we have to go through the Delphi E-mail. I'm Gary from
Mundelein, Illinois The Bear (GTB50)

Wow. All I can say, just reviewed the 5 Minute tape yesterday and started the book last night. Can't wait to get to the range. I know, be patient. Playing armchair golfer... An observation. Perfect impact, ah yes. Can equate to the many times in the trees and just want to hit out to the fairway with a little hook for direction (have to get around the trees).
Take an easy swing. Roll the wrists for the hook and wouldn't you know it... the ball takes off like a rocket with an easy swing . Past the green and then some. What is this telling me? Well I realized that I had some of the pieces of your concept, for all the wrong reasons.

But, one of the things I do remember is the sweet feel of rolling through the ball. Now, since I know what it feels like I think it will be easy to adapt to the program.

Thanks for your posts .... excellent communication and customer service.
I'll be sure to post the results on the forum and I may elaborate on my "tree story" if appropriate.

Just a follow up your instruction. I played my first round of golf at our local muni using your method and I think it's the first instruction that really works for me. I'm sure it will work for anyone with two arms and two legs. Before the round, I went through about 80 range balls with nothing longer than a five iron and before I got done, I realized that I could "almost" self diagnose my shots that were not pure hits; i.e. not enough shoulder turn or not being 100 per cent in the position I need to be in at the top. I found that I was flying the green on some of my shots just because I was making better contact. At first I thought it was a matter of poor yardage control but I was actually a club longer. The only problem I had was with my driver and fairway woods. Everything was hit on the fat side and it may be caused by my enthusiasm and excitement over a new found swing. Also, not doing the drills with the woods enough, but with the irons, I can swing as hard as I want due to the pulling action of going down the line. I generally swing at about 85% of full power (in my own estimation) and I'm getting excellent direction control. Thanks again George. I've emailed several golfing buddies about your video and hopefully, they will also become enlightened. I'll write back when I figure out my situation with the woods. I'm hoping that I don't have to buy a weight set to strengthen my wrists so I can deliver strong swing with the woods. In any event, thanks again.

Be careful about the grip thing and the thumb straight down the middle of the shaft. In the book, George explains in very clear detail how no one grip is appropriate for everyone. There are basic principles that apply (thumb dissecting shoulder, club parallel as possible to fingers, etc.), but you develop your grip with the understanding of how your hands hang on the end of your arms. If I form a grip with my thumb straight down the shaft, I will leave the club slightly open which causes me to block shots straight to the right of my target. I need to take a slightly stronger grip, but my thumb tip is still pointing towards the center of the club head and George clearly explains in the book how to do this as part of building a swing that works for me individually. I can't state this point enough. George continually reiterates how you will build a golf swing individualized for yourself.

I have used the Perfect Impact explanations for about a month now and I can attest that for me, this is no honeymoon phase. I routinely practice hitting shots with my lob and pitching wedge to develop the natural pendulum action of the club and this has carried over to every other club in my bag. Somedays, these are the only clubs I will take to the driving range. I have no fear of attacking pins because I know I can hit shots straight as an arrow or I can alter my grip a bit and hit a draw if necessary. I have been playing the Strata Tour Pro and I am now stopping 5 iron shots on the green and the only club that doesn't stop on the green is my 18* quickstrike, but common sense dictates that I don't try too many 220 to 230 yd approach shots anyway. Power is effortless and once I "throw" the club up into the backswing position, all I have to do is rotate my body for power.

My problem now is that I am going to have to revisit my shaft selections because I am generating a severe increase in clubhead speed. I go to Golfsmith all the time and the other day, my swing speed was 88-90 mph in their simulator and I was smacking 195 yard shots with a 37.75" 5 iron. I normally use TFR 5.5 shafts @ 38" in my XPC Tour Steels and lately I have been hitting 5 irons that distance on the course with my Strata Tour Pros. The shafts are beginning to feel a bit whippy to me, but I am a little reluctant to change because I am getting good scoring results.

If you have a high speed connection, go check out golf.com and look at Johnny Miller's analysis of Tiger's swing. Miller compares his old swing with the new swing Tiger developed before he went on his rampage last year. First, Tiger mentions how his swing is more upright and from the top at the end of the backswing, all he has to do is rotate his body. Tiger mentioned this has helped him a great deal because as he puts it, he used to get his arms "stuck" behind his body. Miller analyzes Tiger's swing in side by side video snippets and Tiger's right elbow is much closer to his body than it was before and you can clearly see the difference in how vertical the club gets. The club is 90 degrees to the left arm and from everything stated, it looks just like George's Perfect Impact teachings to me.

I would agree with Pingboy. The reason the Perfect Impact stuff has been a hit is because George is a master at explaining the golf swing in a simple fashion. Get the book and the "5 minute" video. It is pretty cheap and everyone, including myself, seems to be pretty satisfied.

It started when I stopped by my local golf store to buy some balls. They have a hitting net in there so I decided to take a few swats at the ball with the PI grip and as much as I knew about the PI swing.

After about 7 swings that ranged from a bit thin to a bit heavy, I really got it dialed in. It started to feel very natural and it seemed like I was really pounding the ball. I was using a TA-3 6 iron.... the higest lofted club they had to demo.

It was my opinion that I was hitting the ball a mile. This matched my impression from taking a few swings last night where the PI swing "swished" the air louder than my "normal" swing.

Duely encouraged I went to the range at my club. There was about a 25 MPH wind and I was hitting dead into it....

Before I get any further, let me tell you what I expected.... I expected added distance (significant) with a slight loss of control due to the later "release" than I am used to.

Anyway.... hitting balls on the range into a 25 MPH wind. As you know hitting into a head wind amplifies any sidespin you have. Fades turn into slices and draws turn into hooks.

Much to my surprise, it did not take much practice before the ball was going straight. I don't mean "kinda" straight, I mean DEAD straight. The ball went a little higher than I am used to and all the irons shots settled very quickly on the usually unholdable target greens.

Even adjusting for the wind I didn't notice any real distance increase as expected, but the accuracy increase was stunning. Ask anyone who has every played a round of golf with me. I have never been a good iron player. Approach shots are my #1 weakness with a bullet.

After about 30 minutes on the range I decide to play a few holes. There was nobody on the back 9 of the Championship course that I could see so I teed off #10. I ended up playing 5 holes, (10-13 +18.)

Remember I'm playing in some pretty significant winds, so the climate for hitting greens is far from ideal.

On the 5 holes, I shoot 1 over par, which is EXCELLENT for me. The approach shots went as follows.

#10: 4 iron from 175 yards, into wind: Missed the Green short. (I was still banking on getting more distance than I was getting. The shot played about 195 due to wind and the 4 iron while pretty much on line was not enough stick.)

#11: 8 iron 135 yards + 40feet up hill, cross wind: Stuck it to 6 feet! (Now I'm getting excited.)

#12: 7 iron: 155 yards -33 feet down hill, cross wind: Hit to 12 feet. (Still very happy.)

#13: I was about 180 out.... wind was mostly cross, but also pretty well sheilded by trees on both sides. About 20 feet up hill. I was itching to hit the 4 iron, but decided that were I in a match that a 7 wood would be my best bet. I hit a smooth 7 wood pin high to about 25 feet. Then just for grins I dropped another ball and hit the 4 iron. It was flying dead at the pin and finished about 18 feet short of the pin. (About 3 feet from it's pitchmark.)

#18: This was the most amazing shot. Again, as mentioned earlier.... my history with approach shots is not great, but I am REALLY feeling confident. I'm standing over this shot from about 95 yards. I have my "U" wedge in my hand. The breeze has died a bit but is mostly cross (left to right.) As I stand over the ball I start thinking. "Man.... you could hole this for eagle!" Never in my life have I holed an iron shot, and never in my life has that kind of thought entered my mind. The ball was flying so darn straight though, I felt I actually had a good chance.

I hit the ball and it felt great. It started just on the intended line (about 7 feet left of the pin) and the wind started to push it back towards the flag. Flying directly at the flag it hits 4 feet short, hops towards the hole then spins back.

A landscaper was there maintaining the bunkers and he made and excited gesture. When I went up there I said, "So you liked that approach shot?"

He held up his fingers and indicated that I'd come up about 5 inches short and said, "If it didn't have all that backspin, it was in the hole."

How close it really was I don't know, but my pitch mark was at about 4 feet, and the ball ended up about a foot behind the pitch mark.

Darndest thing I've ever experienced, just KNOWING I could hit a shot dead straight at like that.

Needless to say I am VERY enthused. If I had putted a lick, I could have been under par, but didn't convert any of my 4 birdie trys (not even the 5 footer.)

So my current impressions are: PI helps me hit my iron shots MUCH straighter, higher (which I needed), with more backspin, and with maybe a touch more distance. I will be sticking with this for a while and hope that the marked improvement continues.

Even though I've a newbie to this, I'd be glad to anwser any non-swing related questions about it (i.e. if there is something experiential that I may have left out that you want to know.)

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