ADVANCED BALL STRIKING FOUNDER and FORMER TOUR PRO

[@rickellwood6329]

I am so stoked to see John Erickson is back up and running. I have been an ABS subscriber and have interacted with John for years. Also, worked with the mad professor Ben Doyle in Carmel Valley before he died. Make sure you see John hit the ball like a machine in his backyard into a canyon in Nor Cal. Amazing and humble guy. Good to see you John!

[@donniecorrigan8519]

Could listen to this man for ever, humble & an expert on the swing!

[@emmetnicholson8244]

Could listen to this guy all day.

[@TopblokeGolf]

Remember reading about this guy about 5 years ago, B hughes was working with him I recall . The stuff he talks about takes the average golfer if anything years to accomplish with effort put in . Look forward to seeing the videos .

[@thegreenkeeper2537]

Those golfers who’ve played for years to a reasonable standard, can change their swing relatively quickly once they get a new swing concept.

[@TopblokeGolf]

@@thegreenkeeper2537 took Faldo 2 years. He was pretty good . I saw a video instruction the other day and the instructor was honest , at the end he said “now go and practice that drill for a year and maybe you’ll get it “ but yeah I’m mainly talking about your average golfer

[@jeffadams5413]

Wow. This is very exciting. I cannot wait for more of this series. This is exactly what I need to understand. Then I can begin to learn how to properly hold shaft flex. I love John’s suggestion on how to learn this. SHORTEN THE BACK SWING ie John Rahm

[@forrestgardener8906]

What a blast from the past. Iseekgolf, Greg Norman's first professional win at the Westlakes Classic at the Grange East course in Adelaide, and The Golf Machine. How did I get to be so old?

[@77bovi]

Thanks John and Brandon. Good to know John's background. Had seen his insta comments couple months back. Looking forward to your meetup with him. Very interesting that Bradley Hughes is also a coach now with a unique voice.

[@BEBETTERGOLF]

Thanks! Yeah they are good friends and have taught together.

[@555Trout]

I was a club pro for 25 years when I came across John's stuff about a decade ago. His ideas turned an occasional temperamental Ferrari into a Ford 150 truck. Listen to this guy.

[@lesleywillis6177]

Where can I get my Ford truck turned into a Ferrari?

[@555Trout]

@@lesleywillis6177 😉🙂

[@Cured_Ham]

That was a good interview! The part where he mentioned you need to keep accelerating through the swing really made sense and is what I need in my swing. Too much of a quick and wanting to hit it tempo instead of smooth and letting it build.

[@TopblokeGolf]

I always try to think of a pendulum . Some old videos of Faldo highlights this

[@jorgehernandez6409]

You’re absolutely right, definitely the highlight of the entire interview; for me that is. 👍🏼

[@Handletaken4]

The first few feet are like a no-wake zone at the marina

[@tomnelson8515]

This is going to be a fascinating series.

[@jamiesloan7259]

Tony Finau, and Jon Rahm have perfected this method. I’ve recently shot 3-4 rounds under par, or around par by shortening my backswing, fixing my wrist positions, and turning hard. “Going at it”, as he says. I feel like I’m generating all of my power “forward”, instead of “down” at the ball, or “down” at the ground. The strike is amazing, and you can actually feel the pressure that you’re putting into the ball through impact. It will make a hissing sound that you’ve probably never heard before(the ball, as it’s leaving). I highly recommend people give this a try. You’ll either need to slightly strengthen your grip, or implement a bowed left wrist, or the ball will shoot straight right. Remember, you won’t have time to roll the face open, and then roll it closed through impact. This is such a powerful way to play golf, and to also hit it much straighter. You do need to have strong hands, and forearms to make it work though. Because you’ll be taking divots after the ball on every shot(shallow ones though). You won’t even feel those divots slowing you down. It’s amazing!

[@andrewquinn6634]

Yes....Finau and Rahm are excellent examples

[@lookmil107]

Great stuff and thrilled that John “lag pressure” Erickson is back.

[@mikefixac]

What an interview. Greg Norman and Moe Norman mentioned in same interview. Thank you to you and John, really appreciated the interview.

[@BEBETTERGOLF]

Thx Mike!

[@andrepark78]

I watched Bradley Hughes when he first made his videos. Became really good w my irons. Went to get lessons to help w that. 20 years of mediocre golf his name and Ericksons are coming to the fore front. Made sense then more so now.

[@bobbygoodman2875]

Fabulous video Brandon and John. Thankyou!

[@scottfaubel9135]

Oh man it’s so good to see Lag! Went through the modules back in the day and they’re brilliant!

[@BEBETTERGOLF]

I’m looking forward to trying it in person.

[@scottfaubel9135]

So stoked you’re going to do a series on John - his concepts are timeless…works great with a heavier setup but complements the overall core mechanics!

[@ocat1979]

@@BEBETTERGOLF get your forearms ready for a workout 😉

[@johnmule9419]

Fantastic interview. Very familiar with John's ABS program from years ago. John's suggestion about achieving compression by taking it back shorter and ripping it turned a light bulb on for me. I used to watch Doug Sanders back in the day and couldn't understand how he hit it as well as he did.I now understand the principle he used to do it. I wonder if Doug actually understood this?

[@BEBETTERGOLF]

Such an interesting guy! MUST SEE, really useful and NEW information here from former Tour Pro John Erickson. John's Ideas are now being proven on the PGA tour, with his teaching partner Bradley Hughes helping multiple tour pro's including Brendon Todd who won 3x in a season the first year they started together after having the iron yips.

[@77bovi]

Oh didnt know he's teamed up with Brad

[@GothamGolf]

John's an old friend of my blog, interviewed him 10 years ago when he started

[@GothamGolf]

You ought to interview Gregg Mchatton and I guarantee you, you’ll get a great deal of information. Most of the stuff people are talking about today, Gregg was teaching 30 years ago including the Dr. Kwon stuff. If you want to reach out to him let me know, just PM me.

[@jsoward]

He already has a couple vids with Gregg from a few years ago.

[@GothamGolf]

@@jsoward didn't see them, send me a link

[@marklombardo2238]

Great interview BBG. Very insightful

[@ruatoomey9107]

Really enjoyed Johns insight.

[@gzman1]

John musta been a good putter too, did he make the open in 2009 with the old persimmons? there was an article on his website

[@ocat1979]

I’ve been a member of ABS forever, it’s a shame the forum is pretty much inactive now. It was such a wealth of golf swing knowledge. I was/am still I guess, a student of Brad Hughes, the system he and Lag developed is genius

[@ngascoigne]

Forum is about to relaunch.

[@BEBETTERGOLF]

Back up now. Forum.advancedballstriking.com

[@maxwired2235]

Great interview, thank you for your amazing channel. I'm really looking forward to the videos to come!

[@JB-jkhb1972]

I am impressed 👍👍👍

[@jackhunt9364]

Excellent video, very intriguing, looking forward to your next edition.

[@anthonyjames4522]

Now I understand why I can control my short swing better than my long driver swing Great interview 👍🏾❤️⛳️

[@robertberardy2612]

Really looking forward to part 2

[@mikerichardson5022]

But the hands don't keep accelerating through impact, they reach peak speed at something like left arm parallel.

[@1DCCX]

Overacceleration is the menace that stalks all lag and drag

[@johnwilliamson8110]

Echo other comments , fascinating interview , great insight.

[@mitchmarland]

wish you wouldn't interrupt people. he was going to say some really cool things about Greg Norman striking it so good, and his whole evolution in stepping his game up. dang.

[@ultimatejay]

Moe Norman said he could play in pitch dark because he always hit it straight down the fairway.

[@erikn54]

I think this explains why I dont like very firm shafts. If I use a stiff shaft I tend to accelerate to hard from the top just to get a response from the shaft. With a shaft with a lot of flex, I get the response that the shaft is bending without accelerating very hard and therefore I tend to get an even acceleration thruought the whole swing.

[@lagpressure]

It depends how you swing... or hit. I'm a hitter and literally have to customize my own shafts to accommodate..... not just stiff but flexation points. I don't believe in frequency matching shafts... I want the rate of flexation to be the same from putter to driver. They actually had this stuff right a long time ago. It's lost knowledge at this point in time.

[@steveperry1344]

i remember where benecia is in the delta of the bay area i think where the american river come out.

[@ulster7717]

When you meet up with John ask him the following. In the book “The Search for the perfect swing” they “proved “ the club head effectively acted at a free object in orbit once the downswing had started. They had a pro hit a ball with two clubs ( a 2 wood) one had a normal shaft , the other had a normal shaft but a hinge at the hosel. The pro hit balls with both clubs the results were virtually identical. The small difference explained by the inefficiency of the hinge. It all stop action photos of great golf swings from Bobby Jones’s onwards you can see the clubhead flex towards the target ahead of the shaft as it approaches impact. No one has ever challenged both the above points when they discuss pressuring the shaft. John is an elite golfer but he may talking about his perception and or feel but this may not in fact be happening. BTW the “ Search for the perfect swing” was published in 1969 and stated face determined initial direction not path. Professional golfers taught the opposite for Over 40 years until trackman proved them wrong.

[@oldprogolf7292]

You are absolutely correct. I had that book. As you imply, "feel" is not real though John's methods will indeed work, gradual acceleration will delay the centrifugal effect rather than a jerky cast from the top. I think that there is plenty of evidence that the club head "freewheels" through impact and also that the shaft is flexed slightly forward at impact. It is also well understood that the hands decelerate from about P5, halfway down, to impact as the club head accelerates due to the centrifugal effect. The forces involved are huge. Much of this is schoolboy physics. Trouble was, a lot of golfing schoolboys skipped physics.

[@ag358]

With better photography and camera they have proven those old photos of club head arching forward is false. John and Brendan know about this and the name of it. Pictures of Jones club looking to bend in half was false, just old tech now they can capture all of it. Had to look it, it's rolling image that creates a false appearance, global I believe captures the whole image at the same time.

[@lawbinson]

Quad and Trackman do have ways of measuring the club though.

[@damienwilkins3274]

Fascinating as history - thanks for that. But John’s advice “Shorten your backswing and go for it” will have Dr Kwon shaking his head and saying “No, this doesn’t work. Full rhythmical turn activated through the body and the ground, and the downswing will take care of itself.” I’ll be interested to see what the in-person session produces.

[@robertberardy2612]

Yes, I had the same question. But I'm wondering if they have to be mutually exclusive? I actually don't think they are contradictory.

[@steveperry1344]

i met ben doyle in 1971 when he did a golf clinic at fort ord for us G.I.s. i still have the copy of the "golfing machine" he gave us.

[@guitar1950]

Brendon, go visit this guy and have him work with you on several days. Put it on your channel!

[@BEBETTERGOLF]

Flying there next week

[@ironsideeve2955]

@@BEBETTERGOLF awesome

[@333pg333]

Liked this guy. Humble but has been there - done that. I also knew Paul Smith a little from iSeekgolf who I always found very reasonable. I was following a different path back then and Paul never gave us any grief. Having said that, I never thought there was one way to play under the TGM process. Homer Kelly deconstructed the golf swing into many different ways. So I never thought there was a 'one size fits all' TGM method. Seems like Brendon missed his queues to laugh in time with John's humble jokes.

[@charlesking3384]

The question you asked him at 22 minutes and 30 seconds I’m the only person on planet earth that has the answer. Or at least I’ve never heard anyone else talk about it

[@BEBETTERGOLF]

[e-mail] thanks!!!

[@havenrab]

I remember this guy he had like mini pods on this sitt

[@stephenmiddleton8158]

Do you think hitting punch shots would keep pressure on the shaft ?

[@BEBETTERGOLF]

Punch shots from a forward ball position maybe.

[@1DCCX]

Swing the hands not the clubhead. And don’t confuse speed and acceleration.

[@thomashofmann9436]

A lot of knowledge - although Trackman 4 also looks at the club head and not only the ball.

[@soldsold1]

The GC quad looks at the club face so shows everything, no guessing

[@lagpressure]

@@soldsold1 The machines don't know where I am aiming. They also are not inputting data for the mass of the clubhead which is a major factor... and the machines are not considering the rotational resistance of the shaft itself applied by the golfer, the grip pressure of the golfer, or whether or not the the shaft itself is striking the ball with kinetic stored energy in it... (holding shaft flex)... as these factors effect the outcome from off centered strikes. Too many things the machines are missing at this point, but as technology gets better, maybe they will get up to speed with some of these very critical markers. Science is a process, and I am sure they are getting better with the machines.... but again, HUGE things they are overlooking.

[@soldsold1]

@@lagpressure thanks for taking the time to reply. I'm looking forward to watching this series of videos with hopefully something I can learn that helps my own game

[@ironsideeve2955]

Found this interview very interesting. Thankyou. Wanted to clarify though about Johns statement about clubhead mass changing throughout the swing… thats not correct as the mass is constant. The force (and acceleration) that is acting on the clubhead is the thing thats changing.

[@lagpressure]

Sure, the mass is constant... the force applied to the ball would change depending upon the mass of the club (different clubs) the velocity of that mass, and whether or not that velocity is in a state of increase (acceleration) as it is striking into the ball. Thanks for noting..

[@ironsideeve2955]

@@lagpressure look forward to ur clinic with be better golf!

[@andrewquinn6634]

0:48 I thought he was crazy too

[@BEBETTERGOLF]

lol

[@brianm.9069]

Brendon, interesting discussion. I may be misunderstanding but he seems to be contradicting what is shown in 3D in the kinematic sequence which shows the order of deceleration of body parts in order to transfer the speed to the club head. The body has to decelerate before impact. Also, I believe the shaft is in lead deflection at impact meaning the shaft is trailing the head at impact. Greg Rose at TPI does a great job of explaining in this video: "Analyzing Ernie Els' Kinematic Sequence".

[@bjarnieinarsson3472]

It's not the body acceleration what he is talking about, it's the accel. of the head of golf club. To make a sound speed whip with a whip, you have to decelerate your hand or even reverse the direction as you do with wet tower.

[@lagpressure]

Hitting and swinging are very different animals. From a swinging perspective, your understanding would be spot on... yes. From a hitting perspective, not so much. The body does not have to decelerate before impact. Hogan was the best example of this. There is a reason he was so late in unleashing his rotation. It's all in the way he transitioned the club and transferred weight...., very unique and completely at odds with what is generally taught... even different than I do things personally, but I have been desconstructing Hogan's action over the last few years and it is just so fascinating. You have to really get into it from the inside out. Generally what people see is not what is happening. It really was a total shocker when I came upon the realization of what was actually being engineered. Just so brilliant really, and so well disguised. I don't think you can get to Hogan from looking at it on vids or still frames. You have to be inside it.

[@brianm.9069]

@@lagpressure Thanks John for your reply. As I understand it, the kinetic sequence graph shows acceleration on the y axis and time on the x axis from start of back swing to impact. The accelerations and decelerations are measured by 3D sensors not by looking at 2D video. The graph cleary shows the body segments slowing down in succession which allows the club head to keep accelerating to impact. I don't know what you mean by swinging vs. hitting as a a golfer applies forces to the shaft either linearly or angularly with the couple (see Dr. Sasho MacKenezie's videos on Vimeo). Hogan was undoubtably a great ball striker, but still a human subject to the laws of physics.

[@lagpressure]

@@brianm.9069 I guess the question would be... who is being tested? Who's swing? Suppose I just started with my left arm parallel to the ground... used Hogan's transition... (not quickly unwinding the hips and torso) then struck from there? I am quite sure I could accelerate my left arm and hands well past low point. A ball doesn't have to be there to make a golf swing. We will discuss this when Brendon gets here to the deck. If he brings a camera with a reliable "global shutter" then we will see that shaft flex can be held to impact/lowpoint and or beyond. I'll do it no problem. So that all being said... at what point in the backswing would one NOT be able to do this? Are you suggesting that it can't be done in a "full swing"? It certainly can be done in a chip shot.. a pitch shot... a half swing. 3/4 swing? Full swing? Now we go into the advanced technique stuff. The ball is incidental in the golf swing. The swing needs to be correct without a ball there. We will be discussing this.

[@brianm.9069]

@@lagpressure John, I'm not the expert. My main point is simply that the biomechanist have measured that the individual body parts decelerate at different times in the down swing to release the club head. My understanding is that these were measured on full swings. I agree with you that you could probably accelerate your arms on a short chip shot but your hips would have to be stable to do that and they would not be accelerating. Also, there is no speed in a chip shot. The decelerations occur to transfer the speed to the clubhead. I don't know what speed is necessary, but I don't think it would be very fast before body parts start decelerating. It would be an interesting test. Your theory would be easy to test by simply visiting someone with an AMM 3D system and have them measure your swing. Tyler Ferrell, from Golf Smart Academy, is fairly close to where Brendon lives. He is a 3D expert although not a biomechanist. You could also call Sasho MacKenzie or have Brendon get him on a zoom call. I agree with your earlier comment: I don't think a 2D camera is going to work to decipher the details. I look forward to your next video with Brendon.

[@Handletaken4]

I work in the bicycle world and if golf is like bikes then there is an ocean of misinformation out there. If I do pushups on a diving board and you do them on concrete, who does more?

[@holliscall4905]

Interesting stuff, thanks. Good timing: LIV Golf will probably offer him $25 mil.

[@BEBETTERGOLF]

Lol!

[@tomnelson8515]

That would be nice. However, he is worth way more.

[@samking4179]

25:45 ... acclimate? adapt is the word. humans adapt. when we adapt to our climate that's when we acclimate.