Review: Monte's Chicago Clinic

**Chicago 2019**

After spending Saturday/Sunday at Monte's Chicago clinic, I thought I'd put out a review for those on the fence about signing up for a future clinic. The clinic has two options when you sign up, 2-day or 3-day. The first two days are focused on off the course improvement -- swing, short game, etc. The final day is 18 holes on the course, where Monte teaches you how to actually play golf (not play swing). I wasn't able to stay for the 3rd day, so I can't comment much more, except I REALLY would recommend staying for it if you can. After two days, I didn't want to leave.

**Saturday**

So we all met Monte on the Range around 9am and gave us the rundown for how the clinic would go. Our schedule was probably not typical because rain was forecasted most of the weekend. So while we had plans to do full swing work in the morning, then short game in the afternoon, we had to change plans a bit due to mother nature opening up on us around noon.

Saturday morning went probably how you have heard before, but I'll type it again. We all got to warm up before Monte pulled us all together and had one person hit for the group at a time. We talked through each person's swing faults and this session alone was probably worth the fee for the entire clinic. It seems intimidating, but it was honestly a great thing for the group to build camaraderie and gain a TON of knowledge about the various Facts vs. Opinions vs. Myths that we were all taught. Without putting us on camera, Monte was able to spot some glaring swing flaws and give some feels to work on. More analysis to come...

Monte will be the first to tell you, he likes to talk. Maybe a standup comedian side hustle is in his future if this whole golf thing doesn't work out. The afternoon session on Saturday was mostly inside while the rain pounded the course. This sounds like a bummer, but I'd say (again) that this session was worth the price of admission. We had an in depth discussion about swing philosophies, did some work with a fancy wrist sensor (HackMotion maybe?) to give us all feedback about what the wrists do during the swing. There were about 12 people in the clinic, handicaps ranging from low single digits to 20+, all were able to grasp the feel and get into a better impact position. Very powerful stuff. Saturday ended with more work on the range and hilarious stories. I then went to Portillos, consumed a couple thousand calories, and passed out to the US open, dreaming about how to hold the lag (jk, don't kill me).

**Sunday**

On Saturday, Monte filmed each of us face on and DTL so he could take a closer look at our swings that evening. When we met on Sunday, he worked with each of us individually on the launch monitor. The improvements he made were not just opinion, he would tell each of us what our biggest swing flaw is, a feel to improve it, and finally watched as the numbers (whatever your issue is) got better. In my case, I'm a goat humper that struggles mostly with my hip dynamics. Even though when I left the clinic, farm animals should still flee when they see me, I feel educated, with a plan to get better. My improvements were immediate (when made my new move correctly), but it will take work to make it stick. Another lesson Monte taught me, but this post is already too long to list all of those.

After full swing work, and a lunch where Monte again shared stories that had us all dying and shall not be repeated, we went to the short game area.

Personal information: at my best, when I was playing 5-6 times a week, my index trended as low as 1.5-2.0. I have never been a great ball striker, but could always "score" because of a solid short game and course management. Why does this matter? Well I was pretty confident that whatever Monte taught us in the short game area, I wouldn't change much. WRONG AGAIN. After a couple minor adjustments and tips about how to mitigate risk around the greens, he left me feeling even better around the greens.

Another personal story: I grew up playing a muni with no bunkers. When I played competitively through high school and college, anytime I was in a bunker, I pretty much accepted that there was <10% chance of getting up and down. I'm horrid out of them. Monte gives a bunker lesson that seemed to be too good to be true. He challenges the class, "who sucks out of the bunker?" -- I volunteer as tribute, thinking, "watch me blade this MF'er into the airport...". He makes a couple setup changes and BAM...hit it inside the leather. Next person up, same thing. Next person up, same thing. Monte is a wizard out of the bunker and I can say that he changed my game forever with that 10 minute lesson.

After a couple hours around the practice area, working on various shots, we headed back to the range to work on more specialty shots. How the average player can shape the ball with almost no effort and things like that. It was incredibly useful and, most importantly, made sense. Finally, as we were all standing there with sore hands from hitting tons of balls all weekend, we got to watch Monte hit some 320+ yard drives, into the wind, to the other side of the range with what looked like no effort. It was a sight to behold o:)

**Final Recap**

Ok this post got longer than I expected, but I could have made it 4x as long and it still wouldn't do justice to the clinic. I have paid thousands of dollars for instruction over the course of my life, even seeing PGA teaching pros every week for years, and they didn't teach me 10% of what I learned this weekend. I would venture to guess that every person at that clinic left a better golfer than when they arrived. So if you're looking to get better, sign up for his clinics and thank me later.

Detroit folks, can we get a group together next year?!

Last thing -- Prairie Landing is amazing and I'm jealous of everybody that lives near it.

I recognize that follow through! Great post, thoughtful and intelligent as were your questions and insights at the clinic - it's clear you take your game seriously and really think things through.

I'm usually not at a loss for words (not saying that's a good thing, lol) but something about Monte's clinics always has me doing a lot of listening both to Monte in general and to the questions asked and answered. Never enough time to talk with everyone and get to know people, and I've met Mark and Will before and already knew they were good people (thanks to Mark again for organizing!), and got to visit with a couple of folks and really enjoyed that, but sadly had to leave just before lunch Sunday and didn't get to visit more. Very friendly group, and all interested in getting better, great vibe to this one.

Who would have guessed a rainout on a Saturday afternoon and ending up in the basement at the bottom of the stairs near the locker rooms for a few hours would produce the insights that were produced. Having worked with Monte a few times for a few years out there (with daughter a couple times and my wife!) and at clinics - and some others may attest to this - it is fascinating to see how his insights into the golf swing have evolved and always in a hands on and forward thinking way. People that are intellectually curious, can apply that in a way that gains new knowledge about their interest/craft and can communicate are an unusual combination. Monte is an excellent communicator and the knowledge he is sharing has been gained/earned the right way, IMO. Now, part of that Saturday discussion related very directly to what I need to work on and a lot of what is on his new video relates to that as well and relates back to a drill a year ago he said he was thinking of implementing and at Sioux Falls I was apparently one of presumably other guinea pigs for that (still have the video so I wouldn't do it wrong). But you can tell he's been studying this and working through it himself for quite some time and seeing the evolution of that was fascinating to me, and what was coming through in that session was (after I went and looked at the vid I'd "skimmed" and totally missed the point, lol) so much more a fully formed idea and really new to his teaching. It resonated pretty quickly on Sunday morning.

If handicap is a measure (and I know mine but don't lose sleep over it ever) by far the greatest improvements I've made have been as result of time with Monte (and had I avoided some emergency surgery, chronic injury that resulted in surgery and other crap, loads of other excuses - and practiced more, lol, who knows whether some things would have come together even more quickly). I really don't care that it's been incremental and that I backslide a bit and can often just play like pure crap - I see little things I can do or understand that I couldn't do or didn't understand before and get a lot of satisfaction out of that - the numbers don't lie and I've gotten a lot better at golf and a later stage of my "career" than most think they would make significant improvements. Played league tonight, still tired and stiff from traveling, tried to play a little "golf swing" and not surprisingly a couple of doubles and 5 over for 9 holes BUT hit a couple little pitches I could not have hit three years ago that made me happy including one little pitch out of thick grass just off the green to a pin about four paces on with a technique he showed me while holding my hips at Chicago three years ago and three approach shots that should have been the right distance that I flat out flushed and sent over the greens while channeling a little of what I think I'm supposed to channel. The rest, not pretty in general, but so what - I hit 5 or 6 shots that I enjoyed a ton, good enough for me!

Lots of good instructors on here and out there - hard to find but they are there. But this thread is about Monte's clinic, so I'm relating my experiences in that context and he is unique, IMO. He can figure out a person's issue in a heartbeat, which is a singular skill, but he will also, if you pay attention, over the course of a couple of days provide a lot of insight into what you need to be thinking and doing (and not doing) to simply allow yourself to become better.

Okay, enough with the slobber, slobber! I came away with a better and new understanding of something that just happens to track with Monte's gaining a new and better understanding of something and I plan to see where that leads - maybe even video my swing and practice more. ;-)

Sorry I missed this year! I am in the middle of a job change and relocation, but Monte is always worth the price of admission.

Hawkeye77 mentioned Monte's evolution as a coach. The evolution from the "cargo shorts" videos to the start of his clinics and videos 5-6 years ago, to his current teaching and videos has been really interesting. IMO (and Monte may disagree) his early teaching was based on his incredible eye for seeing what goes on in a 100 mph driver swing without aid of a camera. Now, with more frequent interaction with students, combined with the advent of 3D, Hackmotion, force plates, and other coaching aids, he's gained much more insight and knowledge into "what causes what" in the swing.

To the OP and Hawkeye77: As a higher cap, it is truly amazing to me to watch how low cappers like you guys learn from just a clinic. I would highly recommend to anyone who attends a clinic to follow up with Monte in person at his home course in Irvine, CA or via remote.

> @games said:

> Sorry I missed this year! I am in the middle of a job change and relocation, but Monte is always worth the price of admission.

>

> Hawkeye77 mentioned Monte's evolution as a coach. The evolution from the "cargo shorts" videos to the start of his clinics and videos 5-6 years ago, to his current teaching and videos has been really interesting. IMO (and Monte may disagree) his early teaching was based on his incredible eye for seeing what goes on in a 100 mph driver swing without aid of a camera. Now, with more frequent interaction with students, combined with the advent of 3D, Hackmotion, force plates, and other coaching aids, he's gained much more insight and knowledge into "what causes what" in the swing.

>

> To the OP and Hawkeye77: As a higher cap, it is truly amazing to me to watch how low cappers like you guys learn from just a clinic. I would highly recommend to anyone who attends a clinic to follow up with Monte in person at his home course in Irvine, CA or via remote.

HaHa, don't be calling me a low cap! Channeling Johnny Cash - 6.9 and rising! I'd sure love to get consistent enough to play as a solid 5 and that's my goal, but 7-9 is where things usually settle and put me on a strange course and I'm Paladin - "Have Game No Travel!"

I agree on Monte (and same as you, it's my take maybe not his) - he's a true student of the golf swing and is open to learning and always questioning and for sure taking advantage of tech that he experiments with and determines whether it is useful - combine that with some real perception and brains (God, hope he doesn't see that, his head won't fit through the locker room door at the Senior Open, lol) - that's how new things are discovered and people grow.

No major vacations planned for 2020, and the wife is all in on another spring trip to Laguna Beach area and some Monte! Okay, she's more into resort bathrobe, high balcony, ocean, book and beverage - but she likes to play golf and is looking forward to another lesson with Monte - she was reviewing her notes from the last time today before she took off to the range to hit her new irons (there's a method to my madness)!

Great summary Alex! This year was both a lot of fun and very informative, and it was very cool watching everyone interact and pick up on what all thoughts and ideas were being shared. Great group, and having "They Said/I heard" Sebastian to add his comments and questions that kept Monte on his toes only added to the total experience!!

Only sorry the rain kept us all from being able to help get Monte squared away on the putting green for South Bend coming up. Play well Monte.

> @parmark said:

> Great summary Alex! This year was both a lot of fun and very informative, and it was very cool watching everyone interact and pick up on what all thoughts and ideas were being shared. Great group, and having "They Said/I heard" Sebastian to add his comments and questions that kept Monte on his toes only added to the total experience!!

> Only sorry the rain kept us all from being able to help get Monte squared away on the putting green for South Bend coming up. Play well Monte.

Thanks again for organizing - after trying just to organize a couple of aspects of an upcoming family reunion I can say with confidence you don’t get enough credit for what you do to help out with getting clinics set up and keeping things running smoothly while they are going on!

Wanted to add to the clinic Description.

Sunday Morning

We each got to have individual flight scope analysis. Monte would have us do some moves and drills to get to the right numbers, but would not show us the numbers because it was not necessary. It was more along the lines of, "this number is getting better, try this. Yup...ok, that is the drill you need to go do for a long time to learn this move/feel/intent."

I was right by the flight scope session, and got to watch many people just amazed as they realized how incorrectly their concept of the swing was, myself included of course.

Sunday Afternoon

Short game session series. Learning to use the bounce, chip with a 3 wood, hit out of bunkers, hit deep rough balls, chip with irons, bump and run, and other things. We had the different lies explained to us, and got to practice for a few hours.

After, we went back to the range, and Monte showed us how to shape shots with ball placement . Using "swing X" (the same swing) he showed us how to move the ball flight around without changing our swing. We then had time to hit balls and practice our specific drill or concept.

Monday

Monday was play and teach. Monte started off with the group in front of us and we got to play our front nine together. It was tough due to trying to ingrain swing ideas into play, but the course was beautiful. On the back nine, we got to play with Monte, and learn a lot of things. We did not play all the holes completely, but we would create certain scenarios to understand how to play shots we never use. Examples include;

1. Use your 150 yard club but hit it to 100 yard pin location and why it's better

2. putting with your 3 wood around the green when grain is against you

3. Using a putter when you are short sided in deep rough to punch out

4. Putting axis tilt on a wedge so the ball spins toward a pin

5. Low punch shots off a tee for a par 3 and how to control them

6. Hitting into the wind and flighting a ball down

7. Others I can't remember

We also got to see Monte hit several 300+ yard drives off the tee and massive iron and wedge shots. Very cool.

During the play, Monte would address and refine our faults and fixes. He changed what my focus needs to be, made me grip the club harder, and do half shots focusing on keeping my club face square to the arc on the backswing. This turned out to be the "aha" moment for me, and when I executed the shot finally, he said "you need to hit like 10,000 of those shots. Like seriously, you cannot over practice that shot. You must practice that shot a lot." He then explained why my miss is left pull hook. I thought I was OTT, but no...club face way open, severe snap closing action at the end.

He made Doug hit full shots with hip turn (which was his original fault). Doug watched some of our half shots, maybe doing some of them, but also it was more important for him to do full shots and really move his hips correctly. Kevin had to work on trail elbow bend, and my sister had to change her grip as she was making progress with her fault, and needed a second adjustment. The third day was very valuable from the point of instant feedback on the course, and working out faults, while learning shots.

In the end, I learned that YT and many swing thought videos can work against you and clutter your mind and understanding of the swing. I feel like I left the clinic with a plan, and a major change in understanding of the swing. I now know what I really need to work on, and won't waste my time on guessing. At one point, he told many of us that our swings were scratch swings with a 25 handicap flaw. Fix that, and your numbers will go down drastically. I am now trying to do a golf video detox and just focus on what I discovered over the last few days.

His message was clear and realistic about expectations. Some days will be hard. Some shots will be awful. Stick to the plan, and get better. It can take a long time to work at something in the swing, and then it can come out of nowhere back and you need to work on it some more.

I would highly recommend his clinic. My sister said it exceeded her expectations, and learned so much. She actually never watched YT videos on golf, so she was starting from a blank slate and just listened and learned. Some of us had a lot of deprogramming that needed to happen.

Nice write ups. I was there for a lesson on Saturday at 4:00. I've been working with Monte for 4 or 5 years. I've done online lessons, 2 clinics and several lessons in Chicago. Saturdays lesson was really good and really simple. I had been hitting it poorly the last few weeks now I am hitting it really good. All we really worked on was alignment, rotating on the DS and the big one was trying to hit the ball way off the toe to keep the club from kicking out early. He also says I must do the 2 ball drill the rest of my life, which for me really helps the club kicking out early. Here is a video he did for me showing what I do vs what I need to do which is awesome.

I just looked up the Hackmotion device. Very interesting. Anybody have this device?

> @Kball10 said:

> I just looked up the Hackmotion device. Very interesting. Anybody have this device?

There are a couple threads where people talk about buying it. I feel like the price tag pushes away the casuals (like myself)

> @abking1992 said:

> There are a couple threads where people talk about buying it. I feel like the price tag pushes away the casuals (like myself)

At $30, Monte's latest training aid (300 yard Impact) has better "ROI" for a _**student**_ looking to improve wrist conditions at impact. Again, with the understanding the student's other mechanics allow the hands to return to impact in a way that ALLOWS such wrist angles to occur. (Again, physician heal thyself.)