Has anyone attended one of Monte’s Clinics?

[games]

@DaveGoodrich I think @MonteScheinblum is mellowing.  I had seen him at a few clinics, then got a chance to take private lessons a few years ago while on business in Santa Ana. 

 

Second lesson, we went over to the practice bunker and I struggled through several shots that were any one or a combo of skulls, chunks, shanks, and decels.

 

Finally, Monte says "Just release the <expletive deleted> club!"  Next shot, ball popped out of the bunker onto the fringe.  We immediately moved on to something else.  LOL!

 

The two best parts of the clinics can not be replicated.   The first is swinging with the group watching!  Monte asks the group for their opinion, but in many cases a major flaw the group observes later in the swing is caused by a much less apparent flaw that occurred earlier in the swing!

 

Then, the group Trackman contests later on Day 2 are great!  Time to show what you learned, right?  The reality is the contests show how difficult it is for amateurs to ingrain swing changes, and how many of us "default" to ingrained flaws in pressure situations.

Edited December 12, 2020 by games

[Hawkeye77]

1 hour ago, games said:

@DaveGoodrich I think @MonteScheinblum is mellowing.  I had seen him at a few clinics, then got a chance to take private lessons a few years ago while on business in Santa Ana. 

 

Second lesson, we went over to the practice bunker and I struggled through several shots that were any one or a combo of skulls, chunks, shanks, and decels.

 

Finally, Monte says "Just release the <expletive deleted> club!"  Next shot, ball popped out of the bunker onto the fringe.  We immediately moved on to something else.  LOL!

 

The two best parts of the clinics can not be replicated.   The first is swinging with the group watching!  Monte asks the group for their opinion, but in many cases a major flaw the group observes later in the swing is caused by a much less apparent flaw that occurred earlier in the swing!

 

Then, the group Trackman contests later on Day 2 are great!  Time to show what you learned, right?  The reality is the contests show how difficult it is for amateurs to ingrain swing changes, and how many of us "default" to ingrained flaws in pressure situations.

 

What struck me the most at at clinics was his patience and encouraging nature and ability to communicate - not what some might think, lol.  But . . . if he thinks you can take it, he'll dish it out!  I recall an incredible dinner @parmark's house (I'll bet you do, too!) - on the way back to the hotel after listening to Monte for an evening my wife was on about how nice he was, and he was, but she had some good insights (and at a later time some instruction).  At least he's gotten over the giant range bucket between the legs thing . . .

[games]

@Hawkeye77 Ah, yes.  The stigma of the range bucket between the legs.  And, we both had it.  LOL.

 

But, to Monte's credit, I think he has started to do less with lower body.  (There's only one move in NTC that I consider oriented to the "lower body.")  It's not that he thinks the lower body is unimportant, as much as it is most of us have better control of our hands and arms, which if trained correctly, will cause correct movements in the lower body!

[leekgolf]

I attended one of Monte's earlier GolfWRX clinics in Columbus, Ohio several years ago. First off, there was a great group of people in attendance. I genuinely liked everyone I spoke with over that weekend. The skill levels varied pretty wildly. I remember one guy whose swing looked like a Tour level swing to me, and a few others who looked like it hadn't been that long since they were beginners. I don't really know anything about golf instruction, and I would guess that would be challenging for any instructor, no matter how good they are at teaching. The driving range and practice facility where Monte held it, SportsOhio in Dublin, Ohio was a good choice. It's very large with plenty of tees and private areas for groups. The turf was good and well maintained. It also had several short game areas including at least one that was remote and secluded. That was a perfect spot for the short game sessions.

 

I thought Monte did a good job of working to connect with each attendee and then diagnose one core problem that if they could address would have a pretty large impact on their ballstriking. He videoed each person and sent the videos to all of us. Monte also gave us pretty clear instructions for what we should work on and set our expectations for how long we needed to work on them and the level of effort to make real changes.  During the full swing sessions, Monte also taught us a bit about distance control with short irons and wedges. It was a big change for me and learning to hit pitching wedges from 90-100 yards instead of making full swings with a sand wedge paid off quickly in the rounds I played in the weeks after the clinic. 

 

We spent a session on short game that was very valuable. It gave each of us new weapons to add to our bag of tricks that could pay immediate dividends.  Monte also brought out a Flightscope launch monitor and gave us each some time one it. He explained the key data that would give us some concrete evidence of changes we could make. He then used the Flightscope for a couple of fun competitions that involved playing a few holes tee to green for prizes or maybe honor - I forget which. 

 

The Monday playing session was lots of fun. It felt like a fun day with a bunch of friends than any kind of school. It was amazing to see Monte drive a 400 yard par 4 and even more to see him demonstrate a number of pretty hard short game situations with relative ease. He had all of us try those same shots and he showed us ways to pull them off. We got lots of opportunities to practice some new techniques and ideas with some coaching and supervision to help us along. 

 

There were a few areas that could have made it even better. Each of us really just worked on one swing fault and a few new short game ideas. I would have loved a paid option to continue on the change I was making and once it was ingrained, maybe moving on to the next one. It felt like the size and variety of golfers didn't give Monte much time to give much personal attention to anyone in the group. The golf course we played was not a very nice or well maintained course. It served our purpose though several nearby courses may have been a better fit.

 

I enjoyed it and would absolutely do it again.

[CasualLie]

Bottom line is you are not going to find a better clinic for the price.  There are others out there running clinics with less instruction time for 3x the cost.  Or worse, roping you into their "system" which is borderline gimmicky.

 

The fact Monte has been doing these for years and kept the price steady and with each season putting on a better show; it is practically an act of charity on his behalf to the golf world.  The format is well put together, the timing of sessions just right.  You won't be bored, but you also will not be overwhelmed with info/data you cannot process.  I know Monte is working his "tush line" off, but he still maintains a great attitude and focus beginning to end.  Not even a rain storm throws the clinic or Monte off stride.

 

One of the best instructional activities I have seen in any industry.

Edited December 12, 2020 by CasualLie

[Miker20890]

Anyone know if the Florida one is going to be in Orlando or West Palm Beach? Looking to go but would like to know before booking stuff. Thanks. 

[jerebear21]

monte can chime in but via email he told me it was west palm beach, otherwise i would have committed.  good luck and have fun.  monte is awesome. good teacher, better person.

[ddetts]

I'll preface by saying I haven't done much in terms of golf instruction. I've only had a handful of lessons from I think 3 different instructors over the years. 

 

I went to one Monte clinic probably 2 years ago or so. I wish I could say I've been able to go to more. For me, I thought it was a great value. I like the format and how the days are broken up. I think just about everyone would say "I wish I got more individual attention" but that's not the format. If you're desiring undivided attention, book lessons with Monte. I'd echo what others have said, just because the short game segment all seems "beginner" or "simple" doesn't mean it's not good or for better players. I'm a mid to higher single digit, which because my long game holds me back. I'm probably like a 2 handicap short game and Monte's short game and sand instruction helped me improve there. 

 

My only disappoint from my specific clinic was that we ended up not getting to do the playing lesson. If I recall currently that was partially due to weather and maybe lack of interest from some participants.

 

If you have the opportunity, I'd recommend going. 

 

[Miker20890]

Monte just released a bunch more dates/locations for his 2021 clinics

[ferrispgm]

Phoenix is only a couple weeks away....thank god.....for some reason my game takes a big dump the month before a clinic...it's perfect timing lol.

[_Hawk3y3_]

Just purchased my ticket for Monte's Chicago clinic on June 5-7.  This will be my second clinic with Monte and, if the testimonies of many of his frequent clinic attendees hold true, I wouldn't be shocked to take away even more from my second clinic experience than I did from my first.  With 2 feet of snow on the ground in central Wisconsin at the moment, it's nice to have something to look forward to.

 

On a somewhat related note, the clinic schedule has only been out a few days and I snagged spot #6 of 8 for the Chicago clinic.  Guess we midwesterners are chomping at the bit for Monte to give us an education.  If anybody's on the fence about Chicago, act fast.

[sailfishchris]

I went to Monte's clinic at Royce Brook 2 years ago ( did not go last summer due to Covid) His clinic's are great. I plan to attend one of the two this summer. I was given two things to work on stand taller / closer to ball and get my shoulder separated from my chin. Still a work in progress. But, I don't have 40 hours a week to work on it LOL!  What I loved about the clinic was Monte could explain very technically to guys the whole P1 through P51? movements and positions.....and that is great for some guys. I am not that guy. Monte was able to simplify the information (for me ) so I could understand what to do. 

 

One thing I remembered from the short game and I work on constantly was trying to limit my lower body movement (hips) while putting. I've dropped 2 strokes putting- on average since working on that consistently

[Hawkeye77]

1 hour ago, _Hawk3y3_ said:

Just purchased my ticket for Monte's Chicago clinic on June 5-7.  This will be my second clinic with Monte and, if the testimonies of many of his frequent clinic attendees hold true, I wouldn't be shocked to take away even more from my second clinic experience than I did from my first.  With 2 feet of snow on the ground in central Wisconsin at the moment, it's nice to have something to look forward to.

 

On a somewhat related note, the clinic schedule has only been out a few days and I snagged spot #6 of 8 for the Chicago clinic.  Guess we midwesterners are chomping at the bit for Monte to give us an education.  If anybody's on the fence about Chicago, act fast.

Pretty sure I know who got #1 of 8. 😉

[dlow206]

anyone going to the Seattle clinic coming up?

[northgolf]

I wish I could be there. Enjoy a great time, it is what it is and I have always left happy with skills I didn't have before.

[dlow206]

In golf, there is almost nothing that you can make an immediate change on and have it stick. I made an immediate change based on Monte's clinic and it has stuck.

 

Story from clinic:

 

each student lined up to putt one after the other. Monte said not too worry too much about line, just focus on distance control. each student hit their putts and then Monte gave feedback on issues. 

 

i lined up to putt and then Monte stopped me. he was like "where do you think you are aimed"? I said at the hole. He said "you are aimed like 6 feet right of the hole". And then he got the group back together and said, "you do need to aim competently".

 

i had a weird system of how i aimed, not just on putts, but other shots as well. Monte told me to never do that again. from that day, i have picked a more conventional way of aiming and my aim is a 100% better.

 

@MonteScheinblum