Biographical Review

Ken Martin, PGA

Relative to my playing, I started at age 13 by going to the driving range with my Dad. He was a commercial artist, golf gave him a chance to get outside, he was not a good golfer but enjoyed the challenge. By the time I was 17 I was shooting under par and was ranked 1 or 2 on my High School team, Sahuaro H.S., Tucson, AZ.  I received a scholarship to Yavapai Community College where I played number one on the team for two years and shot a career low round of 64 (-8, with a front nine score of 28 using only 7 putts) during one of our qualifying rounds my sophomore year.  I won the Arizona State Junior College Championship my freshman year 1978 and played the National Junior College Championship that summer at Duck Creek GC in Shelbyville TN.  There I was recruited by Bobby Shave, coach for Florida International University in Miami, FL.  My sophomore year was steady golf with a stroke average under par.

At FIU I was introduced to Wild Bill Mehlhorn, born in 1898, he was touted as the best ball striker Ben Hogan ever met.  There I was introduced to the world of swing changes.  I was told by Coach Shave that I would be the first person to make $1M in one year on tour and it would be my first year out of college if I listened to what Bill had to say.  I listened and it was a bit of a disaster.  I lost my natural scoring ability as I became wrapped up in swing mechanics, always concerned about doing it right instead of playing the game.

Upon graduation in 1981 I turned pro and struggled as a player for the next 13 years.  I couldn’t make the money I needed to support myself playing for a living so I got involved in the golf business.  In 1988 I became a Class “A” Member in the PGA of America.  All the while I worked on my swing, studying the best players and teachers trying to get my game back on track.  In 1994 I was working in Dallas, TX teaching at a driving range when I played in one of the North Texas PGA Section events and shot 8 under par for a 3 day event in which I placed 3rd.  I felt at the time that “that was it”, I had worked as hard as possible to get my game in shape to play on the tour for over a decade since college graduation, and yet my best effort produced only a 3rd place finish in a PGA Section event.  I felt my playing career was over and I decided to turn full attention to golf instruction for a career.

It was that fall at the PGA Teaching and Coaching Summit in New Orleans that I saw Moe Norman in a video clinic presented by Craig Shankland.  It dawned on me then that I was on the putting green with Moe back in 1983 during the Windsor Charity Pro-Am in Windsor ON, CA.  Back then I didn’t know of Moe or his status as a ball striker…what a missed opportunity!  However, I was really intrigued with the presentation in 1994 and I decided to see Moe in person in 1995 during ball striking presentations he gave in conjunction with Natural Golf (NG) during my attendance of the PGA Show in Orlando, FL.  I decided to become certified and I began my quest to understand and apply Moe’s Single Plane Swing to my game and to teach it to other struggling golfers. It was this same year that I became friends with Todd Graves, we first me at a practice round for the Oklahoma Open and we have been friends ever since.

Being “analytical” in nature, I studied Moe’s swing to the “nth” degree from videos I had shot in 1995 and became involved in the education side of Natural Golf upon my return from teaching golf in Germany in 1997 and 1998. My input, along with others, gradually refined the Natural Golf methodology to the simplicity that it is today.  I became the Director of Instruction for NG in 2006 and my goal is to continue to find simple ways to deliver golf enjoyment to golfers of all ability through the simplicity of the Single Plane Swing.

I was able to spend many hours with Moe while he practiced and the highlight came when I took him to see Sandy Lyle in the spring of 2004. There we had the day together with world class players stopping by to watch and speak with Moe, like Vijay Singh and Mark McCumber.  When I dropped Moe off at his car that evening, he gave the full tour;  taking out articles of his performances, showing me his Hall of Fame medal and giving me a trip down memory lane.  I was fortunate to have that opportunity as he passed in September of the same year.

Through my understanding of the NG swing, I have transformed my personal game to a quality level, consistently qualifying as a top ten player in the South Florida Section of the PGA player of the year points list.

My primary contribution to the body of knowledge regarding Natural Golf is found in our Art and Science of Natural Golf Manual. The section entitled “The Mechanical Model” lays out the theory behind the application of single plane swing mechanics to the human golfer.  I have been involved in two scientific experiments that have proven my NG swing is less stressful on various body parts than my conventional golf swing as well as portraying ideal biomechanical sequencing for delivering speed simply and directly to the clubhead through ball impact.

I have written all the curriculums for our instructional offerings and the instructional scripts for the Faults and Fixes, Driving for Distance, Drills and Natural Golf Swing System video projects.  I was a swing demonstration model for all of the above videos and was an integral part of producing these products.

My greatest asset to my students is understanding the difference between knowing how and why the single plane swing works and communicating to them only the simple information that will directly affect their ball striking and enjoyment of the game.  Keeping it simple is what NG is all about, and now as Director of Instruction, I can directly affect the teaching style of our Certified Instructors so our customers can improve in a confusion free environment.

I was inducted into the Natural Golf Hall of Fame as an “Elite Member” in 2002 and won the National Certified Instructor tournament the same year.  I have written numerous articles published in Natural Golfer Magazine as well as “Etips” that are published online twice a month through www.moenormangolfacademy.org.

I was introduced to Masters and British Open Champion Sandy Lyle in the year 2000.  I coached him while he was under contract with NG for two years and he had his most successful year on tour for over a decade in 2002.  We have remained friends since the ending of his contract and I have coached and caddied for him at tour events in Tampa, San Antonio, Denver, Palm Springs, Pebble Beach, Loch Lomand, Deutsche Bank, The British Open 2002 and 2005, The Masters 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, the 2008 US Senior Open and 3 consecutive Champions Tour events (Jeldwen Tradition, Boeing Classic, Walmart First Tee Open) in that same year.  I attempted qualifying for the Champions Tour in the fall of 2008 finishing tied 20th in the first stage, missing the final stage by two shots shooting a 4 round total of 286 (-2).

In 2009 I traveled full time as coach/caddy for Sandy Lyle on the Champions Tour and once again entered the Qualifying School in the fall.  This time I finished tied 13th in the first stage which qualified me for the Final Stage where I finished 62nd, not my best performance that started with a tough 76 in the first round.  It was, however, another great learning experience, one that I feel will help me as I give it another go in 2010.  And, as my good friend and mentor, Eric Wilson, Phd, (Vice President of the College of Golf, Keiser University) has said, that week I was among the top 78 senior players in the world, making it to the finals was an accomplishment in itself.

That is all about me to date, so what does that mean to you? 

I think my knowledge and experience can help you profoundly get what you want from golf and I hope we get a chance to do just that in the future.

Yearly summary:

1977: Graduated Sahuaro HS, Tucson, AZ

1979: Graduated Yavapai CC, Prescott, AZ.  Arizona State Junior College Champion, 1978

1981:  graduated FIU, BA Liberal Arts, Turned professional by playing in the FL Open
Played various professional “Open” events in New England, Canada, North Midwest and Southwest.

1982 - 1985: Started PGA Apprenticeship at Moon Valley CC in Phx, AZ 1982. Worked fall through spring and played Dakota Tour, various “Open” events in upper Midwest and Western US in summer.

1986-1989: Worked as 1st Assistant at Ocotillo Golf Club and was promoted to Head Professional in 1987.  Attained Class A status in the PGA in 1988 and operated 27 hole facility managing 11 person staff.

1990: Attempted qualifying for Canadian Tour, missed qualification, played 4 events through Monday qualifiers.  Moved to Denver and took assistant position at Wellshire Golf Course.

1991-1993:  Worked as Head Professional at Evergreen Golf Course, Evergreen, CO. Worked for John Jacobs Golf Schools, Waikoloa, HI for 3 months.

1993 - 1995: Partnered with Scott Ezell, PGA to start Progressive Golf Schools, Dallas, TX. Met Moe Norman early in 1995 and was certified to teach Natural Golf.

1996 – 1997: Moved to St. Augustine, Germany to teach full time at Golf Club Bonn.  Here is where I refined my theories relative to Moe Norman’s swing and what was being taught by Natural Golf.

1998 – 2000: Moved to Myrtle Beach, SC attempting to play the Tear Drop Tour, minimal success and began teaching NG full time in 1999.  Became part of the Education Team and was involved in writing instructional curriculums and the Art and Science of Natural Golf Manual for Certified Instructors.

2001: Qualified for exempt status on the Canadian Tour.  No wins to report unfortunately I missed all the cuts but one, my stroke average was 74 (+2).  This was the same summer I was writing the script for the Natural Golf Swing System (NGSS) DVD and I was called off the tour for the filming in the month of August.  It was this season that made me realize that “playing” golf was very different than “building a golf swing”.  Chuck Hogan became my primary influence regarding the differentiation and his influence was a large part of the instructional philosophy behind the NGSS.

2002 – 2005: Member of the NG Education Team while teaching full time in West Palm Beach.

2006:  Promoted to Natural Golf Director of Instruction under new ownership, responsible for revising education formats and communication skills of Certified Instructor team (over 70 in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Germany and Norway). Instrumental in the development of new and primary promotional online tool, The Moe Norman Golf Academy (www.moenormangolfacademy.org)

2007 – 2008:  Due to NG downsizing my position became “part-time” so year was filled by adding considerably more teaching time to my calendar as well as playing South Florida PGA Section events and continued input to online Moe Norman Golf Academy.  Attended 2008 Champions Tour Q School finishing tied 20th in Regional event not progressing to Final stage.  Played a very successful PGA Tournament Series that same Fall finishing top ten on Money List.

2009: Champions Tour caddy/coach for Sandy Lyle in 17 events including the Masters, British Open and British Senior Open. Competed in Champions Tour Q School finishing tied 13th in Regionals progressing to the Finals where I finished 62nd not earning playing status.

2010 – Present:  Continuing as Natural Golf Director of Instruction and Executive Director for the Moe Norman Golf Academy online.  Teaching, playing and writing mostly in the West Palm Beach area.  Caddy/coach for Sandy Lyle in The Masters.  Working toward fall Champions Tour Qualifying.