ABOUT ME

Introducing the author

Alan Martin (the real ME) was born in New York City in 1954, grew up and went to school on Long Island. Upon graduating from college, my career path took me into sales in 1977. Today I live in New Jersey, after moving and starting a family during the decade of the 1980s. Throughout the good and mostly challenging times, I was successful enough to afford a middle class living, as a regional salesman for many small software companies, until early 2006. Throughout those years, golf was the one constant in my life and the only sport I continued to play competitively on a regular basis. Even while coaching my children as they played youth sports, I found a way to support my habit of playing at least one weekend round, nine months out of the year. 

At five-foot, seven-inches and 150 pounds I was an unlikely future star in the NFL, but that didn't discourage or stop me from trying. Between 1976 and 1979 I had six pro tryouts as a place-kicker. Throughout my childhood I played, watched or thought about sports constantly and taught myself to play golf by watching on TV. Because I already played baseball and hockey, hitting a golf ball came naturally to me.  Being an athlete was not only my passion; it’s played a key role in shaping all aspects of my life. In fact, I credit my participation in sports for the competitive, do-it-yourselfer’s attitude and my entrepreneurial spirit. For me, golf is more than just another game. It’s a major component of my lifestyle and a part of my DNA structure.

During the late 1980’s, life came at me fast. In my mid thirties with a full-time family life and career to manage, just finding the time to play the game and practice to maintain a single-digit handicap was becoming a stretch. All at once I was a new father with a career in transition. At the same time, my golf game mysteriously took a turn for the worse. I remember one depressing moment of weakness as it was hitting rock bottom, when I thought about giving up golf for a while. Down deep, I always believed the problem was only temporary, and soon I’d find the key to getting my old game back. As much as I wanted to enjoy myself, the golf game I was playing embarrassed and frustrated me more than ever before. Good, bad or ugly, I needed my weekly fix.

The next obvious question I would expect to be asked is, why wouldn’t you just go to a pro for help with your game? My simple answer is, I could have and if you’re a beginner you definitely should. A solid foundation is important in any sport, especially golf. For me, it always came down to one or more of these three factors: time, money, or simplicity. The first two speak for themselves. In terms of simplicity, golf books, golf magazines, and watching instruction on TV didn’t keep it simple enough. I couldn't relate to them as they were overly technical, focusing too much on making the perfect swing.

A major benefit of the Thumbs DownÒ power move and this book is that they were created and written by an average Joe amateur golfer. Yet, I was able to discover a simple and powerful move that was magical for me, that I would encourage you to take advantage of. It always puzzled me as I watched a comparison of pros swinging in slow motion. Anyone could easily see how different each player’s swing was, as compared to the other. My eyes always zoomed in on the impact zone in the golf swing, seeing how similar they all looked while striking the ball and just after.

It disturbed me every time the announcers glanced over the moment of truth, concentrating their explanations on the mechanics of the swing instead. My eyes glazed over with confusion, when the experts gave a detailed description of the player’s swing in a language only physics majors understand, not me. Almost everything I saw, heard, and read encouraged me to believe that consistent ball striking was the result of proper swing fundamentals, and centrifugal force squared the club naturally. Maybe it’s natural for those who play and practice full-time, but for myself and the majority of recreational players I play with, there’s nothing natural about it.

Even though the game of golf continues to gain in popularity, it’s not growing in size. Personally, I believe the average Joe (male or female) is tired of not improving quickly enough, like the commercials guarantee. Golf is a difficult game to play and it requires years of learning and practice to play it well. Equally as important, people by nature don’t like to do things at which they’re not good. I can only imagine how confusing it is for newer golfers to learn and understand the complex terminology I often hear. Since finding answers in simple terms isn’t easy, I felt I needed to share the simple solution I discovered during the process of curing my own out-of-control slice, and improving my golf swing.

My message stresses using the positioning of the hands, along with a simple swing thought to square the club at impact, as the top priority versus making a pretty swing. Since I live in an amateur’s shoes everyday, I have a first-hand understanding of the challenges we face that some pros may have forgotten or may never personally have had. After experimenting on several willing amateurs and myself for years, it was easy to see how well the power move worked and how easily golfers could teach it to themselves, in minutes. For fellow amateurs, the Thumbs DownÒ power move is the missing ingredient we’ve been looking for. Now it was time to throw my hat in the ring, with a solution for the masses that worked and offered “simplicity at last”.

This book was written for the millions of serious amateurs who want to improve with a passion and was never intended as an anti-lesson or anti-pro gimmick. It’s not the complete book of golf instruction or positioned as a substitute for taking lessons and learning the game from a certified PGA teaching professional. I respect and admire professional instructors, for the important role they play and all they do to improve and promote the great game of golf. After all, they teach Tour players, right?

What kept me motivated during a longer than expected process, was I knew I had something that could be really big, maybe even revolutionary. My research confirmed that the Thumbs DownÒ power move was based on the same ball striking fundamentals used by the best players and taught by top instructors. The light bulb finally went off in my mind, when for the first time there was a simple answer to my question, “what do I do now”, just before the club strikes the ball. After years of desperately searching for the answer to that question, it came down to this thought; “just make a Thumbs DownÒ at the golf ball as you strike it”. What could be simpler? My dream is that one day the Thumbs DownÒ power move will be recognized as the simple answer the average Joe’s been searching for, and that I provided it.

Everything happens for a reason, is an expression that fits. Call it fate or destiny, but the terrible golf seasons I had between 1989 and 1993 turned out to be the springboard for my future career change as a golf inventor, author and entrepreneur. Like most inventions, it all started with a problem that needed to be solved. In this case, self-preservation is a better description. If you’re a serious golfer like me, you understand how much of a priority it was to fix my problem.

Finally, after years of searching for a solution, the WOW moment came one afternoon in the summer of 1995 by the club’s practice green. Not only was it exciting, but in the process I had just solved for myself the same problem also suffered by fellow amateur golfers, all around the world. For me the Thumbs DownÒ power move was priceless. It was so simple, effective and repeatable; I had a compelling need to share it with my fellow amateurs. For me, it was like discovering the Holy Grail we’ve all been searching for.

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