IMG_1373, originally uploaded by SM PGA.

Lulu & Jane won the three hole challenge this week with some excellent play despite the difficult shots required. Holing out in one under par in total, we tested the players’ ability to visualise the correct landing area and get up and down in two.

Mark demonstrated his ideas from the most difficult spots and we were able to discuss shot selection and skills involved from sloping lies.

Best of luck to everyone in the County Championships to come!

IMG_1373, originally uploaded by SM PGA.

Lulu & Jane won the three hole challenge this week with some excellent play despite the difficult shots required. Holing out in one under par in total, we tested the players’ ability to visualise the correct landing area and get up and down in two.

Mark demonstrated his ideas from the most difficult spots and we were able to discuss shot selection and skills involved from sloping lies.

Best of luck to everyone in the County Championships to come!

IMG_1373, originally uploaded by SM PGA.

Lulu & Jane won the three hole challenge this week with some excellent play despite the difficult shots required. Holing out in one under par in total, we tested the players’ ability to visualise the correct landing area and get up and down in two.

Mark demonstrated his ideas from the most difficult spots and we were able to discuss shot selection and skills involved from sloping lies.

Best of luck to everyone in the County Championships to come!

Maintaining the simplest swing plane and allowing the club to swing freely is somewhat challenging to the traditional approach. However a number of Tour players including Ryder Cup player Darren Clarke, have been impressed by the accomplishments of PGA Instructor Stan Utley [a Tour Winner himself] and have found enormous success allowing the clubface to rotate and the hands to release the club even on delicate shots around the green.

We tried a number of simple drills to check that the club swings ‘on-plane’ back and through, and experimented by holding the club handle beyond the end cap keeping just two fingers of the gloved hand on the handle! Everyone was really surprised at the success pitching with such a loose grip and keen to try out this feeling out on the course.

Even more challenging was a demonstration of a drill from PGA Instructor Fred Shoemaker [read Extraordinary Golf] wherby we experiment with the results literally letting go of the club handle as we hit the ball! Expect some danger if trying this at home, by the way. I actually lost Lulu’s 7 iron demonstrating typical mistakes here and had to fetch a ladder to find it on the roof of our greenkeeper’s shed!!! Oops!

Following some video work last time Mark and I held a workshop to illustrate the simplest and most effective swing plane based on the design and lie angle of the equipment we use. With several drills and plenty of question and answer opportunities we were able to explain some of the fundamentals used by elite players.

We left everyone with some key points and drills to take home and look forward to applying the same fundamentals to more delicate shots next week…

What we did today was ask everyone to complete a few questions and indicate the type of key thoughts they use and some of the essential elements to their game. We’ll take a closer look at some of these elements next time. We also asked everyone to indicate what sort of clubface angle or shaft angle was typical for them at key points during the swing.

Mark and I considered that with a clubface angle in reasonable control at the top, then delivered ‘on plane’ we had a good chance for success. Then with some assessment of the amount of pressure being created on the ball, our controlled results should be delivered powerfully down the target line.

With a simple video analysis of each player we assessed each players answers against their real swing – the ‘leaderboard’ showed those players with the highest match of their ideas to their video analysis and with their shots to target. Tied in the lead were Bronwyn, Lorely, and Sian with 4/4.

The session hoped to get players thinking about their fundamentals and highlighted some mis-matches between players’ thoughts /visions of their movements and their actual technique. One or two went home having seen excellent technique on camera, with increased confidence and better focus on their technique for practise.

In ‘model’ terms we tend to seek a clubface angle parallel to the lead-arm at the top, followed by a clubshaft on an angle ‘in the slot’ as shown in the following image. With the arms and wrists working as levers we tend to optimise the amount of pressure on the back of the ball with the following images…[coming soon]

So we met at Dukes Meadows Golf Club to whet the appetite for the 2007 season!

After a look at a couple of episodes from The Titleist Performance Institute’s [TPI] ‘Fitness Academy’ television show we were able to complete a fitness screening for all delegates in attendance. Then from the individual screening results we are able to deliver and unique golf workout administered by myTPI.com.
Trish [Johnson] attended to find out what all the fuss was about and was inspired enough to book a screening for herself the next day!

“If I can get some exercises for the next few weeks while away at the Women’s World Cup of Golf it will really benefit my season.”

Do log in and post your feedback or comments on this session.

See you all next time!

So after two rounds with either Richard or myself most of the squad have had a chance to discuss the course and build a clear idea of some of the best [and worst] spots to mark on the planner.

When Lulu, Louisa, Sian and I played we stuck to ‘miss ‘em all’ rules and enjoyed a close match. Every hole required chip, pitch or sand shot to approach and guess what – Lulu won – no surprise! With a good variety of shotmaking from around the greens, and a spectacular up and down from sand 30 yards short of the 7th I was pipped by one shot.

My overall impression was that a steady, cautious approach to holes 1 – 5, gave the best results. Then some powerful tee shots from 6 onwards gave some reward. The putting greens generally favoured a bold, straight hitting putt until the 10th, 17th and 18th. Those three greens needed a bit more respect and in match play, keeping yourself in the hole with a cautious approach putt might just trip up an over-bold opponent. Beware the 10th green especially – two putts will be ideal here!

More soon …

So after two rounds with either Richard or myself most of the squad have had a chance to discuss the course and build a clear idea of some of the best [and worst] spots to mark on the planner.

When Lulu, Louisa, Sian and I played we stuck to ‘miss ‘em all’ rules and enjoyed a close match. Every hole required chip, pitch or sand shot to approach and guess what – Lulu won – no surprise! With a good variety of shotmaking from around the greens, and a spectacular up and down from sand 30 yards short of the 7th I was pipped by one shot.

My overall impression was that a steady, cautious approach to holes 1 – 5, gave the best results. Then some powerful tee shots from 6 onwards gave some reward. The putting greens generally favoured a bold, straight hitting putt until the 10th, 17th and 18th. Those three greens needed a bit more respect and in match play, keeping yourself in the hole with a cautious approach putt might just trip up an over-bold opponent. Beware the 10th green especially – two putts will be ideal here!

More soon …

After a quick chat to see how LET / LPGA players might approach a practice round, we made a few notes on the whiteboard to highlight typical ideas.

After splitting into three teams, we set out to make properly planned notes for holes 3,4,5,& 6 on the Academy Course at Dukes Meadows Golf Club.

Getting back together we summarised the key points for one hole from the notes everyone collected and we discussed a few of the main ideas:

• Check key yardages for yourself.
• You might want to indicate an accurate club selection to the front of the green along with the appropriate club to the back edge.
• Record the distance from greenside to any significant hazards.
• Roll a few balls across the green from front to back, then from one side to another to indicate subtle breaks.
• Obvious slopes can be noted and marked on your plan for the hole.
• If in doubt as to the best shot to the green, hang back and watch the following game approach. Their shots may inspire some ideas!

The next time we meet will be at Royal Mid Surrey for a practice round or two. Anne has contacted the Club to organise times, and Richard and I have contacted Head Professional Peter Cherry who has been very helpful. He has given his permission for us to join the Team on the practice days Saturday 20th May [Richard], and Tuesday 30th May [Scott].