Back to school #2

Get ahead of the game: TEACHING REVIEW Lesson 2

As the European Tour players nervously sweat it out at the second stage of the Qualifying School in Spain, Golfing Inspirations’ specially recruited amateur golfer is also heading ‘back to school’. He is eager to learn and improve his game in preparation for next season. Over the next few months, he is taking part in a personal winter training programme at Kralingen golf course in Rotterdam as part of the PGA Holland and NGF “9-step plan”. “Golfing Inspirations” will be regularly following his progress.

Firstly, a quick recap: His current handicap is 28. His lowest ever was 24. And although he has been playing golf for nearly 25 years, he has only ever had one lesson apart from a few group lessons at the very beginning. But you’re never too old to learn. The question is, however, will he keep up his training all through the winter?

Turning over a new leaf

It’s been exactly one week since his first lesson. So how is he feeling? And, most importantly, has he had time to practise during a busy period in the garden: sawing and chopping down trees and clearing leaves?

The answer is yes. Striking while the iron’s hot, he went on-line the very next day and booked his follow-up lesson with PGA Holland professional, Mariëtte de Groot. Fortunately that all went without a hitch and he received direct confirmation per email. Then inspired by his first lesson and another gorgeous Autumn day, he headed off to his local golf club to practise, with the attitude: “The garden can wait!” Our Game Golfer was keen to test out his new tips. There’s no stopping him now!

Q&A:

So how did it go, practising on your own?

“Not bad. OK, I wasn’t Tiger Woods, but I was satisfied”.

Sounds promising. It’s all too easy to expect far too much from yourself after just one or two lessons. Two days later, he toddled off to practise again.

Is it still going well?

“Mwah…”, (that’s a typically Dutch sound, an expression which means, “so, so”).

Now that sounds less promising. What happened?

“On the range my balls went everywhere with my 7-iron. Then I played 7 holes. Thankfully my hybrids went well.”

Have you played since then?

“I was planning to practise again on Wednesday, but the weather wasn’t so inviting. On Thursday, I was invited to play at The Dutch with some friends, so got there early in order to hit a few balls on the range. That’s new for me – normally I just drink a cup of Cappuccino and head for the first tee! But this time I practised and worked on the tips from my pro. The result was 28 stableford points, so I was pleased.”

LESSON 2 6 November 2015 at 2.00pm

Football inspiration during second lesson

And so to lesson number 2. Even though it was a grey and drizzly Friday, our Game Golfer arrived a few minutes early to make sure he was ready and warmed-up on the driving range for when his teaching pro arrived. First she asked him to summarise what he had learned in his first lesson. She was suitably impressed. That’s the advantage of making a note of the tips after each lesson! Then it was directly to work. Mariëtte is a no-nonsense, hands-on pro.

His first few balls sailed effortlessly into the distance. Then, the more he began to work on the tips, and try too hard, the worse he got. “Keep calm, relax …”, came his coach’s encouragement. He directly responded with his best shot of the day. “That’s the one!”

Much to our Game Golfer’s delight, he even began to see a slight draw on his shots. And then the sun really began to shine. His coach continued with some tips:

“Take the clubhead away ‘wide’ in the backswing and then let the clubhead just ‘drop’ in order to start the downswing … use the lower body more … the lower body should lead and the upper body follow.”

Every now and then, she introduced a few visual tips which her new pupil could easily relate to. Emulating a footballer, she showed how the leg swings freely and through when kicking a football. Mention ‘football’ to a guy and he is all ears, naturally.

As Mariëtte explained, many golfers have the wrong idea about the golf swing. It is a common fault to take the club back ‘on the inside’ in trying to create a good shoulder turn. A handy tip is to follow the ‘swing curve lines’ printed on the mats at many driving ranges.

PICTURED: How to use the driving range pillars to develop a good hip and shoulder turn. An exercise which will also help stop the ‘fly-fishing’ action in the swing.

PICTURED: (left) A ball basket helps to create the ‘right loop’ in the swing and avoid the ‘fly fishing’ action. Apparently the coach of Dutch Tour professional Maarten Lafeber uses such props too. Another trick to help create the correct swing plane is to place a plastic bottle on the swing curve. Swing ‘outside of the plastic bottle’ on the backswing and ‘inside the plastic bottle’ on the downswing. Remember to follow-through. WARNING: Don’t actually try and hit the ball with the plastic bottle in position! This is an exercise without a ball. PICTURED (right): “Head still!”

Q&A:

Are you still feeling inspired after your second lesson? What did you learn today?

“Yes, I am. We worked on my swing again today, especially my shoulder turn. Most important for me is not to take the club back on ‘the inside’. The club should stay ‘outside the hands’ on the backswing.

At address, the ball position should be 1/3 to the left and 2/3 to the right. I have a tendancy to set-up with the ball far too much off my back foot.

I’ve now got a good mental picture of how I should be swinging: a loop in the shape of a figure 8, and then hitting through the ball.

And to keep my weight a little more behind the ball.

One of my biggest problems is that my upper body is too eager in the swing and comes forward much too quickly, smothering the ball. Consequently I generally cut or slice the ball which means I lose a lot of distance.”

How does his pro feel about the progress so far?

“Naturally, after so many years of playing golf, it is difficult to change a swing, just like that. Old habits die hard! But, after only two lessons, I’m really impressed as to how well he is doing. Getting the swing sorted out is the most urgent. He can now go away and practise that on his own. If all goes well over the next few weeks, then we’ll look at his chipping next.”

And our game golfer, is he happy?

“So far I’m really impressed. Especially how Mariëtte is able to create a visual image for me of what I am doing wrong and how I can correct it, in such a clear and simple way.

She explains it really well and makes the lessons interesting. She told me, for example, about Tiger Woods’ coach. His tip is to imagine that you’re wearing a boxing glove. Then visualise your swing with an ‘upper cut’ action. That’s fun and inspiring!

The tips without the club to explain the movements of the body were also really handy. I have a tendancy to pull the club towards me on the downswing, instead of ‘hitting out’ at the ball.

I feel that it is going better already. My plan is to practise three times a week now in order to try and groove my swing and stop the old swing coming back!”

Most difficult change to make so far?

“Keeping my head still! However, I’m very optimistic that I can change my swing and start playing better golf and get more distance on my shots.”

Follow our Game Golfer

You can continue to follow our game golfer’s winter training progress by regularly checking out: “Golfing Inspirations/Reviews/Special Features” where we’ll be posting updates. Click here for next lesson … Click here for previous lesson.