Ian's Game Improvement
Into week three now, the pressure is starting to mount as the improvement part of the program takes shape. It's crunch time and the next step is critical if Ian is going to see the rapid improvement I so easily promised at the start of the course. Thankfully for me Ian has a lovely natural flow to the movement to his swing, which basically means any change should be more to his fundamentals, let me explain...
Last week I reported on Ian's skill tests results, one of the weaker areas was Ian's 50 yard wedge shot. Ian struggled with generating any significant loft on the ball, leading to a very low running approach, which made controlling distance virtually impossible. Direction and strike were also very inconsistent. Overall an area that was causing lots of wasted shots.
After some careful investigation it was clear to see where the problem lies, I've taken a before and after screen shot using my coaching software to highlight the issue more clearly, see if you can spot the problem. If you guessed alignment then good job, from the photos below you can see Ian is aligned more towards the driveway than his intended target. The incredible part is Ian's swing has adapted to this position by pushing the club away in the opposite direction to where his body is pointing (see photo of the early stages of the backswing, the arrow represents the correct position at halfway). The movement is so severe it removes any loft from the club head, effecting Ian's initial launch, also the arms separate from the body making timing and consistent strike virtually impossible.
The long and short of it is, if Ian can set himself squarer to the target the above movements will correct themselves all on their own, its a simple change but repetition is the only cure. Ian really struggled to feel square and the only way to be sure he was facing in the correct position was use his club to check his alignment, as you can see the results were much better, plus the height for the shot returned instantly.
My advice would be to spend some of your practice focused solely on your fundamentals, things like grip, alignment, posture, ball positioning and stance widths are vital if you're going to achieve a consistent game.
Ian's thoughts
This week fifty yards from the green, I thought the same technique as ten yards, just hit it harder! Not that easy apparently. The alignment is key I felt I was square to the target, but not the case, Warren pointed out how a small adjustment to my stance makes a difference of yards to the end result on the green. The changes he has made feel strange, it's all down to practice now.
US Open Par 3 Championship
Last Friday was the inaugural RCPGC Par 3 Championship which was a great success with 49 members taking part on the exclusively designed course and staying for exquisite fish & chips, which was kindly supplied by Naz Gill, whilst watching the big guns do battle with what can only be described as the most controversial course that the US Open has been played on.
For most of you the new par 3 course offered up shots that you would never have been faced with before, however for the winning team of Terry Heaver, Martin Pegg, Geoff Revett & Graham Dunnachie these shots were as easy as the normal ones... Either that or they are miles off line when they play normally but I will leave that for you to decide.
We also had 2 nearest the pin prizes up for grabs the first was won by John Bullock who after his group left the tee took the notice with him to mark where his ball had finished meaning the following groups were unaware it was a nearest the pin until they got to the green, a very smart tactic from John!
The other was won by yours truly after a magnificent shot in front of the 6th tee to the 5th green to 4 feet; form is temporary, class is permanent as they say! Due to budget restrictions we couldn't stretch to an individual prize, but I thought its worth mentioning the winner; playing a fabulous 9 holes in 26 points yes 26 points! David 'Soft Hands' Jones.
Alongside the Par 3 Championship we also ran a sweepstake for the US Open for the lowest round on the Friday and the winners were Paul Melville with Louis Oosthuizen and Jenny Colquhoun with J.B Holmes both shooting a classy 66, 4 under par.
A big thank you to every member who participated in the event, it was great to see the Clubhouse filled on a Friday till late and so many people enjoying the occasion. Also a big thank you to Jerry and Rob, in 6 days we created an event from nothing and it wouldn't have got off of the ground with a lots of hard work from the A Team!
Lady Captain's Prize
A week filled with our Captains' celebrating their year and first up was Sue Siddle with the Ladys Captains Prize on Tuesday.
A well supported event with 53 ladies taking part.
The overall winner and big congratulations goes to Jo Beslee with 36 points.
This wins adds to 2 previous, keeping the hot streak going and bringing the handicap down to 11.4.
The competition was played in great spirits with each lady having to wear something pink, even our future captain got involved although some would say that is his normal attire outside the grounds of RCPGC!
Sue and her helpers layed on a fantastic spread of cakes, sweets and snacks at the halfway hut making it all the more harder for the players to carry on their round into the back nine!