Ian Moore
It seems only a moment ago I was drawing Ian's name out of the hat and now there's only one week to go until the final session, incredible. Week Seven was gapping, this is always a fun exercise to work on with a student as it gives vital information that shockingly most golfers don't know! I hear most players justify this with ' my swing isn't the same from one shot to the next, so what's the point of working out my distances.
Incorrect, at any level you must understand, then check regularly how far your hitting your clubs, because they change from season to season, plus at a basic level it gives you confidence when your over the ball that you are holding the correct club, so you're more likely to commit to the shot in front of you.
And finally if you can answer the following question with a confident yes then your distance control is spot on, but if it's a no! Then a Gapping session like the one I did with Ian last week might be the key to better golf. To book your own session, please click here!
Okay here we go, cast your mind back to the last great shot you hit, got it... did it finish by the flag? Yes or no? Wouldn't it be nice when that occasional great shot comes off it pitches by the target!
Ian now has a precise list of distances that will guide him when he's calculating carry distances, this has to be positive when trying to create greater consistency.
Lifeboat Spoon
After the deluge of rain on Friday play on Saturday was hanging in the balance but fortunately the course handled the rain very well and was open and ready to throw out new challenges for the Lifeboat Spoon. There was an exceptional entry with 160 players and even at one point during the week there was not any spaces for late comers to get a game with the start sheet full right the way up to 2:44pm!
The wind was swirling and the course was softer than what we had been used to in previous weeks so the scoring wasn't going to be that high, right? Wrong! Every golfer dreams for everything to 'just click', from the driver right the way through to the putter, well that seemed to be the case for Richard Taylor who had a colossal 42 points which not only gave his Proshop account a healthy increase but also reduced his handicap by 1.6 now making him 7.0.
The hardest hole for the day was the 9th playing 1.74 over par which even managed to cause a bit of trouble for Richard only giving him 1 point, he is human after all! I took a peek at Richard's scorecard to see how he fared on the 3 toughest holes compared to the 3 easiest holes for the day, the easiest holes were the 4th, 7th & 3rd in that order; Richard got 2, 3 & 3 points on those holes, maybe the tougher holes caused him more of a challenge. The 3 toughest holes were the 9th, 6th & 12th and Richard managed to score 1, 3 & 3 points, only 1 less than the easier holes which goes to show how solid he played all day.
Richard fended off some formidable foes in Division One all finishing on 38 points; Steve Cochrane, Mika Sandhu and the in-form Bob Florence, who after 10 holes was 5 under par, he couldn't quite finish off his round but I'm confident a big score is just round the corner.
Apart from bombing his tee shots a country mile down the fairway, hitting his approach shots close and needing to wear oven mitts to stop the putter from burning his hands we would like to think Richard's fine form had something to do with the PING G30 driver & hybrid he got fitted for at the fitting day earlier in the season. Just another happy golfer whose game we have revolutionised simply by custom fitting his clubs.
Final Weigh In
The time has finally come where John, Terry & Graham step on the scales and reveal the burning question that's on everybody's lips...how much do they weigh? The final weigh in will be on Saturday 1st August so there is just about enough time for you to have your first guess or even have another go.
Between the Proshop and the bar we have raised £228, half will go to the Captain's Charity which is Teenage Cancer Trust and the other half will go to whoever guesses the closet. Once again a big thank you for all your support!
Tip Of The Week
If you are struggling with your bunker play, follow these 4 very simple steps and you will soon have Spanish hands:
1. Aim the feet left of the target
2. To counteract the feet aiming left you must open the clubface which will also add loft and expose the bounce of the club.
3. Make an out to in swing (feel as if you are swinging along your feet line) to ensure a steep angle of attack into the sand
4. Maintaining club head speed is imperative if you are going to execute the perfect bunker shot; this is best achieved by transferring your weight. Make sure you swing through to finish NOT at the ball!