| 29th
March 2007
Greetings from Stuart,
With Duncan in Spain on
a so-called Pro-Am Tournament (holiday!) he
has delegated this week’s
newsletter to the living legend that is ME!
So here goes for the 9.21 news from Hele Park
Golf Centre. We’ll start with big congratulations
to Tony Jeffs for achieving 74 points and qualifying
as an English Golf Union rules referee. He
is now qualified to officiate as a rules advisor
at national events.
Following on from previous newsletters we will
be focusing on how manufacturers are using technology
to make the game easier to play, the Bazooka
irons have a wide sole to help get the ball airborne
very quickly. This makes playing with the longer
irons easier and can help players with their
approach shots to the green as the ball drops
more softly for added control.
Click
Here if you would like to demo a bazooka
iron.
Other models to consider trying this form of
technology are the MacGregor NVG2 Iron and the
PGA Pro Collection System Match. Both of which
are pictured opposite in the Whiteboard.
We have had great success with the MacGregor
NVG2 model – Karen Graddon who came on
our Portugal coaching trip was successfully fitted
by Duncan and is now enjoying a tremendous improvement
in her golf. The PGA Pro Collection is very popular
with our growing golf academy. Our students regularly
demo the irons and are drawn to their amazing
good looks and ease of use.
With summer fast-approaching there is no better
time than now to book your putting lessons. Teaching
aids such as the True Putt Pure Strike will help
you to create a true roll on your putt.
We also use a ‘Truth Board’, the
objective being to roll your ball one meter along
a board the width of a golf ball and into the
hole. I have found this to be a very useful tool
when describing flaws in a putting action.
Click
here to book your putting lesson and
receive a FREE True Putt Pure Strike putting
aid!
Duncan has recently put
his hands in his pockets (makes a change!)
and purchased the very latest Loft & Lie Adjusting Machine, which means
we are now able to check your clubs and make
any alterations on site. We are offering this
service at a cost of £50 and a speedy 48
hours’ turnaround.
Click
here for more information and for booking
In this week’s mail
I carry on with iron innovation and highlight
a putter available to you from your pro shop.
I also bring you an exclusive deal on a re-spike.
To take advantage of this offer simply click
on the banner below.
That concludes this week’s email news.
I hope you have enjoyed the read. I’m off
to continue to grow my legendary status as a
golf coach and look forward to seeing you all
at the golf centre improving your games!
Have a good week,
Stuart
GOLF SCHEDULE
Monday 2 April
Monday Group 1pm
Tuesday 3 April
Seniors’ Away Match at Holsworthy
Wednesday 4 April
Ladies’ Stableford 9.30am
Thursday 5 April
Midweek Mixed Stableford – book your own
times
Good Friday, Easter Saturday, and Easter Sunday & Easter
Monday
Course and range open as normal!!
WHATS IN YOUR SHOP?
Square Head Drivers
The Callaway square head drivers are finally
in – come and have a try!
Cobra
King Cobra Speed LD drivers now in.
PGA Pro System Match
Have you checked your spikes lately?
Are you losing grip and traction with the ground?
Change your worn spikes today and be ready for
the fast approaching season!
Click on the banner below and take up my exclusive
re-spiking offer!
THE SUPPLIERS ARE TRYING TO HELP, ARE YOU?
Where are the Iron manufacturers going to take
us over the next 18 months now that the better
manufacturers have created the opportunity
to influence head design by deliberately shaving
weight out of the basic design.
This allows them to control: ‘perimeter
weighting’ and ‘center of gravity
placement’.
By pushing weight away to the extremes of the
club face the sweet spot is expanded and the
club head is made more stable.
The expanded sweet spot will mean that you will
hit more shots flush. The increased stability
results in a good strike, which will have a straighter
ball flight, even when you hit the ball out towards
the toe end of the club (where many amateurs
are inclined to strike the ball).
This technology has even
led to the face of the clubface being expanded
(as in ‘Over
Sized’) to increase these effects still
further.
The positioning of the ‘center of gravity’ (CoG)
is about getting the CoG lower and deeper or
further behind the club face.
This will make it easier for you to get the
ball up and away much more often, and with a
higher ball flight ensuring better distance.
Some manufacturers have achieved
this by expanding the club head into almost
a hybrid. Others have retained the more classic
appearance but advertise that the CoG is actually
somewhere “in
the air” behind the club face.
Probably the most apparent design feature is
the deeper, wider cavities on broader soles that
you will see from many manufacturers. You must
make sure that you are buying a club whose weight
placement and center of gravity placement is
going to benefit your game because they are different
model to model. Start by asking, what does your
game need?
If the suppliers are making the game so much
easier for us to play, then why are the average
handicaps not coming down? Jack Nicklaus, now
a top golf course designer, reckons it’s
down to poor course or game management. He believes
that if he walked a round with an average 18
handicap golfer, he would save that golfer 4 – 6
shots off their card just by making better club
selection, wiser shot choices and providing better
hole strategy.
The next round that you play, check the scorecard
afterwards, and ask yourself, with the benefit
of hindsight, how many shots you would have saved
through better course management.
CONTROL DISTANCE AND YOU ONLY PUTT TWICE
Last week I gave you some drills to improve
three aspects of your putting: technique, distance
control and accuracy. In that article I noted
that the cause of most three putts is poor distance
control.
If you are faced with a 21
foot putt you are not going to hit it more
than 3 feet wide either side, but there is
a chance that you’ll
be beyond 24 feet or short of 18 feet. Either
of those results, too long or too short, will
leave you with a tricky 4, 5 or even 6 footer
for your two putt.
Yes, you want to be able to make the 6 footer
when you need to, but the secret to a good round
is to make sure those are not your second putts.
Let’s get your first putt within the 3
foot range each time. Set that as your objective
for your next rounds and measure how many times
per round that you fail with that target.
If it is more than once or twice per round then
go back to my distance control drill and just
practice that for 15 minutes once a week.
Actually, it is a lot easier today to meet your
targets with that drill than it was 10 years
ago because the manufacturers have zoned in on
that objective as well. The sweet spot on a blade
putter in the 70’s was small and the fall
off in energy transfer, either side of that sweet
spot, was rapid. You had to hit the ball exactly
in the sweet spot or you would have no hope of
getting your distance control correct.
The modern putter often looks as though it belongs
in a science fiction film, and is armed with
space age technology courtesy of the materials
used, the way that the weight is distributed
and the exact angles used in loft and alignment.
The purpose is to make the sweet spot as broad
as possible, to reduce the impact of a strike
outside the hot spot and to make sure that the
center of gravity sets the ball rolling (and
not skidding and bouncing) as soon as possible.
There are four ways to improve your Distance
Control on your longer Putts: practice (honestly
that drill will make a difference), take a putting
lesson to improve technique on longer putts,
play with a putter with a broader sweet spot
and higher MOI and, of course, make sure your
Putter fits your dimensions and stroke. Give
me a call or contact me by mail on duncan.arnold@foremostgolf.com and
we’ll remove your three putts from
the card.
Have a great week and good luck to all of you
playing this weekend.
Regards
Duncan |
