The Golf Swing Company

Spent 2 hours with the legendary Dan Grieve, one of the best short game coaches in the UK. Dan is Head coach at Woburn and specialises in the last 100 yds; whether pitching, chipping or bunker shots. He promotes 3 types of releases for chip and run, soft landing and flop shots. He was able to give very clear feedback on my technique and what would help me become a better short game player. Wish I'd met Dan when I was a 12yr old:)

Just back from a 2-day Mind Factor Mastery workshop in Manchester with the legendary Karl Morris and a guest appearance from Gary Nicol (former European tour coach). Really vibrant class with current and former tour players as well as a host of like minded coaches. Lots of energy in the room! Key topics for me were two-fold:
1. The recent work of Neuro scientist Dr Izzy Justice
2. An on course focus method called "circles"

1. Dr Izzy Justice
Izzy works with elite athletes across multiple sports in the US. He is now able to monitor their brain patterns while they perform their given sports. For a pro golfer, missing a 3-foot putt has the same brain wave activity as a death in the family! This "spike" takes the golfer into the "red zone" where their brain is so distracted that the player is no longer able to control their muscles correctly to perform the next shot. This is why one poor shot can lead to another. The solution is to use calming techniques to bring the player back to optimum performance described as the "green zone".
(I'll be happy to share these calming techniques with you).

2. Circles
As players we are preoccupied with our score. A competition, especially a Medal places even more focus (and pressure) on this. "Circle" is a way of putting our attention on something more useful. For example, your challenge could be to make sure every approach part gets 18 inches past the hole. Each time this is achieved, the player can place a circle on the hole number. At the end of the round, they have accumulated circles, rather than dropped shots to par.
The topic chosen will depend on what you are want to focus on the day; taking a breath before every shot, alignment or holding your finish after every shot.
Happy to work with you on choosing an appropriate topic.

The Lost Art of the Short Game
Lucky enough to attend a 2 day golf workshop at Archerfield GC Scotland, hosted by Vin Harris (Mindfulness Guru), Karl Morris(Performance Coach) and Gary Nicol (European Tour coach)
Theme was The Lost Art of the Short Game and followed on from a trilogy the guys had recently written.
We focused on Mindfulness (how to stay in the present on the golf course), How we speak to ourselves on the golf course(our tone of voice - good caddy bad caddy) Our golf story, and how we could rewrite it if we don't like it.
Also, spent time on green reading, how to use the bounce with our wedge play, and game strategies to improve our greens in regulation. A wonderful 2 days immersed in our golf games.

If you'd like to explore any of these topics, just get in touch.

The Golf Swing Company

Blog 50 – Over the Sea to Sky

Introduction

(Photos courtesy of Traigh GC)
This is a bit of a Ronnie Corbett story but please bear with me. Many moons ago my wife and I took a holiday to Tunisia where we met a charming couple called Barbara and Alex McLennan. They hailed from Mallaig, in the Highlands of Scotland (a short hop to Sky). We really enjoyed their company and when they said “why don’t you come and visit us”, we said yes!

It’s almost 600 miles door to door and we did it in stages stopping off with friends and family along the way. Even from Glasgow it felt like an all day drive with many single lane roads with pass ways. You could tell the locals immediately as they never gave any hint of giving way so maintaining their speed!

Mallaig
Archie encouraged us to stay in the town’s hotel which they used to own and run before retiring. The McLennans seemed to have taken it upon themselves to keep their clan going single handed producing 12 children! As the hotel only had 12 rooms it must have been very cosy.

We settled into out lovely Victorian style bedroom with a sunset which seemed to go on for hours. We were watching Wimbledon on TV but it had been rained off which was quite ironic given the average rainfall in this part of the world.

The phone rang and a voice with a soft Highlands lilt said “I wish to make your acquaintance.” It was Archie and he invited us to meet in the Hotel’s snug bar. I offered to get the first round in and Archie suggested single Malt. When it was his round the drinks arrived and the measures were at least double the size. “Och the barman’s my cousin” he said. Afterwards we were given a guided tour and kept bumping into people who knew Archie at which point he’d explain “Och he’s my cousin. ”

It was like being on the set of Local Hero (one of my favourite films)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085859/

Golf in the Highlands
The weather turned showery but the forecast said it should stay dry for the morning so we headed to Traigh Golf Club. Founded in 1900, a 4,900yd par 68 but no pushover with a standard scratch of 65. https://www.traighgolf.co.uk/ Great names like the 479yd 7th called “The Lang Wang.”

At that time the clubhouse was closed but there was an honesty box in the wall for green fees. It was sunny and a little breezy (not surprising really as not much in the way between the course and Newfoundland)The skies in the Highlands are big and the views were stunning.

Can’t remember how I played that day but that wasn’t the point. It was all about enjoying the experience of a “natural” golf course maintained by the head green keeper and his flock of sheep. A time to be grateful to be alive and just playing golf.

So when you tee it up on 29th March - be grateful.

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Blog 49 – The power of “Yet”

Introduction
I recently messaged my former boss Mike. (He was very supportive when I confided in him that I no longer wanted to be part of the corporate world and had a dream of becoming a golf coach). Mike was super energetic, very much a can do kind of guy. The only flaw was that he was an Arsenal fan! As a Spurs fan myself this actually created lots of good banter. Indeed we once sat in a bar in Barcelona together, watching Arsenal take on the mighty Barca back in London. (It may as well have been in Barcelona as the away team monopolised the ball) Poor Mike ran out of finger nails to chew – he was that nervous.

Devastating News
So I was really devastated to hear that Mike was recovering from a massive stroke. It meant he had had to learn to walk again and had also lost the use of his right arm. He sent me a blog on the power of “Yet”. Here’s an extract..

“So what is exactly the power of yet. Yet is my kind of mantra. It’s all about constant recovery not being exactly a straight line which some people might think its like. Its 2 steps forward one step back or even two steps forward three steps back four steps forward. You go left you go right. You have different paths open up to you.
The key proponent of “yet” is that I can’t move my right arm yet. I can’t run yet. It is a very powerful word. It really inspires me to carry on the hard work, the True Grit.

You are so in the moment, the now, so happy and your ability to notice your surroundings and your ability to appreciate your surroundings is phenomenal. You don’t rush from A to B or A to Z anymore. Everything is just a little bit slower but deliberately because you’re taking it all in. And that’s the beauty of it all. You take a breath, take another breath and just admire what is actually happening around you and that is so new for me and that’s something that has not been part of my life pre stroke.

So I cycled the most I’ve ever cycled today. I don’t know. 25 kilometres or something like that with no resistance on the pedals. It’s knackering. It’s exhausting. And having gone shopping and pushed my trolley which is really hard to do making sure that both my hands are on the trolley to encourage the movement in my right hand is all hard work. And all this hard work requires recovery, requires downtime, requires rest and sleep and you just have no idea how much recovery and rest I require after exerting myself on the bike or doing the shopping or just doing the mundane things that we just take for granted or used to take for granted.

So it’s a marathon and I’m in it and I don’t know what mile marker I’m at but I’m in the marathon and I’m still walking or running or whatever you do when in a marathon and I’m enjoying it. It’s hard work, bloody hard work but I’m motivated and I’m going to do it. Thanks for listening”

The Power of “Yet” for golfers
I meet a lot of golfers for the first time who tell me they can’t do this and they can’t do that and I ask them to rephrase the point by adding the word “yet”.

You can’t chip over bunkers – yet!
You can’t hit a 7 iron over water – yet!
You can’t hit the 13th fairway at your home course – yet!

Anything is possible with the right mindset, the right environment and the right encouragement.

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Photo by Ali Kazal on Unsplash

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Blog 48 – Mindfulness – part 2

Introduction
How we talk to ourselves on the golf course is far more important than perhaps we realise. Imagine this we’ve just hit two wonderful shots to the heart of a long and tough par 4 only to 3 putt from 20 feet. One minute we were imagining a birdie and in the blink of an eye it’s a bogey.
So what happens next?
a. We call ourselves a few unprintable expletives, and storm to the next tee. As we stand over the next drive we’re still fuming from the missed 3 footer and block the drive into the trees which leads to a double bogey 6.
Or/
b. We get angry for 5 seconds but then let it go....rather than fester, we have a think about what just happened. (Bit over zealous with the first putt and didn’t give the return putt the attention it deserved). We then file away this information for future use. On arrival at the next tee, we take a few deep breathes, a kind of “reset”. Only then do we pull the driver, and step into our pre shot routine and fully commit to the next shot in hand.

Body Language
Having hit a poor shot, it’s very easy for our body language to take over. If our shoulders slump and our head drops, the message to our golf brain is we’ve lost interest.
So however poor the shot, make sure that as you walk down the fairway, you keep your chin up and look towards the green. This sends the message (to your golf brain and to your opponent) that you are still competing.
Tension
Poor shots can create anger, frustration and worst of all - tension. If you haven’t let this go by the time you address your next shot, the tension can lead to tight muscles and a poor swing. So as you walk down the fairway, take deep breathes to relieve the tension and help you stabilise your emotions.
Good Caddy/Bad Caddy
Who would you rather have on your bag, a dour caddy who took every opportunity to have a snipe at you, undermining your confidence and self esteem or a good caddy who encouraged, sometimes cajoled but always put a positive spin on any given situation?
The latter right? So if you genuinely believe this, why do you beat yourself up after playing a poor shot? Tour pros expect to hit around 5 poor shots per round. What they do next and their powers of recovery both emotionally and mechanically is what differentiates them from the average golfer.
Summary
Next time you play, set up a different score card which measures your reaction to a less than favourable shot with 1 being your were able to move on and get over it and 3 where you continued to fester. Then see how this scorecard compared to the actual score per hole.

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Photo by Ryan Snaadt on Unsplash
Sources
Karl Morris https://themindfactor.net/
Vin Harris https://www.inspiredbylearning.eu/book/11

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Blog 47 – Mindfulness – part 1

Introduction
Average driving distances on the PGA tour of over 300 yds are becoming commonplace. Many of our oldest and cherished golf courses are being reduced to becoming pitch and putt. The governing bodies are considering combating this with changes to golf ball design. However, the distance that many players struggle to conquer remains the 6 inches between their ears.
Mindfulness, the ability to stay in the present is seen as one solution to this perennial challenge.

I’m partway through a zoom based Mindfulness course with Vin Harris and Karl Morris; Vin lectures at the University of Aberdeen and Karl is an outstanding mind coach.

So what is Mindfulness, and why is it relevant to golf?
In its purest form we “play golf” against the course architect. He or she sets us a challenge on every shot and we respond to that challenge. How we respond is the key. For example we are faced with a 150 yard shot over water to a narrow green. What do we see, where is our “attention” and what is our “intention.”

If our attention is on the water and by the way, last time we duffed it into the water, then guess where the ball is heading? Alternatively, having assessed the wind direction and strength, the air temperature and how we are hitting the ball that day, we settle on a 7 iron, aim at the 3rd stripe from the left (and still dunk it in the water) we have a problem Huston:)

We’d asked all the right questions, chosen the right club and picked a target but half way up our backswing a little voice said “don’t hit it fat”.

The reality is the “chatter” in our heads never stops and the challenge is how do we engage with that chatter. So this is where Mindfulness comes in. Imagine you are sitting on a riverbank and you are watching things float by on the current. Those “things” are your thoughts. You can choose to engage with those thoughts, or acknowledge them (and this is the key) and just let them go – let them float on by.

For example, the memory of hitting it into the water did happen, but engaging with that memory at this point in time is not “useful” and the opposite of useful is...useless. A memory of flushing your 7 iron like an arrow is conversely quite “useful” at this point in time. So replaying that memory in your mind and then “committing” to the 3rd stripe on the left side of the green is useful.
While your “attention” is on that green stripe your “intention” is clear and there is no room for the thought of the water.

Meditation

Every day since I started the course (a couple of weeks now) I’ve been practicing meditation. You may have visions of someone sitting crossed legged on the floor chanting but that wasn’t the case for me for two reasons;
1. Because my hips are two stiff to allow me to bend my knees that far and even if I did manage to I’d need to call the fire brigade to unravel me.
2. It’s not necessary – you can meditate sitting comfortably in a chair, standing up or even lying down
The core of the meditation is closing your eyes, and just being aware of your breath. The in breath brings in fresh air, and the out breath is about “letting go”. Letting go of the baggage (memories of shots poorly struck for example)

Now that sounds so easy and with a bit of practice, it is. To begin with other thoughts will race by and try to disrupt you. Acknowledge them but don’t engage with them. Over time, achieving a “state” of relaxation will be achieved more quickly, you’ll be able to block out noises whether inside your head or around you on the golf course. Those guys chatting noisily on the next tee will be noted but then not engaged with as you settle on the matter in hand – holing that 5 foot putt to win the hole. Being aware of your breathing then just letting the putting stroke happen...

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Photos
Simon Migaj on Unsplash
Mor Shani on Unsplash

Sources
Karl Morris https://themindfactor.net/
Vin Harris https://www.inspiredbylearning.eu/book/11

Blog 46 – Tales from the Caddy Shed – part 4

Introduction

The Sunningdale Foursomes is one of the UK’s prestigious golfing events allowing top amateurs (male and female) to take on the pros in this alternating format. Chose your partner wisely as hitting every other shot is not for everyone. Steady players who rarely miss a fairway are a good place to start plus the ability to make a lot of 5 -8 foot putts under acute pressure.

It’s the mid 70’s and I‘ve been picked to caddy for Warren Humphries. He was an outstanding amateur winning the 1971 English Amateur at Burnham and Berrow, playing for the winning GB and Ireland Walker Cup team in the same year. He went on to win the Portuguese Open but not until 1985. His partner was Hedley Muscroft, a gritty Yorkshireman who also won one PGA tour event in 1970 seeing off Christy O’Connor Senior at the 4th extra hole. So I was very excited to be “on his bag”

The Practice Ground
Each day started early with a warm up on the driving range. Each player had his own bag of practice balls and their caddies were expected to head to the range and pick them up as the player hit them. So the advantage of caddying for a good player was that you didn’t have far to walk to collect each ball. The disadvantage was that on a grey early morning in March with the mist still clearing it was very hard to follow the flight before the ball thudded down close by left or right. This wasn’t too bad but then add 6 other players, some of whom were spraying it a bit that day and it was then quite a “thrilling” experience (no crash helmets provided).
Match play tactics?

Matches throughout the week we always close as the overall standard was high. The most noticeable difference between the amateurs and the pros was the speed of play especially on the greens. The amateurs would quickly assess the shot in hand, make a decision and then execute the shot. The pros however would take their time, deliberate, and then eventually after a few practice swings, play.

This approach was exaggerated 10 x fold on the greens. I reckon the grass must have grown a few centimetres by the time our two-some finally pulled the trigger on their putts. I also think it was a deliberate ploy to disrupt the tempo and flow of their amateur competitors. To be fair to them they holed a lot of 8 footers and so we progressed to the semi finals.

The semi finals
I was very excited to reach this stage. The guys however, were a bit off form and trailed with 3 holes to go. Sensing they might be knocked out, they managed to go up a gear and drew level with two holes to go.

At the 18th Hedley found the right hand bunker off the tee leaving Warren with about 240 yds to the green with a steep bunker face to contend with. The lie was good and he selected a 4 wood. I had visions of Laura Baugh (who while playing in the Colgate European open took about 3 shots to get out of the same bunker). He addressed the ball and I shut my eyes. Thwack and the ball cleared the lip of the trap and set off like an Exocet missile finishing 10 yards off the putting surface. Wow! What a recovery shot. Big grin from Warren. The pressure was also getting to their opponents who were having trouble too – on the green in 3 but 12 feet away.

So Hedley just needed to nestle his 20 yd chip up to the hole for a tap in and potential win. He hits it heavy and leaves it 5 feet short. Warren misses the putt so off down the 19th.
A similar situation; just off the putting surface in 2 requiring a “simple” chip and putt for a birdie to continue. However, the pressure was getting to them as well and the chip came up short and once more the putt was missed and it was all over.
Summary
So however good a golfer you are, however long you are off the tee, the 6 inches between the ears will always be the last battle field. Conquer that and anything is possible. Look out for my next Blog where we explore “Mindfulness” and how to manage the challenges that lurk between the ears.
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Caddy image courtesy of Clipart.com
Hedley Muscroft image courtesy of Clipart.com
Sunningdale 18th hole image courtesy of Sunningdale GC

GC

The Golf Swing Company
Blog 44 – Match play and how to play it

Introduction
I love match play and learnt my craft at Sunningdale playing for the Surrey 7’s team. It was the golfing equivalent to the Champions League in football, playing the best teams in the county. Teams were made up of; yes you guessed it, 7 players, with a maximum of 5 single figures players and at least 2 in the teens.
We won it 3 times in a row and I played in all 3 wins. For the home fixture we always played the visually intimidating and very exacting New Course which played about 3 shots harder than the picturesque Old Course.

The opposition
5 years of caddying gave me an eye for golf swings and I would meet my opponent, shake his hand and watch his technique with interest. Even if he striped it down the first fairway I could usually detect a flaw, so would just be patient and wait for it to unravel.

As I said the New Course is very exacting; rewarding well struck shots and punishing poor ones. The fairways are surrounded by a sea of 100yr old heather which lulls the poor player into a false sense of security. Your ball can land in it, appear to be sitting up well but come the critical point of impact, will grab the shaft, twist the club face resulting in either very wayward or smothered shots. So, unless you have forearms like John Rahm, the trick, not surprisingly is:
a. Avoid it
b. If you do end up in it – just get back on the short stuff and take your medicine

So I learned to plot my way around the course (avoiding the heather and bunkers) I was playing off 13 at the time so bogeys were often good enough to win, especially on the tougher holes.

Team Spirit
We were 7 individuals with one goal – win your individual match for the team and for the Captain, who was as tough as old boots. He played off scratch or there abouts and would sit quietly in the clubhouse and just give you “the look” as you entered the clubhouse. All it needed was a quiet thumbs up from you and he’d nod and almost smile (or it could have been a touch of constipation – I was never quite sure)

“The team” would leave you to it and never gather around the 18th to see you in, oh no! Why heap any unnecessary pressure on you, especially if the game was still alive.

Opposition Strategy
Our competitors couldn’t be more different; matching team shirts, caddies as we approached the latter stages and even a small gallery of over excited friends, family and fellow members of their respective clubs.
I’d be delighted when this happened as firstly the caddy would add an element of doubt where normally the player would just trust their own judgement. The gallery would again add pressure as all their friends were watching and they didn’t want to mess up, so sure enough – they did! As I didn’t know any of their friends I felt removed from the pressure and just used it as an added weapon.

The dog licence
We were in the semi finals against St Georges Hill and up against a strong team. I was practicing at Parley ahead of the game. Peter Thompson had just arrived in the area and was scouting for new clients. He watched me hit a few shots and asked if I needed any help. I explained I had a semi final match the following day so maybe just one thing. Well he spotted my rather big sway away from the ball and suggested a fix. I tried it and it worked! The following day I stuck with it, demolished my opponent 7&6 (a dog licence) and shot 4 under my handicap for the first time ever on the New Course.
I was hooked, and ended up being coached by Peter Thompson for the next 10 years (no misprint) and became a serial winner.

Form
Sometimes I’d be drawn against a young whipper snapper whose handicap couldn’t keep up with his improvement, I’d play out of my skin and still get hammered. Other times I’d play poorly but come against someone having a total shocker and win. If you play enough match play that’s just how it is. All you can do is prepare yourself well and do your best on the day and be a gracious loser
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Golf Course photos courtesy of Sunningdale GC – 7th Fairway, New Course

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Blog 43 – Tales from the Boys tour – part 1

Ring of Kerry 1998

Introduction
It’s 1998 and I’m working in the corporate world and playing my golf at Sunningdale Artisans #. I wanted to play some of the best courses in Great Britain and Europe. Invites were not exactly flooding in so I decide to set up my own Boy’s Tour. (The tour would continue annually for the next 14 years).

We had our own claret jug and every year a new name would be engraved. I managed to win it 4 times at St Andrews, The Algarve, Gerona in Spain and Sesimbra in Northern Portugal. The goal was to play one or two of the very best courses in the area and supplement them with the best “value for money” courses too.
Our first year is to The Ring of Kerry in SW Ireland and we play Ballybunion, Tralee, Waterville, Dooks and Killarney. Handicaps range from 7 to 27.
(Photo courtesy of Ballybunion GC)

If you took a few holes from each and pieced them together, you’d probably have the best Links course in the world. We flew in to Kerry Airport, hired cars and set off each day to find the course. We’d end up down some tiny dirt tracks thinking we must have taken a wrong turning but after a mile or so the road would widen and there would be the clubhouse sat imposingly with the sea not far away. The clubhouse walls would be covered in memorabilia- photos of Tom Watson warming up before an Open for example.
Photo courtesy of Dooks GC

Warning! The following stories contain some laddish behaviour which you may find offensive.

The waitress
Steve K was Irish and the “character “in the group. His pre-shot routine was to stand over the ball, cigar hanging out of the corner of his mouth, waggle the club and talk to the golf ball – attempting to persuade it to bow to his will. Actually Steve could have talked for Ireland at an Olympic level; he probably talked in his sleep too! We were driving into Killorglin, a small town after our first game at Dooks for dinner. I blonde lady dressed in black with fishnet stockings, high heels and a short black skirt was walking into town too. Steve slowed down wound his window down, took a look at her face and yells out “Mutton dressed as lamb” and then drives off thinking he’s very funny. We struggle to find a parking spot but eventually do, head into a nice looking local restaurant and who should be our waitress.....even Mr K was “sheepish” for a while.
(Killorglin image courtesy of Wikipedia)

What are drinking games?
We ordered and one of the guys (David F) my mate from Sunningdale suggests we play some drinking games. Now I must have led a very sheltered life as I had no idea what he was talking about. Basically some puzzle is set and if you get it wrong, you have to take a drink. Well after about 15 mins on an empty stomach, I was feeling pretty merry but after 20 mins was feeling pretty ill. I made it to the gutter where I promptly threw up. So what now? I had no appetite so headed back to our B&B to sleep it off.

Next morning I woke feeling no worse for wear but quite peckish. I headed down to breakfast only to find Richard E fast asleep on the sofa, hugging a bottle of bourbon in a brown paper bag. Somehow Richard managed to get himself ready to play. We’re on the first tee now and it was just like the hangover chapter in Bonfire of the Vanities. Poor Richard had what appeared to be an egg yolk in his head and every time he bent over to attempt to put the tee in the ground he had an urgent need to stand up and steady the yolk. Somehow using mind over matter he managed to connect with his opening tee shot. There’s a grave yard on the right side of the opening hole and it was very fitting for poor Richard.
(Photo courtesy of Ballybunion GC)

On the second tee, Keith L lost his bearings somewhat and caught his tee shot so far off the toe that the ball took off sideways, landed in the local caravan park, ricocheted around a few Winnebago’s and came to rest. One irate owner came out of his dwelling shook his fist at the embarrassed Keith collected the ball and headed back inside.

My caddy
At Ballybunion I treated myself to a lady caddy (once the girlfriend of Darren Clarke)
It was a windy day and as we approached the 12th known as The Citadel; an intimidating 214yd par 3 the advice was, “so Tony can you see the green” I nodded, “well aim 40 yds out to sea and you’ll be fine” so I did and I was as my crisply struck driver hit a wall of wind which deflected the ball to about 4 foot from the flag for a birdie – a rare bird indeed that day! https://www.ballybuniongolfclub.com/portfolio-item/hole-12-citadel/ Suffice to say, I won the day with a massive 33 stableford points.

The hairdresser
Now here’s an interesting side story. President Bill Clinton had always wanted to play Ballybunion but was too busy. Somehow a window appeared in his diary and the villagers were delighted. They gave the high street a fresh lick of paint and out of respect, even changed the hairdresser’s name for the day as it was called Monika’s!
(Photo courtesy of eumonlynch.com)

The rally driver
We were heading back from I think Waterville and I was encouraged to sit in the front. Steve, our chatty Irishman was driving. Unbeknown to me this was a set up. Steve drove faster and faster down these narrow country lanes. The guys in the back who had set me up were beginning to regret it. We approached a hump backed bridge still at rally speeds just as farmer Murphy was crossing the road with his flock of sheep, complete with sheep dogs. As we crested the bridge the world changed to slow motion. Steve looked at the farmer, the farmer looked at Steve who then managed to defy physics and bring the hire car to a complete stop before it collided with Murphy and his flock. The remainder of the drive home was a far sedater affair.

- a club within a club, at Sunningdale this was originally set up for the chauffeurs and the gardeners of the parent club members. We had a scout hut by the driving range and had to do divotting duties on the course and have limited playing hours either early or late. We had no standing on the course, so if a parent club member came up behind us we had to let them through.
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