Spring is the perfect time to work on your game

Thursday, 06 September 2018

So dust off your clubs and join us.

Spring is here and although the weekend weather looks a little bleak, today we have 28 degrees and sunshine!

The difficult decisions have to be made…

So Bryson DeChambeau’s hot form continues and with it, his selection on to the USA Ryder Cup team along with Tiger and Phil Mickelson. Team USA does look particularly impressive and has made the decisions of Thomas Bjorn far more difficult. You would have thought that with Matt Wallace winning three times this season that he would be an automatic pick, however Bjorn has gone with Sergio (out of form), Stenson (injured), Poulter and Casey. His issue has been the need to add some experience but I am not sure Sergio and Stenson warrant his confidence, time will tell…

Understanding your pitching and impact.

This week’s tip might help you with your short game as it did Peter. The simple understanding that your hands should oppose each other can really simplify the whole swing, check out the video and give the drill a try.

If you need help with your game, please get in touch with me.

Join us again next week.

Please note that this Friday nights event had been postponed to next week as the weather forecast looks a little bleak.

We’ve had some very special visitors

We were honoured to have the Slater family and friends here on Friday last week to have a few drinks in the memory of John Slater.

The DA’s John Steenhuisen visited us along DA MP Dean McPherson.

“You should play a driver with more loft.” It’s a nice generalisation.
But that’s what it is: a generalisation.
If you want the most improvement from a new driver,
then come and get fitted. Let’s create the right launch conditions.

Here’s a golfer who bought a driver off the shelf.
And here’s his performance after he was fitted properly.

Despite playing the latest technology, it took just 20 minutes to find an extra 21 metres,
by LOWERING the launch angle. In this case, spin was also lowered.

There’s a driver DNA – ball speed, launch angle, and spin rate. We need to match those when fitting you for a driver.
How close is your driver to your Launch DNA now? Do you have 20 metres or more of performance in the right DNA?
Come and see us. Let’s unlock your potential to thrill.

Make bounce your friend. Learn how to use the bounce on
your wedge and you’ll lower your scores.

Using the bounce on your wedge makes golf easier, more fun, you’ll play with more confidence,
and open up a variety of greenside shots.

You’ll read a lot on what bounce you should have on your wedges, but what’s the point of having ‘bounce’ if you’re not taking advantage of it? You’re missing out on a better short game.

There’s bounce on your wedges for a reason. Do you know if you’re using yours to improve your consistency and control? It’s time to improve.

Happy golfing!
Steve

A sad farewell | John Slater

Wednesday, 29 August 2018

Sad news this week is that John Slater passed away after a long illness. John was instrumental in developing the Mount Edgecombe Driving Range at a time when the club were battling and thinking of closing it down. He invested his money and passion into making a success of the facility and we were lucky enough to learn from him and to help continue that legacy in 2010. John was a true entrepreneur and as an ex-board member of Mount Edgecombe Country Club helped make our club what it is today. Thank you John!

Well done to Derek Scullard on winning the KZN amateur this past weekend at Durban Country Club. Derek has been a prolific winner locally on the mid-amateur scene, but this past week he overcame all the youngsters to claim top honours.

On a more personal note, I was given a proper lesson in the Club’s Thursday competition where our own Director of Golf, Micky Hough shot 29 on the front nine of the Lakes in the pouring rain and cleaned me out!

This week’s Tour leaderboards had the swing guru’s talking, between Padraig Harrington and Bryson de Chambeau there was a lot of chat about different techniques…

De Chambeau is quite the maverick and is only one of 5 players to have won the NCAA title, the US Amateur and 3 PGA events before their 25th birthday, the others being Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Jack Nicklaus. All this while employing the fundamentals of Homer Kelly’s book “The Golfing Machine”. This book was in my opinion the foundation for many of the finest teachers in the 80’s and 90’s and has certainly stood the test of time. It is well publicised that De Chambeau plays with irons of all the same length, 37 ½ inches (approx. 6iron length), what is often not mentioned is the fact that the lie angles are about 10 degrees upright!

This quote from Kelly’s book always makes me smile…

“Demanding that golf instruction be kept simple does not make it simple – only incomplete and ineffective. Unless this is recognized, golf remains a vague, frustrating , infuriating form of exertion.”

What you can learn from Bryson de Chambeau?

Watch the video and find out!

It’s that time of the month again!

Next week is Friday Night Under The Lights. Don’t miss out!

Are you registered to play in the National Golf Day?

If you would like to challenge all 6 of South Africa’s major winners on Monday, 3 September 2018, make sure that you register online today!

By registering for the National Golf Day, you have the opportunity to challenge your South African golfing heroes, but more importantly, proceeds from the day will be donated to worthy golf related charities; Els for Autism and the South African Golf Development Board.

The club with the most registered golfers on the day will win up to R10 000 in prizes from The Pro Shop for their next club event. So, make sure that you register your participation for your club.
Take the challenge and see if you can beat your South African golfing heroes head to head in a Stableford scoring event.

Even at the simplest level, there are over 600 fitting options for a single iron.
Many will have 4 (or more) shaft flex options.
That pushes the number of options closer to a thousand.

Some will have more than just 2 shaft options. Now we’re way past a thousand.

Now consider that’s all before we
look at the size of grip you require.

We’re not asking you to rush out and buy a new set of irons. But when it does come time for you to invest in
improvement and more great shots, remember you’re 1 in a thousand.
Take the time. Take the care.

Happy golfing!
Steve

Wednesday, 29 August 2018

Sad news this week is that John Slater passed away after a long illness. John was instrumental in developing the Mount Edgecombe Driving Range at a time when the club were battling and thinking of closing it down. He invested his money and passion into making a success of the facility and we were lucky enough to learn from him and to help continue that legacy in 2010. John was a true entrepreneur and as an ex-board member of Mount Edgecombe Country Club helped make our club what it is today. Thank you John!

Well done to Derek Scullard on winning the KZN amateur this past weekend at Durban Country Club. Derek has been a prolific winner locally on the mid-amateur scene, but this past week he overcame all the youngsters to claim top honours.

On a more personal note, I was given a proper lesson in the Club’s Thursday competition where our own Director of Golf, Micky Hough shot 29 on the front nine of the Lakes in the pouring rain and cleaned me out!

This week’s Tour leaderboards had the swing guru’s talking, between Padraig Harrington and Bryson de Chambeau there was a lot of chat about different techniques…

De Chambeau is quite the maverick and is only one of 5 players to have won the NCAA title, the US Amateur and 3 PGA events before their 25th birthday, the others being Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Jack Nicklaus. All this while employing the fundamentals of Homer Kelly’s book “The Golfing Machine”. This book was in my opinion the foundation for many of the finest teachers in the 80’s and 90’s and has certainly stood the test of time. It is well publicised that De Chambeau plays with irons of all the same length, 37 ½ inches (approx. 6iron length), what is often not mentioned is the fact that the lie angles are about 10 degrees upright!

This quote from Kelly’s book always makes me smile…

“Demanding that golf instruction be kept simple does not make it simple – only incomplete and ineffective. Unless this is recognized, golf remains a vague, frustrating , infuriating form of exertion.”

What you can learn from Bryson de Chambeau?

Watch the video and find out!

It’s that time of the month again!

Next week is Friday Night Under The Lights. Don’t miss out!

Are you registered to play in the National Golf Day?

If you would like to challenge all 6 of South Africa’s major winners on Monday, 3 September 2018, make sure that you register online today!

By registering for the National Golf Day, you have the opportunity to challenge your South African golfing heroes, but more importantly, proceeds from the day will be donated to worthy golf related charities; Els for Autism and the South African Golf Development Board.

The club with the most registered golfers on the day will win up to R10 000 in prizes from The Pro Shop for their next club event. So, make sure that you register your participation for your club.
Take the challenge and see if you can beat your South African golfing heroes head to head in a Stableford scoring event.

Even at the simplest level, there are over 600 fitting options for a single iron.
Many will have 4 (or more) shaft flex options.
That pushes the number of options closer to a thousand.

Some will have more than just 2 shaft options. Now we’re way past a thousand.

Now consider that’s all before we
look at the size of grip you require.

We’re not asking you to rush out and buy a new set of irons. But when it does come time for you to invest in
improvement and more great shots, remember you’re 1 in a thousand.
Take the time. Take the care.

Happy golfing!
Steve
  • Comments Off on Struggling with direction and consistency? This one’s for you!

Struggling with direction and consistency? This one’s for you!

Wednesday, 12 September 2018

May the magic of this Eid bring lots of happiness in your life and may you celebrate it with all your close friends & family.
Eid Mubarak.

Spring has sprung!

The weather has definitely changed and spring is approaching quickly, which is an exciting time of the year. It also means spring treatment of most of the courses is just around the corner, so I would suggest you get as much golf in as you can over the next few weeks.

Brandt Snedeker became the 9th player to shoot 59 on the PGA Tour in last week’s Wyndham Championship! It seems that this is becoming more and more of a possibility each season which I feel shows how much better the players are getting, and the depth of possible winners is increasing.

This is one of the reasons I think that add to the debate of Tiger winning another major. Almost the entire world press think that golf is now sexy again and that surely Tiger will now start winning majors again. What interests me is that his 64 in the last round of the PGA Championship was his lowest ever final round in a major and yet he didn’t win. The younger players he is now competing against have not experienced the Tiger effect of the early 2000’s which puts him at a disadvantage, however you simply can’t underestimate him and the US Masters this year will be in his sights.

The most exciting event on the horizon is the Ryder cup and we should have the news on the final teams in the next few weeks. On the US side, they simply have to pick Tiger, and his form over the past few months will give them real momentum. That said, his record at the Ryder Cup is less than impressive, however I wouldn’t be surprised if he blows his opponents away. The Europeans of course have the option to set the course up to suit them. Will this mean tight fairways and penalising rough to nullify the US big hitters? It will be interesting to see.

I am sure most of you saw the destruction done to the Wild Coast Sun this week, which was so disappointing. What was uplifting was the response from all the neighbouring courses. Everyone sent staff and equipment to help make the repairs!

This past week I have had several students struggling with direction and consistency on their full swings and the common misunderstanding was the concept of the path the club travels after impact. This video may help…

If a fitted iron increased the number of solid, accurate approach shots you, would you want a fitted iron set?

Now please note that, very skillful golfers were more able to accommodate fitting errors than anyone else;
and that less capable golfers were much less able to make the necessary adjustments in their s
wing for an iron that was poorly fitted.

There’s a partnership between shaft length, lie angle and shaft flex that will help us
help you make the game easier. Length, angle and flex all impact accuracy.
They all impact consistency. Let’s get yours right.

This is a ‘no-brainer’. Every golfer should play with golf equipment that makes it easy to repeat a golf swing;
that brings the club face back to the ball; square to the target line. Inexperienced and learning? Make it easier.
Improving and aspiring? Make it easier. Good and competitive? Make it easier.

This is a fun advert but, again, it’s full
of social commentary.What is most important to the identified
generational group is the empowerment of
their children.

What this generation knows is that nothing is more important
than doing things with their children.

Make golf with your family a special time together.

The world has evolved. Golf needs to be a game for everyone. Starting with partners, mothers, daughters, sisters,
we want to get more women into golf. How can you help?

Happy golfing!
Steve