Hi everyone,  

So, the aftermath of The Masters seems to have brought even more people out to enjoy this lovely weather and to dust off their clubs. The club had one of the busiest Easter Fridays that I can remember at any of my clubs and I have noticed an increase in lessons and sales in the shop. I really must thank you all for the support you've shown me since I arrived at the club and I can only hope that I keep supplying you with products and services that you all enjoy.  


 

Do you have a mental block?

It's interesting when you start to do a fair amount of lessons to notice common traits. Very often these are due, at least in part, to characteristics of the course where people play and I believe I've started to see one here at St. Augustines. With six par 3s it is not such a surprise that some of you are finding you have a bit of a mental block on these holes.

Or is it something else? Interestingly, I have heard a similar statement from a couple of members regarding the importance of playing the par 3s well on our course. I wouldn't necessarily agree that they are as important as that (I think it's important to take advantage of our par 5s and short par 4s) but the very fact that some of you are thinking that way puts more pressure on you on these holes. Two of my lessons had almost identical problems the moment they stepped onto a par 3 and could barely get the ball in the air despite having hit some lovely irons into holes previously. Some of this is down to confidence of course but the point is you cannot just find confidence from nowhere - it has to be created and you can only do that by doing good things so you see success.

So, to help you a little I am going to list some of my keep points for you to follow on par 3s in particular:  

1. First things first - be careful with alignment. Tees are often 'off straight' and Greenkeepers just love to put tees out a little 'staggered'. This can upset your alignment unless you're onto it so pay attention. 

2. Think about where you are teeing up. I usually tee up on the right hand side of the tee box as I am a natural fader of the ball and this opens up the hole for me. If I teed it up left I would be making it harder to keep the ball on the green so keep this in mind. It also means, on most of our par 3s that I am playing slightly away from the major trouble. On holes 4, 15 and 16 you do not want to go right (and that also goes for a number of other holes) so again, teeing up on the right hand side means you have changed the angle to play away from the trouble.  

3. When you put your tee down be a little more careful exactly where you do so. I always stand inside the ball as if I was going to address it to see where I would like it to sit. Very often I see players just tee up anywhere and when they address the ball they notice that it's now on a slight decline or has a slight lump behind it. Think about how Bernhard Langer has always been meticulous in teeing the ball up. You don't need to go to extremes but put it in a good place. I always look for a very slight incline as I feel it's easier to get to the bottom of the ball. Never put it on a downslope!  

4. Don't tee the ball up too high. If you do pay attention to the lie and place you tee the ball up on then you really do not need to tee it up very high at all. Teeing the ball up high means you will subconsciously try to hit up on the ball rather than down. I see a lot of you hitting thin shots on par 3s and this may be a reason why.  

5. Lastly, and almost certainly most importantly, take enough club to hit a smooth shot with. Most of you will tend to be a club short and this usually means you will also try to hit it hard, which often results in a poor strike. This does, of course, bring us back to something I've mentioned before which is all about knowing your true club distances rather than what your ego believes. In particular I am thinking of the 6th as it is a tight green with trouble everywhere. I want to be swinging well within myself to ensure, as much as I can, that I hit the ball well and as straight as possible. Club up and swing smoothly and I am certain you'll see better results.   

I hope those tips help you but if you'd like some detailed help then you know where to find me.
You can also click here to request a lesson.


 

Multi-Buy Clothing

I've now received my crested shirts, merino half-zip sweaters and v neck sweaters which are all available on a special 'multi-buy' deal. I am also including the new shirts and trousers that I have on this deal. 

In short - buy any two items and you get £5 OFF each item. This mean shirts are as low as £25, shorts as low as £20 and trousers, which are exceptional value, £30. Come in and see the range now.