It's been great to hear quite a few comments this week about my teaching ideas regarding backswing and impact positions. It's all good as the point is to get you thinking and if any of it helps then it's been a good thing!

Interestingly, one of my first lessons after the email was with Graham Billett and almost immediately a problem with his backswing became apparent. In short, his right arm was getting very disconnected (slightly 'chicken winged') which made him pick the club up in front of the correct plane so he then pulled the club down from out-to-in, cutting across the ball. I showed him how to stay connected (a glove under the right arm or just the feeling of keeping the right elbow tucked in as the club is swung away) and almost immediately it had very positive effects on his swing and, as a result, his ball striking and flight.

Now, this is clearly an example of how important the backswing can be and I wanted to highlight it as I didn't want anyone to think I was saying that it was not important. This change was essential and it was great that Graham could put it into action straight away (I should add that it will still take him time to make it absolutely natural as his old habits may still jump in occasionally for a while yet) but what would happen if he found the change very difficult? Should he abandon such a change or just concentrate on it totally?

Neither in my view and that is the point to what I was saying last week. In this case, I honestly believe Graham will be able to take it to the course straight away. Even when he hits a bad one it will be better than the way he used to take the club away and therefore probably a far better result in general. But if he had struggled then I would want him to practise the movement as much as possible but to think differently when he plays. Any amount of change would be progress so if he concentrates on rhythm and his backswing changes just a little then we are going the right way.

The other school of thought here is that you have to concentrate on the new movement and just play through this period which will probably be very difficult and results will suffer. Again, I think this is true to some extent and it depends on the individual and, most importantly, how much time he or she can put into this. The once or twice a week player who might hit a bucket of balls every fortnight will become very disheartened this way. The results will be so long in coming he will probably abandon the idea pretty quickly (hands up everyone who's had lessons before and recognises this feeling?).

So we come back to my thoughts last week. Backswing is important but if concentrating on a change proves destructive then there may be a better way to play through it. Practise your new movements and work with your pro but when you play concentrate on good rhythm and a good impact position feeling. As Graeme proved during our lesson, if he swung the club his old way but concentrated on just good rhythm and a good impact position he could hit the ball pretty well. However, with his new backswing feeling he will undoubtedly improve his golf but it is not always that easy!

So if you are thinking about lessons then I'd like you all to understand my philosophies and way of teaching. Our job is not always black and white - individuals are different and they will pick up changes at different rates and have different amounts of time they can put into their golf. So our teaching has to reflect this and we work with you rather than dictating how you should be doing things.

If that sounds like it might help then you know exactly where to find myself and Simon. You only have to call or pop into the shop to book up. We are still offering our winter special at £99 for 5 lessons so take advantage while you can! Get in touch here.


 

Motocaddy Servicing

Equally I have had quite a few takers already on my Motocaddy service offer. As you can see, the workshop has been changed so work can be carried out properly on your trolleys and as the wet weather is continuing, at least for the foreseeable, this is the ideal time to take advantage and have them serviced and fully cleaned.

I also took in a PowaKaddy this week, which was no problem so if you want yours looked at I can help with that as well. As I said last week the offer is a full service and clean for £20 so get yours in soon.

 

It's that time of year when you realise your grips aren't quite what they were and with the season coming this is the time to get them sorted. Interestingly, I have just changed to the new Golf Pride Multi-Compound +4 grip. This has a much thicker bottom hand and I'm very impressed with it. Whilst you might not want to pay out £11 for this specialist grip,you might want to either look at Midsize grips or even just to have extra layers of tape added to thicken all, or part of your grips. All of this can be done and as usual we are offering you, our members, very healthy discounts for numbers of clubs.