Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
New Ping G400 Irons Review
The Brand New Ping G400 Irons Review
In this video Mark Wood PGA Golf Coach reviews the brand new Ping G400 Irons
From Your Friends at Mark Wood Golf Academy
PS. Come down and tee it up to make some magic moments of your own. Check our website at
Mark Wood
PGA Advanced Professional
UK’s No1 Golf Coach
The Best Golf Lessons in Chichester West Sussex
The Future of Golf- Part Two
In my blog yesterday I really focused on the stars of golf and how they mould and shape the future of golf at the top level. Another area that I am also interested in as a golf coach is the grass roots. How is the future of golf going to change for those golfers, golf clubs and coaches who are involved on a recreational level as opposed to Tour players.
Sadly since the economic downturn in 2008 golf has not been as accessible to the general masses, for some it has been side lined as a luxury that is no longer in their remit. But on the other hand golf has also become elusive for those business men that do have the finances but are finding they are needing to work longer and harder to keep things going. A leisurely eighteen hole round with a beer at the club house is becoming increasingly difficult to pack into our already rammed schedules.
I have heard of lots of suggestions being passed around in the ether, bigger holes, shorter courses, a move towards the virtual side of golf with simulators and such like. It is very hard as a Coach who has been inspired by the traditional game to accept these diluted versions of the original, however like everything we have to move with the times and reinvent ourselves just like the queen of reinvention herself Madonna!!
Elements of some of the changes suggested have indeed been part of a coaches repartee for some time now, I have an indoor studio with a net and a projector that shows fabulous greens and this for myself is a valuable all weather teaching aid. 9 hole playing lessons are popular amongst my clients and it provides just long enough for us to really make progress without pushing too far. Making the hole bigger is maybe just a push to far for my traditionalist head!
I am not sure how fast golf is going to unfold over the next ten years or so, I can certainly see the need for an alternative to keep the influx of new blood coming. All I can say is that I am excited to be a part of the next stage of the golf journey…
Correct Distance to the Ball
Create Room to Swing
A great check point reference to see if you are the correct distance from the golf ball is to be able to have a hand span between your grip and the inside of the left thigh. You can do this whilst out playing on the golf course as it only takes a few seconds. Ensuring that you have created the necessary room for your arms to swing freely past your body during the hitting zone will get you hitting the ball much more solid from off the clubface.
Mark Wood
PGA Advanced Professional
UK’s No1 Golf Coach
The Best Golf Lessons in Sussex and Kent
Explosive Distance
Explosive Distance from the Tee
One way of creating energy in the golf swing is to increase the pressure point between your feet and ground in a backswing. Many golfers as they swing back pull the force up away from the ground and this creates a negative effect on creating power. Think of jumping up into the air if you kept your pressure of your feet very light on the ground and then jumped you will not get very high. If you increase your pressure down into the ground before you jumped you would jump much higher as it gives you more energy from a solid base.
Mark Wood
PGA Advanced Professional
UK’s No1 Golf Coach
The Best Golf Lessons in Sussex and Kent
Golf Lessons Sussex – Key Tip
Golf Lessons Sussex Key Tip – Down and Through
A lot of golfers who sometimes struggle with good ball striking fall into this category, they merely hit at the ball and not through it. Remember the impact area is a place where the clubhead is travelling through at full velocity. Try not to end your swing abruptly after the ball is struck as this will lead to big inconsistency in the quality of your strike. The main trends in ball striking when a golfer hits at the ball rather than through the ball could result in heavy struck shots or hitting thin shots that fly just flat and low. Lack of distance will also be an issue here as the weight is not transferring through fully and the ball is not hit out of the sweet spot of the club.
To fix this problem try and get the feeling that you are freely swinging the clubhead down the target line and turn on through to a nice full balanced finish. Hold the finish at the end of your swing and check that you have completed the swing, weight fully on the left side, up on the toe of the right foot (for right handed golfers) and the hips and chest turned fully and facing the target.
When you watch some of the best golfers in the world you will notice how they fully commit in hitting through the ball and they finish in a world class finish position, choose your favorite golfer and emulate there finish position.
Mark Wood Golf Academy is based at Dale Hill and provides the best lessons in sussex.
PS. Come down and tee it up to make some magic moments of your own. Check our website at
Mark Wood
PGA Advanced Professional
UK’s No1 Golf Coach
The Best Golf Lessons in Sussex and Kent
Golf Swing To Short
IS MY GOLF SWING TO SHORT
A lot of golfers who come for lessons always ask me is my backswing too short?
“I’ve seen the guys on TV swing it into that classic parallel position at the top and I should be doing the same!”
My answer is always “how is your flexibility, let’s do a quick flexibility test to see if you have that kind of range of motion that all the top players have”.
It normally works out that most weekend golfers lack in the flexibility to make that full turn so they end up not completing the backswing and thrashing at the ball way too hard in the downswing.
Work on completing your backswing to the best of your ability by turning your body fully and then work on the rhythm of your golf swing. Keep the swing tempo smooth do not feel and even attempt to try and hit the ball too hard as this will coast you distance and accuracy, just let the swing speed build naturally. You will be amazed at the difference in your consistency, accuracy and distance you will achieve by staying in control of your golf swing.
A few key check points as you make your backswing turn are –
- Keep your arms wide in the backswing; many golfers who have short swings tend to bend their arms in the backswing in an aid to create the classic parallel position.
- Turn your shoulders fully in the backswing and let your hips turn a little more than normal as this will also help you create a bigger turn.
- Keeping the swing arc wide in the backswing is key as a short backswing with little body turn and bent arms just won’t work.
- Keep smooth and enjoy the extra distance you achieve.
From Your Friends at Mark Wood Golf Academy
PS. Come down and tee it up to make some magic moments of your own. Check our website at
Mark Wood
PGA Advanced Professional
UK’s No1 Golf Coach
The Best Golf Lessons in Sussex and Kent
Putting Lesson – Putting Tips from Mark Wood
Great Advice To Improve Your Putting
Putting is a very crucial part of golf and there are also many ways to putt well. I am going to share with you the most common problems that golfers run into when they are putting badly.
1. Your Stance is too Narrow – Having a stance that is too narrow will cause your legs and body to move around too much during the putting stroke. This will cause your putter path to go off path affecting the quality of the putt.
The Fix – Widen your stance by a few inches and focus on keeping your knees rock solid through out the stroke. One tip is to get some balance pads (like I have here) and make some practise stokes whilst standing on them keeping your balance, you will soon know if your not keeping great balance. Its a great way for you to learn what good balance feels like.
2. Moving your head around during a putting stroke causes miss – hits. It is most certainly a fundamental that golfers forget especially on short putts as they are keen to peak too early at the hole. I really want you to commit to keeping your eyes quiet until the ball has long gone, I guarantee that you will be more consistent and will hole more putts!!
3. Decelerating the putter during the stroke will normally cause you to miss putts to the left of the hole. This can sometimes be traced back to a back stoke that is too long. If it is make the back stroke a touch shorter and make it a habit to accelerate the putter into the back of the ball.
Mark Wood
PGA Advanced Professional
UK’s No1 Golf Coach
Putting Tips – Helping you putt better.
The Best Golf Lessons in Sussex and Kent