Posts Tagged ‘Golf Lessons Kent’

Severiano Ballesteros was born on 9 April 1957 in Pedreña (Cantabria), a small village on the southern shore of the Bay of Santander in the north of Spain.

Baldomero, his father, had formed part of one of the best rowing crews in history in Spanish “traineras” (fixed bench fishermen’s boat). In Pedreña there is a great tradition for this type of tough sport, although golf also formed part of the atmosphere at that time-the 50’s and 60’s. if, in all the Pedreña homes one could always find a member of the family who had caddied at the Royal Pedreña Golf Club – a prestigious club inaugurated in 1928 by de King of Spain – in the Ballesteros family this was more than a customary as Seve’s older brothers Baldomero, Manuel and Vicente were all professional golfers, as was his uncle Ramon Sota, his mother’s brother, one of the best golfers in Europe in the sixties, winner of four Spanish Professionals Championships, sixth in the 1965 U.S. Masters and a member of runners-up teams at two World Cups, in 1963 and 1965 (behind the USA and South Africa, respectively), in addition to other important victories all over the world.

With this background, plus of course, impressive natural talent and his tremendous love of the game and enthusiasm for work, Seve, with a 3-iron his brother Manuel had given him as a present, invented a huge variety of shots that bestowed his game with enormous versatility.

At the age of 10 he took part in his first caddies tournament. He recorded a score of 51 over the 9 holes, beginning with a 10 on the first hole – a par 3. The following year, he came second with 42. At the age of 12, then playing the full 18 holes, he won the tournament with a score of 79. His made progress at lightening speed – at 13 he was already finishing with 65 – and he picked up everything he saw. In 1971, when the La Manga Club was officially opened, he was able to watch the great golfers in action. The golfing star that most impressed him was Gary Player and his spirit of sacrifice on the practice ground.

Seve din not have much chance to play at the Pedreña (Golf Club and for that reason he sharpened his skills mainly on the beach and only on nights with a full moon did he tiptoe down a play the course. Of course, he was caught out more than once and punished for his misbehaviour, which made him think seriously about his future.

Despite these obstacles, on 22 March 1974 he turned professional (he was not quite 17). His first tournament was the Spanish Professionals Championship at San Cugat. He came 20th, causing his great disappointment as his objective was no less than outright victory. His first triumph came in Pedreña when he won the under -25 Championship of Spain and the following week he vas runner – up at the Santander Open, al the North of Spain Circuit. At an international level, his best performance was at the Italian Open where he came 5th.

1976 was witness to his definite launching. Not as mucho for winning the Order of Merit with victories in the Dutch Open or Lancôme Trophy, catching up on the 4 shots Arnold Palmer had over him with 9 holes to go, or his triumphant World Cup Team win in California but for his performance, which catapulted him to world fame when he came second in the British Open at Royal Birkdale, sharing the honours with Jack Nicklaus as runners up to an unsociable Johnny Miller. Seve was leader of the tournament for the first three days, surprising everybody with a chip that he shot clean as a whistle between two bunkers, rolling too little over a metre from the pin, giving him a birdie on the last hole. The intense look on his face and his courage from that day onwards mesmerise the masses.

In 1977 he again came first on the Order of Merit and in 1978, with victories in the USA, Kenya and Japan; he became a truly international golfer. The truth is he achieved six consecutive tournament victories which, in addition, were over the remaining four continents after Europe. Seve won his first British Open in 1979, becoming the youngest winner of the century

His next appearance in a major was at the US Masters where, in 1980, he gain amazed everyone. With 9 holes to go he was 10 ahead of the player in second place… Seve holed 23 birdies an eagle. Augusta already had its winner. At 23 he became the second non-American and first European to wear the green jacket. It was really an incredible success. The church bells in his home town rang out in joy, however, in the rest of Spain little interest was roused.

I hope you enjoyed the article, any comments or Questions then please leave a comment below..

Until next time I wish you all the golfing success

Mark

Mark Wood Golf Academy
Dale Hill hotel & golf club
East Sussex

Chipping Address Position

A lot of golfers struggle in getting the chipping set up correct, which can lead to a lot of poor shots from around the green. Many golfers who come along for chipping lessons are under the impression of ‘the stance must be open, ball must be back in the stance and the hands must be way forward’. This unfortunately leads to poor swing paths, steep angles of attack and utilising the leading edge of the club rather than the bounce leaving no room for margin of error. This will lead to a lot of inconsistent shots, thin and heavy and off centre strikes.

How I like to see golfers set up to the ball for a straight forward chip shot from around the green is as follows –

Keep the ball position just inside the left heel with the shaft angle almost straight up from the ball, I don’t mind if it leans a tiny bit towards the target, but not excessively. I would be happy if the top of the grip was in line with the centre of the ball. Keep your weight 60% on the left side and pivot around that point.  Your spine angle should be straight up, not tilting away from the target which is another trait of a poor chipper.

The body alignment should be parallel to the target line as we want to promote a swing path that goes down the target line, not cut across it!! An open stance would promote you to cut across the ball, putting side spin on the ball. A stance that is parallel will help you swing the club down the target line promoting pure back spin so the ball will check a little then roll out on your desired line. Posture should be athletic and your distance to the ball should be quite close to help with the down the target line swing path. Keep the clubface square throughout the shot even long into the follow through as this will help achieve a great consistent ball roll.

I hope you enjoyed the article, any comments or Questions then please leave a comment below..

Until next time I wish you all the golfing success

Mark

Mark Wood Golf Academy
Dale Hill hotel & golf club
East Sussex
Best Golf Chipping Tips from the UK’s No1 Golf Coach where it counts – Results! 

Pitching Distance Control

Controlling your wedge distances are a lot easier than you may think, all of my students will have a process that they follow that controls there pitching distances with Pro style control.

Firstly if you carry 3 wedges, which is the norm these days, especially as PW lofts are getting stronger 45 degrees there is quite a large gap if your next wedge is 56 degrees. Most players will carry a wedge formation of PW, 50 degree, 54 degree and 58 degree wedges. This article is based on controlling your distances with these wedges and knowing the numbers that they go (yards) will most certainly help your short game.

If we work on the basis that each wedge will potentially have 3 yardages in them then carrying 4 wedges will give you a 12 shot yardage system.

The below box is an example of the wedges and the 3 yardages they fly with the controlled length swings.

If we look at the first distance (shortest distance) in each wedge, how I am controlling this is by swinging the hands to hip high in the backswing and to hip high in the forward swing, keeping the wrist’s very quiet. This gives you the first set of yardages with my wedges. You need to hit each wedge and measure out the distance with a range finder to be exact.

Hip High to Hip High

The second distance is by swinging the hands to chest high in the backswing and to chest high in the forward swing, again keeping the wrists quiet. This gives you the second yardages with all of your wedges.

Chest High to Chest High

The third distance is where you swing your hands to shoulder height in the backswing and to shoulder height in the forward swing again keeping the wrists quiet. This will give you your third set of yardages with all of your wedges.

Shoulder High to Shoulder High

Once you have this in place make a note of your yardages and keeping referring to them when out playing on the course as this will certainly help improve this specific area of your game.

I hope you enjoyed the article, any comments or Questions then please leave a comment below..

Until next time I wish you all the golfing success

Mark

Mark Wood Golf Academy
Dale Hill hotel & golf club
East Sussex

Why stance width is important

Stance width is a very important part of the address position as this will effect how the body turns and moves in the golf swing.

Having a stance to wide will promote a very stable base but unfortunately you will lose a lot of mobility during the golf swing. It will in essence effect your body turn in the backswing and will also make it difficult for you to get your weight into the left side (for right handed golfers) in the downswing and into the follow through. This will cause the swing to get off plane and therefore potentially give you a poor path through impact, tilting the spin axis of the ball. It can also lead to poor strikes, thin or heavy and lack of power and distance.

If you address the ball with a to narrow stance you will have lots of mobility but very poor stability in the golf swing.  You will be able to turn very well in the swing but the loss of balance due to the narrow stance is going to be a major problem. You will start to slow the swing down to keep some balance through the strike, leading to inconsistent strikes and a lack of power.

Try and check your stance regularly to make sure it is roughly shoulder width apart for your long game as this will give you the blend of both stability and mobility in the golf swing.

I hope you enjoyed the article, any comments or Questions then please leave a comment below..

Until next time I wish you all the golfing success

Mark

Mark Wood Golf Academy
Dale Hill hotel & golf club
East Sussex

Curing an over the top swing plane leading to an in to out swing path and a SLICE!!

The “Reverse the loop” swing drill 

I have a 5 iron in my hands for this drill but you could use any club, the most important thing is to angle the cane in the ground at the correct angle for this drill to work.

1. Place an alignment cane on the ground parallel to your target line. This ensures that you stand parallel to your target line.
2. Take another cane and push it into the ground slightly inside the target line and a club length behind the ball, the cane should be on an angle on roughly 60 degrees for a 5 iron (see above picture).
3. The top of the cane should be running through your pelvis as you look at it.

• As you start your take away keep the club outside your hands and outside of the cane (see the above picture).

• Swing up to your normal full backswing position, ensuring you have a good full 90 degree shoulder turn.

All the focus is now to return the club back down on the path inside the cane (see the above picture) as this will create an inside attack on the golf ball producing a much straighter and more powerful ball flight.

I hope you enjoyed the article, any comments or Questions then please leave a comment below.

Download my free ebook packed with drills to stop your slice CLICK HERE

Until next time I wish you all the golfing success.

Mark

Mark Wood Golf Academy
Dale Hill hotel & golf club
East Sussex

Hit Your Putts from the Centre of the Putter Face

This is one of the best putting tips for great instant feedback for improving the quality and the centreness of strike and therefore your distance control and accuracy. If you hit a putt out of the toe end of the putter, the face will open on impact causing the ball to start to the right of your line and will come up short. If you hit it out of the heel it will close the face causing the ball to start left and also come up short. After a small amount of practise you will be finding the middle of the putter face time after time.

I hope you enjoyed the article, any comments or Questions then please leave a comment below..

Until next time I wish you all the golfing success

Mark

Mark Wood Golf Academy
Dale Hill hotel & golf club
East Sussex
Best Putting Tips from the UK’s No1 Golf Coach where it counts – Results!

Posture is a key Fundamental to get right

Creating a good posture is key if we want to make a good ballistic athletic powerful movement in which clubhead speed is created. Posture sets up the shape of swing as well and if we start to stand to the ball with poor posture then we are going to make compensating movements in the golf swing, which is not good.

In order to achieve good posture, stand with your feet shoulder width apart and hold a club down your tummy and bend from the waist.

Once you have done this the legs will fell quite tight and stiff so you are now going to flex your knees just a little to take this stiff feeling away.

Softly flex at the knees as this is very important in good posture. Let the arms drop and form a good grip on the club as normal.

The knees are going to have the feeling of being turned outwards ever so slightly as this will help with our body turn. The weight in the feet needs to feel in the balls of the feet almost as if you are creating a strong connection between your feet and the ground, remember we need a solid base to swing and this is your point of contact with the ground, and to create power and force which in turn creates clubhead speed we need great stability.

I hope you enjoyed the article, any comments or Questions then please leave a comment below..

Until next time I wish you all the golfing success

Mark

Mark Wood Golf Academy
Dale Hill hotel & golf club
East Sussex

Putt around the Clock

This is another drill that is used worldwide amongst the elite touring professionals and one of my favourites’.  You need 18 tee pegs and at least 6 balls, I always recommend that you practise short game and putting with the balls that you play with on the course so you know exactly how that ball feels and reacts on certain shots etc.

1. Start by placing the first ring of tee pegs 2 feet away from the hole going around in a clockwise fashion. Then place a ring of tee pegs 3 feet away in the same fashion followed by another ring of tee pegs 4 feet away from the hole (see picture above).
2. Then place one ball by each tee peg 2 feet away from the hole.
3. The drill then starts where you need to hole each ball from the first set of tee pegs before you move back to the 3ft set of tee pegs. Once you have holed from the 3ft set of tees move back to the 4ft set of tee pegs and hole all of the putts.
4. Try and do this drill at least 3 times from all the pegs without missing any putts, if you miss then start over from the first set of pegs 2ft away.

I hope you enjoyed the article, any comments or Questions then please leave a comment below..

Until next time I wish you all the golfing success

Mark

Mark Wood Golf Academy
Dale Hill hotel & golf club
East Sussex
Best Putting Tips from the UK’s No1 Golf Coach where it counts – Results!

Line It Up!

This is one of the best putting tips used by the best players in the world.
Using the logo of the ball is a very effective way of helping you hole more putts. Far too many golfers faced with a short makable putt  set over the putt thinking about the negatives of missing the putt. To often you hear them say ” I just new I was going to miss that”, as they curse with anger.

Why not just focus on the positives on holing the putts instead?.

Here’s a great putting tip used by many of the top Professionals worldwide, and it works! It did for Martin Kaymer at the Ryder Cup last Year…

So after reading the putt start using the logo of the ball, or better still putt a line on the ball with a Sharpie pen and line up the logo/line down the intended start line of your putt, for example a straight putt would have you line the logo into the centre of the hole. A left lip putt would have you line the logo up towards the left lip.

You will be amazed that just by doing this you will start to focus more on getting the putter face square to the logo and then to hit the logo so it rolls over end on end.

You will be making a lot more of those knee knocking putts than you thought possible and this will most certainly grow your confidence and success.

Remember to commit to doing this on every length of putt, even the 40 footers!!

I hope you enjoyed the article, any comments or Questions then please leave a comment below..

Until next time I wish you all the golfing success

Mark

Mark Wood Golf Academy
Dale Hill hotel & golf club
East Sussex
Best Putting Tips from the UK’s No1 Golf Coach where it counts – Results!

DISTANCE CONTROL
THE TWO TEE PEG DRILL

One thing I am always asked as an instructor is how I can improve my distance control “I always leave my putts way short” is the common complaint. When you address the putt try hard to keep your hands, wrists and forearms relaxed as tension takes away the entire feel from the putter head. You need to be able to “feel the stroke” to really improve your distance control. With this drill place two tee pegs 18 inches apart and place two balls on each peg so you can see them more easily from long range distances. The idea is to then go to some various distances of say 18ft, 20ft, 25ft and so on and hit 3 putts from each location; the aim is to finish each ball between the two tee pegs.

I hope you enjoyed the article, any comments or Questions then please leave a comment below..

Until next time I wish you all the golfing success

Mark

Mark Wood Golf Academy
Dale Hill hotel & golf club
East Sussex
Best Putting Tips from the UK’s No1 Golf Coach where it counts – Results!