Quickest Way to Lower Scores

We all want to improve our golf scores but we are all very busy and don’t have a lot of time to practice so this month I want to let you know the fastest way to improve your scores. Practice your short game! Most of the shots we play are either chips, pitches, bunker shots or putts. The better you get at these types of shots, the lower your scores will become.

It is part of the game that many players don’t practice enough but it is much easier to find 30 minutes to drop into Burnley for some chipping and putting practice than it is to find time to hit balls at the driving range or play nine or eighteen holes on the course. We have a perfect little practice area for your use at Burnley and I don’t see nearly enough golfers using it to improve their short game.

You need to ensure you practice properly when you are practicing your short game. It is very easy to just drop all your practice balls in the one spot and hit the same chip, pitch, bunker shot or putt over and over again. This is not a very good way to improve your short game skills. When you are on the course, you only get one chance to hit each shot. If you mess it up, you have to go and play it from where it went. Hitting the same shot over and over in practice does not simulate on course play. You need to only take a few balls to the short game practice area and play lots of different shots and never play from the same place twice. This will make your practice more like playing on the course and improve your ability to play the shot under the pressure of being on the course.

A simple way to make your practice like your on course play is to build some pressure into your drills. Some simple ideas are to play closest to the hole with a friend (you can have a friendly wager), chip and putt out every shot until you get in the hole and keep score (you can then try and beat your score), try and chip 3 shots in a row closer then 3ft (punish yourself with sit ups if you fail) or complete a series of skill tests and try and improve your scores over time. You can find some great short game and putting skills tests under the newsletter archive tab of my website at www.brentdavisgolf.com. If you complete these tests and email me your scores (bdavis@pgamember.org.au) I will calculate your short game handicap so you can try and improve it.

Remember, the fastest way to lower scores is to have a good short game.

Until next time,

Brent

Winter Golf Tips

Winter is well and truly here and if you are playing golf in Melbourne at the moment you are certainly facing the challenges of winter golf. Most courses at the moment are wet and the temperatures around the city have been chilly to say the least. These types of conditions pose certain types of challenges to golfers and golfers need to be able to adjust and adapt their golf game to ensure they still play good golf during the winter months. Below I will outline some basic strategies that you can use to help with the challenges of playing golf in the colder months.

         Staying warm and dry: This is arguably the most important piece of the winter golf puzzle. If you are not comfortable when you are playing the game you are going to struggle to score well. Making sure you are dry and warm and still able to swing freely is extremely important. I would suggest you invest in some high quality, golf specific, wet weather clothing. Wet weather golf clothing has the benefit of keeping you warm and dry as well as being light enough and with a large enough cut to not restrict your golf swing. Being rugged up like the picture may keep you warm but you will struggle to swing the club effectively. Investing in good quality, golf specific, winter clothes will help your game.

      The golf ball doesn’t go as far: Unfortunately, when the air is cold and the golf ball is cold, the golf ball does not fly as far as it would in warmer conditions. You need to take this into consideration when you are choosing your club on the course. The majority of golfers under club on the golf course normally and in the colder months, this problem is magnified. Make sure you choose enough club when approaching the green to get you to the flag at least. The ground is soft so the ball won’t roll as far as usual and the cold air reducing the carry on all shots. Make sure you get the ball to the hole.

      Grip and traction is important: Being able to keep your balance and hold on to the club securely while swinging is very important in winter golf. Make sure your golf spikes are new and clean when you are playing in the wet. Slipping while you are swinging makes it impossible to hit good golf shots so make sure you replace your spikes regularly and keep them clean with a tee during the round. Good quality, good condition and dry grips are also important for good golf. The grip is your only contact with the club so you need to make sure it is good quality contact. Replace and clean your grips often and make sure they are dry when you are playing. Having a dry towel is critical for wet weather golf so make sure you keep it dry under your umbrella or under the hood of your bag. It is also a good idea to carry a couple of spares in case one gets too wet.


These are some basic tips and ideas for playing your best golf during the winter months. If you have any specific questions or problems please feel free to comment and I will answer them as best I can.

Until next time,

Brent

Physical Evaluations for Golf

I often get asked what exercises a player should do when they are working out in the gym. While it is important for golfers to get into the gym and exercise it is more important to be working out correctly if you want to improve your golf game.

There are different areas of fitness and each of these areas is important for golfers. The three areas of fitness are cardio vascular fitness, strength and flexibility. Cardio vascular fitness is important for being able to complete your round without fatiguing and strength and flexibility is important for making a strong and powerful golf swing. Each of these areas should be addressed in a good golf fitness training program.

The first stage in any golf training should be an evaluation. You need to know your strengths and weaknesses so you can design an appropriate program and determine your starting point. A good evaluation will also give you a starting point from which to measure your improvement. Measuring your improvement is also a great way to see if your program is appropriate and effective.

The next question then is how do you evaluate your current fitness levels? As a coach I use a number a different strategies to do this. Through my own research I have developed a series of evaluation tests that assess your ability to complete each test. This link will take you to a document that outlines the tests and how to complete them. You can then record your results and redo the tests after a set period of time. I like my student to complete the tests at the start of each macrocycle of their annual plan and you can determine the best timing for you with your own coach.

Another strategy I use, and this is arguably the best way to go about developing your fitness program, is to utilise expert service providers such as exercise physiologists and physiotherapists. Melbourne Golf Injury Clinic here in Australia are golf specific physiotherapists that will complete a entire body screening which will identify areas that need to be improved. From this screening a personalised program can be designed to address the weaknesses. You can see a copy of this screening report by clicking on this link.

I also utilise an exercise physiologist to evaluate my client’s golf specific strength. He uses a series of tests to determine the areas that need to be worked on and from this can design the appropriate training program. He also has tour player benchmarks to compare yourself to and to aim for in your own training.

The purpose of this blog post is to give you an introduction into golf specific fitness training and to stress the importance of evaluating yourself before getting started. There will be plenty of people in your local area who you can talk to regarding your fitness programs. Check your local gym for sport specific trainers as well as online resources such as the TPI website and the Fitness for Golf website that you can find by clicking on the links provided.

Keep your eye on this website for more fitness articles.

Until next time,

Brent Davis

Ramsay McMaster

This blog post was going to be about the team of people I use when I am coaching my students. Unfortunately I lost one of my team members just after Christmas so I decided to write a blog post on him instead. My team blog post will follow in the near future.

I was sitting at home after Christmas and enjoying the relaxing time away from work when I received a text message from a student of mine. He had been on Twitter and had been seeing tweets from different people saying that golf specific physiotherapist/trainer Ramsay McMaster had passed away. He wanted to know if I had heard anything or if it was just a nasty rumour that had been started online. I hadn't heard so I made a few phone calls and found out that the news was true, Ramsay had passed away suddenly and golf had lost one of the most enthusiastic, dedicated and giving people I ever had the pleasure of knowing.

I first met Ramsay when I was a first year trainee professional in 1997. He was one of the speakers at our intensive school that year and he bounded in full of energy and information. He was one of the first that I had heard speak about golf specific exercise and how it could improve your game. He also spoke about how some swing faults may be caused by body weaknesses or imbalances. Golf coach Sandy Jamieson also spoke at that school and showed video of his students and how they had improved through coaching and golf specific exercise plans. This was my first real introduction to golf coaching that wasn't focussed entirely on golf swing mechanics and was nice nudge in the right direction for me as a coach and player.

While I was still in the frame of mind that I was going to be a tour player I decided that I needed to go and see Ramsay for a screening and for him to put me on the correct path to having a golf fit body. I still have the video of that original screening and the pain still comes flooding back when I remember Ramsay working on my extremely tight hamstrings! I remember him being in and out of the room a lot, as he had a million and one things going at the same time, but I also remember that he was extremely generous with his time as my 60 minute session went for more that two hours. I walked out of the clinic with a fist full of notes, a video and Ramsay's advice ringing in my ears determined to use the information as best I could.

My next contact with Ramsay came when I decided to make coaching my career. He was always there when I referred clients for screenings with reports on what their bodies

could and couldn't do as well as advice on how to best improve their skills. I would always get a copy of the screening results with Ramsay's suggestions on what may be happening in their swings as a results of physical limitations. I was always amazed at what he would predict after just one screening! He always kept the lines of communication open and wanted there to be three way discussion between me, the client and himself. This was what he used to call "singing from the same hymn sheet". This was a great way for the club golfer to feel like they had a team of support staff working around them determined to give them the best possible chance to improve.

In my roles as national coach in Taiwan and as a China Golf Association national coach he was always free with sharing ideas and knowledge. We struggled to find the budget money to get him across to Taiwan to work with the kids but was a great help with my very basic screenings and exercise programs. He was always just an email away when I had a question and was more than willing to help as much as possible.

He will be an impossible person to replace in the golfing world. His enthusiasm and dedication to golf and golfers will be sorely missed. Personally, I will miss his willingness to share information, research and knowledge. I regret not having the pleasure of researching/presenting with him as I always enjoyed his sessions at coaching summits.

You will be missed Ramsay and it is such a loss that you were taken so soon.

Until next time,

Brent