Hi everyone,

As I write, we are half way through the 125th anniversary festival week and boy is it proving to be a brilliant one! 

Let's start with what's been happening at the Club


 

Last Tuesday saw the Ladies play in the Medal, with Shamim galloping past the competitors to win with a fantastic 44 points. Brilliant work Shamim.


The Weekday Medal was played last Wednesday and was won by one of our extremely talented Juniors, Willem Cole. In second place was Paul Murphy and third Nick Bailey. Many congratulations to you all.


Now the Festival week started last Sunday, with the first event being the Mixed Open. We had lots of visitors, and it was really good to see people in the marquee, which has been set up beautifully for the week. 

Well done to Emma and the team for their hard work in sorting the marquee and its contents.

The winners of the Mixed Open last Sunday were Mike Blake and Helen Wilson, with Paula Crabtree and Derek in second place and Jane and Peter Simpson in third. 

A great day was had by all, and here are some candid and formal shots of the day.

  

 

We then moved on to the PGA Pro Am here on the Monday. You always know it's going to be a good one with the PGA involved as they run so many and are very experienced. The winning team were James Ruth and Charlie's Angels. Great golfing and many congratulations.

  

  

  

Tuesday saw the Ladies' Open played here at Bristol & Clifton. Another full field competed to be the winners and the victorious team were Alex Saunders, Sarah Gee and Bethan Popel with a huge 86 points. Well done girls.


So we will report on the final competitions of this great anniversary celebration in our next newsletter. Coming next week, the results of the Seniors' Open, Junior Open, Hickory Shaft competition and 125th Anniversary Medal.


We have also had lots to do this week. Paul, along with Academy friend and county development officer Debbie Casling, ran a coaching day for users of the Bristol Area Stroke Foundation last week. 17 stroke sufferers joined them on the range and the putting green for some tuition and a lot of fun, followed by tea and cake in the clubhouse. It is a privilege to be able to do this and I would like to thank the club and all you wonderful members for allowing us to do this on your facilities.

A report has gone to England Golf and will be appearing in various publications, so we are thrilled to be featured.

We also had our tiny tots tri golf session last Saturday afternoon. Seven little ones, five regulars and two new recruits, joined Paul for an hour of chipping and putting and the chipping green. These little ones have great fun and get to learn in a supportive environment with their pals. How good is that?

  

I would now like to pass over to Andy for his Instructional this week.




Stop lifting your head! 

What a load of nonsense! I hear this old gem of golf instruction passed down through generations of golfers trying to help their mate, other half or sibling when they're consistently thinning or topping their shots. Although I'm sure they mean well, this piece of advice can often do more harm than good as the player then proceeds to hit shots straining to keep their head down as they hit the ball. Often when someone is struggling with topping or thinning shots, they may very well be lifting their head, but there is a much better and more productive way of remedying this common problem and it's all to do with your hips, not your head.

Your well-meaning friend may be right that you're lifting your head, but in order to stop this annoying habit you must learn to move your lower body correctly. To help explain this a little better take a look at the two pictures below. I've drawn a line on the players bum cheeks at address and at impact. As you can see, at impact his bum has come away from the line meaning his hips have thrust towards the ball. He is essentially standing up out of his set up posture which means his head will rise as he approaches the ball into impact. Therefore it is important that this player learns to move his hips correctly in order to keep his head level and strike the ball more consistently.

There are many drills to help with this fault, but here's one that I believe is very effective and can be easily done down on the driving range here at Bristol and Clifton. 

Using the bay dividers down on the range, get into your setup posture with your bum just slightly off the divider. Now make a backswing and when you reach the top of your swing hold your position and nudge the wall behind you with your right bum cheek for a right hander. This will feel like you're sitting a little as you begin to transition into your downswing, which should move the pressure in your feet more toward your heels.

   

Continue to slowly swing down to impact keeping your bum touching the wall, and then as you reach impact you'll feel your left bum cheek touching the wall. Continue to slowly swing through to a finish and allow your bum to come away from the wall. 

By doing this drill correctly, your head will remain still and there'll be no popping up out of your posture as you hit the ball.

Begin doing this drill with slow deliberate swings making sure you feel all the movements described above. After 10-20 practice swings, try hitting a short/mid iron off a tee with a swing that is 20% of your normal effort/speed. This will help enhance your awareness of the new movements and remove any anxiety about striking the ball correctly. Then go back to practice swings and keep alternating like this until you begin to feel some change. 

When making any changes such as this, it is so important to start slow and then build up speed as you begin to feel comfortable. Going at it full speed with a new swing change is almost a waste of time as invariably you'll revert to your normal movements when swinging all out. Getting better at this game isn't easy and takes time and effort. However, that makes it much more rewarding when you do improve.

Have a great week and enjoy your Golf. 

Andy


Brilliant job, well done Andy. 

Next week Andy will be reporting back from his Pro Am day, so I am looking forward to reading all about it.

On that note, have a great week,

Caren, Paul, Andy and Nick