Wow what a performance! Darren Clarke Open Champion 2011

After all those years of trying to win the Open, Darren Clarke finally achieved his golfing dream!
To become the champion golfer for 2011 and go down in history as the Open champion.

He had control of his swing and his mind during those four rounds of golf played in atrocious and testing weather conditions.
What a deserving champion, we all know the hard times Darren has had to go through, and to come through all of that, come out the other side, and win now, must be even more special to him .

He was asked at the beginning of the week all about Rory, how is he playing etc, all the younger players were in the limelight, it was the new age of the young guns, so we were told, McIlroy, Fowler, Mannessaro, Ishikowa, Donald is world number one, Westwood was there, Poulter, Rose, Casey.
The Americans were out of it we were told. Well they were all over the leaderboard this year!

Good old Darren!

Golf is a funny old game, and just because we witness a sensational performance by Rory Mcilroy to become US Open champion, GMac wins the year before, Donald is world number one, Westwood is always around, Harrington won back to back Opens, the media tell us that the Americans are finished, rubbish!

A class act is a class act whatever their nationality. They have players coming through and they want to turn the momentum around.

European golf is outstanding, we are very strong, Ryder cup success, success breeds success. A fellow European tour player wins a major, the next guy says I can beat him, I play every week against him, and I have beaten him on the regular tour, I can do it again.

I think Rory Mcilroy has learned a lot from Darren Clarke, but Darren has learned a lot from a young gun called Rory, mainly, CONFIDENCE and FOCUS and BELIEF, he always had the skills, the ball striking ability, he won WGC event against Tiger several years ago.

Interestingly the swing I show you was taken last year when Darren had to qualify at Sunningdale to play in the 2010 Open!

What a difference a year makes!

Keep believing, no matter what happens.

Darren did!

Louis Oosthuizens win at the Open was a superb achievement, beating all the greatest players in the world at the home of golf, St Andrews.

He looked so calm and relaxed throughout the championship smiling, and then focusing on the shot at hand when needed.

He has a very good swing, relaxed with great rhythm and balance, so I wondered why he has not put on more performances like this  .

I believe he had a calmness, he was clear in his thoughts, he knew what he had to do and still maintained control of himself and his emotions throughout the tournament, and that is special, this does not happen every week or he would be winning more and having more top tens during the season. We shall see if winning the Open gives him more belief in his great talent over the coming months.

He was able to keep delivering the shots over the seventy two holes, no real mistakes, hitting fairways and driving very long, even at the road hole he did not change his approach, he took out driver and played a great tee shot, he did the same on Saturday, when his competitors were making mistakes, I watched them all hit great shots then later a few shots went off line , in bunkers, or wrong club selection, Oosterhuizen did not, he was so consistent.

I know he got a break with the weather on the second day, maybe that helped  a few strokes but not seven!

I shall watch his progress, and we shall see if he goes on to even more titles.

What can you learn?

If your mind is calm , focused and you keep to your gameplan, and then you can play to your best and not get in your own way. If your mind game is good and your scores are not, you must work on creating an efficient and technically sound swing that will deliver results when you really need it.

If you look at my Hi-speed videos of the tour players you can see how efficiently they move their bodies throughout their swing and how their sequence of movement is so good.

Lee is now ranked number 3 in the world, and he has got to that ranking by performing at a very high level consistently.

I was watching him practice at the BMW championship at Wentworth, and you can see the  hi -speed video I took.

Here is a player who has got a lot of confidence in his ability at the moment,  his all round game is very high, his driving is his strength, his putting has really improved and so has his short game.

What can you learn from Lee?

He is very precise with his set up and alignment,  has great rythm and balance and has worked very hard on his weaknesses which were his pitching, chipping and sand shots. Now these areas of his game are much improved, his consistency in his scoring has greatly improved as well, so when he hits the errant shot he can get up and down and  keep his score together, which breeds more confidence. 

Watching all these top players at Wentworth , it is such a small margin that divides the winners, the losers, the players that make the cut, and the ones that don’t, they all strike the ball so well on the range, it is how they play the game on the course that makes the difference . How do they cope with a bad swing, a bad bounce, wrong club selection, bad luck, the conditions of the course,  can they continue to play their game under pressure, how is their confidence, do they believe they can win, believe they can make that crucial putt, can they take the chance when it comes, have they got the inner strength to keep going. do they really believe in themselves?

My key points to improve  are.

1. Find a good Instructor
2. Video your swing and know your swing.
3. Know your weaknesses.
4. Have a plan to work on them.
5. Work on your mind game.

I know of some guys who say golf is 80% mental and 20% physical when you get to a high level, and others who say the opposite.

If you can, please state how many years you have been playing or your handicap.

Tiger’s in the news but, not for his golf ! We very rarely hear anything about Tiger’s personal life , everything about his life is so well controlled, just like his golf, everything ordered, planned out and executed. Until now !

What is going on ? All his fans want to know .  I am sure we will find out soon.

Well this just shows that Tiger is human , not a machine. He can control many things out on the course, but not everything in his life. 

We can all learn from Tiger, his planning, his dedication, his mental toughness in the heat of the battle out on the golf course, but sometimes things don’t go as we like.  On the the golf course, we sometimes feel out of control and go into the downward spiral of doubt and lose our confidence .

How can you recover and regain your composure?  

Take a few deep breaths, refocus on what you want to achieve, slow down your breathing, filter out any unneccesary thoughts and focus on one thing at a time. Try it next time. It works !

Tiger Woods