He was a very focused golfer who was always trying to get everything out of his game that he could,  he set about improving his technique with David Leadbetter, so he could be more consistent & win majors & he did achieve that goal, winning three US Masters, 1996 & two back to back  1989 ,1990 & three Open titles 1987,1990,1992. He came second in the PGA 1992 & US.OPEN 1988. He had 40 professional wins & was in eleven Ryder Cup teams & is the current highest points scorer in Ryder Cup history with 25 pts, & is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Nick Faldo was knighted by the Queen in 2009

He was known for his accurate iron play, particularly his long irons, and he was an excellent putter.

I have a good face on view of Nick playing an iron while preparing for the World Matchplay tournament held at Wenrworth, I hope you enjoy it.

Seve at Wentworth

The great Seve Ballesteros what a player, he had charisma, magic, you just had to watch him play because you never knew what was going to happen, something magical usually did !  

My opportunity of watching Seve was at Wentworth in the eighties at the World Matchplay tournament played in October, all the superstars of golf played in the tournament then, I remember watching Nicklaus, Player, Watson, Miller, Trevino, Norman, Faldo, Graham, Marsh, Irwin, , these players were heroes, and there was an aura about Nicklaus, Player,Trevino, Miller etc, but none of these players had the charisma, flair and pure magnetism of Seve Ballesteros !

One year I went with my video camera and was filming the players and I went down to the practice ground and there was Seve just about to start hitting balls, there were barriers all round, but here was a great opportunity to film the man himself, I got up the courage to  ask him if I could video him, he replied yes and told me where to stand. That is how I got such a great view of his swing down the line ! 

There are a few things to comment on, firstly the sound when he hit the ball, I hope you can here a bit of that, and his divots were so square , he moved so freely and fluidly during his swing,his rhythm, it was a gracefulness, but he had huge power as well, plus an amazing touch around the greens, with the looks of a hollywood actor, what a combination !

Here is a clip of Seve using a short iron, I was very fortunate because I filmed him hitting many shots from the same position, from wedge to driver, from the caddie leaving him the balls to start, to Seve finishing with his caddie collecting them all and just hitting a few more wedges at the end.

It was a great day for me, and he will be remembered by me as a golfing genius, and that I managed to see up close his remarkable talent !

I hope you all enjoy this clip, I just want to keep watching it !

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!

A great example here.

For someone 5ft 10 in & 11st 6 lb/160 lbs to hit the ball 300 yds with a 3 metal on one tee shot! is incredible and to also hit many drives over 300 yds and play with that control is amazing.

His performance in winning the US Open will be talked about for some time, he was two strokes a round better than his nearest rival, he led from start to finish, all his so called weaknesses as repeated over and over by the golf analysts dissappeared, his putting would not hold up, could he scramble, his course management was poor, no what we all saw was a young man unleashing his pure golfing talent on the golfing world, he was focused, he had something to prove, his swing a thing of beauty was under full control, the crowd loved him, he destroyed his Augusta woes, & he is the youngest US Open champion for over eighty years ! WOW !

His whole game seemed to click, the putting looked good, his control of distance and holing out was exceptional, his short game was on song, his irons were like lasers, especially the first three rounds, all you saw were irons right on the flags, his driving was immense, long and high with draw, which suited the course, he looked fearless, and he had control over his mind, which was a huge factor in this incredible performance.

The stats for the tournament , in greens in regulation and driving accuracy and distance were brilliant.

So Rory had the whole package this week, and I sincerely hope we see him have many more major wins in the coming years.

Rory we all knew you had the talent and the game, and now you have that inner belief and strength that all winners possess , Congratulations to you & as the americans say you were AWESOME !

The King and I

On the range at PGA West

Hi everyone , as promised I am letting you know about a fantastic golfing trip I did in February to LA, San Diego and La Quinta, near Palm Springs .

I have just returned from blue skies, warm sunshine and golf courses and practice facilities you will not better anywhere in the world! I hope you are not too jealous!

A real bonus for me was meeting the King of golf Arnold Palmer, what a lovely man, a real gentleman and golfing legend.

I was staying at PGA West in La Quinta near Palm Springs in the desert, palm trees and water hazards everywhere as well, at the Pete Dye Stadium course the greens 12 on the stimpmeter , think Augusta speed !

My trip took me to Torrey Pines to see a PGA tour event, near San Diego, great course, followed Tiger round for several holes, and he did not hit a fairway, so he is still struggling to get his game back to the level we all know.
Later on I went to the LA Open at Riviera golf course at Pacific Palisades, a very famous course due to the exploits of the great Ben Hogan, who won there on several occasions, there is a statue to commemorate the golfing legend.

Legend Ben Hogan

I filmed many of the top players at the events in hi -speed video and will be putting these up on my video section of my website, players such as Dustin Johnson, Goosen, Appleby, Donald, Bubba Watson etc, I hope you find them interesting.

I also took the opportunity to learm from the best and visited Gregg McHatton a PGA professional and a teacher who has the highest level you can attain in the Golfing Machine, and a very serious researcher of the golf swing.Gregg can explain the physics of the golf swing in a very understandable way, and he gains his knowledge by thousands of hours research and study of the best players, to prove his point.
It was great talking to Gregg and learning the real DNA of the golf swing, it was fascinating as he explained his swing code that is not based on opinion but fact.

Here is Simon Khan playing a 3 metal at Walton Heath in the U.S. Open qualifier.

His shot went straight onto the green at a short par four of 275 yds, he two putted for a birdie.

Key points for you to see are how he starts the centre of his body moving, his core and chest, his arms go along for the ride , everything has moved in unison, his right side, his hip and chest all turn away very smoothly.

This is a great angle to see his transition from upswing into his start down.

You can clearly see like all top players his lower half starts moving back towards the target first, transferring his weight onto his left leg, this gives him a great platform and stability, so he can swing down in the correct sequence to create his maximum power.

His wrists respond to this move, the club is being pulled or dragged downwards on plane into impact . He has not used his wrists from the top , he has retained their energy and used the correct sequence of motion in his downswing, which is feet pushing into the ground, to give stability for his hips and thighs to do their work, which in turn starts to unwind the core and the chest , which pulls the arms downwards, so the arms and wrists can transfer their energy into the club at the right time.    

His swing is  smooth and unhurried, no wasted motion and very efficient and deceptively powerful, everything is working in the correct sequence, that is why it looks so smooth.

What can you learn.

1. Start your move of trunk arms and club away from the ball in unison.
2. Let your right hip and shoulder turn, keeping your right leg in its flex.
3. Unwind in the correct sequence into the downswing, learn to use your powerhouse , your body, not your arms and wrists. 

This is a really good angle to see  his sequence of movement throughout his swing. Which as you can see is superb.

His posture is balanced and the angle of his spine and knee flex are perfect, he is balanced, athletic, he is grounded and  ready to move into his swing.You need a strong base, and be well planted if you are going to generate power in your swing, and Bradley does this so well.

He starts  his movement superbly,  his chest, arms and club are perfectly synchronised as he move into his backswing, he is just coiling up his chest and his hips are responding to the turn. He has  a great backswing wind up, is well balanced and has more weight on his right side .

Watch his transition closely, you can really see how his hips move first on the downswing, and his upper body is still coiled, he is not starting down with his arms or wrists, they are trailing behind.

The club is lagging behind, as his body moves left and starts to unwind, incredible energy is being stored by correct sequencing of his body . A major key in accuracy and power.

He has power, rhythm, great balance, athleticism, a superb golf swing, I wonder why he is not in contention more, it may be putting and short game that is just holding him back or maybe the mental side, but the swing does look very good. A very good model for you to see, very sound technique with great power. 

Simon then without much sleep goes to Walton Heath to try and qualify for the U.S.Open, arrives very early in the morning, tees off and scores of 67 and 70- total 7 under par for 36 holes gets him into a six man play off for five spots, he pars the first hole and is out ! How cruel this game can be, but the positives far outweigh the negatives.
He is playing the best golf of his career so far, and as I watched him at Walton Heath he looked so composed, relaxed, and hit really pure straight shots.

This is the 5 iron into the par five.
What can you learn?

1. Simon has a very relaxed style of play, again is very fluid, fine balance, rhythm. Sets up to the ball with good balance and alignment, very relaxed posture, no stiffness in his set up.

2. Starts club back with chest and arms, very smooth flow into the backswing, no rushing at all, wrists hinge gradually and automatically, and it is all smooth and controlled.

3. As with all tour players Simon uses his lower body to start the club down, a great transition, and as you saw in Rory McIlroy a slight squat as he starts down, showing you that his lower body is working first, which then creates the correct sequence of motion for the rest of his body, feet, knees, hips, trunk, arms, wrists, club, its like going through the gears in your car, accelerating in each gear and then flowing smoothly into the next one to maximise power.

4.He keeps rotating through the ball, into a full free finish, great poise and balance. He keeps the club on plane really well throughout his swing.

There seems to be a theme to these swings of Rory and Simon, fluidity, relaxation, rhythm, balance, uses the body really well, great pivot action back and through, and great body sequencing throughout, developing hidden power, which is transferred through the arms into the golf club.
One player a boy prodigy with fantastic natural talent, another a mature tour pro who has experienced the ups and downs, who has been to the qualifying school ten times, and is now playing the best golf of his life.

What an amazing talent at 20, winning a US PGA tour event in fantastic style, I remember thinking as I watched him shoot 65-62 over the last two rounds, this is how we would dream to play golf, massive drives, laser irons and holing putts, calm and controlled, it looked so easy to him.Those two rounds were very exceptional and I believe they are going to be rare for anyone to reproduce, especially on such a high calibre golf course as Quail Hollow.

His rhythm is superb, his balance, his fluidity of movement is second to none, it is all done with such flowing grace, that here is a very special golfer, who when in full flow makes golf look so easy, even more so than Tiger, who has more of a carved out or chiselled golf swing, more man made, and of course he has made significant changes to his swing through out his career, and I believe he is in the process of making more changes now. I can’t wait to see him back at the heights we all know he can achieve. Back to Rory.

What can you learn.

1. Rory is very relaxed at set up, excellent posture, alignment, great grip, looking ready and balanced to move into his swing.

2. Starts moving his chest, and arms so well together, and as he continues to turn his right side away his wrists hinge so naturally as he continues to wind up his chest, core and hips into a superbly poised and balanced location, no excess motion as he continues to move into the transition of his golf swing.

3. He starts down with a slight squat of the legs as they and the hips start to drag and pull the trunk and the arms downwards, a superb sequence of motion, maintainig lag not only between his arms and the shaft, you can see the shaft loading, but also note how he uses pivot lag, in other words how the sequence of his body unwinds relative to each other, creating the most powerfull movement he can to hit the ball prodigious distances.
He is working very hard here and creating lots of power, yet in real time it looks so smooth and fluid, because his sequence of movement is so tremendous and flows so well into a free flowing finish, he continues to turn his right side through to a very full finish, wish I was that flexible !

If Rory can continue to stay healthy, learn how to keep his score going when not quite at his best and eliminate small errors of judgement on course, such as course management and shot selection, there will be no stopping this young man becoming a regular tour winner where ever he plays in the world and become the best european player since Seve and Nick!