I was there filming the players and got some great footage of the top players, on the practice ground and the course, it was a very well run tournament on a really good course.

One of the highlights early in the week was when Tiger and Rory arranged to play a nine hole practice round, they got on well and were very chatty. I managed to get some super footage of drives, irons, putts, bunker shots etc, the golf legend Tiger, making a return and the young pretender with huge talent playing and practicing together, it was a priviledge to witness. I have posted some swings on Youtube and here on my website, there are a lot to see,I will keep adding to them, so keep looking!

HSBC opening ceremony

I look forward to seeing more of this during the coming season, which I believe could be a sensational year, and if these players are coming down the last nine holes in a major and we can include Westwood, Donald, Scott, Garcia, Kaymer, Day, Webb Simpson etc etc, it is what we all want to see.

They made the game look very easy ,it was a very long course, 7,500 yds and thick rough, the power they have at their disposal is phenomenal and can overpower a golf course, but to win a tournament you still have to pick the right club, judge the conditions, control your distances, hole putts and retain your concentration, accept a poor shot or bad bounce and the occasional penalty shots, and keep it going for seventy two holes. 

The winner Robert Rock played so well under the pressure of playing with Tiger Woods and many people believed Tiger would win, me included, I watched them both warm up and go through their practice routines, Robert Rock looked solid, but Tiger looked more impressive and was controlling the flight of the ball so well, it looked a formality, well sport and golf is never that as we know. 

The standard of golf on the European Tour is so good, the strength in depth, new players coming through, the quality of the courses, it is a great product and I shall be watching till the final event in The Race to Dubai season. 

It was a brilliant way to start the 2012 European tour and see close up, the return of the TIGER !

David Bown PGA AA Golf Professional

Authorised Golfing Machine Instructor

 contact david@bowngolf.com

07973 746872

A student of mine had a one hour lesson with me today, I had previously given him a video lesson about eighteen months ago, he had to stop playing for six months because he had  broken his wrist snowboarding .

Luckily everything had healed up well and he no discomfort or mobility problems.

He had at  one time been of three handicap, but was now playing off fourteen, he explained that he could not hit the driver as he wanted , it was either starting straight  and cutting to the right towards the end of its flight or flying straight left of target, could also start it left going left. He can hit the ball 280 off the tee and is a powerful player.

So I stood behind him as he set up to the ball with the driver, I always look at alignment, posture, ball position, grip, weight distribution at address.

I let him hit five or six drives, all were either starting straght and cutting about 40 yards to the right, or starting left and cutting thirty yards to the right.

From down the line I could see his downswing path was slightly across and above his intended path into the ball, his backswing was on plane, his turn was a fraction short but controlled, very strong at the top.

He had a narrow stance, his ball position was slightly to far back, his right shoulder was out of alignment to the left, and he looked a bit top heavy at at set up, weight to much towards his toes. 

So I got him to move his right foot across to the right about six inches, his ball position one inch further forward, move his weight further back towards his heels, and move his right shoulder down and back slightly.so that he was now parallel to his target, altough he felt his shoulders were closed !

He now had had more weight behind the ball at address and was better balanced and more stable and grounded

All in all I moved  the ball one inch, his upper body one inch, his weight from his toes to just over his ankle joint , so he was better balanced,  and his spine angle came up slightly, and he was nearer the ball slightly.   So we made about six inches of adjustments in total. He now had his upper body aligned better to the target. No need to alter his grip, it was perfect , his backswing was compact, on plane, no swing thoughts needed, no conscious manipulation of the hands now needed as he swings .

First swing he hit a long high shot, a strong flight, that after it reached the top of its flight it very slightly turned to the left as it came back to earth !

He actually hit it virtually straight , slight draw and long , WOW !

He was delighted, he now needs to practice recognising where he is at set up, and start to get the feel of his new set up so he can reproduce the correct alignments easily and feel comfortable.

So to sum up.

He had too much weight on his toes, ball too far back and his upper body was out of alignment , so he found it very difficult to swing the club on the correct plane through the impact zone, he said “ I feel less effort as I swing, its more fluid now, I am not fighting it”

Always look at your set up first, grip, posture, ball position, weight distribution, and alignment first, get these right first before making any swing changes, everyone should be able to have a good set up, its so important.

David Bown PGA AA Golf Professional

Authorised Golfing Machine Instructor

contact david@bowngolf.com

07973746872

To view my website. www.bowngolf.com

Youtube channel Bowngolf