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

The hottest golf training aid in the U.S. has now arrived in the UK and its called the TOUR STRIKER.

The TOUR STRIKER  is a superb training aid because it is designed to work when your hands and clubshaft are forward of the ball at impact, and it gives you the feel of striking a downward blow and encourages you to take a divot after the ball.

If you flick your wrists or scoop trying to lift the ball the club is designed in such a way that you will hit the ball sole of the club, and the ball will not get airbourne.

All the great ball strikers have the shaft of their club leaning forward at impact to varying degrees.

So if you lack power in your shots, hit thin or fat shots and lack consistency the TOUR STRIKER is for you, which means EVERYONE can benefit from using one.

I got my supply recently and have personally tried the 56 deg wedge, the eight iron and the seven iron and immediately the club makes you more aware of keeping your hands leading through impact, and I have hit shots and demonstrated this to my students and they work, the shot flies normally and it swings like a regular iron.

A great addition to my teaching armoury and  they are now in my teaching bag and my students really like them, I can highly recommend the club.

If you would like to try the TOUR STRIKER and buy one, I have ladies clubs, wedges, seven irons and eight irons, please contact me as I do have them in stock.

Contact me on.

david@bowngolf

tel 07973 746872

I first saw Nick Faldo at the World Matchplay at Wentworth in the mid eighties and if you ever stood next to him he was much bigger than you thought,he was 6ft 3 in & 14 st, a very fit player. 

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.

If you want to get the most out of your next golf lesson you will need to make sure you are ready to maximise your time with your coach.

If my students have played golf before I always like them to arrive at least twenty minutes early, so they can calm down from their journey and start thinking about their golf game.

Its a good idea to check in at the pro shop first, just to let the staff know you have arrived and also to make sure there are no delays for your lesson due to unforseen circumstances.

Make sure you do a few gentle stretches and generally loosen up, before you swing.

Make a few swings on the range if possible, start with some chip shots, then a few pitch shots with a wedge or sand iron, hit around ten to fifteen if you have time.

Before your professional arrives make sure you really know what you want out of your lesson, is it a particular  part of your game that needs attention, is it short game, or long game.

Also think back to your last round or last time you hit some balls on the range, where did the ball go, any pattern to your shots ?

Bring a notebook just to make sure you have key points written down and reminders because next time you visit the range you may have forgotten or mistaken what was said during your lesson.

A selection of questions I may ask my students. So be prepared !

What are you doing at the moment to improve your golf ?

How long have you played ?

Have you had golf lessons before?

How often do you practice and play ?

Do you have a handicap?        

Where is the ball going ?

How is your physical condition, any back problems etc ?

What do you want to achieve with your golf, short term / long term ?

A key point to getting the most out of your lessons is, ASK QUESTIONS IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND SOMETHING. 

I love my pupils asking me questions, it shows me they want to learn. 

If you spend a little time preparing before your lesson, you will gain great benefit during and after your lesson.

Happy golfing 

Tiger is still planning to get  even better than before, better than when he was winning those Majors, that is what drives him onwards, to seek to become the best he can be , and to continue to improve his swing, his fitness, his mind.

He was asked how are his swing changes going, and his reply was  that he needs to be patient, keep doing the correct drills and  enough repetitions so he can master his new movement.

So that information is nothing new to me , but for you that might be a surprise, a surprise that even Tiger needs to work consistently on his swing changes, the need to be patient, or you will become become frustrated if those changes are not on auto after a few buckets of balls, the need to have a PLAN , so you know exactly what you want, and how to get there.

To become better at anything you need to work out what is wrong, why is my ball curving away from the target, why are my divots on the wrong line, why am I topping it, why do I hit some shots really well, then hit it all over the golf course, etc etc.

Get rid of FRUSTRATION  and DOUBT  and plan to make some changes to your game in 2011, follow TIGER,  if its not working CHANGE IT !  Hire yourself a PGA Professional .

So how to make yourself better in 2011. What you need to do for improvement.

1. Go to a Golf Professional.

2. Get your swing filmed on Hi- speed video .

3. Practice what you need to work on Regularly, start slowly, remember my R.M.P.G. Recognise it, Monitor it, Practice it, Groove it.

4. Start  working on your Mobility, develop a stretching routine , get that stiffness out and swing more freely. 

4. Work on your Putting  stroke indoors with a putting plane board.

If you do this and the KEY is Keep doing the Correct practice, you will get better and enjoy your golf even more in 2011 !!

David Bown  PGA AA Professional  Authorized Golfing Machine Instructor

contact 07973 746872          david@bowngolf.com

One huge reason why golfers are not improving is because they are either trying to work out what is wrong for themselves, or asking friends, or golfing buddies, and its like the blind leading the blind. It will never work, it  just leads to more FRUSTRATION. 

When a student of mine hits a thin shot or tops it, at the beginning they say, “I lifted my head” or “I wasn`t watching the ball”

Now I have never seen that happen myself, but that is such a typical reaction of so many, their friends told them “you looked up”  other advice is “keep your head down” etc etc. They soon learn the TRUTH ! 

They commit the cardinal sin of working on wrong information, its well meaning but wrong ! 

So what am I saying here, well its simple YOU MUST GET A DIAGNOSIS FROM A GOLF PROFESSIONAL, someone who has spent years, studying the golf swing, and knows how to impart the neccesary information, I did say neccesary, not just lots of information, because that will cause the ”Paralysis by Analysis” syndrome and the student will just freeze.

So how do you change your game, or learn the game? R. M. P. G.

You must RECOGNISE your errors or RECOGNISE what you have to learn.

MONITOR what you are changing thoroughly, don`t just rely on your FEEL, look at precisely what you are REALLY doing.

Do it slowly and get it right, developing  a new swing pattern takes time, it takes CORRECT  PRACTICE.

Do enough CORRECT repetitions and you will GROOVE IT in. 

If you carry out these straightforward steps you will IMPROVE your golf and you will get much more satisfaction out of this great game.

ARE YOU READY TO FINALLY IMPROVE YOUR GAME ?

contact  -   07973 746872    david@bowngolf.com

I thought I would go through with you the things I see most when I am coaching students for the first time.
If you like the common trends amongst beginners.

Problem Areas.

1.Tension is always apparent, in the hands and wrists, I see so many learners who think that power comes from the hands and wrists, as we know they transfer power when allowed to.

2. Poor placement of hands on the golf club, thumbs straight down the grip, restricting any freedom of movement through the hands and wrists.

3. Posture problems, bent spine, restricting the turn of the body during the swing, you need good alignment and good posture to make a sound swing.

All these problems are pretty simple to fix, good preparation in your set up will help so much with your stability and coordination throughout the swing, which leads to more consistency and less effort.

4. The pivot is a major source of power and consistency, if this is not working effeciently you will have severe problems, usually trying to use the hands to compensate for these errors, and leading to frustration as no two shots are the same!

I give my students drills to do so they can recognise /feel where they need to make the body go, immediately their balance improves and so does their coordination. So Recognise it, Monitor it, Practice it, Groove it ! That is true with every aspect of learning this game.

5. Truly understanding what the hands do throughout the golf swing, golfers get them working in some strange ways, the hands must be educated, you must recognise what they do and how they move, otherwise again inconsistency and more frustration.

Understand that quick fixes never lead to consistent levels of performance, you need a swing map , a direction, a blueprint if you will, so you can start your journey the right way which leads to improvement and more enjoyment of this great and challenging game.

When shall we start on your journey of improvement ?

contact - 07973746872                            david@bowngolf.com

Here it is, classic Ben Hogan,  Power, efficiency, control, awesome !

Legend Ben Hogan after car crash in 1949 fought back to win on the PGA tour  in 1950 and go on to win many majors, and in his Golden year 1953 won three majors, the U.S.Masters, U.S.Open, The Open , he only played in five tour events that year and won three, due to injuries sustained in car crash,  because of this he had to reduce his playing schedule dramatically for the rest of his career. 

His two golf books Power Golf and The Modern Fundamentals of Golf are classics, the first Power golf was written pre 1949, and The Modern Fundamentals in 1957. 

Power Golf shows Hogan with his longer swing and The Fundamentals show him with the shorter swing, which shows the real essence of  what Hogan was all about, no frills, everything there for a purpose, effecient, sublime control of ball flight, immense power, no wasted motion and of course his power fade !

I have many videos of Ben Hogan and he had incredible lag in his swing, he unwound his body so well, from the ground up, everything moves in correct sequence, his legs, hips, trunk, arms, wrists and clubhead retaining energy, and powering into the ball.

He had supreme control over his body and  his club, built up by thousands upon thousands, of repetitions, experimenting to see what worked under tournament pressure, and what didn`t.

His thoughts on plane, hip movement, practice, strategy and course management, and mental toughness are still valid today, many pros after finishing their round would go to the range and learn from the master, he never watched them practice !

Ben Hogan won nine majors, maybe ten, because of the disputed 1942 U.S.Open, how many could he have won had it not been for the war and his terrible car crash in 1949 when he was at his peak ?

 Ben played in 292 PGA tour events and finished in the top three in 47.6% of them and finished in the top ten 241 times!

A true golfing legend , after his car crash in 1949 he nearly died, they thought he wouldnt play golf again, but he rebuilt his body and golf swing to achieve even more success and become a golfing legend. His golf swing  was created through pure hard work and trial and error, and from the fifties was known for his pure ball striking and total control of his golf swing and his mind.

What an amazing man and my all time golfing favourite.

What a story Simon Khan wins BMW PGA tour event at Wentworth, goes from 473 in the world to 105, wins the biggest cheque of his career £640,000, all on a sponsors invite! Ryder cup team beckons, wow what a turnaround to a career.

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.